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Registered: September 2004
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'81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Sat, 25 September 2004 14:21
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I've been brought up on a farm and have been around holdens all my life. I have only recently moved down to the city and i saw this '81 Celica for sale and i just thought what the heck and bought it. So far all i can say for description is its the 5spd 2lt liftback version. Its an RA40 chasis and the engine is labeled 18RC. I have taken it for a burn and for a 4 cylinder its got a lot of get up and go, feels like it has the potential to put our 202's to shame. I would like to increase performance a bit but i dont want it to be chewing juice like theres no tomorrow as premium is like $1.08/Lt and rising. Could someone please give me some ideas of where to start. My mate wants me to go out and get a 2tg with a 3tg crank as its what is in his rally car but im not looking to change the engine for about 12 months so what other modifications are available?
Thanks in advance
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Location: Hobart
Registered: June 2002
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Sun, 26 September 2004 00:10

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general opinion is that 18rc is not worth modifying. your money is better spent getting 18rg and starting form there.
search for 18R-G. twin cam version of the 18R-C. 'bolt-in' swap. 130-140 hp compared to about 80-90hp. Great fun to drive aswell, redline up near 7000rpm.
also, another common possibility is the 1ggte, 6 cylinder 2 litre, twincam, twin turbo. fit in the ra40 with a little more work. Also search for info on these things. both engines have been very well covered before in these forums.
cheers
Chris
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Location: Brisbane
Registered: February 2003
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Sun, 26 September 2004 01:00

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what he said
... apart from extractors and a webber off a ford 2litre, i wouldn't go too far with the 18RC (speaking from my experience) - many easier upgrades available with other motors..
take your time assembling a decent motor/gearbox and lining up an suitable engineer to approve the whole thing (only required for the 1G i think) ... if you rush this, it will probably not be fun.
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Location: townsville NQLD
Registered: February 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Sun, 26 September 2004 01:35

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great to see another ra40 owner
yeah, you would only really go as far as puttin extractors on the 18r-c. the next upgrade (in $$ terms) would be a 18r-g which is a bolt in conversion (18r-g is virtually a alloy twincam head on your 18r-c) . then the next upgrade would be to the 1g-gte there is a fair few articles written on 1g-gte conversion into celicas. read some of the articles from the'articles section in the toymods menu ..... http://www.toymods.org.au/tech.html
i have a ra40 celica im doin up, i got heaps of shit from a mx62 cressida, including power windows, power steering, power locking, radiator and much more. talk to me on messenger if you wanna know anything
brett
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Registered: September 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Mon, 27 September 2004 13:01

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yea thats something i want to get.. Power Steering, at the moment its like driving a tank at anything above 60kph. Any idea of how much an 18rg would cost and say if i was to fit extractors after that, what sort of power would i be looking at? Thanks for all your help so far
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Location: Brisbane
Registered: February 2003
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Registered: September 2004
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Registered: September 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 04:06

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Hehe.. im stupid I checked everything and couldnt figure out why the steering was heavy, the only thing i didnt check was the tyre pressure... guess what? Both backs were 20psi one front was 15psi and the other was 10psi. The whole lot are now at 30psi and the car feels like if i was to put power steering it would be way too light
I need to take the trim off the rear quarterpanel window without damaging it as there is a spot of rust there that i wish to get rid of. Does anyone know of how i would do this. There is no rust anywhere except for this little spot and its driving me crazy
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Location: Perth
Registered: May 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 04:28

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On my RA40 (1978 Boogey Green in color) All the door trims and panels trims were just glued on. Gently peal them off, and then re-stick them where they were removed from.
If you are talking about the trim that runs aound the small window at the rear then its a little trickier.
You need to open door, then pull the top of the trim out & down (perhaps a screwdriver would help here for leverage.) - be carefull. The trim should unclip itself and you should then be able to slide it off/out towards the door. Also be careful not to damage the L shaped joins that a in the corner, if you screw these up, then your trim is going to look crap when you put it back on, trust me i know
Its been over 2 years since i did this mind you, so a picture would go a long way toward me giving you clearer instructions, i am not even sure if i know exactly what trim u mean! 
Oh and a cheap mod to give your car some more pickup! remove the belt that is currently running from the crank and operating the air pump. The greenies round here may object however, as this is the emissions control gear (the C part in 18R-C). Only tool u will need is a 12 or 14mm spanner. 1 min to take off, 1 min to put back on.
later,
Adam
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Location: townsville NQLD
Registered: February 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 04:47

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get rid of that air pump crap altogehter.....none of mine eva come with that crap. burn it
18r-g is cheaper than a 1ggte coz with the 1g, u wil have to pay for wiring, engineering costs, exhaust, etc.
18rg is a bolt in, only really gotta modify fuel line and throttle links
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Registered: September 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 06:35

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Hi,
Do these pictures help?



