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Thanks man, I really wanted to contribute something worth reading to this site since its been such great resource for me over the years. And I honestly wouldn't do something like this on my daily again. Too much time pressure.

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Thanks Rave,

Your car is lookin pretty good too. Was always a fan of satin paint
And yes, lots of grief but all good now. Ironically the one thing I didn't swap ended up giving me all of my problems.

Hahaha. I bet. I could feel the pressure just by reading.

Yeah, this is why I still have my 7A engine with only intake and header.
oh well, still love it. someday.

This post has been edited by cheela: Feb 20, 2015 - 10:11 AM

Exhaust is done

Finally found a Saturday where I could take my box of parts to get pieced together. The plan was to use the 3'' piping I had prepared earlier in the year for the first half of the exhaust, then use a 2.5'' reducer after the resonator and have the shop mandrel bend the back half of the exhaust. Here are some photos of the progress:


First is a shot of the old hacked up exhaust. I'm actually amazed I was getting any kind of boost at all with this setup. About as restrictive as it gets.


Mock-up of the Piping I had cut earlier in the year. Tight squeeze but everything fit


This picture shows the cutout upstream of the magnaflow spuncat and vibrant resonator. I'm currently waiting on a new rocker switch to replace the defective toggle that came with my cut-out. However I did manage to run the car with the butterfly open for a bit and was blown away by the performance. That switch cannot come soon enough!


I am thoroughly happy with the way they bent the piping over the rear subframe. Smooth bends and quality mounting all over. I'm also glad I chose a black coating for the muffler. It really works perfect for maintaining a factory look. The exhaust guy wasn't too excited to have to weld with it though!

Despite all this I still expected a mediocre exhaust note. All of the parts have a straight through design so I figured it would either drone or have some rasp in the higher revs.

For once I'm happy I was wrong

The exhaust is damn near silent at idle, and has a deep and relaxed tone when cruising around town. Likewise the note stays baritone under full throttle before growing angry higher in the revs . Most importantly however, no rasp and no drone. I could not be happier with how this turned out.

Performance wise I was a little underwhelmed when I first hit the highway. Other than a little faster spool the car felt the same. It just didn't make any sense and i was disappointed. THEN, the ecu realized it wasn't breathing through a straw anymore and recalibrated. Now boost comes on much sooner and I gained 4psi, for a peak of 15. Plus the power doesn't taper off after 6500 anymore, instead the car pulls hard all the way to 7200 All of this together makes it feel like a completely different car, and I really regret waiting so long to do it. But its done, so now I can finally enjoy 3s performance in its intended glory.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Apr 29, 2013 - 9:54 PM

Lovin' it! But you are going to need a different set up once you go AWD.

And you need new rear tires, but they were probably on the front. LOL.

Wait til you get the cutout switch, that 15 will boost to 18psi with a flip of a switch lol .. I generally gain 3psi with my cutout, other setups can be plus or minus, but generally 3-4psi, you'll love the raw power!

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You are correct, and the thought crossed my mind to mimic a gt4 exhaust. But I was able to justify this exhaust based on the fact that AWD is still a ways off. I need to pay down some school loans before I can purchase a welder. But I'm determined. I waited 5 years to buy my clip so a little longer for the AWD is no big deal.

And yes those were once the fronts haha. How could you tell? Joking aside I really do need a new set. Unfortunately something about throwing down $400+ for tires specific to the stock wheels makes me cringe. Especially since they cant clear st205 brakes. I'm not ignoring the issue by any means, its just that I want to find a set of enkei rs5's before I buy new tires. Just missed a perfect set near me the other month for $200

If I cant find the enkeis soon then I'll have no choice but to bite the bullet.

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I only did a few pulls with an open butterfly so I didn't get to really push it. But I really hope you're right 15 psi is already a huge improvment over the ~11 I was getting before. 18 psi will just be madness. Cant wait for a boost controller, an FCD, some meth injection, and 20+ psi!

This post has been edited by enderswift: Apr 29, 2013 - 9:39 PM

Quick update: Cutout and interior switch are installed

Observe:




This post has been edited by enderswift: May 9, 2013 - 6:14 PM

Awesome.

So badass! I call first ride at the spring meet!

Sweet

Getting my exhaust done on Monday.... this may have to be a last minute request.
Baller dude

Thats a nice switch. But the switch that comes with this cut out regulates the angle of the butterfly. Yours only opens it and closes it right?
Its nice though! I like that looks OEM

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No prob


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I highly recommend it. Hearing the turbo whine so clearly is phenomenal, and I imagine a uncorked beams would sound like a wild thrashing beast in the high revs


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Thanks! I'm very happy with how it matches the interior. I've been going to great pains to keep things looking oem/understated. To answer your question though, this switch is a DPDT just like the original.

Thing sounds mean man! I love how they sound, take any pulls yet?

This post has been edited by Ted95: May 13, 2013 - 9:43 AM

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Thank you Believe me when I say the video doesn't do it justice. And unfortunately not yet. Funds are tight at the moment so it's gonna be a few weeks before I can hit the local dyno. I really am curious to see what kind of power it's putting down, so maybe I'll find a way to run it sooner.

