Not sure about my Celica anymore, not sure if its worth working on Options

[NaderG]

When I first bought my Celica and came to this site, I was so enthusiastic about working on it. I fell in love with the car and the idea of having it the way I wanted, and I fell in love with the 3sgte engine and the thought of a GT4 conversion.

I forgot who was it that told me, but someone recommended that I sat down and thought about what I really wanted to do with my car. Well I did alot of thinking, and with my budget, by the time I have enough money to get the dream celica I wanted 4 years would've passed by.

I never knew doing an engine and tranny swap would be so expensive.

I know most would probably respond with; its a process that takes patience and time, and you need money for these kind of things, it never comes easy; but I still wanted to work on my car.

By the end of the year I should have atleast 1 grand saved up, and I expected to accomplish something with that money..but it seems that even a bodykit is out of reach with my budget. (I'm a college student with a crappy job at radioshack, with bills up the a@#; not some broke bum).

Yeah I know I'm kinda impatient, but I'd like at the least for my car to be a manual so that I can get more out of my everyday driving experience.

So my question is, with my situation is attempting to hook up my car even worth it? Or should I just buy a crappy manual coupe and work on that (I'm still paying for my celica btw)...I don't know what route to take, and I'm disappointed that I feel discouraged when I grew to love my little st celica

Edit: I was even willing to take a different and alot cheaper route than a gt4 conversion- getting a 4a-ge engine and a manual tranny and a invader bodykit..but I dont know what I'll be looking at there $$ wise

I feel the exact same way , the moment i found this website i started planing what i will do: a 3sgte swap , gt4 front end conversion , custom interior , it all seemed fine , and with all the quotes i had , cost wasnt that bad either , about 8-9K to get eveything done and get a 250 hp GREAT looking Convertible that is absolutley unique since no one would have one exactly like it... a few months into the whole thing , i painted my interior plastic , changed a couple of lights here and there and it felt good ! .... but then the big stuff came in , an engine swap needs a place and alot of time ..things i dont have as a college student .... then i kept seeing all theese ppl seeling their customized celis after spending endless hours of works and thousands of dollars saying that it is time to move on .... i knew that i am probably never going to get the money i put into the car back ..... i was discourged even more to see that the engine swap would be illegal ..... but i tried to fight it and stay on task , finding solutions here and there... but then the big one hit me ! lol , my dad is anti-custom .... so now i just got my car painted and i will use it for a couple of years , sell it and buy a an already fast car ..... ofcourse i am going to enjoy the hell out of that time cause it is a great car !

[kerosene]

what are the specs of both?

If you're gonna try to debate with me about making 280hp out of a 4AG... at least know the specs dude...

Bigport 4AGE aka Bluetop (although also came with red lettered valve covers). There are two versions of this motor with nearly identical specs performance-wise. The difference was the bottom-end, the earlier ones having the smaller 40mm crank versus the later models with the 42mm crank. Both versions used TVIS.
112-115 hp
97-100 ft lbs of torque

Smallport 4AGE aka Redtop. Although they only came with the red lettering, "redtop" is an inaccurate name because the previous gen motors had the exact same valve covers. Smallport, high-comp, or non-TVIS is the more accurate name.
138-140hp
100 ft lbs of torque

you can get 280 from the 4age v20 silvertop....

[FortuneCookie]

wtf is a redtop? Theres a blacktop and silvertop from 4age then beams is red... unless its painted

Dude, you are talking about the 20V 4AGE with VVT. They come in Silver and Black top. The older model 4AGE's were identified as Red top and Blue top. But as Kwanza says, Red top is mislead becuz there are 2 variations. AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BEAMS 4AGE! There is only 3SGE BEAMS. AND, ofcourse you can get 280hp out of the 4AGE 20V. But that would have to have been TURBOd. Shoot, they can even hit the 400hp mark TURBO'd. But not Naturally Aspired. No 4AGE can hit those high numbers N/A. Atleast not that I know of. Do a little bit of your homework. And listen to Kwanza. That guy has done practically 80% swaps ever done out there. He is like another DrTweak. Debating with him when you say that a 4age beams is red, lol, good luck.

