Celica - Prelude, Questions about speed differences. Options

[nObOdy]

Hey guys -

Alright - im not sure if anyone knows but im looking for a celica to buy and once i get it i am going to swap in the 3s-gte engine into it, irregardless.
Ive been getting some pressure from some different people in my family to make sure i look around before i get my heart set on the celica.
the only thing that bothers me about the celica is the headlights.. they are not my favorite at all, but i love the rest of the car and of course, the 3s-gte swap will be FAST. which is what im looking for a cheap fast car. Anyhow
so the topic of a Honda prelude popped up 4th or 5th gen

Basically the honda prelude has a vtec head and it puts out around 200 bhps the car weighs 2900lbs
I like the look of the honda - also it would not be a turboe'd engine and i know that would ease my mothers sufferings a little bit - but its not a big deal
anyhow so i joined a honda forum (sucks ass compared to here) and have been asking the guys the same questions im asking you guys now
the response i get from them is kind of typical but i was hoping you guys could fill me in on what you thought

Which is faster 94-99 celica gt with 225hps second gen 3s-gte swap OR
91-02 honda prelude with honda vtec sporting 200hps
?

Any ideas - or technical differences that could be outlined for me would be great.
Remeber - all that i am looking to do is outrun my friends Mazda MX-3 GS which has 200 hps and is light! 2600lbs (maybe less)

Which car would be more reliable? I am leaning towards the Celica for several reasons - one i love how the car looks from the side - similar to a supra (same swoops over the hatch) I love the idea of the 3s-gte engine's speed - also No One Owns A toyota Celica where i live! No ONE! i have not seen one but then again i live in montana.. so anyhow
and i see preludes all the time..
anyhow - if you have an opinion def voice it, but dont just state it.. back it up with supports. Also it must be in MLA FORMAT 12pt font 1.5 pages double spaced due monday.
bah sorry school crept in there.
thanks in advance
later
nobody

[nObOdy]

alright well first off - i dont have 10k to spend on this
i have somewhere near 5-8 though.
I cannot afford to continually be fixing the car - i mean the random sometime problems are normal and expected but, when i swap this engine in - i will change out almost everything that i can so that i do not have to worry about it in the future - i will also definatly tune the engine up - new gaskets new seals new plugs wires collaborations everything my mechanic and i can think of.

If i were to do that - would i still be looking at a car that would break down a lot?

its a stock turboe'd engine - its MADE to handle the turbo the internals are designed for it. I will keep the turbo right at the normal boost so as to evade any nasty enounters with hurting my engine because i set the boost too high.

Why i dont buy an MR2-
Well the 3s-gte that i put into the car will have somewhere around 40,000 to 60,000 miles - and when i retune it up it will be in VERY good shape. if i bought an MR2 with that it would have at least 140k on the engine and chassis.. NOT what im looking for, and thats even if the damned mr2's didnt cost so much..
can anyone tell me if mr2's are mid engine cars?? my father keeps saying they are and i see no indication whatsoever of this but then again - im a noob at this stuff..
another reason i dont buy an MR2 - because i L O V E the bodystyle of the 6gc celica..
i dont know why but it just looks entirely sexy to me, and i love how rare they are and the 3s-gte swap would be.. F. A. S. T.
plus the toyota brand is reliable - the engine would last me a LONG time definatly better than my acura now (its at 196,049 miles..) and its an 88!
keeps breaking down..

How much does torque help in a race?? any ideas on that??

Also - What if i looked into a Acura Integra - A 94-95 and put an h23 block in it and swapped an h22 head on top of it? would that be quick?

anyhow - thanks for all your advice - please keep giving it!
nobody
ps and if any of that is wrong please tell me.. i cant afford to make a mistake on this.. =)

also - my mechanic and i are very close - i call him all the time with problems and i work on cars with him... needless to say he really knows what he's doing, will do it for cheap, and is just a great guy - so if i have issues with the car.. he'd help in no problem.

This post has been edited by nObOdy: Mar 16, 2005 - 3:34 PM