The car:
White 2001 southern car owned by a SC member. Two owner car with a clean history. Car was shipped from TN to PA, which turned out to be an extremely smooth transaction. We had a minor hurdle getting the car to the start point, but a few calls fixed that. Car currently has 120k miles on it.
The engine:
Initially I considered a later year engine. Scoured many salvage yards, but luck failed me. Ended up finding a great deal on SC. It was a ~60k mile engine from a Celica GTS.
The gearbox:
Here is where we pondered different ideas. My black 2zz had a 6 speed with LSD and it was great although shifting could be problematic. Eventually I ended up redoing the shift cables and replacing the shift cage with the OEM cage instead of the short shifter. The current silver car has a 2zz with a 5 speed. My biggest beef if that its not geared quite right. So I decided its a 6 speed route, decided that going the LSD route would take longer. The gearbox is a ~70k mile one from a Matrix.
The intake:
This is a problem I need to solve better. The black 2zz had a modified intake that went behind the battery. The silver 2zz has a PPE intake, I ended up using my own coupler as the Vibe GT intake manifold would cause the intake to sit next to the battery. This time around I am going to replicate the black 2zz system but try to fab up a bracket so it doesn't dangle.
The header:
I originally ended up getting an Elise header to fab up a custom exhaust. The reason was the Elise header has the air injection covers as I anticipated using a later engine. The plan is to take the header off my silver 2zz and use the Elise header on my silver car as it has a 04 Vibe engine.
The exhaust:
Going to go stock with this one. The black 2zz had a stock exhaust, the silver one has a ghetto fabbed one that sounds good but is too loud.
The ECU:
The black 2zz used a 01 GTS ECU so that's the route I'm going. Although, I have an Apexi in the silver 2zz which I may use. To avoid wiring problems we are using the MWR harness adapter.
The issues to fix:
- Seats: over time the seats have taken some wear.
- Top: few small tears, debating whether to fix or replace.
- Paint: a full detail is needed and to touch up a few small nicks.
- Radio: didn't have a radio, so we are using a Scion one.
- Hood release: broken and needs replaced.
- Headlights: needs a good cleaning.
I'm going to try and post a few pictures of the swap as it progresses. We finally have all the parts collected to begin the process. So here is the car arriving after a long 500+ journey.
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White 2001 southern car owned by a SC member. Two owner car with a clean history. Car was shipped from TN to PA, which turned out to be an extremely smooth transaction. We had a minor hurdle getting the car to the start point, but a few calls fixed that. Car currently has 120k miles on it.
The engine:
Initially I considered a later year engine. Scoured many salvage yards, but luck failed me. Ended up finding a great deal on SC. It was a ~60k mile engine from a Celica GTS.
The gearbox:
Here is where we pondered different ideas. My black 2zz had a 6 speed with LSD and it was great although shifting could be problematic. Eventually I ended up redoing the shift cables and replacing the shift cage with the OEM cage instead of the short shifter. The current silver car has a 2zz with a 5 speed. My biggest beef if that its not geared quite right. So I decided its a 6 speed route, decided that going the LSD route would take longer. The gearbox is a ~70k mile one from a Matrix.
The intake:
This is a problem I need to solve better. The black 2zz had a modified intake that went behind the battery. The silver 2zz has a PPE intake, I ended up using my own coupler as the Vibe GT intake manifold would cause the intake to sit next to the battery. This time around I am going to replicate the black 2zz system but try to fab up a bracket so it doesn't dangle.
The header:
I originally ended up getting an Elise header to fab up a custom exhaust. The reason was the Elise header has the air injection covers as I anticipated using a later engine. The plan is to take the header off my silver 2zz and use the Elise header on my silver car as it has a 04 Vibe engine.
The exhaust:
Going to go stock with this one. The black 2zz had a stock exhaust, the silver one has a ghetto fabbed one that sounds good but is too loud.
The ECU:
The black 2zz used a 01 GTS ECU so that's the route I'm going. Although, I have an Apexi in the silver 2zz which I may use. To avoid wiring problems we are using the MWR harness adapter.
The issues to fix:
- Seats: over time the seats have taken some wear.
- Top: few small tears, debating whether to fix or replace.
- Paint: a full detail is needed and to touch up a few small nicks.
- Radio: didn't have a radio, so we are using a Scion one.
- Hood release: broken and needs replaced.
- Headlights: needs a good cleaning.
I'm going to try and post a few pictures of the swap as it progresses. We finally have all the parts collected to begin the process. So here is the car arriving after a long 500+ journey.
. Only a month old.
