Camry/ES engine swap project!

struts got here last night, he got everything assembled early this morning. today is his day off, but since it's a business day over at the shop (despite it being slow as hell) i'm not able to hang out and take pictures like i usually do.

when i stopped by to bring him a few things, he had the front struts done and was just finishing up the trans pan gasket. the underside of that engine compartment is 100% clean , no leaks! he is the gasket master and damn proud of it.

trans pan looked good for a trans with about 150k on it... a few small shavings and the fluid wasn't perfect when it drained out. but again, not bad for a trans at 150k. not bad at all.

we didn't get to the bad rack in the huge rush to get the engine/trans swap done before we left on vacation. so that's going in today, too, after the rear struts and a quick test drive. the inner tie rods are totally screwed, so once the rack is done it'll fix that issue. the new(ish) tires on it have some pretty nasty edge wear because of those bad inners.

got a new RH headlight assy to replace the broken one, it pointed very low. the front bumper's gotta come off for that job, but hopefully he'll be able to do that today too.

 

headlight out- turns out the bumper didn't have to come off. i forgot to take an "after" picture. but the new one is straight.
note the a/c leak fortunately we've got the condenser and lines from the camry that'll just go right on in.


new front struts and springs and all that. the right side is black, the left side is blue (the ones pictured earlier in the thread.)


rears


the old stuff- originals with the car. so almost 170k miles is just a little too long to leave them in...


new rack, another pretty blue


old rack... ick! and if you're curious what that thing is up on the top right, it's an inverter from a highlander hybrid.


i'm not sure if one can tell, but it rides higher now.


versus before...


it also got that brake flush and of course an alignment. he's gonna go back and re-align it later, the caster isn't where he'd like it. but the toe and camber are great now.

after installing the struts and springs and etc, he took it for a test drive. and he said it was so beautiful he almost cried. i get to drive it here in a few minutes. i'm excited!!

 

well, it's official. this car rules! it's been sooo many hours of really hard work (and there are only a couple little things left to do) but we are both 150% satisfied. it's truly amazing, we both agree.

DH says, "I LOVE MY CAR!!"

a heartfelt thanks again to everyone who helped us out, i have yet to total it all up but i'm guessing contributions from friends here added up to about 20% of our costs!

buncha pictures coming tomorrow, we're taking both cars out to get a good hand washing. i bet i'll have to do the es twice. it's filthy after having all that work done, and it probably hasn't been washed in over a year anyway. (the state inspection expired 9/06...) poor neglected car!

 

thanks! it feels like a job well done, and that's the only way to do it. we're both very glad that the major stuff is done. a couple fluff items left but nothing so labor intensive or important for the safety of the vehicle. i can't wait to get it all cleaned up tomorrow!

 

well, we gotta swap out some of the a/c components, and the ps pump is a bit noisier in the es250 so that may get swapped too. otherwise there are some things left.

just went out to get some pictures of the camry and see what is sellable. by now it's mostly interior and body stuff. we can't keep the car for a lot longer, a friend is doing us a huge favor by letting us keep it at his place. parting out usually takes months. so i'm going to do what i can to get at least something and then probably sell off the frame and whatever's left on it as is.

 

DH tells me he thinks a friend of a neighbor of a friend will buy the right side doors and fender plus cost of installation. that'll be a big help. yes, once we're done with the car, we'll sell (or give if need be, i think by then it'll be just about getting it out of there) it to a scrap yard and they should come pick up for free.

we're not going to wash the cars today, we've decided we're just too tired. DH is slowly touching up that spot in the fender with a few coats of touch up paint today anyway. maybe next week sometime- we need a day of rest.

well we've got just a little bit more to spend on the car and then it should be 100%... it needs a rear trans mount, some rack bushings, and various bulbs throughout the car. all inexpensive.

the rest is no parts cost and fairly minor labor: PS flush, trans flush, coolant flush, swap a/c condenser and line, swap PS pump, swap park neutral position switch, re-balance tires, and readjust alignment (and caster this time) after doing rack bushings. looks like we'll have some help with unlocking our CD player security system too, which is a great relief.

i think that stuff will get done in the next couple of weeks... and then the car won't need much more than the usual oil change and tire rotation. since the motor has a lot of miles on it, he changes the oil every 3k miles.

 

we're workin' on it. DH is uber-perfectionist about his cars. some are going for as high as $6880, i'd guess ours is easily $4k. this car means far more than money to us in many ways, of course.

 

thanks to a lexus brother stukid we have audio in the car now DH is *really* happy!

had to buy a new battery tonight, but we knew that was coming.

 

pictures... the ES still needs a wash, badly. and it was cloudy out... we'll make it shine a little more and then get it out with a more scenic background on a sunny day. one of these days.

 

on to the exterior restoration... washed the car down really well, and now i've spent many hours claying the beast. i'm down to the last panel: the worst one of all, the hood.

this is what's embedded in the paint. it's really, REALLY in there. so running clay over it till the surface is mostly smooth gets you this:


then i just keep on until it's silky smooth and looks like this:


i have gone through two big bottles of clay lubricant. i think i'm going to have to get a new clay bar to finish the hood, it's so bad. probably won't get around to finishing it up till the weekend, when the temperatures drop and i have some free time during daylight hours.

 

i was using the meguiar's claybar, and their quik detailer for lubrication. went through both of my clay bars, 3 bottles of quik detailer, and 10 hours of my time :blink:

this time around i'm skipping the polishing step. we've got some wax laying around, but no polish. and going out and buying more supplies for the car is kinda a bad plan right now with hospital bills and no income. we'll get into that another time. my main concern right now was getting all that crap out of the clearcoat before it rusted any further.

 

i was using the meguiar's claybar, and their quik detailer for lubrication. went through both of my clay bars, 3 bottles of quik detailer, and 10 hours of my time :blink:

this time around i'm skipping the polishing step. we've got some wax laying around, but no polish. and going out and buying more supplies for the car is kinda a bad plan right now with hospital bills and no income. we'll get into that another time. my main concern right now was getting all that crap out of the clearcoat before it rusted any further.