V6 swap, for me, better than 3S-GTE, Yep, here we go again Options

[K-ESD]

It can be done, i know that.

I'm currently exploring my options for the possibilty of that swap.

I'm desperate to know more about it. I searched but all i can find is the same darn thing over and over "is it possible yes, blah blah blah". I need more details. I read adrian's posts in celicatech.com but he just wrote a scratch about it. I'm thinking about getting a 3MZ-FE and this is where I get confused.

From what I understand the 3MZ is a bored out 1MZ with vvti slapped on, this would mean that it would be possible to stuff a 230hp/242trq N/A engine with a 5spd (from the camry). Yumm !! But really, how does it compare to the 1MZ-FE on the outside. The 1MZ swap has been done on a 5th gen, as far as i know dimensions are identical (or very close) to the 6th gen. I know this will require alot of custom work that exceeds my knowlege/experience with car mecanics but i will seek help from my local gear heads to get this done. Right now i just have to know what goes and what doesn't as far as major components go (engine, tranny, etc...).

I'm really concidering this swap because a few things in my drivetrain are going.... concidering that my 5S-FE has 265k+ kms and i beat the shnit out of it everyday*. (what's the point of owning a sports car if ur gonna drive like a grandma). Something is going to break and I don't want to invest into what I already have, if i'm going to drop some money into my celica, i want something out of it.

Thanks in advance for your help

(p.s. found a 99' 1MZ-FE at a junk yard close to here for $900 cnd)

[lagos]

as for the labour, my "team", as i would like to call it , consists of relatives, friends, and local car enthusiats that are willing to help me out with this one. I will pay for their work, just not at the price of a swap shop. I don't doubt their skill either, most of them have done swaps and custom fabrication. Altho it worries me a little that it's something they have never done, i have confidence in them and myself.

I will be getting my hands dirty, i'm not gonna stand there and watch. I am learning and whatever i don't do, i will make sure i know what has been done and how it was done. As for electrical, this is where I shine, i'm a electrical engineer student and i'm just dying to get my hands on that big pile of wires called "the harness". If I can't do it, Doc is gonna get mail

i could go on about this but it's really not important to this thread so....

anyone else want to chip in their knowlege relating to the v6 (1MZ or 3MZ) swaps?

Thanks

there are 2 major problem that i see with your thinking. 1 is cost. you never know how much something is going to cost, untill its all said and done. the funny thing with car is, that you can do all the planning in the world, and still have unexpected things that happen, that change your budget in a drastic way.

2nd problem i see, is that you are depending on your friends to do this for you. i was thinking the same thing when i did my swap. i talked to a bunch of guys that i know that do all kinds of crazy work on their 11sec, rollcaged DSMs. they all told me the same thing, "hell yeah, bro... we will pop that motor in for you in a weekend! it will be awesome! " . then when the clip go to my garage, i called all of them back and they were nowhere to be found. so, one lesson youll quickly learn (like i did), is that this is YOUR SWAP, your car, and your money. if a few of your buddies come over for the weekend to give you hand, than thats awesome, but it will be you laying under the car, all alone at night, trying to figure out how to finish it. your buddys will head out the door quick when the going gets tough, because its not their car, and not their problem.

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as for reliability.... its foolish for anyone one to expect any motor swap, na, trubo, or v6, to be 110% realible. you are using a motor that came ouf of a car that no one wanted (this goes for the 3sgte as well) you dont know how it was treated, when the oil was changed, or if its blown when you get it. just keep that in mind and know that you will be poping the hood a lot more often then you ever had to do with your stock motor.

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as for the people who think that some of us are bashing you. we are just trying to help you. we know what its really like to do a swap. you always hear people say " oh that one is easy, you just pop that motor in and its done", but thats just hype talk. the reality is that any sawp is a ton of work and a lot of stress.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jan 19, 2006 - 4:03 PM