Turbocharged 388 cid LS-Swapped 1973 Toyota Celica - Engine Builder Magazine

Turbocharged 388 cid LS-Swapped 1973 Toyota Celica

Proof that cars from the '70s were awesome is Steve Groenink's 1973 Toyota Celica. Saved from a farmer's field, this Celica features a turbocharged 388 cid LS engine capable of 6-second passes. Check it out!

Engine of the Week is presented by

At the tail end of day one during Sick Week 2023, we were walking the pits and headed for our car to start the journey from Orlando, FL to Bradenton. However, when we passed by Steve Groenink and his 1973 Toyota Celica with a sweet-looking, turbocharged, 388 cubic inch LS engine stuffed between the frame rails, we knew our drive across the state could wait a few more minutes.

Steve had run a fast 7.08 at 198 mph earlier that day and was happy to speak with us about his vintage Celica and its LS-swapped engine combo. As it turned out, Steve has owned this Celica for a while now and has big plans and lofty goals for it, as expected.

“I’ve owned the Celica for 11 years,” Groenink told us. “I found it in a farmer’s field. It had been abandoned for 27 years. I paid like $600 for it and it was a basket case, but all the trim and all the glass was there. I’ve had two or three different builds of it over the years. This current LS setup I completed in about 2017. I’ve put 5,000-6,000 street miles on it since then.”

Steve’s 388 cubic inch LS engine features a Concept Performance LSR aluminum block, a Callies Magnum center-counterweighted crankshaft with a 3.650” stroke, MGP aluminum rods, Diamond LS2K pistons, and a Brain Tooley Racing hydraulic roller camshaft.

“The heads are from a now defunct company called SPS,” Groenink says. “The guy now works for Frankenstein, so they’re similar to a Frankenstein M311 head casting.”

The valvetrain includes titanium intake valves and Inconel exhaust valves with a Texas Speed intake up top and a Shearer Fab intercooler. Helping the 388 LS engine make serious power is a Precision XPR 98mm turbo that typically sees 30-40-lbs. of boost.

“To run that 7.08, it was about 32-lbs.,” he says. “I’ve kind of set my personal limit at about 40-lbs. [of boost] for the week, so we’ll see what it does. I’ll probably just keep the same tune-up in it, but my ultimate goal is to run a 6.90 at over 200 mph, so it’s right there.”

The LS engine is cranking out an estimated 1,400-1,600 wheel horsepower. And since Steve has previously scattered an engine due to weaker rods, he’s upgraded to aluminum rods and wants to keep the engine below the 1,800-1,900 hp range.

“It should make the goals I want to make with that horsepower,” he adds.

As for performance off the track, Steve says the Celica is reliable on the street with the exception of a problem he was having with a radiator fan controller. However, little problems like that aren’t typically an issue for seasoned drag-and-drive competitors like Steve.

“In the past, we did Miles of Mayhem (in Canada) and finished second overall in 2021,” he says. “Then, last year, I had just gotten the engine together and had a bit of an issue, so I just didn’t want to risk it, so we pulled out on day one. This is my first time at Sick Week, which is turning into the World Series of Drag and Drive. I figured if I’m going to make the drive, I’m going to make the drive here. It’s the best of the best prep. The car is on a radial tire, so we wanted to make sure we have good tracks for it.”

A number of competitors at Sick Week travelled a good distance to enjoy the week in Florida, but Steve was among the furthest, clocking 3,200 miles to get to Orlando from southern Alberta, Canada.

Having travelled that distance made even tougher to learn that Steve and his Celica had to bow out of competition in Sick Week 2023 after the end of day one due to issues getting to Bradenton from Orlando. We eagerly await his next drag-and-drive event and seeing him crack off a 6.90 pass!

Engine of the Week is sponsored by PennGrade Motor OilElring – Das Original and NPW Companies. If you have an engine you’d like to highlight in this series, please email Engine Builder Editor Greg Jones at [email protected].

You May Also Like

408 cid Nitrous LS Engine

During a tour of SAM Tech, we also got a chance to speak to a few students. One in particular, Jaylon Victorian, was nearing completion of a 408 cid nitrous LS engine. He applied his new engine building knowledge and skill set to the build, and it shines through in our latest Engine of the Week.

408 cid nitrous LS engine

One of the spots we were excited to check out while we were in Houston, TX last fall was the School of Automotive Machinists & Technology, also known as SAM Tech. We’ve been able to showcase the automotive technical school, which has a focus on engine building and machining, in prior features and articles, but we hadn’t been to the facility in person – until now.

760 cid Billet Big Block Chevy Nitrous Engine

Despite what you may think about nitrous engines, and those that are stock big block Chevy bore spacing, these 4.840″ bore space big block Chevy engines have some significant R&D in them. Just check out this 760 cubic inch billet version done at TRE Racing Engines.

Naturally Aspirated 440 cid LT1 Engine

The folks at Late Model Engines in Houston, TX run a top-notch engine and machine shop. You don’t have to look much further than this naturally aspirated 440 cid LT1 engine build to see what we mean. It’s our Engine of the Week!

All-Billet 903 cid Pro Mod Engine

Pat Musi of Musi Racing Engines has been meticulously developing and tweaking his 903 cid Pro Mod engine combo since 2010. We got to see the latest and greatest version of this nitrous-powered billet beauty. Check out our first Engine of the Week of 2024!

Pat Musi Racing Engines 903 cid Pro Mod engine
Naturally Aspirated 540 cid Big Block Chevy Engine

After having issues with an engine built elsewhere, a customer came to H Squared Racing Engines to build him a streetcar combo. Utilizing an existing block and crank, H Squared was given the freedom to spec the rest of the engine. Check out the result!

Other Posts

Stuffing a Supercharged 572 cid SMX Engine in a Porsche 928

For Danny Humphreys, drag racing is a progressive disease. Ever since he watched Tom Cruise outrun a pimp in a 928 Porsche, he’s wanted the car for himself. As soon as he got one, he pulled the engine and the horsepower has gone up from there. Today, Danny has a supercharged 572 cid SMX engine

Holley Announces 2024 Flagship Events

Experiential events reinforce Holley’s commitment to serving customers across traditional and growing aftermarket verticals.

First-of-its-Kind Compound-Turbo L5P Duramax Engine

While incredibly rewarding, nothing about this L5P Duramax build was easy for Lead Foot Diesel Performance – everything was custom or a first. From the billet crank to the one-off compound turbos, this L5P Duramax is impressive. Check it out!

L5P Duramax engine
Indy Cylinder Head’s Supercharged 588 cid Hemi Engine

We’ve been following Indy Cylinder Head and the engine work Ken Lazzeri for quite some time. We got a chance to speak with Ken on the final day of the PRI show when he was kind enough to walk us through the details of several of the engines they had on display, including this bracket

Ken Lazzeri Hemi Engine