6G Celicas Forums

I have a 95 GT and am planning on ordering a gen 4 3SGTE to swap into it. What other upgrades are the best value (as far as price obviously but also time/knowledge to install) to make the car faster? I don’t plan on a lot of hard launches from a standstill, I just want to be able to accelerate around these damn log trucks and not be playing chicken with oncoming traffic any longer than I have to. The car is a 5speed with the S54 which I plan on keeping. I’ll have a little under $2,000 to spend after I buy the motor, so let me know what you guys think would be my best options. It’s my first post so don’t make me cry!

First of all, welcome!

If you keep the 3S-GTE mostly stock and don't beat on the car the S54 should hold up. That being said, if you only have $2,000 to complete the swap I'd keep it simple so you hopefully don't end up in a rut; refresh stuff like brakes, tires, and suspension etc... if needed, save further mods for later. That and I'd highly suggest reading through the numerous swap threads here in the forum, especially if you've never swapped motors before. Try "6GC 3S-GTE Swap" on Google if the forum search engine is giving you grief.

You might also consider taking the money you have plus what you could get from selling the Celica to buy a car that doesn't need swapped for your power goals, as there are plenty of late model cars with 200-300 hp from the factory for under $6,000 these days. Just some food for thought, especially if you have any doubts about your abilities to perform a swap successfully on your own.

Thank you for your reply! I probably should have included that the 2,000 was what I have budgeted for under the hood of the car, I plan on updating the suspension, brakes, wheels and tires (and also refresh the interior) during the downtime of waiting for the motor to come in once I order it.

I’ve watched a lot of videos on YouTube of people doing the 3SGTE swap, but some of their builds cost upwards of $5,500 under the hood and that’s not even including the engine itself. I believe that HardHead93 is also RAW performance on YouTube, and his videos were super helpful. However, he seems WAY smarter than I am, especially after reading his whole thread on programming the aftermarket ECU.

I guess I’m just looking for what some high-value engine upgrades I could get for under $2,000. I know I’ll also have to fork over at least $500 to get the 5sfe wiring harness adapted to the one that comes with the new engine as well before I even start

No problem! For most turbo engines you see the most gains with downpipe & exhaust, intercooler, and a tune; those are usually some of the more affordable mods as well. Though if it were me I'd focus on making sure the engine runs reliably first, as you never really know with engines from Japan, and I'd hold onto the money until you know you won't need an engine refresh or rebuild. Low mileage is incredibly deceiving, as most all Japanese driving is stop and go in the city, so it's entirely possibly to have a 60K mile motor fairly worn out. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst, and all that.

Yes, HardHead93 is a great resource as are many others' threads here. For personalized help you might have better luck in the Facebook group these days, since it's just me and a few others that linger on the forums these days. Once my brain stops being foggy I'll try and find some of the other good swap threads that're here.

$2000 will get you the engine and basic maintenance parts maybe not much more unless you somehow found a really cheap engine with all necessary parts included and an uncut wire harness etc.

also, I will include the old saying:
"fast, cheap, reliable. pick two."

I've nearly completed a gen4 swap and I've got to say $2,000 is pretty light to complete the swap the way it should be done. I'd save at least another $1,000 before taking this project on... Maybe another $2,000. Your $2k budget will basically get the motor and harness conversion... Things you either need or should do are.... fluids, intercooler and piping, exhaust, timing belt, water pump, new seals/gaskets, clutch kit, flywheel, tune up kit, probably a boost controller, boost gauge.. etc etc. $4k is a good budget to do it and do it right.

Yes. The nickel and dimey crap ends up costing more than people realize.

Especially when you go restoring parts as you remove them. Scope creep is a b!tch.

Ain't that the truth. I'm scared to go back and count up the money I have put into my project. But hey, if you want something pretty unique and something you're proud of... it's allll good.

put a V6 in it