The white rescued Celica. (1994 ST204) Pictures galore., Suspension re-do time! Options

[RabidTRD]

So I figured I should make a thread about my rescued '94 GT-S Celica ST204. Here goes.

I bought her in November of 2010 to replace my old child, a built 1999 Toyota Camry LE.

She was my baby for 4 years. I put tons of money into her, seeing as I got her for free from my aunt. She came in terrible condition and was not loved when I received her. I rebuilt her, put in eibach pro suspension, a full 2" SS exhaust, bored out the pistons and replaced with larger ones, ect. I absolutely loved her, as did my friends and a few shop guys that race cars that I know through work. She was killed by a guy running a red in September of 2010.

So after accepting her loss, and receiving a $5,300 insurance check... I set off for another under loved child. I don't believe in buying new cars, nor do I believe in buying anything American in relation to cars. I searched the newspaper, I searched the internet... finally I found an app on my iPod that was "Cars.com." After searching on there, I decided I really wanted either a Prelude, a Integra GS-R, a Civic Si/EX, or a Celica. All the cars I went to see were either too expensive or were not as advertised.

Finally I cam across this little white gem. The car was listed for $2,800, power everything, 6 speaker stereo, GT model and best of all, 5 speed. So I went to have a look. There I found her, in a field, next to a house and she looked like she had been sitting for at least a year. Grass was growing into her miss-matched tires, dirt covering her exterior, dust all over her inside.... she was a mess. I asked to have a seat in her and to see if she started. I opened the door and sat down, instantly falling in love with the craftsmanship, the side hugging seats, and the feel of the leather wrapped steering wheel in my hands. I turned the key and instantly (the owner hadn't started her in over 6 months) she shook to life. I was greeted by dust blowing out of the vents as she roared from the hole behind her lower cat converter. I could tell she would be a trouble maker, but still, I was intrigued. I popped the hood to have a look at the 5S-FE, an engine I learned very well in my Camry.

First off, I spotted the normal usage signs. Leaking valve cover, old plug wires, dirty, oily, hairline cracked radiator, and an acid covered 34 series battery (mind you it's not facing the right way, wrong sized battery that had no hold down and didn't sit in the pan flat). She was a tad rusty, but still cleaner than most of the Celica's in Rochester.

I told the owner that I would have to think about it, and we shut her down and closed her up. I left that day to go home and talk to my dad about what he thought of it.

I returned a day after to see that the owner had cleaned her up, vacuumed out her interior and she looked fabulous. I gave the owner an offer of $1,800 cash because I knew the amount of work I would have to put into her. The owner wouldn't have it and I left once more.

That night I had a dream about the car... I awoke in the morning, wanting to take her for a drive and went back once more to talk to the owner. This time I had $2,500 cash with me, in hand, in case I really couldn't leave without her. We opened her up and turned her on. I took off in her, feeling her torque, her bite... I fell in love. I couldn't get out of her and decided to buy her. I told the owner that I won't pay more then $2,500 for her and that I have the cash in hand. The owner agreed and signed her over to me. I then returned home without her one last time to go to the DMV and get everything processed. The next day I went back, picked her up, and drove her home.

On the way home, well thats when she started to complain. At 60 she started to shake, making a weird rattling sound in the rear. I stopped at a gas station to fill her up and inspected my tires. The tires were 3 of one size, 1 of a smaller size and they all were cracked and weathered. I figured the owner put old tires on just to get rid of the car and knew I'd have to get new tires anyway, so it didn't bother me. So I went to fill her up. Half way through filling up, she started to make a really bad smell. The fuel filler neck was cracked and rusted to hell on the bottom. Fuel was dripping out as I filled her. Oy... she started to look like a nightmare.

I had the owner fix the fuel neck, which they agreed to, and footed the $200 bill from Toyota.

This is a picture the day after I got her (pre new fuel filler neck):

Finally started to get things fixed up on her and got some more shots via cellphone:







Then winter hit. I put new tires on her, Hankook Winter iPike 195/55/R15's (best grip in snow I've ever had. This car is a wonderful winter car.) I couldn't do more than that due to the weather so it was a cold long wait until the weather broke. I did manage to get my HID's in before the storm hit, and my yellow 9005 high beams. I managed to snap a pretty cool pic during a heavy winter storm too:



Then I found some smoke Depo lenses on eBay for a good price and popped those in (while freezing my butt off) and fixed my faulty washer pump as well. (Try driving in salty Rochester during the winter with no washer pump)


Finally winter came to an end and I re-did the breaks. I knew she leaked oil, but the leak seemed to get worse after the winter. I looked around and only saw it on the valve cover, so I changed that. I had done it twice before on the Camry, so I knew it would be an easy job. Wrong. I got the cover off and saw this:


What a mess! The engine had so much sludge in it. Even my Camry with 216k miles was cleaner than this! Apparently the owner never changed the oil...
So after a little scraping, I decided I should paint it while it's off too in order to accent the lines.





