Project Hachiroku - AE86 F20C Conversion

This is probably the most difficult conversion to complete as there are a number of issues you would need to over come first.First and biggest issue with the F20c is the physical height of the engine. the F20C is actually one of the tallest engines going around, and in the rather shallow AE86 engine bay that can be an issue.

Fitting the engine is not so much of an issue nowadays as there are a number of companies offering off the shelf F20C conversion kits available. Companies such as HOT STAFF and John’s Superior Performance make the engine a direct bolt in affair.

The second biggest issue is the price of the engine itself. It does cost more than other engines that you can swap into a hachiroku.

The other issues for the swappers and the rest of the right hand drive world is the fact that the exhaust and intake are now on opposite sides to the 4A-GE. So that means the extractors and exhaust system now run down right next to the brake master and clutch master cylinders. Not so much of an issue but there is minimal room which to run a decent exhaust manifold.

Other things like the battery and ignition location will also have to be moved. Again not an issue, as if you were performing a conversion such as this those items should have already been dealt with.One other thing that is an issue is that fact that nothing will wire up to the factory AE86, albeit simple things like aircon and the like will wire up but items like guages and the speed signal wont work any more.

So whats so good about an F20C? Apart from the fact its the worlds most powerful mass produced 4cyl N/A engine, and makes more power per cubic centimetre (CC) than any other engine! 250hp (175kw) 9500rpm redline, a sweet shifting 6sp gearbox and a glorious VTEC note!

Just take that in for a second… Now imagine that in a little lightweight AE86! The Honda S2000 which the F20c comes from weighs in at portly 1270kg. your average AE86 weighs 950kg’s. The S2000 is no slug, but is quite heavy for what it is. So with the F20C in a car weighing 300kg’s less, your little AE86 is going to scream!!

There is quite a bit of aftermarket support for the F20C engine, and no doubt could be employed in an AE86. Certainly fitting a set of Quads to it would solve a lot of the intake piping issues…This is quite a popular conversion in the US as they do not have as many issues as we do with their Left Hand Drive cars. The US also gets the fantasticaly just as powerful but much torquier F22C. The F22C revs just as hard but only to 8500rpm instead of the sky high 9500rpm of the F20C.

The 6 speed gearbox is one of the sweetest shifting things you’ll ever use. It just slots in place, doesnt slop about and very very smooth. The stick like all the others will pop up near the handbrake. There is however a few people developing a bell housing to mate a W5x box to the F20C engines to make the conversion that much easier again.

Happy swapping everyone! =)

S2000 Engine In An Ae86 Corolla Eric O Sullivan