1995 Prizm (corolla) Wants More Power (engine Swap?) - Pre-1997 Toyota Corolla and Geo Prizm

Guest JcPhotos

I will be the owner of a 1994/5 prizm and would like to do an engine swap, but not sure what to do. I considered a JDM 20v silvertop, but I'm in California and not sure if I can. The car was originally out of state until like 1.5 years ago - will that get me around the californie emissions auto disqualification for JDM motor since another state might have overlooked it? I also considered a 3SGTE but I don't know what cars/years it came into the US and can't find a donor engine/trans. I also don't know how hard the 3sgte would be to put in. I would consider a 4age 16v if there was one with the appropriate year and I could get smog legal decent power from it.

Any suggestions?

Bikeman982

As far as I know the Prizm would be just like the Corolla and that year model only came with the 1.6L 4A-FE or the 1.8L 7A-FE engine. I think you can put in other engines, but they may require more modifications. I am familiar with both engines as I am in the process off swapping the 1.6L for a 1.8L. I have removed the 1.6L and found that I also needed to swap the transmission before I could install a 1.8L engine, as they are not compatible. I have three cars - one is a 1993 with the 1.6L engine that my wife (and myself occassionally) drives and a 1994 with the 1.8L engine that I normally drive. The car I am working on is a 1994 and is intended for my son after it is restored to operational condition. I also live in CA.

Depending on your area - just swapping in a JDM engine would make it fail smog (visual testing, possibly smog test itself). Lots of people like the idea of JDM engiens - but realized that the engine is also calibrated for the gas overseas - much higher octane than what you can get here. For what you will spend in tuning the JDM engine and securing the paperwork to register it correctly - you could have bought a performance oriented Toyota (Celica or MR2).

3SGTE swap is doable - but nothing will be a direct fit (welding required). Even with the 4AGE - same series as the 4AFE and 7AFE (A-series engines share the same motor mounts) - the two successful swaps I've seen in a 7th gen car - had no P/S and no A/C (no room for them).

Easiest way is to rebuild the existing engine to either go the forced induction route, NOS, or all motor. You will still face the same emissions issues as the swap - but spend less money in the end for about the same boost in performance.

Bikeman982

I would just put in the larger 1.8L 7A-FE engine and that would take less modifications while improving performance.

you could do a hybrid engine, but its only worthwhile if you have a 5spd transmission.

by hybrid i mean mating a G head to a 7afe or a 4afe. you can make about 150 crank horsepower with some minor work (relatively speaking) by swapping a G head onto a 7afe. a 16 valve red top head would probably be the best for NA. check out club4ag since they know more about this than i do.

Bikeman982

you could do a hybrid engine, but its only worthwhile if you have a 5spd transmission.
by hybrid i mean mating a G head to a 7afe or a 4afe. you can make about 150 crank horsepower with some minor work (relatively speaking) by swapping a G head onto a 7afe. a 16 valve red top head would probably be the best for NA. check out club4ag since they know more about this than i do.

That would certainly be easier, since the motor mounts would line up and no modifications would be needed there. It would also provide a more powerful engine at a reasonable price.

Guest JcPhotos

you could do a hybrid engine, but its only worthwhile if you have a 5spd transmission.
by hybrid i mean mating a G head to a 7afe or a 4afe. you can make about 150 crank horsepower with some minor work (relatively speaking) by swapping a G head onto a 7afe. a 16 valve red top head would probably be the best for NA. check out club4ag since they know more about this than i do.
That would certainly be easier, since the motor mounts would line up and no modifications would be needed there. It would also provide a more powerful engine at a reasonable price.

Yeah, but would it be smog legal in california? I need this for my daily driver.

default_laugh the wrong bumper sticker can void your smog legalness there.

i doubt that it wouldnt pass visual since a different head is nothing obvious to them, the gas analyzer tho...im not so sure. you could get a cat converter thats meant for a larger engine or run 2 highflow cats, that may clean it up enough to pass you. im not really sure.

Bikeman982

you could do a hybrid engine, but its only worthwhile if you have a 5spd transmission.
by hybrid i mean mating a G head to a 7afe or a 4afe. you can make about 150 crank horsepower with some minor work (relatively speaking) by swapping a G head onto a 7afe. a 16 valve red top head would probably be the best for NA. check out club4ag since they know more about this than i do.
That would certainly be easier, since the motor mounts would line up and no modifications would be needed there. It would also provide a more powerful engine at a reasonable price.

Yeah, but would it be smog legal in california? I need this for my daily driver.

As long as the emissions were within predetermined EPA limits. You may need to modify it with greater exhaust filtering prior to testing. Additional catalytic converters and/or mufflers might be necessary (at least for the test).