Humor me please, I accept I may be roasted Options

[Clueless]

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!

[Box]

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.