my 3SGTE progrees thread, (pic. whore warning) Options

[95st-celica]

so after talking with a bunch of people on here and doing tons of research i decided that it was time for a change with the celica.....i have nice paint....and if i want to add on some nice lips around the edges i can do so accordingly without much trouble.. i still would like to swap out my cloth interior for a nice black leather interior and a bunch of other interior BS....i talked to art(lagos) many many times about getting rid of this 7a and asked him his perspective on the 3s swap....his feedback was do your research and learn everything you can while you can, doing your own swap will only help you in the learning process rather then having it sent out...which was what i was planning on doing anyway because i cant afford to have it sent to a shop...plus i have all the tools and resources that i would need to do it....so at first i looked into just head swaps...went as far as almost buying a 4a head from someone on here and a bunch of other stuff...then realized that might be too much work for the $$ and HP goal i would be expecting...so then i looked into turboing the 7a...but still the 7a is almost limited in what you can do to it and just squeezing 200hp out of it was not very satisfying.....i was kind of sketchy on buying a front clip from the other side of the world(hong kong) because theres a million and one things that could go wrong....so i looked into getting a clip that was already shipped into the U.S....after looking and debating i had finaly found the clip i wanted...decided i would buy it the next morning and start gathering parts together for the swap...next morning came around, i go on ebay, and its sold....$HIT!!...so i was stuck with buying the clip from hong kong...paid for it and that was that....i have the st model so i knew i would need a new trans, motor mounts, axles, and a bunch of other stuff....tracked down a GT trans and picked it up...ordered my spec stage 2 clutch from JCBASS7 i believe is his name one here? got that in no time and it looks great...he only put about 2500 miles on it and money is somewhat tight so i just got it from him.....it took the clip over a month to get here but FINALLY i picked it up last wednesday and was pumped i got it in one piece!!...now the fun begins....i will update this thread as often as i can untill my project is done the way i want it...im glad i choose to go with the 3s and im def. looking forward to the completion of this car....my man art has inspired me....the second i saw his car in person i knew i needed to get me one of those..hahha....soooo.....sorry for the novel but im def. excited and i will post up all/any info i can with lots of pics....let me know what you think and any advice is welcomed

picked it up from the warehouse it was sent to...from hong kong it went to LA...cleard customs there then was sent to philly by rail and was basically dilivered to my house...no more then 5 minutes from my house sat my new motor






i caught my man john on the phone instead of working


i pulled the line of the brake booster and @sshole thought it would be funny to push the brake...so thats whats all over my hood...brake fluid.....sweet






johnny hard at work like usual


now these next few are how you improvise when you dont have a cherry picker...this is how we do










almost completey out




and up and out of there!








looking forward to this weekend...hopefully i can pull that trans off of it and put her on a stand in the garage and start the tear down process to replace all gaskets, t-belt, new waterpump and thermostat and whatever else needs to be replaced...like i said i'll update it when i can...time and $$ are the only things workin against me on this one but im siked and def. want it done before spring time rolls around...we'll have to wait and see

This post has been edited by 95st-celica: Oct 15, 2010 - 1:26 PM

[95st-celica]

allright...let me just say this first ((( i have never driven a boosted celica..or a swap for that matter...today art (lagos) came up, gave me a hand, and we got my car running! anyway..he was about to leave and i said dude..get in im going around the block...i have driven 1.8t's my buddys s2k with all kinds of work done, and a bunch of small blocks and big blocks, i took it around the block and finally boosted for my first time in a REAL car...holy ****ing ****! the power that his car..or any 3s has for that matter is just incrediable...my first impression of actually getting to drive one of these things is f-in awesome...i drove it for a good mile, just around the block and back..i got to puch it from 1st into 2nd but that was enough for me to realize that the car is no bitch by any means. it pulls like a mother ****er, and the feeling is just awesome...it really did suprise the hell out of me...so thats just more motovation to get my damn car running right now!!)))

anyway...back on topic...my car finially runs, started it up, everything sounds good, except for the fact i have a few odds and ends still to look after and the usual vac. leaks all over the place..no exhaust..and the ****ty ass top mount...but that will come in time...i wish it would stay light outside for more then 12 hours out of the day..the only reall problem with the wireing that we came across was the speedo is not reading....not that i took it out driving yet but we could see just from turning the key on and off that the needle was jumping...and art informed me that his car did the same **** till he fixed it...so im not to worried about it...it runs, it sounds good for now, and it didnt catch fire!..hopefully i can tighten everything up and take a few videos of getting on it in the next week or so..just to give everyone an idea on how it runs and what not...for anyone planning on doing a swap, or in the process of doing a swap...be ****ing excited....be very excited...caus these things have balls...im just impatient and want it on the road now..but like i said before theres still a lot to be done...anyway...heres the start up video...thanks to everyone whos been following the thread..and this is only the BEGINING of whats to come...enjoy



This post has been edited by 95st-celica: Apr 30, 2009 - 7:46 PM