6G Celicas Forums

I don't own a 6GC anymore, but I am attached to this place, so you guys are stuck with me.



The V6 is a swap that MR2 gurus are doing these days. I suppose when you get a bunch of guys in their 30's and 40's with handfuls of disposable income, this is the result. I know there have been a few V6 swaps into the 6GC, and since the MR2 shares a bit with the Celica, I am making this thread in the hopes that someone on here will find it and get some of the information that they need.

Why I chose the 1mz over a 3sgte

Simple, really. I see the MR2 as a cheap exotic, why not make it sound like one? Power is the same if not a bit higher than the 3s, but it has torque the moment you put your foot down. Good fuel economy, reliable, yada yada yada. It actually gives you more room in the engine bay than the 3S, too.

Why the 1MZ over other V6 options?

Weight, cost, and availability. The 1MZ has an aluminum block. It actually weighs less than the 3sgte. The 3VZ has a cast iron block, and people opt for those if going with a turbo, but I'm not. I have my WRX for turbo shenanigans - this car is meant for reliable enjoyment. The 2GRFE would be incredible - 275whp stock... Only problem is finding one, and cheap. Most places that have them are selling them at more than what my swap will cost me... plus I would need to upgrade to the E153 transmission, turbo axles, hubs, brakes, etc. Just pile on the parts. Seems like a more suiting swap for someone who is starting out with a turbo MR2.

I picked my 1MZ up from another NASIOC and MR2OC board member who decided to go for a Honda V6 swap instead. He pulled this motor out of a 94 Lexus ES300 with 90k miles on it. It ran great, just got t-boned. No sludge, either. Owned by an old couple, this car was just in to the dealership for it's 90K service. If it weren't for the fact that timing belts are cheap, I might just leave this one on there. The guy I bought it from had already gone through the trouble of sourcing a new passenger side motor mount from 4v6 on the MR2 boards to make the swap drop straight in. The ES300 never came in manual transmission, and because of the lack of an automatic transmission in my car, this will throw a CEL. I am still trying to think of ways around this, but it'll probably end up with some sort of EMS.


So I started my list of what I still need to source... after compiling the list I thought to myself, I probably should have thought about this more.

- Custom headers Brad Bedell makes a set for $300, but requires a bit of modification to the runners to not hit the oil filter.
- Flywheel Need to get a V6 flywheel for a Solara. Decided on a Fidanza unit. Why not, right? $310
- Clutch The V6 flywheel is the same diameter as a mr2 turbo flywheel, but my clutch isn't. To maximize the surface area and avoid slipping I need to get a turbo clutch kit with a custom 20 spline disk to mount my S54 to the 1MZ. South Bend Clutch can do a kevlar clutch kit with 20 spline disk for $300.
- Tachometer The v6 sends a different signal than the 5s, so you need to source a v6 tach board from a camry for this. Drops right in to the MR2 cluster, but I am having my stock tach modified and recalibrated. $50
- Wiring I know this is going to be a nightmare to wire, so that is a headache I'm passing to someone else. Dr_tweak wants $630 to do it.... WTF happened to the $300-$400 conversions? Luckily there is a mr2 board member who does the work for $430.
- Exhaust work I have headers outlined above, and already have a Greddy SP muffler, so my exhaust shop needs to build a y-pipe to connect the two. Speculated cost with my discount (I refer A LOT of business to them) is around $200.
- Misc. crap Timing belt, gaskets, fluids, etc. I am also bundling kirkosaurus poly mount inserts under this category. $300

I've got about $1700 left to spend on this trip. Already spent $750 on the engine and everything I'll need from the donor car. I've set a deadline of February 28th to have it completely finished. If it wasn't for this Christmas BS (Now I know why adults hate this time of year) I would be well on my way. No problem.

I'm writing all of this out from my cell phone, so its all a bit jumbled and unformatted, but I've been meaning to post this stuff for a while. When I get to my computer I'll organize it and get some real info going. Until then, gaze upon awesomeness.




Okay, I'm home from work... and now I can reformat.....



Alright, now that is over with... I pulled the harness off of the motor last night.... And it's substantially larger than my 5S harness. This thing almost spans the length of my car! I'm not going to work on it tonight, but tomorrow I am going to go through and label the harness, and try and source some injector clips - the plastic was pretty brittle on mine and I snapped all but one of them.