I fixed the top leak, but for some reason, she still continued to drip oil. So I jacked her up and had a good luck after the winters fury. Man was she wet underneath... The back side of the engine was covered, the oil pan was leaking around the seal, and it seemed like the oil was dripping out of the timing cover too. The owner said that they changed the timing belt not too long ago... so wouldn't they have changed the seals too? Nope. We got the covers off, looked inside and it was a huge mess. Oil was everywhere. It was also gunked up on the camshaft pully, showing how long the thing had been sitting with oil dripping down on it. We then replaced all the seals, the timing belt, the components (the tensioner had the wrong spring on it and the timing belt was flopping around inside) and put her back together. FINALLY the drip stopped.

Then the weather got nicer, so I decided to have a go at resurfacing my rusty, pitted, old rims:
Before:

After:


Then a noise started coming from the rear. I jacked her up again, and it seems that the bushings in the rear adjustable arms are going. You can grab the wheel and clunk it up and down. Dealer wants $300 for the two (and thats wholesale due to my connections through work). So thats a soon to do project of mine.

I had to cut my secondary cat out because of the break. I welded her up once, but she broke again so I just had enough and cut her out and fitted in some pipe as a temporary solution while I save up for that exhaust I've been dreaming about.

Work I want to do to her in the future includes:

• Exhaust - Manifold back
• Suspension - Eibach Sportline springs, Koni struts, full energy suspension urithane bushings
• JDM Projector headlights
• JDM Front and rear splitter, sideskirts
• Decent JDM style "chunky" rims
• 3S-GE BEAMS Red Top swap
• JDM 94-95 foglights

More pictures of what I have done to date:














So far I have put in:

• Injen SRAI w/Spectre open ended filter
• NGK Wires and Iridium IX plugs
• ST205 rear strut support bar
• REAL TRD Carbon fiber shifter knob
• Carbon fiber hand break handle
• Electric Oil pressure guage by Sunpro
• Red LED lighting all over the dash
• Normal maintainence items including: Break cables, breaks, dis cap, rotor, seals, battery, starter, waterpump, timing belt, Energy Suspension rear sway bar bushings

I have a long way to go. Money is the largest issue right now.

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Jan 19, 2013 - 7:17 PM

[RabidTRD]

I thought I'd put this up too, because it actually show's the exhaust.


I'd like an exhaust similar to this on the Celica. It sounded great and performed even better.


I've also discovered that my throwout bearing is going. When the clutch is engaged, the engine makes this loud wining noise. When you press the pedal in, the noise goes away for a second, and then comes back. It'll even grab sometimes while I'm cruising and cause the car to jerk until I press the gas again. So new clutch and throwout bearing are next on the list after I get this exhaust issue worked out. Then it's oil pan, and gasket. Hopefully that'll fix the last of my oil issues.

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Jun 2, 2011 - 4:21 PM

[NYp8tBaller07]

looks like you have water in the highs just like I do =p

[kevinkoda]

im lovin the shift knob..where did you get it?!

[RabidTRD]

looks like you have water in the highs just like I do =p

Yeah. I have yet to see one in NY without it haha. It's only in my driver side one though. I plan on pulling apart the headlight and re-sealing it after I clean out the inside. (Or just buying a new one and making sure it stays sealed.)

im lovin the shift knob..where did you get it?!

Ebay, believe it or not. It's a true TRD knob from a dealership in IN. It even came in the "TRD USA" box and with instructions lmao. It's weighted nicely, has a great feel, and looks great. I paid $55 for mine on eBay. Not sure what they go for on trdusa.com

Just make sure it's an authentic one if you want to pick one up. I can see if I can find the link.

EDIT: Here's the link.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...4#ht_2275wt_938

Thats a top view of the shifter. (The button on the break handle sticks out more now too... I had just slipped it on to take pics and hadn't milled it out yet.)

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Jun 2, 2011 - 9:24 PM

[RabidTRD]

Interior view from back seat.

[jtmlb3k]

Great progress and an awesome write up. No joke, I teach writing at college and you could definitely be a writer haha. Can't wait for more updates!

[RabidTRD]

Great progress and an awesome write up. No joke, I teach writing at college and you could definitely be a writer haha. Can't wait for more updates!

