2000 Toyota Celica Engine Swap

[Adam D.]

First off let me start by saying, I realize there may be other post on this board in regards to my topic. I appreciate those who feel the need to let me know this, however I'd rather start my own and be able to have my question answered directly.

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I drive a 2000 Toyota Celica GT. I have sunk a good bit of money into her already, mostly cosmetic, she runs great but the stock Engine & 140 horsepower output are simply pathetic and do not match her new look.

I've been doing a lot of research the past few weeks on motor swaps and I've found a few good resources when it comes to what I can and may do with what I'm working with. The Celica Chassis is shared with a few common Toyota models including, the Toyota MR2 (Turbo) and the Toyota Celica GT-four (alltrac).

The Motors I've been looking at thus far are ones that have been taken out of vehicles that are known to share the same chassis. I've found an ST185 w/ roughly 225HP, and ST205 w/ roughly 245HP and an ST215 w/ roughly 255 HP. The ST215 is obviously the one I'm most serious about; however I can't find documentation that specifies the chassis configuration and if the Toyota Caldina shares a common chassis with the Toyota Celica.

So, I have come here today to ask serious responders; will the ST215 w/ top mount air intake from a Toyota Caldina fit into my 2000 Toyota Celica GT Chassis?

I realize I will need to have the wiring soldered together due to the placement of the ECU as well as have a custom exhaust formed for the change in location of the manifold. This type of alteration will need to take place with any of the motor I have listed above and I have prepared myself for the cost to do so.

Thank you to whom ever responds. Your guidance is greatly appreciated.

[fishexpo101]

Looking to just swap in the engine or the drivetrain as well. Are you dead set on the 3SGTE turbocharged engines exclusively? Have you thought of going the 2ZZ-GE and running a turbo or supercharger on them?

As fas as I know - the 7th gen Celicas do not share anything close to the previous generation Celicas. Swapping the 3SGTE and drivetrain into one has been done before - just not very inexpensively. Rod Millen's group did one as well as the Fensport group (UK).

Might want to ping on the guys at MonkeyWrenchRacing - http://store.monkeywrenchracing.com/. They have been turning out some crazy amount of power out of the ZZ family of engines - that might work for you. A lot less fabrication and money needed to make those engines fit, give you more money to invest in tuning and building up the engine and drivetrain to enhance overall power potential and day to day durability. You keep the same FF layout, but see power in the upper 500's to 600's WHP range (2ZZ-GE turbocharged, dropped compression to 9.0:1, kept the same displacement of 1.8L, OEM block and OEM 6-speed transaxle!!). They were running high ten second runs in the 1/4.

[Adam D.]

Well the motor I've looked at comes with a five speed FWD transmission and clutch assembly. Everyone I've talked to about having a turbo installed can't seem to give me a running figure on how much HP I can expect to achiever from having one installed.

Not to mention the cost. I was quoted 4500$ for a turbo to be installed on my stock motor. Not a bad price overall, but the motors I've been looking at plus installation will cost me roughly the same with a "guaranteed" (use that word lightly) substantial power increase (Over 100 HP in some cases).

Next comes the Mileage I have accumulated on the stoke motor already. My stock motor has 148,000 miles on it and investing 4500$ into it doesn't seem like a good decision especially if I can get a motor with 45,000 Miles.

Thank you for your response and the links. Both were helpful!

(CLICK HERE) for an article I found online that has helped to shed light on little, but important aspects to an Engine Swap.

[fishexpo101]

OK, I see what you are after. You still have a lot of options - boosting the stock engine, swapping in a 2ZZ-GE and either running it N/A or boosting that. MWR also has "built" crate engines ready to swap in - basically a brand new engine to start fresh with.

Did mentioned this earlier, but I assumed you looked into if you are even allowed that swap in the first place. Some states/areas -automatically consider the car "for off-road use only" and you will not be able to register it for the street. Usually due to emissions regs differences, especially for the low mileage JDM engines that you are trying to source. If that won't be an issue - then it will be basically your time, budget, and availability of parts to make this happen.

The 7th gen Celica - doesn't say any of the same mounts with previous generation Celica. I believe the 5th and 6th gen had a lot of interchangeability, even being able to swap stuff off of Camrys - but the 7th gen went to a different chassis.

The mileage - I wouldn't be too concered about. You might have a lot of miles on the current engine, but you also have know of its maintenance history. You don't really know for sure with these low mileage JDM half-cuts - hit or miss with a few of them.

The amount of power you can expect to get, will depend on the tuning and components used. Power generated will be more than just how much boost your running - have to also consider tune, volumetric efficiency, etc. Not uncommon to see 200-220WHP with a well tuned turbo and EMS system, intercooled and running 8-10PSI of boost.

With the various 3SGTE swaps - you start with some prior knowledge of what to expect, power-wise, but that is given for that market's emissions and fuel blend. Could be a markedly different number when you install it on your application. Also account for the iron blocks on these engines. The key to their bulletproof design, is that they have an iron block that can take a serious amount of abuse plus you gain a little displacement (2.0L vs 1.8L) - but extra weight is extra weight. It is not a ton, but you must account for it.

Have to factor that in to your ultimate goals - want something that is fast in a straight line, something that handles well, more show than go, etc. Plus, they almost never cost as much as you think - rule of thumb for swapping in engines - pick a budget and double it. Using other market engines that require some fabrication and messing with emissions/wiring/need an aftermarket EMS - triple your starting budget. Doesn't mean that is a bad idea - just don't get your expectations up too high until all the work is done, have all the parts in your hand. Speaking from experience with other domestic/import builds - nothing worse that having everything in hand except those few critcal pieces that have a 2-3 month+ lead time. Whichever way you go - sounds like it will be a beast. Good luck

[Bitter]

2ZZ+supercharger
http://newcelica.org/forums/showthread.php?t=266992
all the info you need is right there.

[blacken]

This Celica unles you spend asstons of money into it with another motor other than the zz family will not fit without alot of custom fabrication of mounts and other misc stuff.

its been done before with ticket prices in the 100k region

Best and sure way to go as it has been said before
Monkey Wrench Stroker Engine

This engine is a wonderfull blend of the 2zz-ge with some mod work done sharing some components from the 1zz-fe. The 2zz=ge is changed from a 1.8l displacement engine to a 2.0l displacement engine with much more available lower end torque over the normal 2zz motor several People refer to this engine as the 3zz-Ge similar to the engine from Japan Tuner Trial. Which also has a crate engine same as monkey wrench racing.
The guys at monkey wrench can take what you want to do with your car and can give you a rough estimate on what it will cost.
You can stick a supercharger in there ad keep mid range HP in the 200's
or go turbo and go higher or as deep as your wallet takes you.
but a supercharged stroker engine is pretty nice
after that some weight reduction on your car and you good to go