Phoenix Tuning's New 6gc Convertible Project, Project Stuart Little - What did Dr. Tweak get me into? Options

[PhoenixTech]

Hi, my name is Mouse. I am now working for Dr. Tweak at Phoenix Tuning. I have always been interested in imports, but am new to the Toyota scene.

So, Dr. tweak and I have been talking about me needing another car since me and my girlfriend are new here and currently only have one. Dr tweak wants to provide me with a motivator for the work that we do and give me hands on experience with the joy of being a Toyota owner.

In the middle of the day as we are working on our wiring conversions. He turns to me and says, "Do you want a Celica?". Then tells me that he received an email about a project car that never got completed and needs to be gotten rid of by this weekend. This was on Wednesday. So the guy send us pics of the car. He tells us it is in pieces but everything is there. He originally wanted to do the motor swap to the 3SGTE and had planned on upgrading the suspension.

So on Saturday I meet Dr. Tweak here in Savannah and we go get a trailer from the local u-haul and head off to Daytona Beach, Fl.

When we arrive at Dennis's house I finally get to see what we are working with. I had assumed from the pictures he sent that the front fenders and bumper were removed as well as the engine. This is what we saw when we got there.



We have dubbed this: Project Stuart Little.
Because, as you all now know, everyone calls me Mouse, and Stuart Little drove a convertible:)

Here are the pics as we unload the parts from the car. Dennis didn't just attempt a motor swap, although I'm not sure why he stripped the car this far down, he took out all the harnesses, seats, instrument cluster, disconnected the shock on the drivers front, and removed the headlight and the transmission. The stock motor was still in the engine bay but ready to be removed.



Putting the 3SGTE in the Tundra










Dr. Tweak strapping the engine down





At this point we were unloading everything from the 6GC to load the car on the dolly. Dennis even had the AWD transmission for the 3SGTE.











So as we are unloading the part from the 6GC I begin to wonder what Dr. Tweak has really gotten me into. His eyes are as big as mine as we work together to unload the car and see just how much work there is in putting this back together.



Then its time for the top to come up. It was a lot easier than we thought it would be. There is a switch to unlock the motor for the convertible top in the trunk, so it went up fairly easily.







We were told that the stock motor ran good when Dennis decided to park it and attempt the motor swap. The stock motor never made it out of the car.



With the help of the guys that were there we got the Celica loaded and were almost ready to head back to Savannah. Note the chains dragging on the ground after the Celica and parts were Loaded. When we pushed the car on the dolly I was in it. then tried to open the door only to find that the fender wells on the trailer were too close to open it. All the windows were rolled up and the top up so I had no choice but to climb out the door.



Here is all the parts loaded in the Tundra.



The Stuart Little Project loaded and ready for transport







Dr. Tweak and I with the new 6GC project



So to begin with we are going to reinstall everything including the stock motor and manual transmission to get it back on the road for now. We are going to sort out all the parts that came with this and figure out what is missing for the 3sgte. The turbo was gone, and with all the parts strewn around god know what else. Then we are going to order the parts we need to do the 3SGTE swap.

So I will keep you posted as we decide what else we are going to do to make this a one of a kind build.

[Kotass]

Nice story so far .. looking forward some updates. ;o)

[Nial]

Cool...looking forward to seeing this project take shape

[playr158]

wow, from out of the rubble. This project will fit the name of "Phoenix" tuning.

Look forward to seeing the project.

[Smaay]

im a little jealous, id love to have a clean convertable 6th gen. definatly keep us updated on this project.

[richee3]

Looks like it needs a little TLC, but will go back together fairly easily. You've got the 8 speaker system, I see. Put this car back together and I'd love to have it! Good luck with your project. I'm looking forward to watching this car come back to life.

[Supersprynt]

LOL @ transmissions in the trunk.

[zero07]

This sort of thing is always exciting to me. Keep us updated!

[DEATH]

Cool sh*t

[GriffGirl]

LOL @ transmissions in the trunk.

x2 looks like you guys have your work cut out for you. Also looks like you're in good hands; you'll have the most badass Celica vert that side of the rockies!

[presure2]

looks like a fun project!

