Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance Revamping an ‘88 ragtop

Hi all. So, I’m just going to get right to it...I’ve been searching for a while, now. But, I have yet to find a good answer. You see, I own a 1988 ragtop Celica. It has, sadly, been sitting in a field for about 20 years. Amazingly enough, the frame/shell/whatever seems solid, still. So, I want to restore/mod her. I’m going to find out if she runs, soon. It’ll be a miracle if that happens. Anyway, my big question is “What engines would be recommended as replacements? I really would love to have better mpg than the stock engine. Btw, she’s also a stick. I’ve seen people on forums mentioning motors by numbers and letters. I’m not really versed on that, yet. Basically, if I need a new engine, what cars can I salvage from without having to weld and whatnot.

Mahalo in advance.

So, I realized that my question wasn't totally clear. What I'm really wondering is, what is the "newest"/"youngest" engine that will fit in my 1988 Celica, without much changing of the engine bay or whatnot? I can't find any'88s in my area, so I'm looking for possible donor cars.

I know that this has been a year or so since I asked. However, I still am wondering the same thing, without having an answer. The current engine I have has over 200,000 miles. So, I figure it wouldn't hurt to give this beauty a new heart. Any advice would be much appreciated.