This post has been edited by enderswift: May 13, 2013 - 10:44 PM

I ment down the road with it but it should do well on the dyno, it's an impressive motor if you ask me lol And sound vicious with a cutout, I know I love mine haha

aw yeah! that is definitley something needed to hear in person

Hello 6gc,

Long time no update. I've slowed down on modding the car lately and unfortunately that translates to fewer posts. I'm at the point where my next mods are going to be very money and labor intensive *cough (Trans/suspension/brakes) cough*

Despite that, I have done a few small things that have been on my mind for a while. Observe:

First thing is my new oil catch can. The st205 engine has an oil catch can that takes care of oil in the blow-by while on boost. During cruising however, the regular pcv valve just dumps the oily blow-by straight into the intake; Which basically makes for a filthy intake track. I decided to remedy the situation with a vms gen II oil catch can: http://rhys-millen-racing.myshopify.com/pr...l-oil-catch-can

I like this can because has really good build quality, has a nice oem-look powdercoat finish, a design that includes baffles, and includes a fill level sight. Many other cans you can buy are literally just a can... Which in my opinion wont do anything. In my application I blocked off the included breather filter and installed it with an in-line pcv valve to keep the manifold from pressurizing it.





So far I've only had it installed for a few days, so no word on how much oil it collects. I'll be sure to update in the future. For now, i'm just happy with the oem-looking placement.

On top of the catch can, I've also bolstered my in-dash wiring for reliability and exapandability. In the future I'm planning to install an EBC, meth controller, and turbo timer. All of those things are going to need power/ground/accessories sources to function. So instead of continuing to solder larger and larger joints in the dash, I decided to take a terminal block and create an expandable source for everything:



This was waaay more work than it looks. But I'm very happy with the results. I've since made a clear plastic cover for it and labeled all of the terminals.

Finally, I've found my enkei RS5's They come with a set of Falken ZE-912's and are currently in the mail:




They are 17X7 and should make a huge difference with traction

Can you put me in your will? Really amazing job you are doing with your car.

Nice score on the Enkei's. Can't wait to see them at the next meet.

Looking good Luke!

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Haha, will I mysteriously vanish a few weeks later if I do? But thank you sir, glad you like the progress

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You have no idea how happy I am to have found them. I knew these were the wheels I wanted back when I saw them on harv3sters profile years ago. I've literally been on the lookout for a set ever since. Finally the perfect seller appeared, the price was right, and I had a little extra money to spend


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Thanks Chris, we really gotta gotta meet up soon. I'm in your neighborhood at least three times a week.


Alright. I have another (small) update. I've finally gotten around to installing cruise control back in the car! For those that don't know, the stock 3s intake takes up the space that is usually reserved for the GT cruise control actuator. This means that you have to get creative to find a spot in what is already a very crowded bay. I want to post a few photos of my approach in case anyone else wants to give it a shot. Surprisingly it turned out to be pretty easy, and I'm satisfied with the results:


First I'll show the bracket I made. It's a very simple, very basic bracket made from 1/8" aluminum scrap I had lying around.


Here is a shot of the orientation and placement of the bracket.


And here is how the actuator tucks in between the fuel filter, evap canister, and brake booster. It's a tight fit, with less than a centimeter of clearance in any direction; but nothing rubs and the positioning is perfect to route the throttle cable. Plus this spot makes for a short harness extension


Speaking of the harness, here it is. I had to extend it about 12 inches in order to reach the cruise control connector by the radiator.


Finally here is a shot of how I routed the loom.

I've tested this approach for a few days and it's been working flawlessly

Stand by for another update soon when my wheels come in

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jul 6, 2013 - 6:47 PM

Great job.
Custom bracket ftw !

You can tell some thought went into that Luke. Impressive Job! Keep up the innovation because it's the only thing that keeps the gears turning!

This post has been edited by bsamps4: Jul 9, 2013 - 6:06 AM

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Thanks Batman, that's high praise after seeing what you've done with your celicas


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Thanks Ben. For some reason a lot of people were convinced that cruise control wouldn't work with a 3s swap because of the st205 ecu. Dan got his to work with the beams so I wanted to see if I could too.

btw,

slow down dude, I cant mod as fast as you

The wheels are in!







Finally, after all this time I have my own set of Enkei rs5's . The previous owner has them refinished so they are about as new as its gonna get. If that weren't enough, they came with a set of new Falken ZE 912 tires.

All I can say is: Dat traction

Hmm, seems to be a lot of extra room in the brake area now...

This post has been edited by enderswift: Jul 15, 2013 - 10:43 AM

that's a great upgrade from stock rims. always loved those.

Pure sex, Luke.

I need to change my pants now, thanks Luke.

Absolutely amazing build, from start to finish its been pure OCD which is the perfect thing when doing a job like this... I have since bookmarked and started a plan for my swap, beautiful car awesome job, if mine turns out half as good as yours I'll be surprised. Will be looking to all you guys for tips and tricks, time to reread this from page one!

Those rims are awesome! And so is the rest of the car...