[RickJamesBish]

Promising...so this is getting a 3SGTE and a GT-Faux look?

[Fastbird]

OOhhhhhhh.....nice blank canvas to start with there. Should be a great project!

[hockeyplyr24]

i'll be sure to keep on eye on this thread

[njccmd2002]

so was it for free. Thats a nice project

[96bluevert]

x2 on price. Seems like a pretty good project. Looks like lots of parts to work with. Keep us posted!

[CelicaST_CALI]

so was it for free. Thats a nice project

haha he would be one lucky SOB if it was!!

great looking project!!

[Dr_Tweak]

so was it for free. Thats a nice project

Not quite, absurdly cheap would be accurate though

-Doc

[lagos]

Props for lifting a 3s by hand.

[trdproven]

Good work on there Doc on the strap down.

[Dr_Tweak]

Good work on there Doc on the strap down.

Yeah, you know the Dr Tweak loves strapping things down

[presure2]

so what are the plans?
come on, we want all the little details!
hehe...comeon tweak, lets see a monster celica build!!

[Dr_Tweak]

Oh there are a lot of ideas going around the shop, let me tell you. Words have been spoken about things like right hand drive conversions, AWD conversions, GT-Four front engine conversions, etc... Right now Mouse has just moved into the area and doesn't have a ton of money to dump into it, so we'll be taking it one thing at a time. But suffice it to say that he's not going to be happy with just another 3S swapped Celica, he's intent on making it one-of-a-kind.

Actually we'll try to get some pics today, this afternoon we're going to spend some time putting some of the body back together

-Doc

This post has been edited by Dr_Tweak: Dec 10, 2008 - 8:24 AM

[njccmd2002]

hooray for convertible. He needs to give it a curren front end look with a v6 swap and a some hiro rear and sides.

thats unique.

[richee3]

hooray for convertible. He needs to give it a curren front end look with a v6 swap and a some hiro rear and sides.

thats unique.

I like the Curren idea on a vert.

[PhoenixTech]

So last week we made it over to the shop to work on the 6gc. We decided first thing was to reinstall the fenders, hood, seats, and front bumper so it wasn't an eyesore. Plus i wanted to see what it looked like as a whole:) Dennis was kind enough to re-thread all the body bolts back into their original places when he removed the body panels. So the only bolts I had to search out were for the seats, which I found buried at the bottom of the trunk. The front end went together rather nicely.







I didn't install the headlights because they were buried in the car and I will have to take the whole front end apart anyways to reinstall the wiring harnesses.



This is installing the seats. I had to unpack the parts from the car, install the seats and then repack everything back into the car. So i have a good Idea now of what parts we already have.





While we were there I decided to go old school and put the hubcaps back on:)



So Saturday, we will be going and pulling the 5SFE to see if we can get it back in and driving for now. Dr. Tweak is working on ordering me a turbo for the 3SGTE this week. We are leaning towards a mild rebuild (gaskets and seals) on the 3SGTE and getting everything together so we can try to make it a weekend swap.

I will keep you posted.

[D-Man]

Ya'll wanna knock out my vert next?

[presure2]

We are leaning towards a mild rebuild (gaskets and seals) on the 3SGTE and getting everything together so we can try to make it a weekend swap.

BOOOOOOO!!!
comon guys!!
go big!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i wanna see a monster build outta you guys!

[Dr_Tweak]

Baby steps We want to get it on the road and running first

-Doc

[presure2]

Baby steps We want to get it on the road and running first

-Doc

ahh tweak, all your previous swaps WERE the baby steps!


na, im just bustin on ya man, i totally understand.

lookin forward to what youve got up your sleeve.

[D-Man]

Baby steps We want to get it on the road and running first

-Doc

NO!! 2jz NAOW!!!

[Akirad1]

a curren vert would look nice

[trdproven]

doc - just curious why a vert was decided. I mean based on the condition or wear and tears of a vert top, wouldn't it have been better to use a hatch or coupe or was it just to have something different?

[3TST]

Baby steps - We want to get it on the road and running first

Very wise words - see what you got BEFORE you start something BIG

[Nial]

You should get some of those rear subframes for it and make if 4WD...you would certainly have the only 6th gen GT4 convertable in the world then!!!

