7th gen celica ECU into 8th Gen Corolla Questions

Noticed a few threads covering this in research. I've never messed with anything engine-management related before so here's a few questions of mine that brought me to creating an account here:

1. I have a 2001 A/T (want an M/T, cant find one near me) 4-speed corolla that is completely stock as of now, can I even do this and see a small bump in power and a higher rev limit?

2. Which ECU do I need? I know there is a couple for the 7th gen celica as there was both an M/T and a A/T

3. Do I leave the stock engine wiring harness in the car and simply move the wires around in the connectors that plug into the ECU? I read that the connectors are the same so... ?

4. Is there a better option than the 7th gen celica ECU? I know the 9th gen corolla ECU has been swapped in before as well. But to me the performance wouldnt be as good and I also don't know if that requires anything else?

5. A lot of people made it sound like this was a simple but beneficial mod, is this true? Could I pay someone to do this for me and them not charge much at all to do it because it is so simple?

6. What problems am I going to have and is there anything I can do to fix them?


I hear @Irvin is big into this. I originally wanted to private message him on here (hence me making an account) but I cannot figure out how to do that here. I see the inbox but no pm buttons anywhere. But if anyone can help me out that would be great, my car is working very well and I will probably keep it for a long time, so this mod even if its the only mod I do would help me enjoy it more. I'm not into making my car "look" fast or anything (i dislike the attention anyhow). Just want to enjoy my car more on backroads and such. Would go well with my completely re-done suspension.
Added: Aug 4, 2015 1:03 AM
sorry for multiple threads, there is something wrong with this forum. Please fix. It keeps failing and then all of a sudden it decides to just post it

1. I have a 2001 A/T (want an M/T, cant find one near me) 4-speed corolla that is completely stock as of now, can I even do this and see a small bump in power and a higher rev limit?
It will not work, at least no one has gotten it to work as yet. The problem is with the automatic transmission not selecting the right gears. I believe you could get it working correctly if you studied the pinouts and rewire what needs to be done.

2. Which ECU do I need? I know there is a couple for the 7th gen celica as there was both an M/T and a A/T
The drive by cable ecu is preferred.

3. Do I leave the stock engine wiring harness in the car and simply move the wires around in the connectors that plug into the ECU? I read that the connectors are the same so... ?
Yep

4. Is there a better option than the 7th gen celica ECU? I know the 9th gen corolla ECU has been swapped in before as well. But to me the performance wouldnt be as good and I also don't know if that requires anything else?
The only options are the 7thgen celica or 9thgen corolla. The 9thgen corolla ecu require a different knock sensor and the connectors are not the same

5. A lot of people made it sound like this was a simple but beneficial mod, is this true? Could I pay someone to do this for me and them not charge much at all to do it because it is so simple?
Hmmm something not familiar with it will probably charge you a lot to be honest. It is a simple and beneficial mod, one that you could maybe do yourself.

6. What problems am I going to have and is there anything I can do to fix them?
The biggest problem is with the automatic transmission