6G Celicas Forums

so after talking with a bunch of people on here and doing tons of research i decided that it was time for a change with the celica.....i have nice paint....and if i want to add on some nice lips around the edges i can do so accordingly without much trouble.. i still would like to swap out my cloth interior for a nice black leather interior and a bunch of other interior BS....i talked to art(lagos) many many times about getting rid of this 7a and asked him his perspective on the 3s swap....his feedback was do your research and learn everything you can while you can, doing your own swap will only help you in the learning process rather then having it sent out...which was what i was planning on doing anyway because i cant afford to have it sent to a shop...plus i have all the tools and resources that i would need to do it....so at first i looked into just head swaps...went as far as almost buying a 4a head from someone on here and a bunch of other stuff...then realized that might be too much work for the $$ and HP goal i would be expecting...so then i looked into turboing the 7a...but still the 7a is almost limited in what you can do to it and just squeezing 200hp out of it was not very satisfying.....i was kind of sketchy on buying a front clip from the other side of the world(hong kong) because theres a million and one things that could go wrong....so i looked into getting a clip that was already shipped into the U.S....after looking and debating i had finaly found the clip i wanted...decided i would buy it the next morning and start gathering parts together for the swap...next morning came around, i go on ebay, and its sold....$HIT!!...so i was stuck with buying the clip from hong kong...paid for it and that was that....i have the st model so i knew i would need a new trans, motor mounts, axles, and a bunch of other stuff....tracked down a GT trans and picked it up...ordered my spec stage 2 clutch from JCBASS7 i believe is his name one here? got that in no time and it looks great...he only put about 2500 miles on it and money is somewhat tight so i just got it from him.....it took the clip over a month to get here but FINALLY i picked it up last wednesday and was pumped i got it in one piece!!...now the fun begins....i will update this thread as often as i can untill my project is done the way i want it...im glad i choose to go with the 3s and im def. looking forward to the completion of this car....my man art has inspired me....the second i saw his car in person i knew i needed to get me one of those..hahha....soooo.....sorry for the novel but im def. excited and i will post up all/any info i can with lots of pics....let me know what you think and any advice is welcomed

picked it up from the warehouse it was sent to...from hong kong it went to LA...cleard customs there then was sent to philly by rail and was basically dilivered to my house...no more then 5 minutes from my house sat my new motor






i caught my man john on the phone instead of working


i pulled the line of the brake booster and @sshole thought it would be funny to push the brake...so thats whats all over my hood...brake fluid.....sweet






johnny hard at work like usual


now these next few are how you improvise when you dont have a cherry picker...this is how we do










almost completey out




and up and out of there!








looking forward to this weekend...hopefully i can pull that trans off of it and put her on a stand in the garage and start the tear down process to replace all gaskets, t-belt, new waterpump and thermostat and whatever else needs to be replaced...like i said i'll update it when i can...time and $$ are the only things workin against me on this one but im siked and def. want it done before spring time rolls around...we'll have to wait and see

This post has been edited by 95st-celica: Oct 15, 2010 - 1:26 PM

good job joe, can't wait til' it's finished!

thanks rico....me too....well the motor is 60% bolted in, i ran out of daylight and it looks like its gonna rain here tonight and into tomorrow...sucks caus i want this thing completely bolted in so i can start with the harness and wireing everything up. i need to source an axle carrier bracket and intake manifold studs/nuts, then the bay will be somewhat complete minues the intercooler, pipeing and all that....im now on the 2 week count down

congrats man, that bay is gonna look great with that motor

awesome work! im loving the Top Secret Gold valve cover. its gonna look sick in that new engine bay!


keep em' coming

thanks guys...well the motor is 100% bolted in...i fought with my rear trans mount for a good 3 hours...but once it fell into place damn was i happy...then the front one gave me some trouble but i eventually got it..now the 3s is exactly where it belongs...sleeping till i juice some 103 octane through her veins and force feed her with 14 pounds of boost(for now )...radiator is back in, i put my heat sheild on..just dumb stuff to get her ready for the harness...which im still waint on, as well as the axle carrier bracket and studs for the intake mani...other then that shes bolted up and ready to go...16 more days..helllllll yeaa..pics as always wil be up tomorrow