Also what does removing the air pump do? What is the purpose of it in the first place?
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Location: Perth
Registered: May 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 09:47

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Yes those pictures do help.
to get that trim off, start from the bit closest to the door.
I would take the lot off, 3 or 4 pieces i think.
Open door, start with top, get you fingers in the gap between trim and roof, and PULL OUT & DOWN. should unclip then be able to slide over toward the door and off.
then the rest is easy, work clockwise.
Put back in opposite order.
RE: Air Pump
it pumps air + exhaust gases back into engine to reburn or similar, Kind of tries to achieve what a catalytic convertor does i think, but by different means. (There are ppl on these forums that will know for sure....dont take my information as being solid , but i wont be far off)
Removing the belt that drives the air pump lessens the load on the engine, so it frees up more of the engines power, doesnt make or add power to the engine, but frees it up. Slight difference....
If you are in perth now or sometime, drop round (i am in carine) and i can show you all the rust hotspots on those cars, and help you with the trim.
later
Adam.
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Location: Perth
Registered: May 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 09:50

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Yes those pictures do help.
to get that trim off, start from the bit closest to the door.
I would take the lot off, 3 or 4 pieces i think.
Open door, start with top, get you fingers in the gap between trim and roof, and PULL OUT & DOWN. should unclip then be able to slide over toward the door and off.
then the rest is easy, work clockwise.
Put back in opposite order.
RE: Air Pump
it pumps air + exhaust gases back into engine to reburn or similar, Kind of tries to achieve what a catalytic convertor does i think, but by different means. (There are ppl on these forums that will know for sure....dont take my information as being solid , but i wont be far off)
Removing the belt that drives the air pump lessens the load on the engine, so it frees up more of the engines power, doesnt make or add power to the engine, but frees it up. Slight difference....
If you are in perth now or sometime, drop round (i am in carine) and i can show you all the rust hotspots on those cars, and help you with the trim.
later
Adam.
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Registered: September 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 09:55

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I have gone over the entire car, under the seals along the bottom of the car and everywhere.. that is the only rust i can find so i really want to get rid of it. I think ill leave all that emissions stuff alone for now.. well at least until i take the car over the pits.. So yea.. Im in perth (armadale).. I need to get an imobiliser fitted. Do you know of anyone who will come out and do it for a reasonable price.
Cheers for all your help, its much appreciated
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Location: Perth
Registered: May 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 10:02

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Come out and fit an immobiliser?
any auto electrician will do that, but ring around as prices vary a ridiculous amount.
I never even locked my RA40 and some wankers still broke the window to steal some CD's from in there!
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Registered: September 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 10:42

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Well would you say $99 for one of those touch key imobilisers, installed to be a reasonable price? they come out free (its part of the $99)
I dont know what sort of price i should be lookin for.
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Location: Perth
Registered: May 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Thu, 07 October 2004 11:42

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Considering that most usually charge $30-$40 callout this seems ok.
The imobiliser would be a $50-$70 imobiliser which is all u will need anyway.
For someone to come out and do this $90-100 is the norm.
2 months ago my sister got one installed for $88. So $99 is not much above that.
put the squeeze on em push for $95 or lower.
Or do what i do, ring another place and say that the guy who quoted you $99 really said $95 and see if they can beat that.
Give them his name and number etc if they want it, often they wont even call, and u save yourself $5-$10 for at most $1 in phone calls.
it works.
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Location: townsville NQLD
Registered: February 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Sat, 09 October 2004 09:20

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take the pump off, and block/blank the end of the plugs off where they go into the exhaust ports. the use of the pump is to put fresh air into the exhaust port in a attemp to burn any unburnt fuel in a attempt to reduce emmisions
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Registered: September 2004
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Re: '81 Celica RA40 18RC
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Sat, 16 October 2004 01:17
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Things are going from bad to worse. The 18RC was blowing a little bit of grey smoke when u stab the accelerator but if you use it like normal drving there is no smoke. I put in two bottles of 'no more smoke' and all of that initial grey smoke has dissappeared.. I was happy. It redlines at 6000rpm so i decided i'd peak it to see if the problem had really gone. Somewhere between 5 and 5 1/2 out of nowhere it blows smoke so dark and thick i'd get pulled over from miles away. Yet anywhere up to 5000 doesn't blow smoke. I'm assuming my rings are stuffed? Is there anything else i should be checking? I've got the local garage phoning around for an 18RG because i dont really want to spend money on this engine knowing that it really doesnt have any future where as the money would be better spent replacing with an 18RG which has more potential. Any views on this, or if anyone has or knows of a place that has an 18RG for sale in perth anywhere that would be great...
Thanks in advance
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