As part of dara's 3s-gte corolla conversion we had to use a Mk2 turbo gearbox but convert it to a Front wheel drive application for use in the Corolla, so i thought i would do a mini write up about it.This mod is not very well documented on the internet, i only found a few vague pics and not very well described either.

So we did it ourselves and this shows how you too can convert your E153 to FWD for use in a celica or corolla.

The subject gearbox is a rev3 turbo one, we also used all of the conversion parts from a broken Gt4 gearbox.

First step is to remove the Mr2 linkages, make sure the gearbox is in neutral, this is important or you won't be able to remove the selector shaft....



Next remove the selector detent on top of the gearbox and the four bolts holding the end case of the selctor housing and remove the housing itself....





Slide the selector shaft out....



Take your Gt4 selector shaft/housing and forks (all one unit that is removed from the Gt4 box in exactly the same way) and slide it into the Mr2 selector housing.... Toyota in their wisdom used the same internal components selector wise on the mr2 turbo and Gt4 gearboxes....



Next we need to block off the old Mr2 selector shaft hole that is still on the other side of the housing.It has a removable oil seal in a steel casing on that end, tap this out gently...



Here you see it removed, now there are several ways to block this off ranging from making a plug that fits the seal exactly or simply filling the seal with something else, it doesn't matter as long as it won't allow oil to splash out.We chose to insert a metal disc over the seal and bonded it in.



Here it is sealed...



Refit the seal housing and that is it oil tight....



Now the Gt4 has pre-drilled and tapped holes for the selector bracket...



On the Mr2 casing the raised platforms are there, but no holes present.... bummer!



So you need to accurately centre pop these, drill them and tap them out to take an M10 x 1.25 bolt.On the left hole do not drill any deeper than 15mm or you will drill into the gearbox itself, now there is no harm in drilling right through, the Gt4 box is drilled that way, but you will end up with aluminium swarf going into the box..... not good.

Once you have drilled and tapped those holes you can also mount the Gt4 cable holding bracket, these holes ARE present on the Mr2 box...



Finally fit the gt4 selector arm and that is it! One Mr2 turbo gearbox that now belongs in a FWD car....



Hope some of you find this useful.