so after talking with a bunch of people on here and doing tons of research i decided that it was time for a change with the celica.....i have nice paint....and if i want to add on some nice lips around the edges i can do so accordingly without much trouble.. i still would like to swap out my cloth interior for a nice black leather interior and a bunch of other interior BS....i talked to art(lagos) many many times about getting rid of this 7a and asked him his perspective on the 3s swap....his feedback was do your research and learn everything you can while you can, doing your own swap will only help you in the learning process rather then having it sent out...which was what i was planning on doing anyway because i cant afford to have it sent to a shop...plus i have all the tools and resources that i would need to do it....so at first i looked into just head swaps...went as far as almost buying a 4a head from someone on here and a bunch of other stuff...then realized that might be too much work for the $$ and HP goal i would be expecting...so then i looked into turboing the 7a...but still the 7a is almost limited in what you can do to it and just squeezing 200hp out of it was not very satisfying.....i was kind of sketchy on buying a front clip from the other side of the world(hong kong) because theres a million and one things that could go wrong....so i looked into getting a clip that was already shipped into the U.S....after looking and debating i had finaly found the clip i wanted...decided i would buy it the next morning and start gathering parts together for the swap...next morning came around, i go on ebay, and its sold....$HIT!!...so i was stuck with buying the clip from hong kong...paid for it and that was that....i have the st model so i knew i would need a new trans, motor mounts, axles, and a bunch of other stuff....tracked down a GT trans and picked it up...ordered my spec stage 2 clutch from JCBASS7 i believe is his name one here? got that in no time and it looks great...he only put about 2500 miles on it and money is somewhat tight so i just got it from him.....it took the clip over a month to get here but FINALLY i picked it up last wednesday and was pumped i got it in one piece!!...now the fun begins....i will update this thread as often as i can untill my project is done the way i want it...im glad i choose to go with the 3s and im def. looking forward to the completion of this car....my man art has inspired me....the second i saw his car in person i knew i needed to get me one of those..hahha....soooo.....sorry for the novel but im def. excited and i will post up all/any info i can with lots of pics....let me know what you think and any advice is welcomed

picked it up from the warehouse it was sent to...from hong kong it went to LA...cleard customs there then was sent to philly by rail and was basically dilivered to my house...no more then 5 minutes from my house sat my new motor






i caught my man john on the phone instead of working


i pulled the line of the brake booster and @sshole thought it would be funny to push the brake...so thats whats all over my hood...brake fluid.....sweet






johnny hard at work like usual


now these next few are how you improvise when you dont have a cherry picker...this is how we do










almost completey out




and up and out of there!








looking forward to this weekend...hopefully i can pull that trans off of it and put her on a stand in the garage and start the tear down process to replace all gaskets, t-belt, new waterpump and thermostat and whatever else needs to be replaced...like i said i'll update it when i can...time and $$ are the only things workin against me on this one but im siked and def. want it done before spring time rolls around...we'll have to wait and see

This post has been edited by 95st-celica: Oct 15, 2010 - 1:26 PM

good luck with everything. if you ever need a hand (although i never did the swap) i could use the visual/experience for when i tackle this summer 08'. i'm right near atlantic city so the trip would be no problem. be sure to keep us all posted.

Very cool and good luck. Take your time and do a GOOD job the first time, so you have less major problems later. So cliche now, but good advice.

just a little update...lagos droped off some goodies today for me....motor mounts....spark plug wires....boost gauge...all kinds of crap...so its still being all pieced together...the only thing im waiting on now is wireing harness, rebuild kit for the block, GT shifter cables, GT axles, FMIC and pipeing, and a boost controler...hopefully i can get this thing in soon....im getting boost anxeity

Congrats on your 3s, cant wait to see how it comes out!

