Poorman's 3S swap, 1st Gen 3S into a Undeserving 95 ST Options

[ZGear]

Hello, my name is Ger aka ZGear from the Mid-West. Haven't really responded to this forum in all the years I've joined. Though I have supported this site in Minnesota with my 6gc passion.

My initial plans were to save up and buy a blacktop 4a, but in doing so I managed to come across a good deal on a 1st gen 3sgte locally. Whole motor without tranny and a few extra parts for a shiny nickel.

My car, stock as ever for about 5 years.



Then an exterior renovation in 2007



Also an engine face lift



This is how she sat for half a year with a case of bad crank bearing.



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Now for the good stuff:

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BCCentaur and associates: "Blizzard Tuning"



Sorry, wasn't able to do the signature Dr. Tweak pose..... , but it is shiny!
Not shown: deleted AC, power steering, and egr.



7afe Part-out time!



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What will be going in........ Da Da Dum Dum



1st Gen 3sgte with a TRD low comp head gasket. Comes with a 6GC converted harness for a GT, now all I need is motor mounts, tranny, intercooler, bov, downpipe, seals, etc......

This will be my first turbo motor and a good learning experience before I play with the big boys. I'll try to update along with the progression.

[OOBE]

Good luck with it, brother. No worries about the 3S being a GEN1. When you replace internals, turbo, and supporting mods, it's all fair game. Hell, I'm worried about my GEN3. I keep reading everywhere how the block is weaker than the previous generations. I compared them and it's indeed thinner. I've read how it cannot hold 600 HP before cracking (seems like BS to me, though), which is my goal and all my mods except the turbo are capable of much more than that.

Are you leaving yours stock?

[ZGear]

Good luck with it, brother. No worries about the 3S being a GEN1. When you replace internals, turbo, and supporting mods, it's all fair game. Hell, I'm worried about my GEN3. I keep reading everywhere how the block is weaker than the previous generations. I compared them and it's indeed thinner. I've read how it cannot hold 600 HP before cracking (seems like BS to me, though), which is my goal and all my mods except the turbo are capable of much more than that.

Are you leaving yours stock?

Thanks for your kind words. I've been beat up years after years about how I kept saying that the 7afe was a great motor. I literally pushed my motor for the past 7 years and then 2 years ago with bolt-ons it finally gave way. With decent maintenance the 7afe is like an old dog hanging on with it's life. It's common sense that the 7afe is not good with straights, but it's fair games around the twisties. Like my buddy Lou always saying, it's a stock car with a driver mod.

So now going to the 3sgte, and chosen a 1st gen, I've had people telling me why not a 2nd gen. I love the 7afe and I know I will love a motor with 100 more horsepower, plain and simple, and also it was a deal I couldn't pass up. I've considered to run stock for atleast 6 months and see if any gremlins shows up. I'm just trying to get the motor up and running and don't wanna spend extra dollars just to find that the motor is bad on the first start-up. It'll just be a good tune-up.