The guy I bought it from partially unwrapped the harness, so it looks nastier than it really is, but this harness has to weigh at least 30lbs. I'd like to see how much it'll weigh after I get it back.



This post has been edited by 95CelicaST: Oct 2, 2017 - 3:46 PM

dude the first time you have a problem with them will likely be the last time too... just lookin out

Ohh, NICE WORK TOO!!

This post has been edited by cjh4l22: Mar 20, 2011 - 8:32 PM

Tight is good! It just looks like it belongs in their.

i would disagree.
provided they are good quality, and used correctly, they are quite safe.
once they are properly locked in place, and weight is on them, you cant really unlock them without shifting the weight off the stand. (at least thats how my sets work anyway)

Yeah, they would need to have the weight lifted off, and they would need to rise up an inch or so to release from the notch they are sitting in.


Either way - I am sore from this weekend. Bleh.

I'll disagree with your disagreement. But not just for the sake of argument, there is a reason that OSHA and other safety bodies do NOT approve that style of locking mechanism. Its much easier to accidentally dislodge than a pin through style with a spring ball retainer, accidentally hit the handle with hammer, pry bar, your foot, whatever and it can pop loose and down she goes. NEVER have a single point of failure like that, always have a 'tripod of safety' so that should one support fail you have 2 more and the car will at worst become unbalanced and tilt on one stand. I often used a nice stump that I carved a groove into with a hatchet for the pinch weld of the car to rest on in conjunction with the two jack stands. should the one stand fail the log would catch the car and hold atleast one side of it up and I was always mindful to NOT let any part of my body linger under the side that could fall.

An example
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...70117&st=80

scary thread.

mine have both the clicker, and the locking pin.
i dont normally use the pin...maybe i should..lol

Stuff that still needs to be installed/sorted out:

- Ordered a gallon of Redline Lightweight Shockproof yesterday. ~$56.
- My modified tach came in yesterday as well - so when I have it back on the ground I'll pull the cluster and swap it and another fuel gauge in (I have a suspicion that mine is broken).


- Need to figure out a coolant line solution. The driver's side pipe from the radiator needs to go to the passenger side of the motor, and the same for the passenger side.
OR I can connect the lines up to the wrong sides and use a flexible hose under the car to X the lines to the appropriate hard pipe.
- I have vac lines off the intake manifold that were marked Power Steering - but I don't have power steering. What do I need to do with those? Cap them? Reroute them somewhere?


Spoke to the vendor that I got the coilovers from about the brake line bracket hitting the inside wheel well and he said that I should just bend them out of the way, so I'm going to take the coilovers out and hammer on the bracket a bit to make them work. That's the only thing preventing me from putting the car back down on the ground and pushing it into the garage.

This post has been edited by 95CelicaST: Mar 22, 2011 - 11:25 AM

Espresso and white mocha with breve huh? Somehow I saw that coming.

Are those coilovers specific to the MR2? If so, seems like a real production flaw to have those brackets in the way.

I could say an iced grande white mocha americano - no water, with cream... but that actually costs more, as it's rung up as an americano.


I'm from Seattle - I'm a coffee snob. Geographical requirement and birthright as a Seattle native.

Oh, it's not that. Merely, the beverage parallels your persona - a bit of a tough center, but really just surrounded by a lot of white fluffy stuff.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Mar 22, 2011 - 1:40 PM

..... Okay Freud

You're my new favorite philosopher.

I can't wait to see this all finished up. Looking good....



x2

Hacked off the brake line bracket and actually got the car on the ground.


Coils are set WAY too low, so I need to raise the car an inch or so.

Pictures to come tomorrow.

Raised the rear coils up an inch last night. It was so low that I had trouble getting my jack under the crossmember. No coilovers on the front yet. That is what I'll be doing tonight I hope. Then it'll sit level.



It is still sitting weird because the spare is on the passenger side while that rim is off getting resealed.

I ordered an engine lid shock that should be here in a day or so... So no more prop rod for me!

What the whole motor is being help up by.


Just kidding, man. I'm really excited for you.

zipties make the world go 'round

They're what's keeping my front bumper in contact with my fenders. I really need to get the actual OEM part for that. Ha

Lol that's what EVERYONE (my self included ) says...years down the road the zip ties will still be there hahaha.

Your car is looking awesome Matt, that engine looks perfect in that bay.