I just bought a 1994 Celica GT (Black) at a junkyard here in tennessee...

The guy told me that some kid left it here after wrecking it, because he wanted to get a new celica anyways... apparently the kid or his father was rich ...

I picked up this Celica for 500 dollars...

Repairs :
- New Front Bumper
- New Front Windshield
- Radiator
- Distributor

That is ALL that was required to make this car run PERFECTLY (mechanically sound). My father and i can find nothing else wrong with this car.

Next thing that was wrong, and i just found out about 3 days ago was that the frame was bent a little...
I got this fixed, all the dents taken out, and a full new paint job.

My question is...

Should i spend a lot of money and get a 3rd gen 3sgte swap (the labor is free considering my father and i will do it) , or should i just use this car as an everyday driving car, and spend my money on something else.

I just dont want to spend all that money on a car, and then realize that it wasnt worth it , or that i could have spent my money on something much nicer.

Any suggestions?

i got my car from tennessee, and my 2nd gen 3s as well. Ive spent way too much just to get the car to run and return the actual car itself to stock. (the car was missing a lot of things that had been parted off of it)

driving it for the first time last weekend, only being able to go into second gear with no power steering; it was worth every penny


so my advice would be why not go with a 2nd gen instead? its not that far off performance wise, and its a lot cheaper.

This post has been edited by jcbass7: Nov 27, 2006 - 2:00 PM

for $500... it'll be a nice start for a project car. but it all depends on how much ya like the celi...

if i didnt totally love the looks of the celica id rather build up an mr2 RWD.
but unfortunately i cant part with the celica, maybe AWD someday. i guess like shin said it depends oh how much you love your car

Yeah i love my celica and I don't think i'll ever give it up.. if I had the option to have my dad put in a 3sgte.. i'd do it in a heartbeat..

so my vote.. DO IT!

keep it and do the swap

thats what im hopin to do someday

if you can hook me up with a link if you bought that threw an importer and let me know how much it is

we all dream of swaps

I honestly think its worth the money. You will never find a car with so many curves and so rare like the 6th gen celica

my vote keep the car!! i got mine for 500 as well, got it with some high miles, but everything else is pretty much sound, interior is really nice as is the exterior. have some big plans this winter to like you have a father son build on the car. imo... ya already put that much work into it, id say finish it off n have a nice car for yourself =)

>


yep thats how i feel, i love the looks of the car and there's not one around every corner.

man....this is a simple question.....jsut go look around on this site at some of the more finer celicas "tuffy" "celiracer" "coomer" thats jsut a few off the top of my head, but hteres a bunch of nice celicas, take one llook at any of them, and you will want ot keep it, and modify the **** out of it!

id say since you gusy kno what ur doin, then go for the swap, because its....not exectally fast untill you swap something into it. adn plus you could still sue it as a daily driver....in a way.

id say swap it.
then
get a body kit or someting

Ok then i've decided to keep it and do the swap (i found a 3sgte... actually 2... one for 800 and one for 1400 not sure on gen) ....

Afterwards, what mods do i want? I need something mid-price range, not extremely expensive but not cheap as hell... i want the car to be respectable in both looks and power / performance

i plan on erebuni full body kit with angel eyes so far

any ideas? (Black paint, probably 15% tint, and not sure on rims yet)

Help with rims and mods!

Wanna get a list started before i start, so i can have a general price range for starters... i realize that once i acheive that goal, ill probably spend more... but i need goals to reach first

do a gt-4 front end conversion.

its hott

not sure how much it costs thou.
get the newer taillights, they look alot nicer.
get some projectors
and then it will look quite respectable.

taillights are prolly like $250-$300 ish
projectors $600-$800....$600 if your really F*ing lucky

I'd say get a second gen clip, make sure you actually get a clip unless you are positive the engine comes with everything you need. I did my swap with an engine and not a clip and it worked out fine, but others have not been so lucky.

By going second gen you will save a lot, and then you can take tha money and pour it into the engine.. Most likely you will need a new clutch and why not do a lightweight flywheel while its open. Do the mateniance on the engine, and also you will probably want a front mount intercooler. My hood doesn't close right now because of the the top mount. You will also want to DEFINATLY upgrade the exhaust possibly from turbo back (3in) if you can afford a good Down Pipe.

So I'd start with the swap and making it run safe, reliable and to its potential. then you can go all out on the body and what not.

your swap right out of the box will do low 14's high 13's with the right driver.