You know what the depressing part is? I dropped out of high school and am in the process of getting my GED right now. I was blessed with a mother who took the time to read to me when I was little. She read me novels at bed time, thus building my comprehension at an early age. I'm doing all this at 21 and have been out of high school since I was 17. I do love to write and I am a very visual thinker. I like to paint a picture in readers minds. This way of thinking also helps me when I work on cars, since I can see what's going on and open a photo book in my mind of images that I have previously seen in order to fix or diagnose a problem. Helps me sell parts for cars where I work too hahaha.

I'll be replacing my EGR and shoes tomorrow. I'll take pics of progress on those too lmao.

[RabidTRD]

Changed out the EGR yesterday.

Had to take off the throttle body to access the EGR tube from the block because you can't get a 22mm wrench in the narrow crevice between the manifold and the firewall.


Small space. Anyone know what that sensor does? Tells the ECU when the egr is warmed up?


The lower EGR tube nut.


How I had to get it out.


This is why I had to change out the EGR.


Couldn't even get the EGR line off of the EGR once it was off, so I had to clamp and wack it off. lol.


Once I got it off, I painted it. For those of you that live in upstate NY or in the northeastern US, you know what salt and rust can do.


Semi back together.


All done. You can see the red EGR tube.

[opie_7afe]

looking good man i just got my celica about 4 months ago and was owned by a girl who didnt wash or clean anything....looking nice now after the hours i spent with a crappy walmart random orbital buffer( really need a porter cable) but is it me or does everyone who has black interior the top of the rear seats are faded? anyway to fix this without seat covers(temporary of course) and a way to stop it if you replace covers....hatch visor maybe? but good luck! maybe you wont find as many metal gremlins as i have...oh yeah id clean your engine bay (id do it once a year after winter) i covered all electronics with plastic and masking tape and sprayed purple power everywhere and used an assortment of brushes and rinsed her off then used a damp rag to clean off the electronic bits....and then gave a nice wipe down with trim dressing/armor all on all of the rubber bits,and plastic bits!...and a brass wire wheel works nice to remove the aluminum corrosion (do this at your own risk i take no blame!)

This post has been edited by opie_7afe: Jun 13, 2011 - 12:14 AM

[enderswift]

keep up the good work man. celi looks great. did you take the opportunity to clean out your IAC while you had everything apart?

[EKAn]

Looks nice man

[RabidTRD]

looking good man i just got my celica about 4 months ago and was owned by a girl who didnt wash or clean anything....looking nice now after the hours i spent with a crappy walmart random orbital buffer( really need a porter cable) but is it me or does everyone who has black interior the top of the rear seats are faded? anyway to fix this without seat covers(temporary of course) and a way to stop it if you replace covers....hatch visor maybe? but good luck! maybe you wont find as many metal gremlins as i have...oh yeah id clean your engine bay (id do it once a year after winter) i covered all electronics with plastic and masking tape and sprayed purple power everywhere and used an assortment of brushes and rinsed her off then used a damp rag to clean off the electronic bits....and then gave a nice wipe down with trim dressing/armor all on all of the rubber bits,and plastic bits!...and a brass wire wheel works nice to remove the aluminum corrosion (do this at your own risk i take no blame!)

I have Black Magic engine degreaser/shine that I plan on using. I just have to fix a leak that I have first, then I'll get to it.

keep up the good work man. celi looks great. did you take the opportunity to clean out your IAC while you had everything apart?

I couldn't get one of the cooling hoses off to do it so I didn't clean it like I'd hoped. However, I did clean out what I could.

Thanks to Espo, I'll have this exhaust on my car shortly!

It's a 2.25" to 2.5" with a 4" exhaust tip.
Specs:
Vibrant Performance quiet series resonator 2.25" in and 2.25" out
2.25" mandrel bent piping
2.5" Vibrant Performance straight through canister muffler 2.5" in and 2.5" out with a 4" tip
Stock bends to follow over the axle.


This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Jun 16, 2011 - 7:48 PM

[RabidTRD]

Hmmm....

[enderswift]

i smell projectors.


damn you. I want a set too

[RabidTRD]

Nope, unfortunately I can't afford projectors. So, I cleaned up my lights and blacked out the bezels inside of the highs.




Couldn't get that last bolt out lol.



Finished product. No more yellow water inside the driver side high and from above or the side it looks black. Pretty sick.


Question for everyone, is this normal?




Picked up a Vincent fuel door from Espo:



All paint matched and ready to go. Didn't get a more updated shot with the white fuel cap.

