Motor swap in CA Options

[SAE-HI]

I drive a 95 celica st and was wondering what toyota motor will be a direct swap for my 7afe motor. I want something with more horsepower and dont want to do alot of work. any suggestions? i live in cali so the 3sgte motor will not be an option.

[EKAn]

Some sort of v6 should pass smog and be way faster than the 7a but swaps usually require alot of work to be done right.

[SAE-HI]

Some sort of v6 should pass smog and be way faster than the 7a but swaps usually require alot of work to be done right.

Yeah i was just planning on finding a motor thats a direct bolt on to my stock tranny until i have money to fix it up more. I just read a post about the 4age motor being a direct bolt on and producing alot more horse than my 7afe motor. Planning on just swapping that motor in if it passes smog

[EKAn]

yeah a v6 would actually require alot of work and wouldnt bolt up to your transmission since im guessing you have the ST. Ive heard alot of people say that the cost and effort of swapping in a 4a isn't worth the power difference since it isn't much.

[SAE-HI]

yeah a v6 would actually require alot of work and wouldnt bolt up to your transmission since im guessing you have the ST. Ive heard alot of people say that the cost and effort of swapping in a 4a isn't worth the power difference since it isn't much.

yeah im driving the st model. i want to do the 3sgte swap so badd but stupid california laws. So basically if i want to do a swap ill have to take everything out. Do you know if there are any mr2 motors thatll swap in. I wouldnt mind changing it from a fwd to a rwd.

[Smaay]

the problem is you have a 95 and i dont think MR2s came here in 95. you cant put an engine older than your car. so that also rules out the 4A-GE. your best bet is a V6. 3VZ or 1MZ. both of those will bolt up to the stock GT tranny. you can find those fairly cheap.

[richee3]

Yeah, there are some MR2 motors that will go in your car... The 5S-FE and the 3S-GTE. If California won't let you put an older motor in your car, I seriously doubt if they'll allow a custom RWD conversion on a FWD car. By the way, the MR2 may be RWD, but it uses a FWD drivetrain. Your options, as stated above, are virtually limited to a newer V6. Your best bet is to keep your 7A and keep it maintained and running top notch until you can do a V6 swap.

[Smaay]

or rebuild your 7A and turbo it!

[mandrek]

or rebuild your 7A and turbo it!

I second that... though just get an other motor first and rebuild that one up, and then swap it all out when the motor is ready.

[chacha]

aren't there 3sgte in the 94 and 95 mr2? correct me if im wrong....

[mandrek]

yes, but not state side...

[mandrek]

if i recall correctly, 93 was last year sold for the MKII MR2 state side, the 95 j-spec motor is in fact a "gen 4" 3sgte. but there is alot of confusion on that since the "gen" designation between the US-spec 3SGTE's and the J-spec 3SGTE's actually do not line up as per the same year. IIRC the last revision of the 3SGTE was in 98.. unfortunatly for the OP none of this works due to cali regs.

IMO: rebuild and turbo the 7AFE, or look at doing a modern v6 swap... and if he is going to seriously consider a V6 swap, i say do a 2GRFE.. "stock" swapped MR2's are putting down 276WHP!!!!! when coupled to and E153.

the E153 was availible in the celica, so trans mounts and drive shafts will line up, the motor mount will most likely need to be fabbed up,. though i have not seen this done in a 6GC yet.. but he does have options...

OH, wait. sh!t.. forgot cali reg's will not pass that combo since the 2GRFE was not offered with a manual trans, and will right away trow a code for not "seeing" the auto... the only available combination of a manual trans and 2GRFE is in the new evora.. so he would have to get an evora ECU (never going to happen). so either he will have to make some kind of "work around" to not have the lack of an auto throw a CEL, or the 2GRFE is no longer an option...

This post has been edited by mandrek: Jan 5, 2012 - 6:57 PM

[mandrek]

here.. conor over at MR2OC.com was able to get a v6swap done in his MKII to pass full Cali regs!!!!!!!
take a look. here

[JozhGoober]

if i recall correctly, 93 was last year sold for the MKII MR2 state side, the 95 j-spec motor is in fact a "gen 4" 3sgte. but there is alot of confusion on that since the "gen" designation between the US-spec 3SGTE's and the J-spec 3SGTE's actually do not line up as per the same year. IIRC the last revision of the 3SGTE was in 98.. unfortunatly for the OP none of this works due to cali regs.