[celiracer]

When I first bought my Celica and came to this site, I was so enthusiastic about working on it. I fell in love with the car and the idea of having it the way I wanted, and I fell in love with the 3sgte engine and the thought of a GT4 conversion.

I forgot who was it that told me, but someone recommended that I sat down and thought about what I really wanted to do with my car. Well I did alot of thinking, and with my budget, by the time I have enough money to get the dream celica I wanted 4 years would've passed by.

I never knew doing an engine and tranny swap would be so expensive.

I know most would probably respond with; its a process that takes patience and time, and you need money for these kind of things, it never comes easy; but I still wanted to work on my car.

By the end of the year I should have atleast 1 grand saved up, and I expected to accomplish something with that money..but it seems that even a bodykit is out of reach with my budget. (I'm a college student with a crappy job at radioshack, with bills up the a@#; not some broke bum).

Yeah I know I'm kinda impatient, but I'd like at the least for my car to be a manual so that I can get more out of my everyday driving experience.

So my question is, with my situation is attempting to hook up my car even worth it? Or should I just buy a crappy manual coupe and work on that (I'm still paying for my celica btw)...I don't know what route to take, and I'm disappointed that I feel discouraged when I grew to love my little st celica

Edit: I was even willing to take a different and alot cheaper route than a gt4 conversion- getting a 4a-ge engine and a manual tranny and a invader bodykit..but I dont know what I'll be looking at there $$ wise

Hey man. I know how you feel. The celica is a sweet looking car and last forever. But like everyone says you have to put your heart into it to build the car. It takes a lot of time and it takes a lot of patients. I'm only 20 years old. I bought my celica when i was 17 and didn't get it looking like it is now untill last fall, and its still not even close to being done. I gotta get my 3s in there. And i also gotta paint my engine bay. The celica has a lot of stuff that can be done to it. It just takes lots and lots of time. If you don't have the patients or the love of the car then don't think about putting the time and money into it.

[Rayme]

Its real simple dude, you have a part time ass job, and you're in college. Your car is the last place your money should be, unless you have really good parents

[kerosene]

wtf is a redtop? Theres a blacktop and silvertop from 4age then beams is red... unless its painted

Dude, you are talking about the 20V 4AGE with VVT. They come in Silver and Black top. The older model 4AGE's were identified as Red top and Blue top. But as Kwanza says, Red top is mislead becuz there are 2 variations. AND THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BEAMS 4AGE! There is only 3SGE BEAMS. AND, ofcourse you can get 280hp out of the 4AGE 20V. But that would have to have been TURBOd. Shoot, they can even hit the 400hp mark TURBO'd. But not Naturally Aspired. No 4AGE can hit those high numbers N/A. Atleast not that I know of. Do a little bit of your homework. And listen to Kwanza. That guy has done practically 80% swaps ever done out there. He is like another DrTweak. Debating with him when you say that a 4age beams is red, lol, good luck.

I meant it as beams is the only red one... i know its a 3s... I was talking abuot 280 on another topic for the silver top, i didn't even know red/blue existed...

[trdcelica94]

thats true. you rarely see a celica like ours driving around. mmostly see those civics, integras, sti, evos, etc. dont get me wrong sti and evos are nice , but too much ppl have them. thats why its so hard to find parts for our car in the states. not like a honda civic you can find parts everywhere.

This post has been edited by trdcelica94: Oct 20, 2007 - 4:36 PM

[99GT]

I buy small parts for my car every once in awhile. Feels like a new car and makes me can't wait. All happy for it haha...

Like buying gauges, a pillar, turbo and manifold. I'm 20, schooling and full time working. $320 a month for the dang car.

