3rd Gen. Celica Engine Swap?

[v8mustang07]

Hello Celica forums!

Alright, so my friend has a 1985 Toyota Celica GT. (It has that latchback thing).
Ok so from what I can tell this is a really cool car. 4 cylinder.

Now I'm wondering, is this car RWD? It says 1985 on the door, looks like a Trueno. It says '85 so I'm guessing it's RWD.

Now if it is RWD, I think getting this car a new engine would be sick. What would be a good donor engine? Can I try to build the engine on my own? Could someone ball park the price range?

What do you think this car needs to get it running in tip-top shape?

I really hope this forum will give some awesome info

Here's a pic of the engine.



P.S. I posted the same thing on *************.com, which forum is better?

[Phatfantom68]

To answer your question, yes it is RWD.

As for engine swaps, you have to judge how much work you're willing to do and how much you're willing to spend. In these cars, there's tons of possibilities, everything from just a turbo on the 22RE all the way to a full 1UZ Lexus V8 swap, if you're really ambitious.

[v8mustang07]

This car has a lot of miles on it. 220,000 to round it. Do you think a turbo would be a smart decision? Can this old engine take it? I'm willing to work on this car, I think it would be fun to work on it over the summer, but the money thing is a little sketchier.

Any advice on engine swapping? Good donor engines, etc.


thanks in advance.

[NgoFcukinWay]

I think with the majority of the RWD Celicas, you can toss in a 1GGTE, 7MGTE, or a 1JZGTE from the A70 series of Supras. I think you might be able to squeeze in the 2JZGTE from the MK4 Supra as well.

[89CelicaGTTurbo]

If money is the issue, I would go with a 7MGTE. its pretty simple and easy to find parts for. But if you want to keep the stock engine, i would not recommend an type of mods due to the high mileage. if this car going to be a daily driver or a project car?

[v8mustang07]

A daily driver. So I need a semi-conservative and reliable engine, but still some guts uner the hood

Where do I start looking for parts? And can anyone ballpark how much money it would take?

[Phatfantom68]

Originally Posted by v8mustang07

This car has a lot of miles on it. 220,000 to round it. Do you think a turbo would be a smart decision? Can this old engine take it? I'm willing to work on this car, I think it would be fun to work on it over the summer, but the money thing is a little sketchier.

Any advice on engine swapping? Good donor engines, etc.


thanks in advance.

You're probably going to have to rebuild the engine if you're going to do a turbo. I know a place called LC Engineering that sells a turbo kit and other performance parts for the engine. It's gonna cost you though.

I see no point of swapping an engine too if you're just going to rock the car as a daily driver. I guess if you want something mild but with some power, a 5MGE from a Celica Supra would be a pretty easy swap.

Other than that, just keep the 22RE, even though it may be slow, it's a solid engine if you maintain it properly.

[89CelicaGTTurbo]

Yeah, just stick with the engine. it'll get the job done, the moment you start messing with its you'll lose your daily driver from time to time.

[TubRog5]

I say. You might as well just do a swap. I'm sure you've noticed that you have problems climbing hills. Go with the 7mgte. With the stock engine swap alone, you might even find you like driving the Celica more than your Mustang. Go to celica-gts.com and do some research and ask questions. They're very helpful there. The other best engine option would be the 3tgte. Thats the engine Toyota had in their Celica's in Japan. I can see why they didn't bring it here to North America. It would've competed directly with the Celicasupra and probably outrun it too.

[stepho]

If its a daily driver then keep it simple.

Purchase a 2nd hand 22R or 22R-E.
Have it reconditioned.
Even better, put a 20R head on it.
Install a mild cam.
Once all this is done, install the engine on a weekend (if you bought a 22R instead of a 22R-E then use the EFI bits from your old engine).
Drive for years with no problems.

When you have more money, add a 2" exhaust with an aftermarket exhaust manifold, some lower and stiffer springs, quality shocks and decent tyres.

- Stepho
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homep...ho/celprod.htm

[TubRog5]

If he goes the route of keeping his 22re hes better off taking his head to a shop and getting it machined for better flow and rebuilding it for higher hp/trq output. There really is no reason to buy a whole new-used 22re engine. And it would be a waste of time and money buying a 22r engine and converting things to carb, or converting that 22r to fuel injection (same goes with the 20r head). The late model 22re with the flat piston heads has better technology into it and its easier to find aftermarket parts to. From my experience.

If he buys any engine hes better off buying some other engine and doing a complete motor swap. The 22re isn't that great of an engine. Its very solid and reliable but if you seek more power. You will find the 22re disappointing. But, on the other hand as a daily driver, its a great choice.

[stepho]

The main reason I recomended for him to buy a anothe engein si that it can be worked on while he is driving the car.
Then the new engine can be swapped on a single weekend.
If he's happy to not drive the car while the engine is being reconditioned, then sure, do it all on the original engine.

A major lesson I learnt while doing up my daily driver is that each job is done in a single weekend, done while you have another way to get to work or not done at all.
If it's a daily driver then it must work on Monday morning.

- Stepho

[DCM]

The first thing you should do is replace the timing set (chain, guides, tensioner, sprockets). 22RE's are notorious for broken timing chain guides, and when the break, the chain can slap against the inside of the timing cover. Once a hole is worn through, the coolant gushes into the crankcase and the headgasket blows because there's no coolant.

I can't remember if there's info here about changing it, but if not check out the '89-'94 Toyota truck section "sticky" about changing it properly.

If you take care of it and don't rev the snot out of it, it'll last a long time.

[TubRog5]

Originally Posted by stepho

The main reason I recomended for him to buy a anothe engein si that it can be worked on while he is driving the car.
Then the new engine can be swapped on a single weekend.
If he's happy to not drive the car while the engine is being reconditioned, then sure, do it all on the original engine.

A major lesson I learnt while doing up my daily driver is that each job is done in a single weekend, done while you have another way to get to work or not done at all.
If it's a daily driver then it must work on Monday morning.

- Stepho

Thats very true. And I'd say go your route too if he is currently using that car and has to use that car on a daily bases. But from reading the posts, it seems as though not having the car up and running right away isn't a problem. Thats why I said what I said. Its all up to him though. All we can do is provide support, advice and opinions. Either way is good.

[Pineapple]

My "weekend swap" was finished in 3.5 months. If its a daily driver, don't touch it.