Project desert storm

760gt4

New member
Hey guys, I'm from Palm springs, CA, it's about 2 hours east of LA. I bought my ST165 back in July of 2013 from a member on here and I'm finally starting to put some work into it. The previous owner spent a lot of time on this car but now that it's in my hands I want to take it into another direction. It has an almost stock rebuilt 1st gen motor but it's time to go 4th gen. I ordered the motor Wednesday morning and arrives at my house yesterday, so I would say that's pretty fast shipping.

Here's the ride
 

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760gt4

New member
Since the car has been sitting for almost 2 years the engine bay is pretty dirty.

Interior is in pretty decent shape.
View attachment 1

The ct20b gave out like a month after owning the car and I never got around to changing or rebuilding it since I was already thinking of swapping the engine along with the turbo.
 

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760gt4

New member
And this is what will be replacing the old 1st gen. View attachment 1


I will be removing the wiring harnesses from both motors so I can send them to Doug (wiregap) so he can do his thing and make my life easier.

One thing that concerns me is the ECU is for an automatic, and it wasn't plugged in to the new harness, instead dit came with 2 plugs connected and none of the plugs from my harness will fit the ecu. Will I HAVE to have the M/T ecu or can I make this one work?
 

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760gt4

New member
Then why won't any of the connectors from the harness fit the ecu? Am I completely overlooking something here?
 
The 2 white plugs plug into the ecu slots. All the other plugs are ignition coil, injectors, fuel pump relay, dash water temp, etc
 

760gt4

New member
I'll check again when I go home this weekend, but I don't think any of the plugs fit, including the 2 white ones.
 

underscore

Well-known member
The two white plugs in the center of that pic, below the grey one, look like they should fit into the two empty slots of the ECU.
 

760gt4

New member
I'll double check when I go home this weekend. Kind of sucks when I work out of state during the week.
 

Awesome-Trac

New member
I remember the previous owner who owned this car! Atleast it's went to a good home. What are you going to do with the old motor?
 

88st165

New member
Where did you source the motor? I've been shopping around but can't seem to pull the trigger on any of the ones on eBay.
 

760gt4

New member
Get rid of it. It over heated on me a few times, there were some major cooling issues with it so I'm not trying to keep it or the stock trans. I'm looking for an st205 transmission while the harness gets done.
 

UtahSleeper

Active member
Good luck. For me it was an easy swap, especially with wiregap doing the harness. The plugs should fit, assuming the motor came with the ecu.

I have had mine running with the auto ecu and it doesn't care. Doesn't even throw a CEL for no connected trans computer.
 

760gt4

New member
88st165":3uwhdkjh said:
Where did you source the motor? I've been shopping around but can't seem to pull the trigger on any of the ones on eBay.
On eBay. Check the seller's reputation, call the shop and take it from there. Utahsleeper got his off eBay too and it worked out just fine for him. I won't find out til I fire it up but the motor seems to be in real good shape.
 

760gt4

New member
So I'm gonna have a friend of mine ship the harness out to Doug (mr220v) tomorrow since I'm not home. While the harness is getting done I'm gonna order a few things:
clutch
new bushings all around
new gauge cluster since my speedometer doesn't work
St205 transmission.
 

88st165

New member
760gt4":19tc4xlo said:
88st165":19tc4xlo said:
Where did you source the motor? I've been shopping around but can't seem to pull the trigger on any of the ones on eBay.
On eBay. Check the seller's reputation, call the shop and take it from there. Utahsleeper got his off eBay too and it worked out just fine for him. I won't find out til I fire it up but the motor seems to be in real good shape.

Thanks. I contacted a couple via ebay message requesting a comp test video and a picture of inside the oil cap. They said they would provide them but never delivered. Going to give a few of them a call on the phone and see what happens. Looking forward to your updates.
 

760gt4

New member
Find the seller's name on eBay, Google the name and call them directly. Take a close look at the pictures and make sure it isn't missing sensors and doesn't look like it's been abused in any way.
 

760gt4

New member
So I found an st205 transmission today and will be having it shipped to my house sometime next week. I'm still undecided on whether or not I want to get an aluminum flywheel or just keep the stock one. Also, I will be ordering a down pipe and clutch kit but still haven't decided on which ones to get. Oh and I will need a new intercooler since the current one was filled with oil and I do not want to try and clean it all up, I'd rather just start fresh.
 

UtahSleeper

Active member
The current inter cooler on the 215 motor or the one that came with the car?

And are there places to buy down pipes besides prime mr2? Thats where I got mine
 

underscore

Well-known member
Cleaning oil out of an intercooler isn't too difficult, just get some cheap gas and cap off one end, slosh some gas around and dump it out, repeat til the gas come out clean.
 
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