[kerosene]

I buy small parts for my car every once in awhile. Feels like a new car and makes me can't wait. All happy for it haha...

Like buying gauges, a pillar, turbo and manifold. I'm 20, schooling and full time working. $320 a month for the dang car.

yep thats what i do... and you are good for a while if you add something like 1 a month...

[94CelicaDragon]

When I first bought my Celica and came to this site, I was so enthusiastic about working on it. I fell in love with the car and the idea of having it the way I wanted, and I fell in love with the 3sgte engine and the thought of a GT4 conversion.

I forgot who was it that told me, but someone recommended that I sat down and thought about what I really wanted to do with my car. Well I did alot of thinking, and with my budget, by the time I have enough money to get the dream celica I wanted 4 years would've passed by.

I never knew doing an engine and tranny swap would be so expensive.

I know most would probably respond with; its a process that takes patience and time, and you need money for these kind of things, it never comes easy; but I still wanted to work on my car.

By the end of the year I should have atleast 1 grand saved up, and I expected to accomplish something with that money..but it seems that even a bodykit is out of reach with my budget. (I'm a college student with a crappy job at radioshack, with bills up the a@#; not some broke bum).

Yeah I know I'm kinda impatient, but I'd like at the least for my car to be a manual so that I can get more out of my everyday driving experience.

So my question is, with my situation is attempting to hook up my car even worth it? Or should I just buy a crappy manual coupe and work on that (I'm still paying for my celica btw)...I don't know what route to take, and I'm disappointed that I feel discouraged when I grew to love my little st celica

Edit: I was even willing to take a different and alot cheaper route than a gt4 conversion- getting a 4a-ge engine and a manual tranny and a invader bodykit..but I dont know what I'll be looking at there $$ wise

Slow down dude! You've got your whole life to work on your car you know. Do you really need a 3sgte engine? If you got pulled over and some cop looked under the hood and saw that ****, he'd most likely get It towed, or give you a ticket with a big fine or some retarded shi t like that. I mean, One day I would like to convert my ST to 4wd, but Im not worried about that now, I have to do whats best for me at this point In time, and as long as my 7afe Is running good, and I can get a new part for It here and there, that's good enough for me. Right now, Im focused on fixing/replaceing part's that I think will fail soon, and customizing the Interior, Sure I have a list of thing's that I want, and everytime I can take my pen check one off Is a good day, you know? Your a gollege student right? I assume that your going for sometihng that will make you a lot of money right? Just keep your Celica tuned and In good condition, then when you get that good job with those fat pay check's, then start the transformation of your Celica!

[crismillencolin]

reliable ha , my car ate two engines in two years .

3sfe is weak **** .

OR, you drive like S*** ... a car is only as good as its driver, and if you killed 2 motors, that would mean you suck at driving

Unless you know what happened , and you dont stfu .

I bought it and the engine went two days later (from a mechanic)Big ends , apparantly he would have known as he sold it , the oil in the engine was like tar .
I replaced the 3sfe and the engine started spewing out blue smoke after a year , unlucky with the engine i guess .
This is my 13th car and only one that i've had too swap engines on .

[94CelicaDragon]

reliable ha , my car ate two engines in two years .

3sfe is weak **** .

OR, you drive like S*** ... a car is only as good as its driver, and if you killed 2 motors, that would mean you suck at driving

Unless you know what happened , and you dont stfu .

I bought it and the engine went two days later (from a mechanic)Big ends , apparantly he would have known as he sold it , the oil in the engine was like tar .
I replaced the 3sfe and the engine started spewing out blue smoke after a year , unlucky with the engine i guess .
This is my 13th car and only one that i've had too swap engines on .

Youve gone through 13 car's...?

[crismillencolin]

yes i get bored easy - i had an mr2 over the summer , then sold it .

Bit bright



This post has been edited by crismillencolin: Oct 22, 2007 - 8:05 PM