Take lots of pics, great job so far!

what boost controller were you going to run? i have a turboxs manual boost controller that i just pulled off my genII 3s if you are interested. $40shipped.

if you need any other parts for your 3s, let me know. i can usually find stupid parts for mad cheap!

well...i pulled her in the back yard today and im starting to rip her down...gettin ready to drop the motor in soon...hopefully....after i pay off a million and one tickets i owe...couple pics of what i did today...detailed the whole inside the right way...gonna clean up all the plastics really well/replace with new...im gonna do a black headliner, i zip ties all my sub wires up real nice and painted my sun roof controls surround black to match the headliner, 6X9's in the back, and a bunh of other crap...enjoy




























^^^^now my background..i like the way that came out^^^^




















i got you beat with weight reduction now mike!!!!..hhahahha

This post has been edited by 95st-celica: Sep 2, 2008 - 4:58 PM

now thaats what i like to see

thats awesome, keep up the good work

Now start breaking down that motor!

Still saving up here to buy everything and complete the swap myself to add another 95 ST to the list. Beat of luck to you and keep us updated!! Maybe throw some start up videos in there

little update today...pulled the motor out front a began to strip it down, gunked the whole thing, and pressure washed everything off, it didnt clean up to bad....i pulled the manifold off last night along with the wireng harness and altanator, then today i painted my valve cover (test run coat...i might send it to get powder coated this color) then i cleaned everyhting up real nice and riped off that stock exhaust manifold...everythings running pretty smoothly so far...picture whoreing it up though...













EXTRA CLEAN INSIDE...what i like to see










wow....that cat is restrictive as hell...full 3" turbo back exhaust is going on

I actually kind of dig that gold cover

x2 on the gold valve cover. I am sure once everything else is nice and clean it would look even better. So is this swap so far confusing for you or is it smooth sailing so far? I'm planning to get a 3s after school's over.

smooth saling so far....havent run into to many major problems...other then the fact that my turbo has a little bit of shaft play...but im going to upgrade later anyway so this one will last till then...i have been basically doing everything myself with help here and there from others...but so far everything is going great...im going to be pulling the motor out of the car very shorty so i can get in there, gunk out the engine bay, and spray it blue...the same color as the car....then i need a few other miscelanious things and she'll be ready to go...hopefully shes up and running by the latest the end of july....we'll see

take some pics when you clean out the bay. I bet once the 3s is in and the bay is nice and clean, it'll look amazing.

yea i think im gonna pull it tomorrow (today now) but i wanna pull everything out so i can really get in there and give it a good cleaning/paint job.....i need to get this thing done asap...i want some boost in my life

I'd like some boost in my life too, but being in high school still doesn't help much...

Your doing a great job with this, valve cover looks good!

Thanks for the update!

that gold should hold up.....its the same thing i used on the fmic piping back when i had the 3S

another little update....got the motor out today...cell phone pics FTL caus my camera battery decided to stop taking a charge...o0 well...pics speak for themselves...enjoy









and i fitted my st205 hood and bumper FTW

ahh i cant wait till i get my hood! i have the bumper but i need more $$ for that dang hood. Looking good man, a lot like what im doing.

Dude did you use a TREE for an engine hoist?!

thats awesome

literally a shade tree mechanic

:Thumbs up:

Ya'll have never seen that before? That's what we all did back in the day when we couldn't afford a lift - works great

>It's True. Hell i've (well i'm also white trash too ) i've used tree-hoist's to lift ALOT of things. Build 2nd story decks, garages, storages, carports, ect. Hell, i learned that when i was a kid and we built an elevator to a half-ass hand-built tree fort in the woods.

>


Thats the same exact thing I told him when we were working on it...lol.

yea well my step-dad has never owned an engine hoist and hes pulled more motors then you can shake a stick at....but he always used a beam of the house in the garage and pulled it that way....so i had to improvise as well....I pulled the 3s out of the clip with that same tree and chances are i will be putting the 3s in with that same tree too...hahha

today i took a couple things off the firewall like the A/C and a bunch of other junk...i sprayed 1 can of Gunk engine degreaser on the whole bay....i will do this again this was just to get some of the 1 inch thick grease off the crossmember and the bottom of the firewall...both my axle boots were sheared and the grease was just everywhere...i will proably buy a couple more cans and repeat the process to make sure i got ever inch of dirt and grease off, then its time for paint

wow she cleaned up nice.