Project Lazarus: From Graveyard to Gen4 Swap ST185

CarlosOrKaren

New member
Tippo":1kbdgac9 said:
CarlosOrKaren":1kbdgac9 said:
Thanks man. I am kind of doing the same project as you are. I am saving an all trac from the dumpster.


Awesome! Looking forward to the build thread. Saving ST185 should be a revolution. Too few are left lol


I pretty much finished my build sans the turbo upgrade. So no build thread for me unfortunately. Generally when I work I don't take pictures, I just steamroll ahead.

Just a few odds and ends and bits and bobs to sure up. Fuel Filter, My spedo is broken, have to finish up the interior. Then to the paint booth. When I first got the car it was in pretty rough shape from the aluminum wing to fender damaage, previous owners wiring mess, painted interior pieces, god awful amount of bondo for no apparent reason except to blend the awful body kit.

FYI. My fuel tank came out great. I just finished repainting it.
 

Tippo

Well-known member
So life gets in the way as usual and I've been slacking on any car upgrades or repairs. However, it was nice yesterday and since the salt is washing off the road, I decided to dust off Lazarus and take em for a spin to work. About a half mile up the hill, the timing belt snapped, which is no surprise since it sat for 13 years. No huge problem since our motors are non-interference.
So Lazzy is on the trailer, but I'm still deciding what to do. A. take motor out and put in 4th gen (most likely candidate) or B. take current motor out and have it built. I'm leaning towards A since it's much easier to do with a shorter turn around time.

Pictures: trip cut short!

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Tippo

Well-known member
simple":2w9t816u said:
Bummer. I recommend C. Buy another classic Toyota and sink money into keeping it on the road.

That would be 5 Toyotas :rofl:
I think what I have is enough for now, but I have a track meet coming up in September that I regged the ST185 for. I hope to have it done by then lol.
 

Roreri

Active member
As a guy who’s had a timing belt replaced why not replace the timing belt?

You just think the motor is weak and like to fail in other bad ways imminently?
 

Tippo

Well-known member
Roreri":3pna44f5 said:
As a guy who’s had a timing belt replaced why not replace the timing belt?

You just think the motor is weak and like to fail in other bad ways imminently?

The motor is very, very tired. Original with 275k, sat for 13 years.
 

Roreri

Active member
I should’a read the thread closer. Yeah. That engine is ready to stripped and parted out if anything.

With this, I’d recommend a replace rather than rebuild. Best of luck!

On that front: I have a buddy who was talking to me about a 2GR swap—which I am told can be set up with a turbo—is this even possible? I’d think yes for MR2s, no for Celicas.
 

Tippo

Well-known member
Roreri":377zvg1b said:
I should’a read the thread closer. Yeah. That engine is ready to stripped and parted out if anything.

With this, I’d recommend a replace rather than rebuild. Best of luck!

On that front: I have a buddy who was talking to me about a 2GR swap—which I am told can be set up with a turbo—is this even possible? I’d think yes for MR2s, no for Celicas.

Tecker has a 2gr swapped MR2 and is egging me to do it and then take my 4th gen on my MR2 and put it into the ST185. 2gr do not respond well to boost without being built for it (like the 5f) but make plenty of power NA. As for swapping into an ST185, our cars work better with a turbo than without, but i suppose anything is possible. :shrug:
 

Roreri

Active member
Yeah 2GR people are believers for sure. Based on what I’ve read, 300whp, V6 torque, reliability, modern electronics, and repair parts availability are compelling reasons.

Can you educate me on our cars doing better on turbo? I thought the turbo is really just to get the power, and unless I’m just reading the stuff I’ve read wrong, a lot of 3S-GTE problems are caused by trying to wring power out of it.

The 2GR just kinda cuts the knot though. Yeah. NA mini-van (and Lotus!) engine. Cash-heavy solution though unless you’re handy with it or have a guy. TCS does a swap (don’t know how it works for the GT-Four) for $9500 that I have to admit has me curious.

Sorry for the 2GR sidetrack. Your engine replacement thoughts reminded me of it.
 

Tippo

Well-known member
Power curve vs linear power. It suits the way our cars are designed. Really though, other swaps have been done in the past, so it's really up to how it's dialed in. But for a direct drop, nothing beats the 4th gen. Mounts line up and wiregap does the loom and there are tutorials for ease. The MR2 has support for the 2gr swap, where as the ST185 is lacking due to... well the rarity of the car lol.
 

grip-addict

Active member
Has anyone tried to do a 2gr swap yet? I wonder if the transfer case the mr2's don't have will hit the 2gr block. I know that's what keeps us out of doing Honda K swaps.
 

Roreri

Active member
I inquired about engine possibilities with Ty Saxon at TCS motorsports last fall and he said that pretty much the only Celica work they do these days are Gen4 3S-GTE swaps.

He didn’t mention the 2GR as an option.
 

underscore

Well-known member
I know someone 2GR swapped an AE111 and made it AWD as well, I believe with an ST205 trans. As much as I'm a sucker for turbo noises I'd love to chuck the 2GR from my wifes Rav4 into my car for the better low end power. I'd be perfectly happy with the stock power levels though, I know a lot of people wouldn't be.
 

Tippo

Well-known member
Bit the bullet. The 4th gen 3sgte is on its way along with a clutch kit and some goodies.
 

grip-addict

Active member
I'm looking forward to reading how the swap goes! which exhaust manifold/turbo are you going to use? You doing any belts/seals/etc before it goes in?
 

Tippo

Well-known member
grip-addict":js5zlobi said:
I'm looking forward to reading how the swap goes! which exhaust manifold/turbo are you going to use? You doing any belts/seals/etc before it goes in?

Thanks, haven't decided on turbo yet but I might take the csalltrac route. I may do a custom manifold. As for preinstall doing timing belt, water pump and maybe head gasket while it's out.
 
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