Hey look, a HalfTrac.

I'm getting close to the point where i pull my car out of it's 2+ year hibernation and finally finish it. The rest of my projects are getting wrapped up right now. (Please let me know if there's interest in those, currently assembling hopefully a National-level SCCA Solo SMF car.)

Time to get the Celica moving again. It's not an AllTrac, it's a 92 GT hatch. Previously i did most of the suspension and exterior work, so now on to the fun stuff.

Last weekend, i picked up my starting point for the motor. (Still have to find a trans to go with my TRD LSD)

Got a gen2 out of an MR2 Turbo with a case of rod bearing soup. Complete minus wiring harness, ecu, map sensor, and has a cracked cam gear. Came with blown turbo (likely cause of rod bearing soup) and an ST205 trans. (That i'll be selling, i have no use for it.)

And with that, i already have my first question.

I'm "only" looking for 350-400whp in this 2300-2400lb FWD car. The way i see it, i have a few options, and for the life of me, i can't tell which is best. Being that this motor already needs to be gone through, it's unlikely that i'll just rebuild to stock specs. I'd like to pick up some efficiency, as well as gain headroom for if i were to ever dump the motor in an MR2 down the road.

1) Try to be a little more efficient. Stock bottom end, headwork/cams.
2) MORE efficient. Built bottom end with higher compression, headwork/cams.
3) Build bottom end to be bombproof in case i get bored and want to try my hand at Sport Compact drags. (heh, right.)
4) Stroker. I have the block and crank out of the Celica currently that could be used.

Cost isn't really an issue, but i'm also not looking to build a $10k motor. Of course, i would rather do it RIGHT the first time, and not have to re-do anything. I'm starting to get burnt out working on all these cars, and if i could put this together and not have to pull the motor ever again, i'd be extremely happy. :lol:

Which of these would you guys recommend in a light FWD car? My gut says "stroker," but i'm a little worried about the torque/spool characteristics when combined with FWD. Of course, i could also size turbo appropriately, so there is that. Are the strokers just as "revvy" as the 2.0s? I already have a FWD "grunter" in my MX6, and i have no interest in exploring that particular realm again. It sucks spinning into 4th gear.






Oh... and the goal for the car? I'm not real sure anymore. The car was NO fun at all to drive when i parked it. It developed a front end noise, which in retrospect i'm pretty sure is just a bad balljoint. It was so awful to drive i didn't even bother fixing it, it's just sat for two years. I'm sure everything is crusty, interior probably waterlogged due to a couple leaks i never took care of, brakes are shot, shocks might not have held up.

Why was it awful? Not enough power to even make the chassis THINK of pulling any shenanigans. Required no finesse or attention to drive anymore. It was obnoxiously fast in tight technical roads, but just didn't involve you at all. It was hammer down, turn the wheel, and blaaaaahhhhh. I still stand by "suspension and brakes first," but in this case, i overdid it badly.

I originally wanted to build this thing as a fast street car. But i already have that. (Turbo Miata, 90 MX6 GT)
Then i wanted to build it for SCCA Solo competition. But i already have that. (SMF Escort, which could also be considered a fast street car on occasion.)

So... i'm just going to build it and see what happens. Might end up as a Time Trial/Hill Climb car. Might end up as a nice hardparker that actually gets driven hard. I really don't know.

sounds like it could be a fun project. i was wanting to somewhat the same thing but with a st162. good luck with your build

Enkei RP01 ftw, good luck with the project!

Thanks guys!

And yes... 16x8 +35 RP01 Special Editions.

Very nice car man i really like what you have done it looks fantastic.
Alex

It looks sex.

Would you be willing to sell just the transfer case assembly from that trans if you can't find a buyer?

scottytohotty":ypm289ip said:

Very nice car man i really like what you have done it looks fantastic.
Alex

Click to expand...

Thanks! It photographs well, but it's a 10 footer at best, really. The paint didn't match too well on the fenders/bumper, and it wasn't done well, period.

I need to make the decision somewhat soon if i want to have the body completely gone through and re-painted or not. But, because it'll be driven, and driven hard, i'm not real sure how much i care. It looks decent and aggressive, and that's most of what i care about.

On the other hand... it IS my baby and it'd be nice to have it look nice.

New Guy":ypm289ip said:

It looks sex.

Would you be willing to sell just the transfer case assembly from that trans if you can't find a buyer?

Click to expand...

Potentially... i'd prefer not to, but if i can remember how to convert the trans to FWD AND it can use the E153 LSD i already have, maybe. Does the E154F use the same axles as the E153s?

nice halftrac you got there. you already have the exterior lookin nice, now do the swap... lols.. anyways, if your interested i do have an extra e153 here with me. i dont know how much shipping would be, but the trans was running before it was pulled out. its an e153 from camry/solara so it has the shorter final gear. 2nd and 3rd grinds a little bit. forsure, your lsd unit will work in this and the same time not have to worry about converting awd trans to fwd. i do recommend replacing syncros too if you can in it. throw me an offer if you interested, i do have it up in the forsale section for $200... lmk

Good luck! Looks so clean with the RC/CS bumper and scooples/ventless bonnet.

celicast184":24qzl04m said:

nice halftrac you got there. you already have the exterior lookin nice, now do the swap... lols.. anyways, if your interested i do have an extra e153 here with me. i dont know how much shipping would be, but the trans was running before it was pulled out. its an e153 from camry/solara so it has the shorter final gear. 2nd and 3rd grinds a little bit. forsure, your lsd unit will work in this and the same time not have to worry about converting awd trans to fwd. i do recommend replacing syncros too if you can in it. throw me an offer if you interested, i do have it up in the forsale section for $200... lmk

Click to expand...

