RWD and 7agte conversion on 95 hatch st, I am honestly trying to rebuilt a celica for drifting and more Options

[JERX88]

I have a 95 Celica st with the 7afe engine in it. I have been saving up for over a year now and have been trying to figure out what I would like to do. I have always wanted a ST205 Celica GT4, but living in the states you either have to build it yourself or import one, and I dont have the money nor the ease of importing one, as Wisconsin isnt too convienent of a location. I have thought about getting the next best thing, an st165 all trac, as well as a mk2 MR2 turbo, but have this dilema. I love the 6th Gen Celi looks, and don't want to sell my original car, and even if I were to sell it and purchase one of the previously mentioned cars, I would still have to wait another year or so to start to progressive work that I would want done.

So thats when I had this revelation: How about a RWD Celica with the 7A-GTE engine that I hear the AE86 Corollas sometimes have swaped and rebuilt with when used for drifting? To me it sounded like a great idea. I could keep my car, maybe buy a second cheap one for a DD and parts car (horrible isnt it, HAVING to buy a second 6g), and find either an old corolla or project mk1 MR2 to use the 4A-GE. I dont think I would have the biggest problem building the 7A-GTE, as I have a group of friends who would be more than willing to help me take on the task, as they have worked with swaping engines on their own cars (such as a mkIII Supra's 7M-GTE swapped to a 2JZ-GTE).

My only real concern is if this idea will even be a possible Modification. I know the 7A-GTE can be done, but what about the conversion to RWD? My only drawback is if the RWD conversion really has no hope, maybe I need to wait a year and buy the backup ideas, the MR2 Turbo or st165 Alltrac. Hopefully one of you can shed some light on this subject, and hopefully it can be done, so I could one day keep up with my friends supras and rx7's, but as of right now, I am not giving up the hopes of my 6g Celi.

Thank you for your thoughts and time.

[richee3]

Welcome to the site. Hope you like it!

I don't know a whole lot about doing mechanical work, i.e. RWD conversions or anything like that, but I'd like to think RWD is possible and easier to do than it sounds. The GT4 was AWD so obviously with some modification, the drive shaft and rear end can be added. I think it would be more difficult to do the new motor mounts so the motor and trans will be lined up right for RWD. Good luck with your project! Keep us posted.