go for any of the 4A engines as long as they have an A. a rebuilt 2A, a rare 3A, the usual 4A, 4AFE, 4AGE 16 valve or 20 valve, 4AGZE.. all up to you. these are suitable and affordable engines to put in the uncle clunker.
the best engine for the AE80 is the one Toyota put in them, the 2A-L, 3AC, 2E, 4E.. so ask yourself properly. u want the best engine in terms of racing your ass off, the best fuel consumption, or the best in noise?
Dont even think about putting any ridiculous engines in that car if you're making a daily driven ride. since your question suggest that you're new, forget that dream about a 3SGTE, GSR, Mivec etc. You'll regret it, your pocket will regret it, and the car may, MAY only run well for illegal races. putting any engine be it the 4AGE without thinking about the 20+ year old chassis, body strength and suspensions will only make the whole car die sooner, if you dont kill yourself in an accident first. You're excited about a transplant, fine.. just dont overdo it. i know, you asked nicely. Well now you know.
go over to the toyota sub-forum. on the top of each page just below the zerotohundred banner, u will see 4 links at the right:
help search members & calendar.
click on search. a new page will open.
in the Search keywords section, type 'AE80' or 'LE' or 'AE82' (without quotes) in the "Search by Keywords" field.
under the "Search Where" section, make sure the "Toyota" subforum is selected (its a branch of "Makes")
Click on "Perform the Search" button at the bottom of the page.
browse thru all the search results and read all that you can from the threads.
happy learning, put some effort and have a nice day.
