Hi from SoCal, .02 cents on a 3SGTE anyone?

[yotaman]

Hi Everyone,
I had a 91 celica about 5 years back and planned to swap in a 3sgte engine but ended up selling it. So now im sitting on this great motor (from an imported 90-93 celica alltrac front clip) and have been itching to swap it into something. I currently own a Nissan 350z and early today when I was driving down the highway a 1st gen celica caught my eye and now I gotta have one! Im interested in the 1975 and older models. So now im doing my homework to see what im getting myself into. Ive done multiple engine swaps in the past and my main concern at this point is mating the engine to the transmission. Im going to search around for more information but if anyone has .02 cents they would like to contribute I would appreciate it.

Thanks,
Aaron

[vdo_game_junkie]

The guy you want to talk with is Skeptic. You can check out his Celica here:
forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1339

[random28]

I think you can use 2S parts to convert it to RWD, arn't bolt ons bu't they are close. The belhousing needs some drilling and minor machining to match a W5x shaft and bolt pattern, you can use the sump and oil pickup aswell but i remember being told you possibly need to cut the pickup and weld it. Then your going to have to do steel water lines and run coils instead of a dizzy, i know nothing about this but id asume you'll be making a wiring loom, oh and dont forget to tilt the engine i cant remember by howmany degrees though.
Welcome to the forum and good luck with the project.

Mitch

[skeptic]

Welcome!

I didn't do any of the work myself, I had it done professionally by a shop that specializes in custom Toyota work, primarily engine swaps and such. At the time of the project, they had the worlds fastest 7th Gen Celica that they had swapped a highly modified 3SGTE into. They know the 3SGTE about as well as anyone. I can tell you what they did in general, and for the most part why, but I'm afraid I don't have all the details.

Know this, if you decide to go this route you will be in for a LOT of work and a fair amount of $$ to do it right.

Your first decision would be to leave the engine at it's natural FWD angle, or rotate it straight up and down in a more typical RWD setup. After much consideration the shop decided to leave my engine at an angle to keep the oiling the way it was designed. I THINK they added some baffles to the oil pan to help. If you go the other route, call LC Engineering. They can sell you a kit to install it straight up and down. In fact, they may be able to sell you almost everything you need to install a 3SGTE in a RWD car.

The big items related to this swap on my car:

*3SGTE - FWD angle for oiling concerns. It's also possible that sitting upright would cause hood clearance issues, but I don't know this for a fact.
*T3/T4 turbo - stock setup doesn't fit
*distributorless ignition - distributor would hit the firewall, and DI allows much better/easier tuning
*SDS engine management - needed with distributorless ignition, plus it makes tuning easy. It would also allow me to up the boost as long as the Injectors keep up, or go bigger injectors and really increase the boost if I ever want to. Other options are available, but I'm happy with the SDS.
*FMIC
*custom intake and exhaust
*power rack&pinion steering - more room than steering box setup, plus it makes driving it tons better. best mod I did.
*modified bellhousing - wish I could tell you what bellhousing they started with, but they did weld an alum plate on the engine side so the engine is at an angle but the tranny is obviously straight.
*w58 5-spd - stronger than the stock w50
*supra rear end w/LSD - far stronger than stock, plus I wanted the tires more flush with the fenders, not sucked in like they are stock. Also gives disc brakes in the rear. LSD allows quick acceleration without leaving a smoky peg leg road stripe.
*wilwood big brake kit in front - if you more than double the HP a car comes with, you'd be foolish not to upgrade the brakes.
*lowering springs and better shocks/strut inserts - need better handling to match the additional power and braking

Lots of other little things needed done like a fuel pump, all the piping, rolling the rear fender, tuning, alignment, etc.

Much much much easier to stick with a basically bolt-in option such as a 20R/22R hybrid, or even something like a 22RET. It's also worth calling LC Engineering just to see what all they can provide. It will certainly be the easier route to go.

If you still want to go with a 3SGTE, and go with a setup similar to mine, I'd be happy to take pictures and answer questions as best I can. Just be aware, I'm no mechanic.