MarkGT's 3000GT Twin Turbo Swap, 56k, you just got kicked in the balls Options

[Dr_Tweak]

MarkGT has a '94 3000GT base model. The engine is in bad condition so he decided on a VR4 Twin Turbo swap. He brought his car up to me (Phoenix Tuning, http://www.phoenixtuning.com ) and had a VR4 clip shipped up here, and today I pulled the engine out. Here are some pics for you guys.

The clip:



Everything disconnected...



The growing pile of parts...



It's a tight fit!





Out it comes...









Now I just need to do it all over again with the car, and this install this baby!

This post has been edited by Dr_Tweak: Dec 20, 2005 - 4:20 AM

[BLINKYxMUNKEY]

The front clip looks like it belonged to superman. nicely done tho. should be fun once done.

[JFrost9]

ha, i was thinking the same thing, what kinda crazy patriotic dude owned this front end? That thing is gonna be mean when its done. Ive always liked the 3000GTs. That was my other choice when buying my celica.

[blu94gt]

my friend has a 3000GT base model and converting it to a turbo. Using all stock vr4 parts on his engine plus some goodies, should be fast. those are nice cars, kind of heavy though

[Dr_Tweak]

It appears that the car was originally red, and then was painted blue. And whoever did it did a really poor job, as you can see.

-Doc

[macavely]

damn Dr T... stop making all my friends cars faster then mine.. lol... nice work .. i might have to take a drive up there and have a talk with you ...

[Akimbo]

I don't see the point...I mean...it's FWD to begin with right? And then you're putting an engine like that in? Won't here be traction issues, the VR4 was AWD

[95CelicaST]

There won't be traction issues as long as you don't have an issue with not having traction

[Dr_Tweak]

There won't be traction issues as long as you don't have an issue with not having traction

LOL

Guys, it's no different than a 3SGTE swap in a Celica. Yeah, it came from an AWD car, now it's in a FWD. It won't get as good traction, no. But at highway speeds it will actually be faster.

Mac, come on up anytime, you know I'll hook you up

[dustin15brown]

I was supposed to have a vr-4... still pisses me off to this day...

[x_itchy_b_x]

you dont want one. they break. often. and are a bitch to work on Very tight squeeze in the bay. the vr4's a heavy as hell. but yeah they are rare so that makes them cool also.

[celi_gt_racer]

keep us updated on this swap.... thats gonna be one sweet 3k gt

[Cutrara]

That garage looks warm and toasty... Good luck with the conversion.

[Dr_Tweak]

A few updates that I forgot to post, the first one here was on 2-27: (copied from 3si.org)

Well, I know it's been a long time, since the current 3SGTE swap is on hold while we wait for a new engine block, I decided to finish up trupnoyflava's 3000GT and get it out of the way!

The 3000GT Twin Turbo engine was stripped down and had every seal replaced, along with new timing belt, water pump, tensioner pulleys, intake manifold gaskets, and so on. FULL 120k mile service! Ran into a couple of snags, nothing major. Hardest part of the whole thing was trying to get all the old waterpump gasket material off, what a pain! That was baked right on there, but after plenty of elbow grease it was taken care of. Second was the cam seals, even after removing the valve covers and getting a wrench on the cams, I simply could not budge the bolts holding the cam pulleys on. I had to remove each cam and get it in the bench-vise, and even then it was tough. So that was time-consuming. Lastly, getting the cams lined up just perfect without slipping either way can be a real pain. All in all it went really well though

The engine in various stages of disassembly:



And the timing belt finally all done with new pulleys:



Tomorrow I'm planning on pulling the stock engine and then I'll be dropping this bad boy in.

Also if anyone needs the 60k or 120k service done on their 3000GT, I have taken a full-time position at Truboost Performance in Beaufort, SC, and I'd be glad to help.

And new update as of today:

Well I finally got a chance to get out there and pull the engine







And my signature "Dr Tweak Pose": (Hey, were did my Official Dr Tweak Pose Thread go???)



Tranny removal:



Hey Mark, I think I found where your oil was going...



So, have to bring the flywheel down to get resurfaced, filled the engine mounts this evening so they are drying now, then I'll install the clutch and tranny (after cleaning it out good), and drop this baby in!

-Doc

[vangSTa_celica]

Right here buddy

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...ak%20pose&st=20

[Silver94CelicaOw...]

I have a very warm spot in my heart for the 3KGT VR-4 TT. A buddy of mine has one and was kind enough to let me drive it for a good while last 4th of July. Feels like a big heavy car, but 2 turbos with AWD and Active Aero on the 1st gen. cars makes for a serious rush. Definately a fast car, but fast in a different way than a turbo Celica....looks like that car will be alot of fun once its done.

This post has been edited by Silver94CelicaOwner: Mar 6, 2006 - 12:06 AM

[Dr_Tweak]

Sweet, thanks. I searched forever for it and couldn't find it... guess I just suck at teh interweb...

[snapshotgt]

good stuff doc...sweeeeeettttt

[BBoYRuGGeD]

wow i just noticed this topic...im gunna be test driving that car when it gets back to mark! lol

bboy

[brianforster]

do some tweak magic on that transfer case, haha.


i just remember car and driver going through 6 brand new 3000gt vr4's because of failing transfer cases during their test drives.

[Dr_Tweak]

Yeah the trannys on Mitsubishi's don't seem to be the greatest.

Long live TOYOTA!!! muahahahah!!!

-Doc

[tomazws]

There won't be traction issues as long as you don't have an issue with not having traction

LOL......

