Fastbird's '99 Celica: 3SGTE Swap, Finally got the project rolling!!! Options

[Dr_Tweak]

Well it's been quite a process working through my move down south and into the new shop here at Southern Car Customs, but finally things are settling down and I've been able to get to work on Fastbird's Celica. I didn't have a camera available to show the first phase of work, which was replacing the timing belt, water pump, front main seal, thermostat, rear main seal, clutch, valve cover gasket, cap and rotor, and a few other things. I guess you'll have to just use your imagination for that. The following pics were taken on Tuesday, yesterday I was off, and I'll be back to work on this today.

Also, please excuse the mess since we're still in the process of moving!

Dropping the engine out of the car:



Engine all resealed, with new stage 2 Spec 3S/5S custom clutch set:



Now with the GT tranny removed from the 5S and installed onto the 3S:



And getting the wiring done! Whoo what a mess!



I should be able to post up some more today.

-Doc

This post has been edited by Dr_Tweak: Jul 6, 2006 - 7:26 AM

[Dr_Tweak]

I have thought about that, and I've seen it done a number of times. I don't really like the way it looks, personally, and it "seems" like it would pick up more heat from being directly next to the downpipe on the way up and over the manifold on the throttle body side. That said, in the past I used to go on about avoiding running the piping near the hot exhaust parts, but real world experience has taught me that EVERYTHING under the hood gets extremly hot and the routing of the piping make a very marginal, if any, difference. Since then I've aimed more for going with the most direct route with the fewest bends... so that route you mentioned could be something that I may very will try out in the future.

I personally think that the most ideal route of all would be to use a top-flow intercooler with the inlet and outlet both on the driver's side, and route both pipes on the driver's side of the engine bay, with a clocked turbo (of course ) and a side-feed intake manifold. That would be a very direct route and would also totally avoid the hottest areas of the engine bay. However, those top-flow intercoolers tend to be very expensive, and their size also makes them a little more difficult to mount.

-Doc

This post has been edited by Dr_Tweak: Jul 12, 2006 - 11:18 PM

[jgreening]

routing of the piping (to avoid heat sources) make a very marginal, if any, difference. Since then I've aimed more for going with the most direct route with the fewest bends...

I agree. Glad you came around to the dark side Doc!

clocking the turbo thread

By the way, the install looks great. Keep up the good work. I hope you have adjusted your prices upward so that you are getting fairly compensated for your experience doing these swaps. People who have not gone through a swap themselves (or folks, like me, who have gone through one with a shop that left alot of unresolved issues) do not truly appreciate the value of a turn-key install by an experienced and skilled craftsman.

Jay