V6 & restoration project thread Options

[snapshotgt]

Quick background:

This project was "started" by a board member from Ohio. After a year of frustrating stories and miss leading information i decided it was time to transfer the my car to Speed-Source to be completed.
Upon arrival to speed-source we soon realized the reality was much worse than first anticipated. The problems ranged from exterior damage, terrible wiring, torn apart interior with missing parts etc etc etc.
I was on the verge of parting out this project. Literally trying to decide between continuing or selling the shell and spare parts. This was a tough time. Especially realizing the wasted year of turmoil and money i had just been dragged through. It was not cool, and I'm still very upset, disappointed and devastated.

So, what's the plan now then?

The plan is already in effect. The swap has started over. The engine is out and being torn down and gone over. After seeing the level of craftsmanship that this project had been subject to, it was the only option.

At this point, I'd like to thank Carl at Speed-Source for being willing to take on this project. They're top quality guys and will make sure things are done right. They've worked on members cars here like jgreening's past 3sgte Celica.

The pictures:
**pictures taken of project after being received by Speed-Source.**

Exterior:







Wiring:







Exhaust welds:







Interior:





Engine bay (nowhere near complete):





This post has been edited by snapshotgt: Aug 12, 2008 - 1:21 AM

[njccmd2002]

just a question, how do you know it will fit, i know somebody did it before, but gosh it amazes me.

is there work involving the engine mounts...
what is the total cost of the swap
is there axle modification
can you turbo this?

Yes i know too many questions, but i bet somebody else is curious as me. There arent many stickies about v6, and i find this amzing....

[snapshotgt]

just a question, how do you know it will fit, i know somebody did it before, but gosh it amazes me.

It fits perfectly fine. Yes, its been done before.

is there work involving the engine mounts...

Yes. Details will be forthcoming in a little while. St205 mounts seem to work, but i think Carl @ Speed-Source might be playing around with that setup.

what is the total cost of the swap

It all depends what you want to do. Tune-up, no tune-up - e153 tranny, or s54 tranny (I would suggest sticking to only V6 tranny personally for gearing and strength - but that's a whole other thread), and of course, labor on all these different types of setups are different. As far as pricing goes, it runs around the 3s neighborhood. Again, it all depends on what you're wanting to do. Solara V6 clips/very complete engine sets run about the same as 3s clips. Some may shake their heads at this "higher than expected" price, but its very hard to find a Solara that has not been processed by the yard for its separate parts. The more parts from that car you can get the better. I was able to get everything down the the fuel pump setup.

is there axle modification

Many people will say something like "st185 axles with mr2 inners and a 3s spacer" (see skicky for details). I had this setup from previously, but Carl does not like it. He is looking at using the stock V6 axles or at least the outer CV's. He will be making some measurements on a friends V6 Solara to determine right setup options.

can you turbo this?

If its a non-vvti engine (like mine is), then yes. But personally, TRD makes a pretty nice S/C for this engine - so if i were to ever add more hp, i'd go SC'd path.

Yes i know too many questions, but i bet somebody else is curious as me. There arent many stickies about v6, and i find this amazing....

Hope this helps.

edit: typo

This post has been edited by snapshotgt: Jan 22, 2008 - 5:58 PM

[jgreening]

If its a non-vvti engine (like mine is), then yes. But personally, TRD makes a pretty nice S/C for this engine - so if i were to ever add more hp, i'd go SC'd path.

Colin, the reviews on the TRD supercharger for the 1mz are mixed with some very knowledgable people pretty critical. You might want to look for posts from Toysrme on mr2.com. Personally, I would go with a custom rotrex setup if I ever supercharged that beast.

Glad to see things are coming along.

- Jay

[snapshotgt]

snap, you are going to have a great celica once this is done. With all you have been through and to finally see this through is remarkable.

respect.

I appreciate it Dustin. Its been a very tough road, but I have learned many things.

Colin, the reviews on the TRD supercharger for the 1mz are mixed with some very knowledgable people pretty critical. You might want to look for posts from Toysrme on mr2.com. Personally, I would go with a custom rotrex setup if I ever supercharged that beast.

Glad to see things are coming along.

- Jay

Jay, thanks for the heads up. I will probably never S/C it, but if i do this is good info. Thanks.