Wahoo! 1uz in...1st gen Celica???

[Tacoma_Kyle]

Ok, this one is for real. Been wantin one of these motors for a few years to do a project with a a random as hell find on ebay helped me hit it.

So yeah some friends are doin a 'cheap car challenge.' WIthout the details...its as it says 1500 dollar max. Friend Steve runs a board JSTuners.com. If you live in souther Oregon or Norther CA, like Redding area join up if you wish. I'm in K-Falls.

Yeah I have always loved those 1st gen Celicas up to 77.

I randomly looked on ebay for 1uz's....found one 280 miles aways (drivable to pick up). So the total? 448 dollars for the 120k engine, ecu, coils, and altrenator. I already hve A340E tranny outta my 98 tacoma. I converted it to 4wd so all I think I need is the bellhousign and maybe the torque-o-verter. Which I still have (torque-o-verter)... Plus the odds and ends with massive swearing spews while figuring out the wiring lol.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...Track=true&ssPageName=VIP:Watchlink:middle:us

So yeah I am tryin to find a 1st gen Celica. I have a couple refferals to where some are in town. This'll be a year long project and I work and go to school for mechanical engineering (Junior standing). The things may not be beatiful after 1500 bucks, but if I really get into it I may do a restoration after the competition next June-July.

I am getting the engine Monday. I'll try and post pictures Tuesday. Not to say any of you would find anything special about a 1uz lol but I am just getting excited about it.

 

[Smitherz]

Don't give them a dime unless they give you the ECU right there on the spot with the engine and they can prove it came out of the same car. I would at least plug it into the harness and inspect it. Also before you hand over your hard earned cash pop of those distributor covers (which just take a couple screws) and make sure the distributors caps aren't damaged or melted from an overheated (trashed) engine. If they JUST took the engine out of the car like they claim, then there should be no problem getting the engine mounts out of the chassis for you. Some dismantlers just break them as they take them out not realizing they cost $300. These you could do without but get them if you can. Look for oil in the exhaust ports since they are exposed this is super easy.

Also the bolts for the engine bellhousing should stay with the engine! Go get them from him as you don't just find those in hardware stores. They don't give someone the bolts when someone buys the bellhousing from them so they should hand them over to you. And of course since they JUST took it apart they should have them laying over next to the chassis on the ground or something. I had an engine seller tell me that he just removed the engine from the car and when I got it, anyone cold see that it had been sitting under a tree for a couple years exposed!@ :chairshot: He might be honest so I am not saying anything about him. Just be careful. AND GET THE IGNITORS!!!! They are located on the side of the engine compartment. I'm sure he just unplugged them, left them bolted to the side engine wall and threw the wires back over the top of the engine. There are two of them and they come on a bracket covered by a plastic piece. They will connect to a long portion of the wiring harness with two identical plugs of course.

These should be from an SC (I looked up their numbers) so yours should look similar. Yours might have an aluminum colored bracket. If your missing these count on spending an easy $80 to $100 to replace em. If you are missing any parts or the engine is damaged just remember that anyone selling lexus parts expects to make more money off of them than any other brand besides the German ones. I learned this the hard way =]

I have had engine sellers be sooo nice and they tell you anything until you hand over your money. Then they change! The best advice I can tell anyone looking for an engine is to make sure that the engine comes with all the electrical parts that came from the donor car. There are lots of variations in the part numbers for different years and different models. They look the same but they could be from California, overseas, with different accessories, traction control, different emissions configurations... There are lots of 1UZ's just laying around out there so don't feel like you are passing up on a good one. Just cause you won it on ebay doesn't mean you have to buy it. He couldn't even get his auction terms right! He claims as is and a few lines further down he states his official policy, "Refunds are only granted when item does not work. Item must be returned in same condition to receive a refund. All returns are only accepted within 30 days or purchase." :reporter:

 

[Tacoma_Kyle]

Oh I got the ignitors too, the bidding started at 25 and I won at 25. But yeah it is a good idea to check and see if they all plug into the harness. I am prety sure they are all from the same car because based off the ebay store and what the seller said they are parting a car out. There was basically one of everything for the SC400. Thats why I bought the ECU with this guy lol, I dont want to search for 8 months.

I'll try and see if I can get the motor mounts and exhaust manifolds from him, as well as a lot of hardware. I'm not too worried about motor mounts bacue I could make some without too much hassle.

