94 GT liftback performance upgrades opinions? Options

[DouglasJaneway]

Hey guys,

So I have a 94 liftback with the 5sfe and an auto trans sad I know. So what I need to know is, can you do the 3gte swap with an auto trans? Or do I HAVE to do the trans swap too? If I have to do the trans swap I want some opinions on what the best option is to keep the auto and still get an HP bump. I've been looking at shaving the heads, new cams, a block bore... let me know what you think! I'm a college student, so I don't have a million bucks, but I would spend a couple thousand.

This post has been edited by DouglasJaneway: Oct 1, 2012 - 9:56 PM

[Special_Edy]

The 3S-GTE might be a little too much for the auto transmission in the GT. Your looking at bare minimum $1500-$2000 if you just bought a 3SGTE, wiring harness and ECU then swapped them in without rebuilding anything and doing all the labor yourself. So you probably want to add $500-$2000 on top for rebuilding and replacing necessary parts on the salvage engine.

Another option would be the 1mz, bare minimum price doing all the work yourself is $500-$1000(supposing you find a really cheap totaled donor car)Of course there are odds and ends and you may want to refresh/rebuild the engine before you install it. I dunno if the 1MZ would be easier or harder on the transmission, its got significantly less HP than the 3S but boo-koo's more of low end torque.

Anyways, my point is that if you invest thousands in an engine than you will probably need to invest hundreds into your transmission, upgrading the auto or swapping in a manual.

This post has been edited by Special_Edy: Oct 2, 2012 - 5:36 PM