Yes, the half-cut had seen some salt water, but none made it into the engine or gearbox, although the both the idler pulleys (alt and a/c) were shocking. I had the starter and alternator checked by an auto-elec; the alternator was ok, but the starter needed some cleaning up. I think it's got wet in the container ?

I don't think I can re-use the ae111 driveshafts, as the cv joints are f'ed. Having said that, I'll see how it looks when the c52 is out of the mr2, and I have them side-by-side.
I'm trying to do as much as possible before taking the aw off the road, so the actual swap can be done fast. I can't do the gearbox mount or exhaust yet, but I have the engine wired up; all I need to do is the clutch/flywheel, and finish replacing the gearbox seals.

The problem with borrowing a mate's workshop is that I have to fit in around him; I can work on the drivetrain any time, but I can't have a dead mr2 on the floor for more than a few days.

Anyway, I hope to do the swap in 1-2 weeks time. Yippee!

Cost:
When it's all done, I might add up the costs (or maybe not). It's the 6 speed box that makes it costly; you could get a blacktop on its own for a lot less, but then you need the sensors/ecu etc. I want a factory look and stock toyota ecu (for now).
I think I'm up to about $6-7k so far, with nothing much left to spend.
(Until the bodywork gets done).
My guess is that I will have spent about $15k (including the car itself) all up, but that includes new suspension, exhaust, 20v engine, 6-speed box, lsd, and minor bodywork.
A lot of money for a 22 year old car, but it will be unique, and I love driving it, even with the current 16v. Not quite an elise (about 200 kg too heavy, and 30 hp short), but still a fun toy.

As I may have mentioned earlier, I had custom springs wound for it, as I wanted to keep the ride height standard. I do a fair bit of country driving, including the occasional dirt road, and need the ground clearance.

Got the clutch, p/plate and flywheel back today! Flywheel skimmed, std. exedy clutch kit for the AE111 BZR. Looks quite good.
I hope to bolt the tranny to the engine on saturday, fit alternator, a/c etc, and check belt lengths. I can use the std. alternator belt, but the a/c belt I have is designed to also run the power steering pump, which I've removed. I'll cut it to fit, and use that to find a replacement.
Finally some progress!

Fiat hey! Sounds interesting... I've got an old 132gls 1800 that's been in my family for ages, love that car.

Good news on getting everything ready for the conversion, im sure the end result will be more than rewarding. Whos going to do the install if you don't mind me asking? Need to update this with some new pics!

Whats the go in regards to dyno business? Sounds even more interesting.

Much progress !!


Engine lifter :




Workmanship for a tool we will probably never re-use :




Tool for holding hub to remove driveshaft nuts :

---

And now we have a second drivetrain on the floor :

ctd...

Stripped the engine bay of all plumbing - we'll re-run that when the engine is in.


Finished off the gearbox and cable mount today.

The c52 gearbox mounting plate has been re-worked to fit the c160 casing, while still using the stock aw11 rubber mount.

To mount the pivot for the selector, we first re-drilled and tapped the small threaded hole on the box in front of the selector shaft, and fitted a threaded insert. A mount was made which bolts to the insert, and snakes around to pick up a threaded hole on the other side of the casing. The mount has to curve to clear the speedo sender, and was shimmed to the correct height. The original c52 pivot bracket (with some modification to clear a bolt head) bolts to threaded holes in the new mount.




Also highlighted the timing marks as best I could :




Made up a remote mount so I can run a low oil pressure light, along with the gauge : no pics yet.

Monday is bolt-in day!!!!

Also, the box that was in is not an mr2 box, it has been converted from a FWD corolla or similar.

When I pulled the lever and dust boot off the selector shaft, I found this :



The case has been drilled (like I did), but no oil seal has been fitted. Surprisingly, it never used to leak much, but it was always oily around there.

So - is it a c52 or c56 ? how do I tell ?

Nice work. Looking forward to seeing it on the road and track.