Stock Radiator Material?

Sigma Projects · November 26, 2007

I tried asking a couple questions at another IS forum, but just got a lot of questions of why am I wasting my money doing this swap and I should have just bought a supra and thrown in a 7M or 2JZ <_< and I'm hoping here that someone could help.

I don't own an IS350, but I'm putting an IS350 drive train into my 85 Celica (RWD) and I'm looking to see what the stock radiator is in the IS350, like if it's aluminum or brass/copper. And since I'd be running a single exhaust outlet I was wondering what everyone thinks I should make the exhaust piping? And I guess to prevent some flaming here is some reasons of why I decided to go with the 2GR-FSE.

1. An 85 Celica weighs considerably less than an 85 Supra.

2. This car is primarly for autoX use, not the strips, so an aluminum V6 offers much better weight distribution than a cast iron turbo I6.

3. Because the 2GR-FSEs are extremely new (i got mine about 7 months ago) it will insure that it has very low miles on it (mine has around 4K miles on it).

4. 5M/7M/1JZ/2JZ to my knoweledge are all heavier than a 2GR, considerably.

5. I wanted to have a motor that produced ~300hp factory without being turboed and be in a compact package.

6. 3rd gen celicas are extremely cheap to come by, I got mine for $500 and it's in excelent condition, just about all other light weight RWD toyotas are expensive.

7. There are no 85 Supra Coupes, they're all liftbacks, structurally the Celica coupes are the most ridged out of that generation and are the lightest (3rd Gen Celica Coupes with SRA were used in Group B rally racing).

8. 3rd Gen Celicas were also available in SRA version along side the IRS version, SRA have their advantages and dissadvantages (could go into a whole other thead about why I chose SRA over IRS).

9. I already upgraded the rear axle of my celica with the MKI Supra axle which has disc brakes and a 7.5" rear end and they are F code diffs and are interchangable with the other F code diffs that are in the Supras.

10. With the Celica I'm shooting for a target weight of 2000lbs to 2200lbs, I don't think I can achieve that with a Supra.

I wanted to do something that's different and not as well documented, so it will cost more, but I'm looking for more than just HP/$ I'm looking for a balanced package that offers, great power, reliability, and something that will be able to offer me a good platform for excelent handling. I have seen others drop 7Ms and 2JZs in the 3rd Gen Celicas, the shop I'm having do the work has already stuffed a suped up 2JZ into an 85 Celica way back in the day. Honestly if CARB laws weren't so restrictive I would have went for a LS2 motor, but I'm actually going to try and make this CARB legal. I know others have different tastes and different needs, but to me this was the best and most interesting option. Originally I wanted to look for a 4GR, but it's just really not worth it for the price and actually hard to find in comparison to a 2GR-FSE. Either way the ball is already in motion so no turning back and if *BLEEP* hits the fan and nothing goes right the shop will simply just dop in a nother motor, possibly a 2JZ, but I'm going to try and avoid that and make this work. Thanks for any help! :D

Gaugster · November 27, 2007

Gearheads rule!

I have the IS250 AWD with and automatic tranny. The radiator is the newer style aluminum center with black plastic caps. Two electric cooling fans are used. I could not comment on its liquid capacity but it should be the same one that is used in the IS350.

You might want to consider any available radiator from a Toyota 3.5L engine like the Camry and Avalon.

As far as the exhaust, man I don’t know. Headers to an intermediate pipe capped off by a supertrapp coming out just behind the FRONT wheel would be cool. I can’t say if it would work but………

Seriously though, the 2GR-FSE is a great motor and it is very well tuned when used in the IS350. You have many opportunities to mis-match intake, exhaust etc… that will decrease the motors original horsepower.

Good luck to you.

Sigma Projects · November 27, 2007

Thanks! My friend was trying to convince me to swap in the IS250 AWD drivetrain but that's way out of my budget. Coo, I'll look into some OEM ones, but I have to see about clearance. Yea I really would like to have the exhaust just come out right behind the wheels, but I live in CA so the CARB !Removed! would have my car crushed, lol. I'm not sure if there is clearance for the dual exhaust and from the other guys that have run V8s in their CelicaSupras seem to run single, but I'll have to look into it more, me having a SRA should make it easier. Thanks for the help! :D

Do you know if it's true that when the IS350 guys slap more open exhaust (I think 3.5"?) they loose some bottom end?

Serenity Sound · November 28, 2007

Thanks! My friend was trying to convince me to swap in the IS250 AWD drivetrain but that's way out of my budget. Coo, I'll look into some OEM ones, but I have to see about clearance. Yea I really would like to have the exhaust just come out right behind the wheels, but I live in CA so the CARB !Removed! would have my car crushed, lol. I'm not sure if there is clearance for the dual exhaust and from the other guys that have run V8s in their CelicaSupras seem to run single, but I'll have to look into it more, me having a SRA should make it easier. Thanks for the help! :D
Do you know if it's true that when the IS350 guys slap more open exhaust (I think 3.5"?) they loose some bottom end?

I think u should propably go with 2-1/2" y'd into a single 3" after the cats for your application. I think you will keep the bottom end and still breathe ok at 8500 also. You might want to also schedule some engine dyno time and try different combo's to find the best setup.

BTW, are you using Matt and crew at UPFD for the work? Just curious!

Sigma Projects · November 28, 2007

Coo thanks for the tip. The fabrication and work for the engine swap is being done by Toysport, I just worked on the rear/axle/suspension/interior. I went to Toysport since they are by far the most knoweledgable shop when it comes to Toyota engine swaps that people don't even want to try. I think they were one of the first who shoe horned a 2JZ into an 85 Celica.