Our Community is 662,000 Strong. Join Us.

Please Register or Login to access: DriverSide DriverSide Home | Service & Repair | Car Prices | Parts & Accessories | Reviews & Advice | My Garage

Question about swapping in a 3SGTE in an NA MR2


hammyox85
08-20-2002, 11:44 AM
Sup all, I am thinking of getting a N/A 1991 MR2 and I was wondering if I were to swap it with a 3SGTE engine Rear Clip would I need to do any modifications to the MR2 or it's engine bay to make the engine work corectly? Thanks! and would the JDM 3SGTE 245HP engine work also?

bchiles
06-30-2004, 12:15 PM
I am going to do a similar swap and form the people that I talked to it bolts in... but make sure you have everything that you need

JekylandHyde
06-30-2004, 02:47 PM
Yes it bolts in ... just make sure you have all of the parts you need.

nbw
06-30-2004, 03:51 PM
ive heard more then a few times thats its best to just get the turbo mr2... why is(or was) this?

JekylandHyde
06-30-2004, 03:55 PM
... because a swap will never be the same sa when Toyota assembled it. Plus the Turbo comes with a lot of nice other features (fog lights, CD storage ,etc ...)

With the used market the way it is now, it doesn't pay to swap IMO. There are plenty of cheap turbos out there. Heck, I only paid $1750 for Hyde and he was running and inspected when I bought him :)

Kaddie
06-30-2004, 11:45 PM
yeah but how much did it cost you to get hyde to a "nice" condition. not counting all the preformance stuff you did to it. mainly to fix anything wrong with it

nbw
07-01-2004, 12:31 AM
hmm, dont all(or almost all) turbo mk2's come as t-tops?
Way I see it a lighter(and stiffer?) vehicle would be nice :P

btw, I still cant believe you got hyde for $1.7k, thats a complete steal :eek7:

heh, I'd be ecstatic if I can find a 'nice' na mk1 for 1k localy.. :silly:
(but thats an intirely dif topic..)

JekylandHyde
07-01-2004, 08:08 AM
MKII's came in T-tops, sunroofs and very few hard tops.

Hyde was a steal and I have a lot of dough into him.
But I could have had him in fine stock running condition for less than $5K total.

nbw ... I am buying a a MK1 for $650 in 2 weeks :)
It's got a bad engine though.

1986 red sunroof car is coming to the Jekyl Hyde Racing stable. :)

ac427cpe
07-01-2004, 07:40 PM
mk1 w/ bad engine.... do i smell another mk1.5?

JekylandHyde
07-01-2004, 08:50 PM
... no no. Not any time soon.

I have an agenda with Hyde. That will be resolved before I build antoher project. This '86 is replacing my current daily driver ... that is all.

nbw
07-01-2004, 09:04 PM
yeah sure thats what they all say... :p

hehe

ghetto7o2azn
07-02-2004, 11:28 PM
... because a swap will never be the same sa when Toyota assembled it. Plus the Turbo comes with a lot of nice other features (fog lights, CD storage ,etc ...)

With the used market the way it is now, it doesn't pay to swap IMO. There are plenty of cheap turbos out there. Heck, I only paid $1750 for Hyde and he was running and inspected when I bought him :)

but wut if ur n/a only has 36,000 miles on it and u cant find a turbo in that good shape and you want to do the swap?

JekylandHyde
07-05-2004, 06:42 AM
There are situations were doing a swap may be the ideal choice for your circumstances. Other factors always change things.

Yeah ... a 36,000 mile chasis might be worhht investing into a swap if that is what you really want.

Personally, I would keep the NA cherry and find a beat turbo to play with. You can get a used beat turbo for as much as a rear clip to do a proper swap.

ghetto7o2azn
07-05-2004, 06:49 PM
thats true :icon16:

Bendy_Imoc
07-11-2004, 03:53 PM
I am thinking about doing the same thing with my car swapping the 2nd gen 3sgte into my 91 NA. My engine either need rebuilding or replacing in the next year or so and thats why I'm even thinking of doing the swap. The 91 chasis and engine have around 140,000 miles on them. I think in my situation with one engine going out it's the best time for the new and better one to come in. I don't have too much experience with this but my goal is to get my car running 12's. From what I've read it's not too hard or too expensive if you use some choice mods.

I'd like anyones opinion on this wether they think that I should do the swap and wether my goal of 12's in the quarter are realistic while still being a daily driver. I thought about selling the car and buying a turbo but finding a running turbo for cheap in my area seems to be a challenge.

