Swapping a Aussie 4sp with a Celica P51 5spd...

[Fatyellowvan]

Hi,

Looking for some help pls. Ive got a 77 camper with a 173 and Aussie 4 spd.

Does a Celica P51 swap with an Aussie 4 without having to do too much modifying? Apparently the 5spd came out of an old HR w/ red motor.

Also, i think the 5th gear is .85:1? (I have a 3:5 diff ratio) do you think the 173 might be a bit under-powered to fully utilise the 5th gear? (She struggles up hills and takes a bit to get up to 100kms on open road, where she sits roughly on 2800rpm)

Any help much appreciated.

Cheers

[BeerBeddy]

Hi Fatyellowvan. I also have a camper with a 173 and Celica 5spd with a Chev 3.55 diff.

First answer is: There is a bit of work involved in doing the conversion but mainly the need for the conversion kit. You will also have to have a tailshaft made, for this you will need the early Corona 4 or 5 speed tailshaft yolk and it uses the standard Holden 1" uni-joints. The biggest issue i found with the Celica box is where the shifter comes out. It is well behind where the original is and actually slightly projects into the rear load space. There is an alternative P51 box if you can find one. If you can get one from a 1970's Toyota Crown, the shifter is about 3" further forward. Same as the Celica except for this and 1st gear I think.

Mine is yet to do any road time however I have done the math and it seems you may be slightly under-powered with the 173 in 5th gear on hills, but here is the good news, you will get reasonable fuel economy on the flat. And of course you can always grab a lower gear for those hills. I intend to put a slightly warmed 186 in mine down the track but happy to try the 173 for now.

Good luck with the conversion, it has to be a long way better than the crunchy old Holden 3 and 4 speeds.

Regards

Beerbeddy

[Fatyellowvan]

Thanks heaps Beerbeddy! Exactly what i was after.