[Tigawoods]

a very captivating story, kept me on the edge of my seat, i had to keep reading.


looks like a fun project. gl!

[njccmd2002]

doc - just curious why a vert was decided. I mean based on the condition or wear and tears of a vert top, wouldn't it have been better to use a hatch or coupe or was it just to have something different?

the top can be replaced. All that power cruising under da sun!!

plus it was free

[samir0189]

the gt-four was first introduced as a vert prototype at the 1985 tokyo Motor show.



A vert awd 6gc gtfour would be

[PhoenixTech]

So on Saturday Dr. Tweak and I went to work on project Stuart Little. We met here at 11 and went to work. I started by reinstalling the wiring for the chassis.





Meanwhile Dr. Tweak was hard at work welding new motor mounts for an MR2.



Then I reinstalled all of the headlights. I was missing two bolts and found that they were in the bump stops for hood! So the chassis harness and headlights are done.



Now it was time to remove the C.V. axles and the 5S and inspect it before we get ready to reinstall it.



When I had the motor almost out of the engine bay, Dr. Tweak informed me that we were not going to reinstall the motor. I was still jacking the motor up as he was pointing at the block stammering. I said "yes we are, why wouldn't we? This is why we wouldn't







So we opted for the 3SGTE of course. We are ordering a turbo and going with a water to air inter-cooler. The 3S had a Stage 4 Spec clutch with it and were not going to use it. We are going to use the aluminum flywheel and get a staged clutch plate.

I started to reinstall the interior while Dr. Tweak looked over the 3S.



We pulled the plugs to verify the condition of the 3S. It had been outside for some time apparently and has some rust issues we are going to need to deal with. Luckily the motor isn't locked up.

Here is the #3 plug when we pulled it.



At the end of the day we decided that the 3S needs some work before being installed.



It def. needs a rear main seal, timing belt, water pump (while were there), a good engine cleaning, the new injectors, clutch plate, turbo, the axles repacked, the Wiring conversion completed, an exhaust system, and the water to air inter-cooler system built for it. Then we have to finish reinstalling the interior (almost done).

There is plenty more to be done. We will be over there this weekend and get some more done on it. Wish us luck.

This post has been edited by PhoenixTech: Dec 22, 2008 - 10:41 AM

[Dr_Tweak]

A pic I shot of Mouse installing the wiring under-dash parts....



Yeah, the guys at SCC had a water/air intercooler from a 3rd gen 3SGTE so we're going to use that, should be fun!

-Doc

[RickJamesBish]

Looks like this'll be a damn nice project- is the goal a fast "track" car or just a faster car all around? At least you've already got the nice 8 speaker system.

[Cutrara]

which turbo are you going with? haha i love how everyone has cool nicknames.

[Dr_Tweak]

Going to run a regular old CT26 for now, just to get it up and running.

If anyone was curious, the custom mounts being welding in the MR2 are for a 3SGTE swap... MK1.5

-Doc

[lagos]

Did you move to a new shop? That place looks really nice. Who owns it?

[DEATH]

If anyone was curious, the custom mounts being welding in the MR2 are for a 3SGTE swap... MK1.5

-Doc

My favorite

This post has been edited by DEATH: Dec 23, 2008 - 2:30 PM

[Dr_Tweak]

Did you move to a new shop? That place looks really nice. Who owns it?

That's SCC's new shop.

A little off-topic, but just a quick overview of the relationship between Phoenix Tuning and SCC, since I know it gets confusing sometimes:

A couple years back I moved to Savannah and got together with the then-owner of SCC. We operated out of the same building and were all but one business. When the wiring side of the business took off about two years ago, I started doing almost entirely wiring, at another location nearby. All of my tools, welder, etc stayed at the shop and I would come in to help with technical stuff or fabrication or whatever. When people get in touch with me for a swap, the car ends up going to SCC and being handled mostly by the SCC crew. I do the wiring conversion, oversee the swap to make sure it's done satisfactorily, normally do any welding/fabrication that's needed, and take care of any problems that come up. I also do complete swaps by request, or if it's a project that I have a personal interest in. (SCC is a general performance shop rather than specializing in just Toyota like I do.) So, the SHOP that you normally see in my pictures is owned and operated by SCC (Southern Car Customs). Mouse and Prodigy515 work for me (Phoenix Tuning). The guys at SCC (Chris and Ben) generally don't post, though they are registered under "scarcustoms" if I recall correctly. Hope that makes more sense

-Doc

This post has been edited by Dr_Tweak: Dec 23, 2008 - 2:59 PM

[njccmd2002]

so the car i see in the back the black one, is a coupe. I think i know whose is it.


