Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance FWD to AWD

on a 1991 celica minus the tranny what is needed to convert from FWD to AWD?

Probably all of the All-Trac drivetrain and suspension. Don't quote me on that.

Thats a big job.

I would buy a car that already has an AWD,

I currently have the 1991 Celica GT, and I like the body style of this model so when people just say buy a new car, the money I save for a new car I would rather save in modifing this one. Can someone give the a grasp on what all needs to be done in order convert it to the 3SGTE AllTrac 4WD?

Front clip
Harness + ECU
Gas tank
Floor pan
Rear drivetrain
Exhaust
Drive shaft
Good welder
lot of custom jobs
and $hit load of money

You do the math.
Remember, one deg. of misaligned driveshaft can make your car very unstable at high speed.

its gonna be a lotta work. but good luck and update us when you do all that shit..if you do it.

In the end it will cost way more money than an alltrac would. The alltrac frame is completely different. It is shaped differently to compensate for the driveshaft and it is also structurally reinforced much more than the regular 2wd version. It would take countless hours of engineering and aligning just to get the car to track straight much less operate safely at high speeds. You would also be at a loss for structural safety in the event of a collision.
It has been done but its way way more work than just swapping components

im doing this in about 6 months ... you need to get a custom drive shaft made along with axles not sure what parts off the AWD celi will match i'll let you know if I figure it out before you do. Oh and you have to make room for the differential because the gt's aren't made for it to be there i have a gts. Its a lot of trouble that is why no one has done it and everyone gives you sh*t for wanting to do it but i say DO IT. I can't bare to get rid of my car we have been through a lot together so i feel for yah wanting to keep your ride. - Kyle

I wouldn't call handing out advice "giving you shit", but whatever.

If you can't part with your car, you could always buy an All-Trac in addition to the one you have now.

Kyle and Bladed_metal,
I've been in Celica community for a while, not long, may be 7 years or so. I've owned 1 GT, 2 alltracs, and bought 2 GT Celicas for friends. During this time, I've seen tons of people said they are going to do AWD conversion on FWD Celica. I'm not saying it's impossible, because I've have seen 2 6th generation Celicas with AWD conversion. Both of them were for sale at the end. One of my Alltrac friends tested drove it, and he dislike it.
I've yet seen one 5th gen Celica with AWD conversion. Personally, I think it's a bad idea. However, I'd really like to see it done. So, DO IT, if you have time and money. It's your money, not mine. I just gave out my $0.02.

At the end, you are taking risk. Think about unfinished project, ruining the car that once you can not bare to get rid of, debt, sell the car to cut your loss, etc...) Remember, I'm not trying to dicourage you. I'm just trying to inform you what I've seen. I wish you luck and please keep us update on your project.

Where do I get a floor plan for a ST185, I have the rest to convert my st182 GTR to ST185

You could always try to buy a chassis with the awd and then body swap...