This post has been edited by 95st-celica: Apr 13, 2009 - 9:39 PM

Looks great so far cant wait to see it when its done

alright..well the motor is in...TVIS and intake manifold is on..i finially found the bolts that i needed for it at NAPA...Thank God.and while i was there i ordered a set of NGK6097's..they are a step colder then stock...then i went to pepboys and picked up 2 3"-2 1/2" couplers for the intercooler and a can of paint stripper...the wireng harness should be in this up comming weekend and i should be able to fire it up..i still need an axle carrier bracket for the passenger side axle...still dont know what im gonna do about that yet but i have a week to find one...i stripped my driver side fender today and that is going to get resprayed....when i got into the fender bender, the first time i sprayed it i didnt put hardner in the paint and it turned out like complete crap...so instead of putting it back on the car and having it look like **** im gonna respray it to match the car....other then that, nothing much has changed, i put the driver side axle in (Thicker axle then stock which is really nice, Carquest has some good stuff )....and i mocked up my intercooler and all my pipeing...i still have to figure out how im gonna mount the intercooler but i have this week to work on that...pictures are included as always...i THINK this is how i am going to route everything. i have a super small space between my heatsheild, my downpipe, and my fans(i dont know if its an st thing) but theres almost no room to fit my intercooler pipe....plus if i flip the "U" bend it wont be laying over top the downpipe and valve cover so it might stay a little cooler....i dont know...but the pictures are nothing finial, pipes still need to be cut, adjusted, mounted, so on and so forth..but heres the idea




The u bend is not right at all its just on there...but thats the way im thinking of putting it

Thats not going to work..

The fmic is hanging too low. You'll have to hack your bumper if you WANT it like that. The cold piping won't work like that and you'll see when you have the alternator and all the belts back in.. Why put the hot piping like that? Do you intend to make a straight intake set-up?

yea...didnt think about the altenator and what not...but i'll figure something out..i gotta get the rest of the motor complete before i worry about intercooler pipeing...thanks for the heads up though...i dont want it to look butchered...i want it clean, short, and to stay as cool as possiable...i know theres like only 3 way to route it on our cars but...we'll see

Just do what a lot of people do. Route the hot piping u-bend over to the passenger side and cold piping over the intake.. Or to keep it even cleaner clock the ct but I won't know how you are going to mount the actuator.

You got a lot done!
Get the piping figured out and mount that IC this week. Then I can just bring the harness over, flip/extend it, and fire the car up (or the car catches fire, one of the two).

dont you wish it was that easy...haha..anyway...i made some progress this last week or so...my driver side fender needed repainting, so thats stripped and ready, i put in the ecu, a driver side axle, my 3 post wheel, guage cluster, and finially starting to put the wireing harness in with A LOT of help from the man himself. harness looked awesome, thanks again art. so hopefully be the end of this week i can have this thing fully wrapped up,, front mount and pipeing in and almost ready to hit the raod by next weekend..one thing with this is nothing is ever garenteed..lol

this week comming up i'll have more parts commin in to post up


Fender



harness



wireing is a blast



and just chillin


art has no pictures of his car so..i have to do all the work...hes a little too modest but the whip is badass



and before the tint



this week is pound into it and dont stop untill its done week...so more updates to come

This post has been edited by 95st-celica: Apr 27, 2009 - 1:13 AM

everyday im wiring, everyday im wiring, everyday, everyday, everyday im wiring

Looks great, how much u get the leather seats for?

Looking good, i'm hoping to get a 3s by fall and take my time with it like you did, making sure everything is done correct.

Btw carquest does sell decent parts, plus they warranty everything i think.

looks awesome

lookin good so far joe, get art to help ya with the IC piping and you'll be good to go!

well...my knuckles are full of blood, im mentally and physically exhausted, and i smell like $hit...BUT i did get some more stuff done...after a year and a month i FINALLY got my license back...but i really dont want to drive anything except this damn car...so i got the rest of the harness wrapped up with electrical tape, then coverd with plastic tubeing, and wraped with electrical tape again, then put a few more odds and ends on and this is what i got







well...i still need 2 more pieces for the axle carrier bracket, an exhaust, registration, inspection, insurance, put the whole front end back on, paint the driver side fender, and give it a good wash and wax...i am PLANING on having it ready for saterday/sunday night...but we'll have to see

no wayy thats loads of work! Keep up the work its looking great!!

ahh man you dirty the engine bay again! but anyway good work man! i like the way its turnin out. just wait till u drive the thing....