I found an exciting build today while browsing through YouTube – a Toyota Celica GT4 ST165. It’s not your typical classic rally car, but a swapped variant running a Toyota Harrier/Lexus 3-liter V6 engine. Yes! My jaw was on the floor. Is it even possible to swap in a Toyota 1MZ-FE in a GT4? That’s not all. The iconic build is also running a manual transmission.
If never say never was an actual person, then the owner of this iconic build, Stephen, an electrical engineer and racer, is a living example. According to ‘Automobile Cafe’ YouTube channel host Adaka, fellow Toyota Celica owners felt the swap wouldn’t be successful or would require an extreme makeover, which would be counterintuitive.
It’s the first of its kind in Kenya, and based on the video, it’s running with very few complications.
“This is my project car. It is a Toyota Celica ST165 GT4. I bought it with a 3SGTE. It wasn’t the 3SGTE that was supposed to be in the car because it was a 4th gen.” Stephen introduced his build.
According to the electrical engineer, his Celica GT4 normally comes with a first-gen 3SGTE. Still, the previous owner had swapped it for a fourth-gen variant popular in the Toyota Caldina Z. While it was a newer engine, Stephen felt it had its own limitations in terms of performance—it was built for a family car and not racing.
“The advantage of a bigger engine is if I want to get to 350 horsepower, I don’t need to boost a lot,” Stephen explained the reason behind the swap.
He’s right. The 1MZ-FE is Toyota’s hidden V6-shaped gem, and the best thing about it is that it harbors a huge tunning potential for racers like Stephen.
The 1MZ-FE is a 3-liter V6 engine capable of producing between 168 hp and 242 hp, depending on the generation and application. It was so popular that it was listed as one of the ten best engines in 1996.
So far, Toyota MR2s have made perfect project builds for the 1MZ-FE, but Stephen is changing that narrative in Kenya with a 1MZ-FE-Swapped Toyota Celica ST165 GT4.
Most performance tuners might be quick to argue that the 1MZ-FE denies the GT4 its forced-induction niceness without a turbocharger. Still, this part-time racer plans on slapping a small turbo onto the setup to improve its racing potential.
“The S-series box is going to bolt on the 1MZ directly. The only modification you have to make is this right-side mount. Because the left side mount on this Celica is normally on the gearbox side,” Stephan explained the complications of the modification.
According to Stephen, you’ll only need to grind off some part of the engine block that blocks the bell housing. With the right tools, it’s a 3-hour job.
Are you curious how this unicorn drives? We recommended catching that action and more in the video below.
