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351w swap....

5K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  Funkycheeze 
#1 ·
Alright gents, low and behold i think a first ever for a celica supra? ford 351W with c6 automatic swap. before i get stoned to death hear me out! car has a blown 5mge and a bad transmission, interior is shot and needs repairs everywhere. the good is everything else is okay! i have a great running 351w thats going in the car with the c6. its going to be a drag supra. all interior is gutted, engine being pulled this weekend and starting the mock up trials. but first i have a couple questions. ive calculated that the new powerplant in total is about 150lbs heavier than stock. does anybody know of stiffer springs that could help keep the suspension up? cheap coil overs? the car is being hacked up to be 100% race so im not worried about purity etc. if any one has any advice for suspension setup, or any other pertinent knowledge its always apriciated! cheers.
 
#2 ·
I like it, post up some pictures; don't be put off by how your car looks right now, its a nice thing to have before and after. As for Nort American V8's I have no problem with them at all, over all they are superior in every way to overhead cam V8's because they are more compact and you get more power per LB of weight assuming you are going with alloy aftermarket heads like "AFR", and aftermarket alloy intake manifold.

Overall the torque and power you can produce with a domestic V8 is superior to anything that can be done with the UZ Toyota or even the modern V8's produced by Toyota because the aftermarket support is utter trash when compared to that of the Domestic V8. Sure the new V8's are rather cool and its nice to keep a Toyota all Toyota, but what really counts is that you are having fun and you enjoy the car you're building.

As for the option of the i6 2JZ, well the V8 is gonna be less $$$$ for the power, and with the V8 you can move the weight further back in the chassis.

I you are going Ford and you want power, and not fooling around with lame power you may consider checking out John Kaase Racing; link >>> http://www.jonkaaseracingengines.com/

John is the real deal; he builds heads that you can damn near drop on a stock 5.0HO Ford and build 500 HP at the crank with a 9.0:1 Compression ratio meaning you can run pump gas with 500 HP at the flywheel / converter naturally aspirated.

Furthermore, they do well on boost; the sky is the limit with real parts. Do not be put off by the price of those P38 heads, they are street car head and they are 100% complete. They include all the components you need to make them go; when you compare the pricing to those makers like AFR; the total installed price with the same quality gear is roughly the same, the difference being is that you have Cleavland style heads for a small block Ford that breathe well down low producing mad torque through the whole RPM range, unlike large port heads produced by other aftermarket companies.

If you are put off by the price of those heads and its just outside your budget, the next best deal is AFR, they make damn good heads. If you want any kind of low RPM torque then consider the 165CC heads, they are the best bang for your $$$$, they do build other larger CC ports but the power is only any good mid to top because they are windsor style heads.

As for Supra suspension there are some sources for springs and coil overs, the forum has a few really good write ups on that stuff.

Not sure what kinda racing you are interested in, but you might consider building a C4; they can hold the power from a big block if done right; and they move more power to the rear wheels while being lighter..

Important: buy a trans cooler if you are going to run and Auto trans; it will save you much pain in the long run.

Lastly; V8 powered anything is usually cool as hell, I don't consider your project blaspheme.
 
#3 ·
83MkII swapped in a carbureted 302 back in 2008.

It truly looks like one of the easiest swaps possible.
The width of the SBF versus an SBC make clearance of brake booster really simple.
He did it with a tiny budget. He adapted the Toyota W58 transmission and did not have durability issues.
I am surprised that more people have not taken this approach.

http://www.celicasupra.com/forums/showthread.php?41993-ok-so-here-it-is


It ain't pretty, but it sure fits!

If you are going racing, You won't need a lot of the accessories like air conditioning so I don't think that the weight difference between the 351 and the 5MGE will be all that great. The high performance springs and sway bars that work with the stock 5MGE will probably work well with this.

Dale
 
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#7 ·
wow, overwhelmed by the positive responses! I'm going to be heading home this weekend to work on her, so hopefully pictures and updates will ensue, also, as many parts have been taken out of the interior and engine bay, i will have a lot of parts to sell. including the w-58, various new and used engine parts, passenger seat (terracotta) trim pieces and misc parts. if you guys need anything, or know of anyone that needs anything now is a great time to let me know! could also be interested in trades so stay tuned! cheers.
 
#8 ·
Sorry for the double post, but i have one other question... since this car is being built to go in straight lines, im ditching the power steering to save on weight. just wanted to know if anyone has done this, and if anything needs to be done to the rack (i.e. block off lines going in and out) thanks again gents!
 
#9 ·
#11 ·
Nothing against american V-8s. Grew up with them and have a couple out in the garage, tho attached to Corvettes. If you want to drag race, then it makes absolutely the most economical sense because you can open up the Summit Catalog and get anything you need delivered to your front porch in time for the race weekend, and for reasonable prices. Can't do that with hardly any Toyota powerplant.

Custom wound springs are only $2-300 per corner. Call coil spring specialties and tell them what you are doing. They can calculate how to change the spring rate and free length to either maintain the stock ride height, raise or lower it or whatever you want. Lowering of course looks cool, but drag racing, you want to think about traction hooking up and weight transfer, so I'd call them see what they advise rather than just slapping on a set of generic aftermarket springs.

I never paid much attention to the subject, but I vaguely recall some posts about using a manual steering rack from a base Celica to make manual steering easier. Seems like it was discussed like ten years ago, but I don't recall any details or if it was actually accomplished. Hopefully if you search you can find some old posts on that.
 
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#12 ·
A 302 with aluminum intake and heads is going to be hovering right around 400 lbs, maybe even a little less, depending on accessories, so I don't think you'd need to worry about suspension. The 351 is about 60-80 lbs heavier, due to its wider, taller block, and slightly heavier crank. It might put your nose down a tiny bit, but again, probably not enough to worry about buying new springs. People would just think you'd cut half a coil or something. =)
 
#13 ·
The C-4/C-6 is a fine choice! Much less drive line shock.The torque will be massive,compared to the 5 MGE.
It will be a fun build and YES,we love parts!Interior and exterior goodies go fast around here.
Many excellent transactions over the last decade and more.We buy parts for our cars ALL of the time.There are drag racers,Auto-X and road race car owners right here.You will fit right in.
 
#14 ·
Be aware that the stock rear diff doesn't handle anything above 450 wheel ft-lbs very well, even with a solid pinion spacer and truetrac. Especially if you plan to race.
 
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#15 ·
... "And it exploded!"

Seriously though, with an automatic, or even just shifting reasonably, even a diff regarded as "weak" can last forever. It depends on how well your tires hook, how much wheelhop you get, and just how hard you neutral drop or dump the clutch. The 8" diff in my '67 Cougar is not regarded as being amazing, but it's lasted with stupid amounts of abuse for 53 years now. All this to say - if you're not afraid to break it, you might try the factory diff, especially with it behind an automatic. You might like it.
 
#16 ·
Yeah I was pretty careful with mine and 446 wheel ft-lb of 2JZ power killed it, the gears came apart during a 3rd gear pull at full power. I even limit the boost pressure in first gear to help, its probably closer to 350 ft-lb in first. Just a warning.
 
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