Actually they did sell MR2's in the US during 1994 and 1995, but they are exceedingly rare.

http://www.mr2ownersclub.com/mr2sc/website...gistrations.htm
If those numbers are correct, they brought less than 300 MR2's over in 1995 and they're all N/A and have the same 5S-FE, and even in 1994 they only sold 250 Turbo's. Good luck getting anyone to part with one, though!

[mandrek]

if i recall correctly, 93 was last year sold for the MKII MR2 state side, the 95 j-spec motor is in fact a "gen 4" 3sgte. but there is alot of confusion on that since the "gen" designation between the US-spec 3SGTE's and the J-spec 3SGTE's actually do not line up as per the same year. IIRC the last revision of the 3SGTE was in 98.. unfortunatly for the OP none of this works due to cali regs.

Actually they did sell MR2's in the US during 1994 and 1995, but they are exceedingly rare.

http://www.mr2ownersclub.com/mr2sc/website...gistrations.htm
If those numbers are correct, they brought less than 300 MR2's over in 1995 and they're all N/A and have the same 5S-FE, and even in 1994 they only sold 250 Turbo's. Good luck getting anyone to part with one, though!

thank you for the correction... so basically for us laymen, not an option though.. that's one of the reasons i just got a 91 N/A after searching for a "good" MR2, the car is going to be a full project car. And primary differences between the 91 and the later revised 93+ is the rear cross member which changed the rear suspension geometry, and some body stuff (US spec). nothing that i would not address during the project.

[JozhGoober]

thank you for the correction... so basically for us laymen, not an option though.. that's one of the reasons i just got a 91 N/A after searching for a "good" MR2, the car is going to be a full project car. And primary differences between the 91 and the later revised 93+ is the rear cross member which changed the rear suspension geometry, and some body stuff (US spec). nothing that i would not address during the project.

The body changes (if you're referring to the taillights and wing) are actually 94+. Most MR2 guys get them from JDM cars, but you're right 93+ has a revised rear crossmember (I have a spare one actually, if you want it), improved synchros in the transmission as well as an optional LSD, and larger brake calipers and rotors. There are some other, slight differences, but they're pretty negligible.

[mandrek]

thank you for the correction... so basically for us laymen, not an option though.. that's one of the reasons i just got a 91 N/A after searching for a "good" MR2, the car is going to be a full project car. And primary differences between the 91 and the later revised 93+ is the rear cross member which changed the rear suspension geometry, and some body stuff (US spec). nothing that i would not address during the project.

The body changes (if you're referring to the taillights and wing) are actually 94+. Most MR2 guys get them from JDM cars, but you're right 93+ has a revised rear crossmember (I have a spare one actually, if you want it), improved synchros in the transmission as well as an optional LSD, and larger brake calipers and rotors. There are some other, slight differences, but they're pretty negligible.

yup yup.. nothing that i would consider " a big deal" when comparing the models. especially when looking to do a project car.. (2GRFE+turbo). as far as the 93+ rear cross member. i plan to make a jig for the mounting locations and attempt to replicate the CM out of aluminum. with a few design ideas that i have been thinking about implementing.. i currently do not have one to make the jig from, but the deuce project will not get started till about two years from now, for a number of reasons. thank you though.

[Smaay]

the 2GR come in the new lotus which has a 5 speed. it will work, plus the E153 comes on the 2000+ camry and solara so that will cover it too

This post has been edited by Smaay: Jan 5, 2012 - 8:45 PM

[mandrek]

the 2GR come in the new lotus which has a 5 speed. it will work, plus the E153 comes on the 2000+ camry and solara so that will cover it too

i thought it was the E351 in the 2002+ camry's?

[SAE-HI]

wow thats alot of helpful information. thanks. i might just rebuild my engine and do some little mods and save up for a different car in about 4 years . do any of you know where i can get the gt four exterior parts like bumper fenders hood and raiser blocks and side skirts? I tried looking on ebay but i dont really trust them.