Richee3's Progress thread., Wilwood BBK installed. Options

[bloodMoney]

You reuse all your OEM mounts. It all lines up provided you get the motor angled right on the hoist before you try to drop it into the bay.

[richee3]

Do it, Brian. You won't regret it.

Ricochet, as Chris said, you will reuse your motor mounts if you have a GT. I picked my BEAMS up for $900 with no tranny or ECU. If you have a manual GT, you can use the factory transmission and you can pick up an ECU from Nengun Auctions. The swap is almost plug and play and bolts right in. And despite all the trouble I had, I've gotten to feel the BEAMS and I have the satisfaction of knowing I did it.

I have returned the Celica to her rightful owner and picked the IS 300 back up. The BEAMS is fun, but I did miss the six cylinder torque and the feeling of rear wheel drive simply can't be replaced. Now, unfortunately, it's time to start work on my own cars.

[Keiri]

Once I get a new daily driver and a way around emissions/inspections I think a Redtop will replace my 5S.

[bloodMoney]

Once I get a new daily driver and a way around emissions/inspections I think a Redtop will replace my 5S.

Just swap the old 5s back in when its time for emissions testing.

[Keiri]

Once I get a new daily driver and a way around emissions/inspections I think a Redtop will replace my 5S.

Just swap the old 5s back in when its time for emissions testing.

Haha, were it so easy.

[bloodMoney]

Once all the wiring is done, You could do it in a day.

unplug one motor, pull it out, put the old one back in....

I've considered doing this because they only test us once every two years here in Chicago.

[richee3]

Exhaust would be an issue, but it would be cheap to get it switched back and forth. You really could do it easily, Brian. I thought I was in way over my head when I started pulling my old 5S but it's 4 hoses and a handful of plugs. The 4 motor mounts are pretty obvious and very easy.

[richee3]

Yeah, I'm revving to 7,300 rpm. Don't be jealous.

[Bimbo]

I'm glad I kept reading this thread because I was about to buy an ST celica instead of a GT since it gives more mpg and this motor swap was so pain in the a**. Even if the GT gives less mpg than the ST I will purchase a GT model in the future so it can be easier to do the BEAMS swap. I'm happy you finished this swap. Can you say that you can kill in the quarter mile a civic or a integra?

[stephen_lee]

my V6 revs to 7,200 but it ddrops the ball that high

[richee3]

Bimbo- get a GT. I consistently got 32 mpg out of my 5 speed GT, even though the car is only rated to get 28. My swap in particular was a pain but that didn't have anything to do with GT or ST. With a GT, the BEAMS bolts right in and except for a select few wires, plugs right in. With the ST, you'll have to get different motor mounts and drill some holes in your frame. Having the GT to begin with makes the swap much easier and on top of that, you get a few bonuses like the s54 manual transmission that bolts right up to the BEAMS and the 3S-GTE and the GT rear disc brakes as opposed to the ST's rear drums. The GT just has more power all around as well. On paper, it's only something like 20 hp over the ST but I've had both and I can tell you that the GT is a much quicker car, hands down. As far as beating a Civic or a Teggy... Depends on the car. Any stock Civic or Integra, yeah. With ease. But they can do similar swaps just as easy, if not easier, than we can. In my opinion, it isn't about which car will win in the 1/4 mile. Yeah, that's fun and all, but real life daily driving isn't a race. To me, it's more about the feel of the car and the BEAMS makes this car feel great. The power isn't mind-blowing. It won't throw you back into your seat. What it does do, however, is rev up to it's 7,400 rpm redline and keep building power. You feel like it's begging for more at redline, whereas the stock GT and ST both run out of steam well before they reach their redline. With my 5S in the GT, I would always shift early just to stay in the powerband but with the BEAMS, you're never ready to upshift. I've driven several swapped Hondas and the 7th gen Celica GT-S and both are designed as high-revving, high horsepower lightweight cars. And both are gutless until they reach a certain RPM. I expected the same from the BEAMS but I was wrong. It has power no matter where you are and the higher you rev, the more power it keeps building. Granted, if you want all-out speed, go for the 3S-GTE but if you want a great reliable daily driver that'll put a grin on your face every single time you get in the car, the BEAMS is the way to go.

Stephen- I can take this one to 7,500, but the picture was pretty blurry so I just posted the picture of 7,300 and it's still pretty blurry.

[Bimbo]

Thanks for the quick reply. And yes I prefer reliability plus also a little fun driving. BEAMS all the way.

[BonzaiCelica]

wow interesting how you kept your gauges stock. You didnt even use the beams ones! Fuel Cut comes on at 7,450 rpm. It sounds so nice up their doesn't it.

[richee3]

My god it sounds fantastic. I even kept the 2" stock GT exhaust after the BEAMS B-pipe and it still sounds great. I kept m stock tach and used a Dakota Digital SGI-8D tach adapter. It's a little nervous sometimes. It starts twitching every now and then. It makes me a little nervous at times, seeing the red on the gauges and revving right into it and beyond even though I know the BEAMS can rev that high. It's so easy to rev it all the way to fuel cut unlike the 5S or 7A that die after 5k.

Another picture. Needs paint. I'll get around to that one day.



This post has been edited by richee3: Aug 7, 2011 - 2:26 PM

[enderswift]

good job man. should be a ton of fun at the meet

[richee3]

Yeah it will. I'm glad to see you're about to swap!

By the way, I just got 33 mpg out of the BEAMS and I haven't exactly been gentle with it. Granted, I wasn't hitting redline in every gear every time I took off, but I'd say this car could get a solid 36-37 mpg.

[ricochet1490]

Yeah it will. I'm glad to see you're about to swap!

By the way, I just got 33 mpg out of the BEAMS and I haven't exactly been gentle with it. Granted, I wasn't hitting redline in every gear every time I took off, but I'd say this car could get a solid 36-37 mpg.

That's what I wanted to hear. MPG stats. I'm tired of babying the throttle to get 30+ {granted in my auto } My car is running too good right now to pull this swap, but on the off chance I find a 6g with a torched motor for 400$ that's in decent shape.... you better believe it

[Bigblock]

richee3---

That's freakin' Bitchin'!!!

When I get home tonight, I will raise an ice cold Pepsi in honor of your work!!!
Then I will chase it with a Tequila double shot!!
LOL!!! Pepsi anyways ha ha ha!!!!

Congrats--- Envy reigns supreme over here!!!

[richee3]

Rob! You're coming to the meet! You don't have a choice.

[enderswift]

Stambo took me for a drive in his 3s swap last meet. And it was epic. Therefore I demand the same from you haha.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Aug 7, 2011 - 5:55 PM