Any idea how much the synchros run for replacements? I'm interested for sure. Where are you located, and shipping quote to 46237? (Ballpark is fine)

I thought the Solara/Camry unit had longer gearing, though? Or do you mean lower number final? Or just shorter?

Tazka":24qzl04m said:

Good luck! Looks so clean with the RC/CS bumper and scooples/ventless bonnet.

Click to expand...

Thanks!!! I keep going back and forth as to whether or not i want to go with the RC/CS hood or not. I'm going to be running a FMIC, and while the venting of that hood would be cool, i bet i can figure out otherwise to take care of heat. (Small extractor panels, or cut louvers into the hood itself)

And here's another technical question:

Are upgraded valves anything worth doing for the power levels i'm looking for, as in will they gain ANY benefit at all? (350-400whp)

If so, what's recommended? +1mm? +2mm? Different sizes on intake vs. exhaust?

Ferrea part numbers?


IMPORTANT INFO:
I'm sure they aren't necessary for the power levels themselves, but the idea here is to get a massive powerband. The CATCH here is that i'm FWD, and will be using an oversized turbo, so i need extended rev range up top, would like to keep this thing flowing well at ~8000-8500rpms so i can have the progressive spool a larger turbo offers (to keep traction coming out of corners in FWD car), but not have a dyno queen powerband. Cams will be happening.

All the Ferrea part numbers i'm seeing are for 90-95. Does this stuff not fit gen3 head?



Also: Am i correct in assuming that a Comp CT467 would probably be too large?

My personal opinion:
-No stroker, just do a standard "budget" 2.0 bottom end: eagle rods, wiseco or other decent piston, etc. ATS should have some good options. You don't need extra torque in a fwd application. That said, you do already have the 2.2 block and crank, it's just that it might end up being more hassle than it's worth mixing and matching the pieces to get it right. Up to you, but I always err on the side of simplicity.
-Don't do any headwork other than smallish cams. Porting and polishing of 3s heads have rarely shown much benefit. Stock head casting has done 700whp before. I think with 264 cams you probably don't need upgraded springs unless you are significantly upping the rev limit. Keep it simple and just throw some cams in and keep the stock valves.
-DON'T use an oversized turbo. Yes, traction may be an issue, but it will be worse with a really peaky powerband that an oversized turbo will give you. As soon as boost hits power will ramp up so quickly that you will be more likely to break the tires loose. You want a nice smooth powerband so your tires don't have to deal with a sudden burst of power. I'd look into something along the lines of a GT3071. There's tons of turbo sizing discussions on mr2oc.com for the 350-400whp power range. If you're breaking loose too early, look into running drag radials on the front wheels or sticky road race tires.

Anyway, like what you've done with the car so far. Good luck on the build!
J.

lumbercis":2c2hrrkc said:

My personal opinion:
-No stroker, just do a standard "budget" 2.0 bottom end: eagle rods, wiseco or other decent piston, etc. ATS should have some good options. You don't need extra torque in a fwd application. That said, you do already have the 2.2 block and crank, it's just that it might end up being more hassle than it's worth mixing and matching the pieces to get it right. Up to you, but I always err on the side of simplicity.
-Don't do any headwork other than smallish cams. Porting and polishing of 3s heads have rarely shown much benefit. Stock head casting has done 700whp before. I think with 264 cams you probably don't need upgraded springs unless you are significantly upping the rev limit. Keep it simple and just throw some cams in and keep the stock valves.
-DON'T use an oversized turbo. Yes, traction may be an issue, but it will be worse with a really peaky powerband that an oversized turbo will give you. As soon as boost hits power will ramp up so quickly that you will be more likely to break the tires loose. You want a nice smooth powerband so your tires don't have to deal with a sudden burst of power. I'd look into something along the lines of a GT3071. There's tons of turbo sizing discussions on mr2oc.com for the 350-400whp power range. If you're breaking loose too early, look into running drag radials on the front wheels or sticky road race tires.

Anyway, like what you've done with the car so far. Good luck on the build!
J.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the input!

What's the RPM point where upgraded springs are necessary? I would like to see 8000rpms minimum since having a nice fat 2nd/3rd gear is going to be key for what the car will be doing if it ever enters competition, and i hate building things twice.

Sticky tires are a go. The worst this thing will ever see will probably be 245/45-16 Toyo R1Rs or RA1s. I would continue running the Hankook RS tires, but they don't make them in the right size anymore. I may end up having to do some work to fit some 265/45-16 Kumhos. :evil:

Just because pics or it didn't happen....

Got a deal on a turbo i couldn't pass up. I'm not 100% sure it'll do exactly what i need, but we'll find out. I'm going with it, and if it's too laggy, i put something else on. No big deal.

It's a big Borg Warner T4. Specs to follow, but what i remember off the top of my head is that it's got a 70mm compressor wheel, 80trim that side, 69.5mm exhaust wheel, 1.12 a/r.

Looks like a nice score on parts

1.12 A/R on a T4 is going to take weeks to spool on a 3s. Better add some nitrous

RedCelicaTRD":3o6jc2cz said:

1.12 A/R on a T4 is going to take weeks to spool on a 3s. Better add some nitrous

Click to expand...

I've got a buddy that works at Borg Warner at the moment... he thinks spool should start around 4k.

But hey, like i said, if it doesn't work, no worries. I'll either sell it or throw it on my MX6 for lulz. I'd hope the 3s would spool it, it's a much better motor than what's in the MX6, and i know for a fact the MX6 will spool it with no problems.