 

[Smitherz]

Good to hear you have most everything sorted. It's just good to make sure you have as much as possible. Searching for things that were overlooked takes a lot of time. Keep up updated on the project car!

 

[Tacoma_Kyle]

Oh I had one question, if you see this could you get me a answer ASAP.

Do I NEED the fuel pump controller or could I just use a aftermarket pump with a overpressure recirculation valve?

Much appreciated, thanks.

 

[Tempeheat]

ignitors

i've seen the same part number ignitor on every 3sfe camry/ celica and likely other 4 cylinder toyotas. even the Turbo all trac has the same ignitor part number. just in case any one here is ever looking for one. the LS and SC has two but they're still the same common ignitor stacked on top of each other.

 

[Tempeheat]

pump

I would use a Walbro pump off ebay if you can. i used one in a supra a few years ago. you should be able to run an ignition lead with no fuel pump Relay. Then just run the return back. what are you using for a tank? anybody else have any ideas?

 

[milisakeracing]

I would use a Walbro pump off ebay if you can. i used one in a supra a few years ago. you should be able to run an ignition lead with no fuel pump Relay. Then just run the return back. what are you using for a tank? anybody else have any ideas?

Just be careful of the Chinese Walbro knockoffs that are floating around on eBay. Here's the cached article from Google describing how to tell if it is a forgery:

http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cach...bro&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&client=firefox-a

 

[Tacoma_Kyle]

Cool thanks.

To let everyone know everything went great. The exhaust manifolds (w/O2 sensors!!!) were still on the motor. THe aluminum part of the mounts were there, but one rubber mount was ripped, the other seems soft so I'll get soem new rubber on ebay or somethin.

When I was driving back it tipped off the block (had 4 tiedowns to center it) and dented the oil filter so it leaked out all over in my truck bed...gay... But thats ok compared to many other possibilities.

The only thing that really sucked about the trip was after driving just at 10 hours, about 4 miles from home there was a freightliner accident with a chemical spill of soem sort. Yeah 1:45 minutes I wasted away stuck doing jack **** form 10pm to 11:45pm. There is absolutely no other route where we were. The next shortest rout was well over 50 miles, I know for sure.

So yeah the sucked...but it all went well though!

 

[Smitherz]

Yeah right on. You are on your way now! No turning back! I would recommend just using some generic or Chevy style engine mounts and fabbing your own brackets. There are some good examples around the forum here. So when is your deadline again? Did you guys set a date? I would be pissed if you finished that car before I got my engine in my Tacoma! haha

 

[Big]

LOL Smitherz...You realise that what we are doin is work in progress..!! HAHAHA:bigok:

 

[Tacoma_Kyle]

Dude if it doesnt fit its goin in my tacoma lol. No I'll make it fit!

Dealine is sometime in June naxt year, so got a while.

But yeah I kinda got refferal from a friends on a Celica. SO I kinda randomly stopped at some folks house and asked about it lol. The gal said her husband was tryin to sell it a while back but took my number and name if he still wanted to.

Straight body....anyhow. But yeah now I need to find the car.


Is there anywhere to find a shorter belt? No AC or power anything.

 

[Tacoma_Kyle]

Nothin big, just a few photos of the engine. Still tryin to find a car...

 

[RichZilla]

You'd probably want an RA23 Celica for this conversion. I've seen it done in a 22, but the 23 has a longer engine bay.

 

[Tacoma_Kyle]

I may have to if I cant find a 1st gen. Is that the chassis codes for 1st and second?

 

[RichZilla]

Nope, still first generation. I had a '76 RA23. That model has a flatter front - not slanted indicators. RA40 was second generation and dog ugly.

Do a Google image search for TA22 and RA23 and you'll see what I mean. All of their extra length is front of the windscreen.

 

[Tacoma_Kyle]

So wahoo---got the car. 77 Celica GT.

 

[RichZilla]

Dude, that is totally not a GT. Which is good, cause you'd be a nutter to put a 1UZ in a real GT.

 

[Tacoma_Kyle]

How is it not? Maybe a not a AU GT, but it is a US one. For a start--- US GT's got 5speeds, others were 4. This is 5-speed.


Are you talkin like a 2000GT?

 

[RichZilla]

Then the US got rorted on the GT. AU ones had an entirely different dash - oil pressure and amp gauges I believe. Also got proper twin cam engines! The base every manual RA23 in AU was 5 speed. My LT had more features this GT.