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[Mannyrav]

Hey guys its been months since I posted my first post. I just wanted to say how helpful this website has been with my car. At first, I wasn't too crazy about my little 90 hp st...Before I bought the car I heard of the celica's reputation of being a 'girly' car. After alot of research, I discovered that everyone was referring to the 7th generation lol..

Point Im trying to make is that I'm very proud of having my car now..its rare to find any 6th gen celicas where I live, it's a one of a kind car and I'm glad with that (all i see around here is hooked up civics, ect). But I fell in love-not with my st, but with what I want to convert it to- a Gt-Four.

I'm COMPLETELY obsessed with the Gt-four, I love everything about it. And I'm looking forward to convert my car into one..I read that it couldn't be bought here, that its a car that has to be bought and shipped from Japan. So I decided to convert my st, that'll be a cool project eh?

However, I read alot of articles here..but I wasn't able to find any sources as to where to buy the necessary parts for the transformation, so if you guys can help me out with that I'll greatly appreciate it.
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I'm already saving up for a 3sgte engine, I looked for them on ebay. If there's anywhere else that anyone recommends to buy this engine feel free to post it here.

I need to know where to buy the gt4 body kit, and where to find the hood fenders and spoiler.

That's all I'll be working on for now- I want to make my St look like a stock Gt-Four Cus I haven't seen ANY in my area, so I'll be the only one with one.

Also, how much $$ am I looking at for these things? I'm kinda in a tight budget and if there were any way to get them cheaper than what they actually go for I'd do it- even if its used (as long as its in good condition)

Thanks in advance!

[99GT]

$4000 for 3SGTE swap.
$1000 for misc stuff.
$$$ for mods.

$1500 for GT-Four LOOK, $$$ for paint.

$$$ for AWD.

And you need to read the stickies!

[cHinaman727]

are you doing the swap by yourself?

it really depends on how much work you plan on doing yourself vs. shop labor.

search and stickies!

[Mannyrav]

yeah sorry i didnt know what section to put this in...since its multiple questions im asking.

as far as the swap, i dont know how to do an engine swap, but im learning more and more about my car so soon ima start getting under the hood and start learning it..so im hoping that by the time i have the money saved up for my car i would have learned how to do an engine swap..cus i know the labor when doing it professionally is expensive.

but wow...im looking at 7 grand for the entire conversion? i thought it would be cheaper than that

[NaderG]

yeah sorry i didnt know what section to put this in...since its multiple questions im asking.

as far as the swap, i dont know how to do an engine swap, but im learning more and more about my car so soon ima start getting under the hood and start learning it..so im hoping that by the time i have the money saved up for my car i would have learned how to do an engine swap..cus i know the labor when doing it professionally is expensive.

but wow...im looking at 7 grand for the entire conversion? i thought it would be cheaper than that

Start with the engine , do the work yourself. i want to do a swap but my dad dont want me too and i dont have any time or place to do it . i also started out as a noob and i didnt know anything about it BUT there is soooo much Info on this website and other that make the engine swap SOO easy , and you have tons of help with troubleshooting over here . once you do the engine swap and feel the power , you will get motivated to finish the GT4 front end conversion which costs about 1300-1400 and like 800 more if you want the projectors and clear high beams. AWD is a bit too much work and money and you never know what u will end up with , i think you will be ok with just the 2 front wheels doing the work

[95CelicaST]

Most people will tell you to set aside 4K for the 3S swap. More like 6K if you will have someone else do it.

The GT-Four hood, bumper, and all the little bezels and such for the bumper will cost about 1400 from Toyota World. Then a bit more for paint. Then you have to get your hands on some spoiler blocks and get those painted...

A full AWD conversion will be very very expensive unless you have someone who specializes in it. The entire rear subframe needs to have mounts fabricated for it to fit... and if the rear differential is off by a little bit it can cause excess wear and will probably break.

BUT!

I can't say for everyone, but I know I didn't know too much about engine work and all that jazz, but after spending many many hours underneath, standing over, and literally sitting in my engine bay I have learned a lot and I feel comfortable about a large undertaking such as an engine swap.

Start saving up your money, buy a ST205 front clip, and dive on in. Since you have an ST it might be more beneficial if you buy a halfcut, so you get the motor mounts and any other pieces that need to be changed over to fit the S-series engine.

[Mannyrav]

sorry to bother but does anyone know where i could buy the gt4 bodykit? ive searched the site but all i found were bodykits MADE for the gt4, but not a st to gt4 conversion bodykit. also i need help finding the hood and spoiler. would toyota world be the best place to get these things?

[99GT]

There is no body kit. You have to buy OEM GT-4 parts.

[95CelicaST]

Look in the exterior stickies for a link to the part numbers for the GT-Four front end conversion.

[frosty]

Nothing comes cheap in the things you want. (that's why you don't see it too often.)

As for wanting to get all the gt-4 parts (motor and awd system) I would suggest that instead of e-bay, to get the a front clip from an importer and ask to get the rear diff. and accesories with it. Some places will do this but may WILL take time and money.

We all want awd (at least I know I do! ) but you need to ask yourself, do I really need it. Me personally, I think awd should be had for cars with high hp or if you have major snow where you live. Where if you only want 300 hp then just get the turbo motor and body pieces. With that you would be greatly satisfied. There are plenty of people on here that's doing it this way and are loving it!

I'm not trying to knock you down from your dream, but just cuz we see cars like this done in mags and they say it's their daily driver, doesn't mean it's practical. These people have the money to spend on the build, the gas, and the maintinance.

Unless you got some major hook-ups, and can do alot of the build yourself, then expect over $10,000 for this stuff to be done right. (that's a LOW guess too)

I seriously think you should just sit down and think of what you want to spend and what YOU want.( not what you think will get you respect and envyed)

No bashing, just trying to help out

This post has been edited by frosty: Oct 17, 2007 - 10:14 AM

[94celigts]

Or sell your car and wait to import a real GT4. ?? if you can wait

[Mannyrav]

You're not bashing, I understand completely. Better to hear it from you guys straight up and honestly than finding out on my own and being greatly disappointed. I don't want a hooked up maxed out car, I don't plan on doing anything but driving it. But I do want my car to look nice and I want to have fun driving it. The reason why I wanted to do the GT4 conversion was because I loved the way the gt4 looks, and I needed a new engine anyways so I was recommended to get a 3sgte.

But if it's too expensive then I don't think I'd go for it..I'd end up coughing up 5x more $$ than what the car is actually worth. But I still want my car to look and drive nice, without spending too much money.

I was thinking going a cheaper route, maybe going for an invader body kit, get my car lowered, buy a new spoiler, get some new tires and rims, and a new paint job. You guys think that'll be nice? I mean, it shouldn't be expensive, the invader bodykit isnt even 1 grand I think.

As far as the engine goes, what do you guys recommend that is still a decent engine but isnt as costly as the 3sgte? Do you think the stalk 90hp toyota engine will ride nice if I threw a turbo kit on it with an exhaust system? And how much will this engine brand new cost me? I also want to do an auto to manual switch. I just want to work on my celica, its an exciting thing to look forward too...without going past 5 grand in mods.

This post has been edited by Mannyrav: Oct 17, 2007 - 1:06 PM