So, I am purchasing a 1997 Toyota Celica GT with a silvertop 4AGE 20v (MT). I plan on slapping a 3SGTE and new clutch on it to handle the power, but here's the kicker:

I want AWD.

Why? I'm a GT-Four enthusiast. I know the '94 will be legal in 2019, but this is a project I want done before Christmas because it'll be a present for my father, who's been eyeing the GT-Fours for 13 years now.

NOW, the fun part. Do I care about price? To an extent. Please don't tell me "if you want AWD just go buy a subaru". No. Screw you. I want a GT-Four, lol.

Is it at all possible to ship a GT-Four sans internals and have US VIN marked parts such as a 3SGTE and tranny + diff etc dropped into it? Or would there be a VIN issue due to the VIN being stamped into the car itself and it being a japanese body not having a US standard VIN?

Maybe just order a GT-Four frame? Transfer EVERYTHING onto the new frame?

Or for the builders, fabricate a subframe and bolt everything to it and call it a day? Cut out the spare tire well, run a new fuel cell (ST205), extend the brake lines, and welding in drive shaft support brackets?

Just wanted some up-to-date info. Thanks guys!

With the vin plate, Japanese market car get a jap number along the lines of ST205 - 00004563 where as uk cars get a 16 digit vin number, don't know if either would help you though as neither would be left hand drive, you would need a European car for that and they are very expensive, five or six times the price of a uk or jap car.

Personally the easiest route would be to fabricate the rear sub frame supports, buy a rear sub frame etc complete from one of the U.K breakers of someone selling in the US, weld in the standard prop shaft supports which is easy with a few welds. Cut out your trunk floor and weld in the gt4 version and you are off to a good start.

I think you will be pushing your luck to get it done by Christmas, you might amas the parts by then but putting it all together, I would be pleasantly surprised if you could manage it. Then with the othe jobs, engine, loom, cooling etc it's some task.

If your dad is a real GT4 fan I would wait until 2019, it's not that long to wait and I am sure he would prefer the real thing, I know I would.

PM me if you want a swapped celica, possibly cheaper than that one you're looking at.

pay the lot of money, headache free....

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=97214

VIN goes with a frame. It is highly illegal in US to change the FRAME VIN number. Engine and transmission do not matter, the car always goes by the chassis VIN.

Because of that, and for other reasons, starting with a GT4 chassis is not really an option unless you want your vehicle impounded.

You can get it done by Christmas if you make it your full time task and have a well equipped shop. Or outsource it to such a shop along with a suitcase of cash. We're talking 100-300 work hours here, depending on skill and knowledge.

If you're like the rest of us and work on weekends and after work, then have to wait weeks here and there to source part this and have part that custom made, you're looking at a year or two project.

But hey, nobody here will complain if you get it done by Christmas, and I'm sure plenty of people will share knowledge with you if you take the project on.

Do you want a gt4. Go to canada and buy one. Use for off road until you can legally register it in the usa. December is not a feasable schedule. Different methids to swap. The easier one i saw was welding two half cars together. There is a thread here

Appreciate the input guys. Yeah I can see where it'd take quite some time. And I know I could wait until 2019. Just lil ol me being impatient.

Here's a complete clip on ebay, but you gotta ship it from hong kong! $2,900
It won't be easy, but you won't have to worry about import laws


http://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-98-Toyota-Celi...n6D&vxp=mtr

Used Front Engine Motor Clip from Japanese Domestic Market
Tested to Good Running Condition No Warranty
Very Low Miles Driven about 85,666 kms
JDM Celica GT4 ST205. Package includes:
‧Engine Motor
‧5 Speed Manual Transmission
‧ECU
‧Engine Wiring Harness
‧Engine Motor Mounts
‧Starter
‧Ignition Spark Plug Wire
‧Dynamo (Alternator)
‧Steering Pump
‧Front & Rear Axles with Hubs
‧Front & Rear Calipers
‧Ball Joints
‧Rear Subframe
‧Headlights, Front Bumper, Front Fenders, Front Bonnet Hood
‧Shifter
‧Shifter Cable
‧Axle shaft
‧Balljoint/ Drive shaft
‧Foot Pedal Assembly
‧Clutch Pump
‧A/C Compressor
‧Fuse Box
‧Intake Box & Intake Pipe
‧Air Flow Meter
‧Intake Manifold
‧Exhaust Manifold
‧Fuel Tank

>

*Heavy breathing*

That's pretty much all the parts you need, except for cutting and welding the body to take the rear frame, I think there's some mounting holes and things back there the US model is missing. As someone else said, you're better off importing from Canada and sitting on it or going illegal and doing a VIN swap with a GT, then junking the GT without a vin by cutting it up for scrap steel. I think you can scrap without title if you cut it into 1/4's?