This post has been edited by njccmd2002: Dec 23, 2008 - 5:51 PM

[Dr_Tweak]

Yes you do

[BLINKYxMUNKEY]

Yeah, the guys at SCC had a water/air intercooler from a 3rd gen 3SGTE so we're going to use that, should be fun!

-Doc

Probably from my 3rd gen. lol.
Project is looking really good.

[PhoenixTech]

Thanks guys for keeping up with our progress. This Saturday we will be putting an LSD in an E153 for Prodigy's Celica.

I will hopefully get the interior finished and all the parts should be in on Project Stuart Little. So we got a heat exchanger off a Cobra:) We will have the stock turbo and we have the inter-cooler off a 3rd Gen. New seals and Clutch plate. Once the car is running and tuned, Dr. Tweak and I are making plans for a 3" exhaust. but that will be later.

Like I said I am new to the Toyota scene. So if you have any suggestions for the built I would appreciate the input. If you do have idea's for paint, Body kits or conversions, etc as far as looks or engine mods, please try to include pics of them.

We are going to polish the all the aluminum on the block and trans before we reinstall them and clean the engine bay.

[RickJamesBish]

If you're going with a custom paint, do this. Beautiful color. Cherry-type red at it's lightest part, changes to almost black depending on sunlight.



This post has been edited by RickJamesBish: Dec 24, 2008 - 11:54 AM

[D-Man]

Dude, that color is photoshoped

[njccmd2002]

yeah but looks nice.

[RickJamesBish]

Dude, that color is photoshoped

No wai, I could've sworn that was my car's real color when I drove it five minutes ago. Those rims are fake too? WTF son???!!11!!1?!1!1

[njccmd2002]

any News?

[Dr_Tweak]

Yeap

This past Saturday we worked on it as well as the E153 swap into Prodigy's car (see thread soon to be published). I've been ranting for the past year or so about how sick and tired I get of getting covered from head to toe with grime and oil and everything. This car was covered pretty well as usual, and I wasn't looking forward to getting covered in it yet again. So, I finally bit the bullet and bought us a pressure washer!

Here's the before and after pics:















Then it was on to replacing seals/gaskets/etc, plus cleaning the engine up.







Mouse took the alarm out of the car and installed it on my toolbox

[lagos]

Looks like the previous owner neglected the oil changes a bit.

[Dr_Tweak]

Yeah, this engine has been sitting around for quite some time too, which I'm sure didn't help things. There's a wee bit of surface rust on the cams.

-Doc

[njccmd2002]

woowoo, what did you use to spray that thing down.... Just water?

nice nice nice, clean...

[Dr_Tweak]

Applied some "crud cutter" detergent and then sprayed it down with high pressure. Took a little longer than I expected but yeah, it's as clean as a whistle right now

-Doc

[Jaws4God]

wow looking great!! love seeing the progress!!

[Terzin1]

my god dude. You have some serious dedication! This is awesome.

[Smaay]

hey Doc, what kind and how much was the pressure washer. i need to get one. im doing too many engine replacements. it would work well to wash engine blocks and heads out.

[playr158]

hey Doc, what kind and how much was the pressure washer. i need to get one. im doing too many engine replacements. it would work well to wash engine blocks and heads out.

www.homedepot.com
www.walmart.com
www.lowes.com
www.sears.com
www.harborfreight.com

[Dr_Tweak]

hey Doc, what kind and how much was the pressure washer. i need to get one. im doing too many engine replacements. it would work well to wash engine blocks and heads out.

Got this one at lowes, it was on clearance because it was missing a few things, but I was able to put everything together for a pretty decent price. For this record this is a 2500psi gas unit.

