Advise Needed.....Urgent! Options

[csnow]

Ok,

I just bought a 94 STX, one owner, super clean, low mileage celica. This car was garage kept and has been in Florida since it was purchased. However, the 7AFE is just pathetic in regards to performance I am looking to to a 3SGTE swap and have been checking pricing and such. I found what appears to be a sweet deal on an entire car, but I wanted to see what you guys/gals thought of it first. It is a 92 GT-S with a 2nd Gen 3S already in it. The motor was built by Jamasco in Hollywood, FL and I know they are highly respected and have even won NHRA awards on their 3S 500 hp 7th gen celica. I spoke to Jamasco and they verified that they did indeed built and install this motor. This is the lowdown on the setup:

92 Celica GT-S (209k on body)
Eibach springs
All-trac hood

3SGTE ENGINE SWAP
SDS ENGINE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM
BALANCED AND BLUEPRINTED
WISECO FORGED PISTONS
SHOT PEANED AND MICROPOLISHED RODS
O-RINGED BLOCK
CUSTOM TURBO KIT
T3O4S HYBRID GARRETT TURBO (O TRIM TURBINE SIDE, 60 TRIM COMPRESSOR SIDE)
38 MM TURBOSMART ULTRAGATE EXTERNAL WASTEGATE
HKS TWIN SEQUENTIAL BLOW OFF VALVE
CUSTOM INTAKE MANIFOLD WITH 5" PLENUM
MR2 TURBO MANUAL TRANSMISSION
ACT CLUTCH AND PRESSURE PLATE

The motor has 4500 miles on it since it was built in September. The guy apparently drives about 40 min each way to work.

Here are my questions for you folks.

What kind of miles can you get out of a performance motor like this? I am assuming that 4500 miles is still considered very low considering the bottom end is so solid. Can this be an everyday driver?

The asking price on the car is 4K. The body is decent but rather ugly in my opinion compared to my STX. I will have to sell my car as I cannot afford both right now.

I am just not sure if I should by the 92 and drive it until I can buy another 6th gen or should I just hold and do a swap later and build my own 3S ( but with less beff as this one). I am leaning toward going with this due to I think its a good deal for the motor and tranny set up. I think it would be cheaper to save and buy another 6th gen later. Just adding up the parts and machine work on this motor puts it in the 7-8K range. But then again, it could start knocking in a week. The guy says he is doing real-estate now and needs a nicer car for clients and that is the only reason he is selling it. I rode in the car, and it is fast. Dyno shows over 300 to the wheels with 15 psi. I am guessing that would be around 330 to the crank.

LMK what ya think I should do?

Thanks in advance...

Chris

[rjbibeau]

isn't that car on ebay. i think i saw it

[csnow]

Yes it was, but the minimum was never reached. I drove down to look at it, and have been speaking with the owner and Jamasco.

[lagos]

if the motor was just built a few months ago, then i doubt the owner would want to get rid of it that fast. there must be some issues with how the car run?

[csnow]

if the motor was just built a few months ago, then i doubt the owner would want to get rid of it that fast. there must be some issues with how the car run?
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That is initially what I was thinking; however, he is a real-estate agent and having to sell the car to be able to show homes to clients is a legitimate reason for selling. The car runs very strong and has a smooth idle. Does appear to be running rich due to the exhaust soot accumulating on the rear bumber, but I would assume a turbo running 15 psi without water injection would need to be rich to prevent detonation. This is my first import, as I have always built cameros with sb 350s. I know from my former hot rod days that it is nearly impossible to recoup the cost of a performance engine. I would really like to be able to just buy the car and drop the setup in my 94, but this is not feasable with tax time approaching