Silly question if you're wanting to swap why start with a probably more expensive already swapped to something else car? Honestly would get a '94-95 GT with a sick motor or trans as a starting point, or save trouble and buy the one in Alaska.

Good point, he's going to nee GT mounts etc vs ST mounts etc. Vin swap is the simplest way to get a GT4 here NOW, but also the simplest way to get that car crushed when it's caught.

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I feel like if you drive it around, don't street race it or do stupid stuff, then you're very unlikely to get caught.

Registration, state inspection, emissions testing, etc. If they've got any kind of state vehicle inspection or testing it'll probably get caught eventually. I don't think the Canadian or non US computers in those will work with OBD2 emissions testing so he'd need to get a 94 or 95 GT4 which are pretty hard to find as they didn't make many to begin with and then narrowing it to only 2 years to pick from. I'm not even sure they had any 94's except the homologation cars, certainly any 205 is going to be RHD which your dad will get tired of having to through toll booths backwards pretty quick and McDonalds will probably ban him from going through backwards.

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Well lucky for me I have a 94...

People RHD swap cars here, as well as do AWD swaps. It'd just be a pretty "clean" swap and you'd just have to properly mount the VIN number under the windshield as well as put the plate in the engine bay. Maybe a couple other things, but not too much.
I don't eat fast food so I wouldn't have to worry about the drive through and it's called an EZ Pass for the tolls...

This post has been edited by mkernz22: Oct 18, 2016 - 8:08 PM

And there's the problem of parts should something break that's not got a US equivalent, pay out the ear for parts + overnight shipping from Japan.

Sadly, I'm thinking more and more that the real solution is just to get a 5th gen All-track to satisfy my AWD lust.

4th or 5th, I think you can stuff most of the 205 stuff on a 5th gen anyway?

A 165 is just as bad as having an imported 205 as far as parts go. 205 you have to ship them from overseas and pay a decent amount for them, and 165 you have to deal with tons of discontinued parts..

So the sweet spot is a 185?

The sweet spot is STi, Subaru That is.

Update: Got a 95 GT for $700 that runs perfectly. No rust except for the brakes which is expected. Coupe, not hatch. A little bleh it's not the hatch because then I don't have that spoiler that adds 10hp per ft-ib of down force yknow? Huehue. Will update probably under builds with progress. Time to learn to weld!

Meanwhile in Ireland....


https://www.gumtree.com/p/toyota/toyota-cel...int-/1194610626

That's less than $5,000!

This post has been edited by VavAlephVav: Oct 19, 2016 - 12:22 PM

Structural vehicle fabrication isn't to time to learn to weld. Structural vehicle fabrication is for when you've already learned to weld and have been doing so for a while. Sheet metal is so hard to weld for a beginner.

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I would say so since parts are a lot more available and then engine was offered in both the MR2 and 185 so it has a decent amount of aftermarket support (if you want to stick with the gen2)

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I figured, I was just messing about. Trying to get ahold of Prime Performance (PrimeMR2) in NJ to see if they can do the fab. No replies all day.

So, >>in conclusion.>>

GT4 now = No.

GT4 clip and welding, assuming you had the skills or money = Feasible, but can be lengthy and/or costly.

Just slam a 3SGTE and new clutch in, run the FWD like a pro until deciding AWD would be neat = Very doable within a modest price range.

Roger dodger. I'm sure you can tell I'm like a baby with plastic tools. I'm still learning the block goes in the square hole and the sphere in the round one. Replacing a caliper today, the previous owner snapped the bleed valve in half. Woo.

Thank you gentlemen, and hopefully I'll have a FWD driveable 3SGTE before I visit family for the holidays.

I'll post updates under My Project.

You can usually weld a nut to the broken bleeder and get it out, the heat shocks the threads and they'll turn right out most times. Usually not worth the hassle if a reman caliper is readily available.