-Doc

[RickJamesBish]

This project is shaping up nicely...better be a fantastic end result out of this one.

[Dr_Tweak]

It's going to be a slow burn, let me put it that way

-Doc

[97celiman]

update?

[Dr_Tweak]

Didn't get to work on it this Saturday, but I did get some cool parts in... I'll take some pics and post them up in a little bit

[95st-celica]

pressure washer ftmfw! i love them things they work great...awesome thread...i would love to do a 3s vert someday...looking forward to seeing more progress...keep up the good work guys...white is going to look nice

[Dr_Tweak]

Alright here you go, I think these pics pretty well speak for themselves



Garrett high-density core....



-Doc

[RickJamesBish]

GT2! Sick. Or are you taking a stab at a real GT-4?

[m0dd3d1]

...Mouse took the alarm out of the car and installed it on my toolbox

lmmfao!

Slow burn is the way to go anyways, you want that anticipation to just kill! Awesome work, definitely going to keep this thread in my radar!

[Batman722]

Alright here you go, I think these pics pretty well speak for themselves



Garrett high-density core....



-Doc

stock cobra heat x and cobra/lightning pump
Steff (hurley97) uses both of those on her car. They work perfect with her set-up.

[PhoenixTech]

Friday is the day, were going to call it an early week so we can work on Project Stuart Little. I still have the interior to finish (and clean), the wiring to convert, engine accessories to install. We got the turbo, turbo manifold, clutch, and down pipe, as well as all of the rest of the parts are in:) Everyone is buzzing about body mods and what other upgrades to add. which makes it even more fun for us to see it come together.

[97celiman]

update?

[PhoenixTech]

Ok, so we didn't make it over there this weekend. I was sick and Doc had other things to take care of. So i will let you know when we are going to work more on it.

[soulshadow]

wow nice, nice so are you guys using the stock ECU for the 3S or are you guys going a different route in terms of Engine management?

[95celgt]

ITS BEEN A WEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!! I demand update!~!!!

[Dr_Tweak]

wow nice, nice so are you guys using the stock ECU for the 3S or are you guys going a different route in terms of Engine management?

Going to be using the stock 3S ECU for now.

ITS BEEN A WEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!! I demand update!~!!!

Well, unfortunately Mouse had to move back to Alaska due to some family issues that came up, so he is no longer with us (although you will likely still see him posting from time to time under the username "Mouse"). So the Stuart Little project is mine now, and I DO plan on getting everything together shortly, so stay tuned for some exciting updates

-Doc

[95celgt]

dammm sucks to hear that....well make us convertible owners proud Doc!!!

[Smaay]

oh thats unfortunate. look foward to the final project

[njccmd2002]

so doc, how much HP and torque can the vert handle without damage to the frame. Is it true, that too much HP can damage the frame.

[lagos]

Wait, what? Tweak is actually going to OWN a swapped car?

[Dr_Tweak]

so doc, how much HP and torque can the vert handle without damage to the frame. Is it true, that too much HP can damage the frame.

I guess in theory, but that would take an enormous amount of power AND traction.

Wait, what? Tweak is actually going to OWN a swapped car?

x 1000

I guess you won't be able to hold that against me anymore huh Art?

-Doc

[lagos]

Damn it!

[easternpiro1]

hey congrads doc! lol you finally got a 6gc! I remember you telling me a while ago you were going to get one

[vile_v]

you are a serious inspiration to us verty owners who one day dream of having a 3sgte in our own cars! dreams are achievable, keep up the good work!

[IMTech1]

I will be posting under I.M.Tech so I will be on here.

[WannabeGT4]

Looking good. Let me know how you connect your W2A intercooler to the 2nd gen 3S throttle body and where you mount your cobra heat exchanger. I've got the same setup but haven't had time to install it.

[_Jim_]

Looking good. Let me know how you connect your W2A intercooler to the 2nd gen 3S throttle body and where you mount your cobra heat exchanger. I've got the same setup but haven't had time to install it.

