94 Celica Gt Project Options

[Castallion]

Hello all! I am new to the car community in general and have been browsing around trying to see which car I should buy first. I want to work on my car and have something fun to drive around as a good first car. I have narrowed my decision down to either a 5th gen Honda prelude or a 6g celica. I already have a build planned out for the prelude, but honestly I would rather have a celica. My dad owned a 5th gen all trac turbo when I was younger, but my cousin totaled it when I was 6 years old. Tragic story cause that car would have been mine by now. Anyways, by the title, I am planning on building a 94 celica into a fast little sports car. There is a liftback just waiting at the dealership as we speak with 62k original miles that is calling my name. It would bring nostalgic memories of me cruising around with my dad in his celica when I was a kid. However, I am debating which engine swap to do.

Option 1: 3sge Beams Redtop

I really like this engine. NA would be fun and it has a lot more torque then those tiny Honda engines, and when placed inside a 2500lb chasis, it would be plenty fast, for me at least. I have never had experience driving fast cars so I thought that this would be a good option to get a feel for a 200hp car so I dont kill myself. Only problem I personally see with this engine is that finding replacement parts can prove troublesome. If something were to happen to the engine, I doubt the local autozone would have the necessary replacement parts to get me back on the road, which concerns me since this would also function as my daily driver. Also, form my research, there is a limited aftermarket compared to the 3sgte. Only mods I could see myself getting done would be ITBs from a 4age, custom made airbox, custom exhaust header and 3" exhaust, and possibly a stroker by using the crank from the stock 5sfe and custom high comp pistons. Even then, I couldn't see this setup making over 250whp, something that could easily be achieved with bolt-ons and turning the boost up on the other engine I was thinking about. Nitrous on a beams redtop anyone?? I'm getting to ahead of myself lol. I like this motor more cause its more rare than the 3sgte swap and I'm not trying to build a drag queen. I would much rather race on the track. But horsepower numbers are like a fashion statement in the car world, and from the complaints of people with the gt86 / brz being sluggish, I'm afraid that 200hp may get really old, really quickly.

Option 2: 3rd gen 3sgte

Obviously, this seems like the more popular swap into this chassis. From what I have seen on the internet it is basically a drop in on the gt model just like the beams, but the higher power figures is easier on this. I chose the 3rd gen for the water to air inter cooler that comes stock with it, and turning the pump on the cooler to be on all the time would eliminate the heat soak issue. Ideal build with this engine would be a stock bottom end, built head, haltech ecu, equal length turbo manifold, 3" exhaust, upgraded fuel system and meth injection. And no I do not plan to do all this at the same time, just wishful thinking. I would push the boost as far as it would go so that the car is still street able and i don't have too many traction issues. reason I would choose the 3sgte is so that the potential for insane power is there if I ever want it, something I don't necessarily have with the beams.

So what do you guys think? Any advice? Anything I'm missing? Thanks in advance!

BTW I've already been roasted for not doing enough research on the hondatech forum, so getting roasted here as well won't phase me. I got think skin and I'm here to learn

[Box]

Welcome! I think most are doing the 4th gen 3S-GTE now for a variety reasons. Another swap to look into would be the 1MZ/3MZ V6. Personally I rather go with the 3S-GTE or V6 over the BEAMS, but the BEAMS is by far the easiest and can usually be done in a weekend. The big advantage of the 1MZ/3MZ is since it was used in so many vehicles here parts are easy to find and plentiful, just gets parts for a Camry.