Celica - Prelude, Questions about speed differences. Options

[nObOdy]

Hey guys -

Alright - im not sure if anyone knows but im looking for a celica to buy and once i get it i am going to swap in the 3s-gte engine into it, irregardless.
Ive been getting some pressure from some different people in my family to make sure i look around before i get my heart set on the celica.
the only thing that bothers me about the celica is the headlights.. they are not my favorite at all, but i love the rest of the car and of course, the 3s-gte swap will be FAST. which is what im looking for a cheap fast car. Anyhow
so the topic of a Honda prelude popped up 4th or 5th gen

Basically the honda prelude has a vtec head and it puts out around 200 bhps the car weighs 2900lbs
I like the look of the honda - also it would not be a turboe'd engine and i know that would ease my mothers sufferings a little bit - but its not a big deal
anyhow so i joined a honda forum (sucks ass compared to here) and have been asking the guys the same questions im asking you guys now
the response i get from them is kind of typical but i was hoping you guys could fill me in on what you thought

Which is faster 94-99 celica gt with 225hps second gen 3s-gte swap OR
91-02 honda prelude with honda vtec sporting 200hps
?

Any ideas - or technical differences that could be outlined for me would be great.
Remeber - all that i am looking to do is outrun my friends Mazda MX-3 GS which has 200 hps and is light! 2600lbs (maybe less)

Which car would be more reliable? I am leaning towards the Celica for several reasons - one i love how the car looks from the side - similar to a supra (same swoops over the hatch) I love the idea of the 3s-gte engine's speed - also No One Owns A toyota Celica where i live! No ONE! i have not seen one but then again i live in montana.. so anyhow
and i see preludes all the time..
anyhow - if you have an opinion def voice it, but dont just state it.. back it up with supports. Also it must be in MLA FORMAT 12pt font 1.5 pages double spaced due monday.
bah sorry school crept in there.
thanks in advance
later
nobody

[boosted_K2]

MR2 - Midship Runabout 2-seater

not many turbo motors live 196,000+ miles without needing a major overhaul... and ESPECIALLY if they are modded. a turbo is supposed to be rebuilt every ~60,000 miles... turbo rebuilds cost around 500 + labor fees, and can total around 700 bucks on average if you send it out to a source like majestic turbo. only one car i know of has pushed severe HP numbers on an original motor, and as most people who do alot of 3sgte research know, im talking about hyde... and that motor is 1 in a million, ive never heard of any other 3sgte motor making it 200,000 miles under the conditions he puts that car though, his maintanence routine is borderline obsessive, and he knows how to keep that thing running (though i do think he deliborately killed it at the end of last season)

my point is "reliable" depends on who you are buying it from, and what they did to it... my 1997 Celica i purchased in 2001 had 54,000 miles on it when i purchased it from a dealership... within a year and a half i had to have the transmission rebuilt AND the motor rebuilt due to unrelated problems.

as for my "almightly 3sgte" in my MR2, i had to replace the turbo on my MR2 within 6 months of owning it when the previous owner showed me receipts of the turbo being rebuilt no more than 15k miles ago... the wastegate went bad on it and also i think the bearing was binding up. i also had to replace a cracked valve cover gasket, the speedgear broke in the transmission and i had to replace that, the oil drain plug gasket was leaking, and one of the bracket clasps for the shift linkage fell off as i was leaving a gas station to go up to school. i ended up driving 4 hours that day with only 1st, 3rd, and 5th gears, no reverse. and im just mentioning all the motor/trans related problem maintanence ive had to do, that doesnt include all the preventitive maintanence and improvements ive made on this car within the last year and a half ive owned it... and all this on a motor that was supposedly completely rebuilt 15k miles prior to me purchasing it (and i know for a fact all the dates and milage because i have all the receipts)... all im saying is the name "toyota" is only half the equasion to a reliable car


if you are just looking for something "quick" to beat your buddies cars and dont really have a specific purpose in mind besides driving it from A to B and dicking around on weekends... you are lining yourself up for way too much trouble trying to perform a swap... i will tell you and those who have done these swaps will also tell you, 75% of the fun is the build up process and getting dirty and doing it yourself, only 25% is driving it afterwards thats why so many people who have such radical cars usually dont keep them for very long... they will build them, drive them for a little while, and sell it or tear it down and start over.