For connecting the Stock Intercooler to the GEN2 throttle body you can buy an ATS throttle Body Inlet, or make your own. I believe the stock flange is Aluminum, so cut off the existing bolt flange and have a 1" long 2.5" diameter aluminum pipe welded on. If you don't plan on making your own, they can be purchased here
http://www.atsracing.net/ats_racing_throttle_body_inlet.htm



For reference this is the ATS throttle body inlet next to the Stock GEN2 throttle body inlet. The stock GEN2 throttle body inlet cannot be used in its stock form because of the "funnel shaped" inlet.



The reason you cannot use the stock GEN2 throttle body inlet is because it needs to be cut down to an 1" in cylinder length, and you wont be able to get a good seal with the taper it has (that is why the people who are making there own are welding on a section of pipe). You will also need to trim your reducer coupler on BOTH ends (keeping the transition in tact) to make it fit in between the throttle body and the intercooler. Here is a picture showing how much of the ATS throttle body inlet needs to be cut.


Picture and details done by Califcarm over on mr2oc.com

Now buy yourself a 3" to 2.5" reducer coupler, trim it to fit as stated above, and you are good to go.

[WannabeGT4]

Easy enough. I've got an RC Engineering enlarged throttle body and aluminum inlet so I should be good to go then. Just need the reducer. I thought the turbo outlet to intercooler inlet needed changed as well though.

[_Jim_]

well it does. The GEN3 and the GEN2 have the turbo in 2 different locations. The GEN3 puts the turbo closer to the transmission. You need to cut the "stub/pipe" coming off the intercooler that heads towards the turbo. Cut it about 3/4 on inch away from where it comes out of the Intercooler because this is still very straight and wont give you any trouble when rotating the second half/part. Now that you have your turbo inlet side in 2 piece rotate the piece you cut off until it lines up with the turbo, and re weld.

[Dr_Tweak]

Sorry for the delay in posting, I've been busy every weekend. Today I decided it was time for Dr Tweak to do a little work on his own car

First thing, I had to get organized. The interior of the car had a lot of pieces installed by Mouse but there was still a lot to do. There were all kind of parts packed into the car and it was a mess. I cleaned everything out and organized all of the parts. Found a lot of things that I am going to need Then I vacuumed the whole car out real good.





I figured out why the seats had been removed, by the way. While vacuuming the car I kept saying to myself, "Wow, this carpet is in REALLY good shape!" I couldn't figure out why it looked so new, until I realized.... oh. It is brand new!

Then it was time to turn some attention to the exterior, along with getting some of the many parts out of the way. I installed the side skirts, the fender well covers, tightened up all of the suspension parts that were loose, and installed the rest of the lug nuts. It's starting to actually look like a car now





I need to figure out how to fix this.



Next I went to finish the timing belt install and replacement of the seals and gaskets. As I gathered and looked the parts over however, I realized how very dirty everything was. I'm very particular about everything being clean so, I just had to do something about this. Here's the before pic of the valve cover.



And about an hour later.





The water pump outlet.





I'm working on the intake manifold now, should have the pics for you tomorrow if all goes well. I'm helping Prodigy with his E153 install but I'm going to try to get some time to work on my car too, if so I'd like to get the engine all put together, ideally including the manifolds, turbo, and maybe even the transmission bolted on. Stay tuned.

-Doc

[96bluevert]

I need to figure out how to fix this.



-Doc

You need to replace the whole window/vinyl that goes right behind the outer vinyl...At least that's what I had to do

Looks like you guys are making some progress, looks good!

[njccmd2002]

The water pump outlet.




-Doc

ok, did you sandblast, or metal brush or what? whats your secret.

[92-gt]

^x2

[Dr_Tweak]

My secret! Well, wouldn't you like to know! LOL j/k. I used a wire-brush wheel mounted to a grinder

So today I got a little more work done. First I completed the timing belt install, and replaced the valve cover and gasket.



Something else I found, the injectors were individually bagged and had new o-rings on them. I suspect that they have been rebuilt.



Then installed the TVIS and intake manifold...





And then, the exhaust manifold, turbo, water and oil inlet/outlet for the turbo, downpipe, etc...







Note the MK4 Supra and AE86 in the background



-Doc

[Jaws4God]

wow nice! i want that supra! hehe

[lagos]

Why are you using that piece of junk manifold?