TRD2000
07-11-2004, 04:13 PM
well doing the swap shouldn't be too hard... provided you take into account the differences, they are the same car! check radiator size! gearbox ratios are different and a bunch of ather stuff. 12's are realistic, but concentrate on getting the swap right first. i'm gonna swap my 3s-gte to a newer engine some time ... mainly so i can build the new engine up completely before i drop it in...

Bendy_Imoc
07-11-2004, 04:33 PM
12's are realistic, but concentrate on getting the swap right first. I am glad to hear that 12's is realistic cause I really wanted to be running with my dads camaro. As for getting the swap right I expect to spend the first six months or more making sure everything is perfect and broken in properly. Also someone told me with the jdm wiring harness and ecu I am going to have to re wire it to properly get my electronics working. Something about it being wired for a right hand drive car causes the cars electronics to be querky. After everything is good I will start with the mods. I am thinking of using a Wolf engine management system and upping the boost to 14 psi with the stock turbo. Then if I wanna do more boost i will replace or upgrade the turbo through some company like turbonetics.

TRD2000
07-11-2004, 04:41 PM
yeah i've been trying to find out more about the wolf 3d v4 ...emailed them, no luck. thinkl it would be good but dont know upgradability. dad's camaro? please. you do know the potential these engines have don't you? i'd be dissappointed if you didn't match it with standard tubo... specially if the road got windy..

Bendy_Imoc
07-11-2004, 05:15 PM
yeah i've been trying to find out more about the wolf 3d v4 ...emailed them, no luck. thinkl it would be good but dont know upgradability. dad's camaro? please. you do know the potential these engines have don't you? i'd be dissappointed if you didn't match it with standard tubo... specially if the road got windy..

LOL yeah no my dads camaro is not leaving the drag strip. I should be able to match him on it too with ease. I am gonna try to get my car to do well in the quarter mile and still be able to handle with the best of em on a windy road.

I was first told about the Wolf systems by my mechanic who will probably be doing the swap with me. He told me with the Wolf you can have the computer control in your car with pre programmed chips. Where I will be able to pop a chip into the control that automaticly changes the air fuel mixture and timing for the type of condition I'm running the car on. For example a chip for best gas miliege on long trips, a chip for drag racing, a chip for auto cross type racing. I'm not sure it's as easy as he describes it but it still sounds like a good system to use.

I love my car despite it's many problems and I want to build on it and make it in to a car I will end up keeping for a long time. It's my first car and my second MR2 in a way cause I drove my brothers 86 NA for a short while until it decided to die on me.

JekylandHyde
07-12-2004, 06:46 AM
I am in the 11s and their absolutely no reason I couldn't drive my car every day.
Mike Colon had a 10 second MR2 that is street driven.
There are many, many MR2s in the 12s that are daily drivers.

Bendy_Imoc
07-12-2004, 11:47 AM
I am in the 11s and their absolutely no reason I couldn't drive my car every day.
Mike Colon had a 10 second MR2 that is street driven.
There are many, many MR2s in the 12s that are daily drivers.

Thats really really good to hear. I was worried about it at first when I was planning it out. After reading these forums and what all the people who have experience with this have to say. My plans have changed so much and a new one is growing. It's great, I'm really excited to get started on my car.

There might be one thing that you guys might be able to help me with. Within the next 6 months depending on how this new job goes. I will be purchasing my new turbo engine and installing it. First off I would like to know if any of you know a good place to go through. The original engine I was looking at was the JDM 93 with lsd. The guy that i was getting it from quoted me $2100 shipped to my city where I then would have to pick it up. This includes everything engine, trans, ecu and wiring harness cut behind the seats. The company he gets his motors from I believe was called motor wrecks. I've heard mixed reviews about these guys and am not sure I want to go through them. If any of you have any tips on buying the engine or what engine I should get and where from let me know. I would greatly appreciate the info from you experienced forum members. Oh and the last thing I wanted to know is if going with a JDM engine shipped in or with a US spec would be better.
The US spec seems to be a bit harder to find. Especially one that I could use.

TRD2000
07-12-2004, 04:43 PM
i know bugger all about us spec, cept they dont have the horses but thats the cat mainly. hey hyde, what have you done to run 11's? and do you know how much power you have?

JekylandHyde
07-12-2004, 09:35 PM
TRD2000, click here: http://www.jekylhyderacing.com
Then click Hyde ... then clikc modifications

As my siggy states, I dynoed at 308 rwhp at 20 psi of boost. I am running 11s at 21-23 psi of boost.

Add your comment to this topic!