[blu94gt]

Yeah the trannys on Mitsubishi's don't seem to be the greatest.

Long live TOYOTA!!! muahahahah!!!

-Doc

EVERY 3000GT I've ever seen has had tranny problems lol.

My friend just converted his regular 3000gt to turbo, just added the vr4 turbo parts from a wrecked vr4and kept the same engine. now he's having tranny problems surprise surprise.

[vangSTa_celica]

That's funny Doc. I searched for "tweak pose" and found it in like...two seconds.

[Dr_Tweak]

That's funny Doc. I searched for "tweak pose" and found it in like...two seconds.

That's exactly what I searched for and could NOT find it. Maybe I was having a senior moment....

[Dr_Tweak]

Tranny all cleaned up:



Pin on crankshaft ground off:



Stage 3 clutch installed, and getting ready for tranny attachment:



Bolting up the tranny:



Engine dropped in:



Walbro pump installed:



I've got the engine started but I'm dealing with a problem with it revving up by itself. More updates to follow.

-Doc

[DG_Performance]

Man i am going to have to do this same thing in a few weeks.... I am getting 2 3000gt motors tomorow and have to build one good one out of 2 cuase they both have different problems with em. I bet the timing belt on this motor is a pain compared to the toyota setup.
I am glad you did this job first so now i know somebody else with mechanical skill i can chat with incase i hit a problem and need a 2nd opinion on it.

[Celica_Kid95st]

Man i am going to have to do this same thing in a few weeks.... I am getting 2 3000gt motors tomorow and have to build one good one out of 2 cuase they both have different problems with em. I bet the timing belt on this motor is a pain compared to the toyota setup.
I am glad you did this job first so now i know somebody else with mechanical skill i can chat with incase i hit a problem and need a 2nd opinion on it.

What r u puttin the engine in? -John

[Dr_Tweak]

Man i am going to have to do this same thing in a few weeks.... I am getting 2 3000gt motors tomorow and have to build one good one out of 2 cuase they both have different problems with em. I bet the timing belt on this motor is a pain compared to the toyota setup.
I am glad you did this job first so now i know somebody else with mechanical skill i can chat with incase i hit a problem and need a 2nd opinion on it.

Sure thing man, hit me up anytime. Also I still have the stock n/a engine here, you can probably get it cheap if you want it.

Got the engine going yesterday after fixing a fuel pump short and a leaking intake manifold gasket, runs great Going to the exhaust shop today and getting some gauges, and a few other things finished up.

-Doc

This post has been edited by Dr_Tweak: Mar 17, 2006 - 7:46 AM

[trd94]

hey doc, is there much of a differance between the n\a & turbo ,my freind has a ls and he would like more power , but i do not know if you can turbo the n\a or if it would be better to swap thanks for any info

[Akimbo]

is it that white one in town?

[trd94]

is it that white one in town?

yes the one with the decals , my buddy owns the chineese food place down town , i am just helping him build it up

[Akimbo]

why would a 3000gt have a sticker that says Nismo then? lol

[BBoYRuGGeD]

oh goody its almost complete right doc? hopefully mark lets me drive it a little down to jersey i'll see u friday night doc

bboy

[trd94]

why would a 3000gt have a sticker that says Nismo then? lol

i do not know that is what i asked him when he put it on ,all he said is he liked the way the sticker looked it is his car so what ever its not the way i would want it but it is not mine........(yet ) .... lol

This post has been edited by trd94: Mar 21, 2006 - 12:01 AM

[Cutrara]

Lol thats like putting an SVT sticker on a Celica. Or a TRD sticker on a Mustang

[juBz86]

holy crap!! i'm guessing this is still a secret around here. looking good

[BBoYRuGGeD]

holy crap!! i'm guessing this is still a secret around here. looking good

i dunno only a few groups in union know marks getting his 3000 back...the rest will be surprised as hell lol

bboy

[trd94]

Lol thats like putting an SVT sticker on a Celica. Or a TRD sticker on a Mustang

i know we also have a 90 supra n/a running around with a pontiac gtp badge on it .......... only in ohio

[Blakout16]

i rocked a honda accord badges for a 4 hour drive down to central oregon... when we got to the desert, i got going alittle fast and i think they came off (2m tape) lol.

[Dr_Tweak]

Heheh

trd94, yeah you can do it either way, you can swap over all the turbo components onto the n/a engine along with the ecu, or you can swap the whole engine. Mark's stock engine wasn't in very good shape (burning oil) so he opted to swap.

The car is totally done by the way, we'll take a few pics this friday I'm sure, when it's picked up, and then I'll update the thread.

See you then Ruel!

-Doc

[JFrost9]

nice i cant wait to see the finished product..is this the last car your swapping before the big move?

[Dr_Tweak]

Nope heheh, got three more to finish up!

-Doc

[trd94]

Heheh

trd94, yeah you can do it either way, you can swap over all the turbo components onto the n/a engine along with the ecu, or you can swap the whole engine. Mark's stock engine wasn't in very good shape (burning oil) so he opted to swap.

The car is totally done by the way, we'll take a few pics this friday I'm sure, when it's picked up, and then I'll update the thread.

See you then Ruel!

-Doc

thanks for te info

[juBz86]

results

[BBoYRuGGeD]

results

go to mark's house

bboy

[Dr_Tweak]

Yeah, I think I have a couple more pics to put up, I'll get to that sometime here... but the car was picked up yesterday and everything's going well with it. And it's very fast.

-Doc