Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance How cheap can I go fast?

Hi there, first time on this forum so forgive me if i'm not following proper etiquette.

I own a 2000 Celica GT, it was my daily for the past 4 years until I replaced it with a new car. Its got 208k miles, a salvage title, and all the dents dings and scratches you could ask for.

It's battered and beaten, but I just don't have the heart to get rid of it. Since I don't daily it anymore, I want to turn it into a project car, but I don't want to spend a ton of money on my 20 year old salvage title beater. So I come to this form asking the tired old question; how cheap can I make it go fast?

I thought about a 2zz-ge engine swap, but I feel like this is the least cost effective option in terms of horse power per dollar.

I've also considered turbo-ing my battered old 1zz-fe. I'm not doing an engine rebuild or anything fancy like that. I'm talking about slapping some cheap Chinese eBay special or junkyard turbo on this bucket and calling it a day. Only caveat is I don't entirely know whats involved with the electronics on an aftermarket turbo build. I know that tuning it the right way can get expensive, but perhaps I can cobble something together with a rising rate fuel pressure regulator and a BIPES ACU to tune ignition timing and fuel flow. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Something else I've considered is a high performance fuel pump,high flow injectors and a cold air intake. The idea being if I can cram more air and fuel into the engine I should get more power out of it.

If anyone has some suggestions id be happy to hear them.

hello there.. i have this crazy imagination to have a portable airconditioner kn the passenger seat and a vent to go through the firewall and to where the intake is. for that im going to need inverter maybe 400 watts. and in older engine i noticed that theres no distributor the one that connects to the sparkplug wires.a mechanic once told me to take those wites strip them and wrap with sone good copper wires then wrap it with electric tape. a good griund to the chassy is also recommended. since i myself have a low budget to budget.. the basics is enough for me. i only feel how fast jm going when in racing myself. delete cat and resconatorr n muffler and ACfrom the engine. i also wanted those individual throttle but i still have to buy rice and some beef for my stir fry. i also tried to remove the playand adjust tension for the throttle cable which worked for me. and i dont if its just me but i like to replce hydrolic clutch to cable system. speaking of clutch. it helped me when i adjust the heaight of the clutch pedal from the floor to where it engages or dis engages. i really kick it hard when i change gear.. if i remember any more DIY tips . ill share.

i know its nothing special but i hope tou dont mind me sharing my celica experience =) hemis are fast. at least i tried right..hehe..8 and 9 hoto was the damages 1zz auto body paint is for testing purposes. will be deleting it and sand it and paint with slate grey matte. i live in a bad neighborhood where if they see some change inside window get smashed. but i forgot my keys inside so i had to break the rear passenger window =( but i wil be deleting that windiw in the future anyway so its ok. never show your beighbor that you know how to do that hanger thingy.. trust me. plus im testing how to post photos so my bad if it turns out to be a useless post.