Also, another teaser:

[RabidTRD]

Okay, white filler cap:


Decided to do my tail lights today too:


This cleaner works great on anything. Doesn't leave residue!


Fully prepped and then after first coat:



Finished product:


Looks darker in photos than in real life.

[jtmlb3k]

The lights all look great! One question though: what was the Mountain Dew for?

[RabidTRD]

Had to refresh! It's an important part of the painting process! Lmao

[m4dm4n]

rofl... looking loads better! Is that speedo needle warped??

[RabidTRD]

Well the cell phone camera warped it lol... but the question was, is it normal for the car to be at 4k RPMs when at 82MPH?

[epocsirhc]

That sounds about right. I haven't owned my Celica for like a year and a half.

I'm liking what you've done so far! Keep up the great work.

[m4dm4n]

not sure what the conversion is to Kmh exactly (125-130??) but at 110 I'm at something like 3200rpm or so

[RabidTRD]

Out with the old, in with the new(ish):





The rear wheel is angled out funny. How do I correct that on this car since there is no camber adjustment?



Clearance:
Rear:


Front:


And a little retro!



Now, does anyone on here have any experience with the rebuildable Koni Special D shocks? My drive side, both front and rear are rattling like the spanner nut is coming loose. Is that possible? I haven't had day light long enough to get in there and try anything yet. It took me all day to change the rears due to a broken socket, seized bolts, and an irritating sway bar link.

[whatthe]

Loving the progress mate!

[RabidTRD]

Thanks everyone! I should have the exhaust on soon. Then I'll have to get the Scion TC rims at the 17" 45 offset and I'll be happy. Then I'll have to save up for the splitter kit and possibly a new engine. I may be doing a 3S-GTE instead of the beams... just seems more practical. Parts are easier for me to come by, cheaper, and the stock turbo shouldn't lag, so I just won't **** with it.

[RabidTRD]

Quick shot I took today while on my lunch break at work.
Parked next to my co-workers MK2 Golf:


Another view of the ride height:


I need camber bolts bad. Good thing I can get Moog ones from work.

[RabidTRD]

Anyone know if this means my car is really made in Japan and if this also means my car is the 675th car made?
What kinda information can I learn from this sticker?


Also, anyone putting on emblems, don't use this garbage:

Just use 3M Sticky Tape and cut it to fit. You'll be better off for a clean, easy job. This **** sticks to everything but the thing you're trying to stick it to. What a freaking mess.

[SwissFerdi]

That sticker really just confirms your paint, transmission, and chassis codes (040, S54, and ST204, respectively). Your VIN is also on it. The rest is just government blahblah. These were made in Japan, though. JDM for sure.

Also, excellent progress here. Looks like you're taking a very clean, practical route to modification.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Jul 3, 2011 - 11:19 PM

[mkernz22]

How much is the car lowered now?

[RabidTRD]

Uhhh... I'd say about 2 inches. It's pretty freaking low. It's advertised as 1.5 with the Sportline, but I assume that's 1.5 out of the box new. This is over a year old.

Before:




After:



I don't have any good before pictures.

I'm trying to make it as clean and OEM as possible, but still semi JDM and fun? I don't really know how to explain it. I don't like the gauge bezel I have and will be changing that ASAP. I will also be ordering custom fab brake pedals, dummy pedal pads and whatnot in a brushed aluminum. Ones that are designed for heel-toe. Or, I'll buy the WRC pedals that lift the gas pedal up to a height roughly the same as the brake pedal, and extends over towards the brake. (Roughly 200 to my door for the whole assembly)

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Jul 3, 2011 - 11:32 PM

[Arsaces]

What kind of paint did you use on the valve cover? Looks great!

[RabidTRD]

This stuff:



Also used a grey primer by the same company and type under. It worked great on the Camry I used to have, so I did it on this as well. 500 degrees and ceramic.

[Arsaces]

Thank you very much!

[RabidTRD]

Photoshoot time!
Decided to go out with my Canon 20D DSLR and a tripod and snap some shots. I then realized after returning home that there was a bug on the lens...

Aaanndd... CAMBER!

[whatthe]

Nice colour chosen for the stock wheels. And all red taillights too. Noticing alot of rust on the doors =[

This post has been edited by whatthe: Jul 5, 2011 - 12:57 PM

[RabidTRD]

Yeah... up here in upstate NY we like snow with our salt. This car was abused before me. Apparently this is clean for how old it is. I'm going to be working on the rust next after I get this camber figured out and the exhaust on. Then comes rims from a 05 TC and after that I'll be trying to get my hands on a OEM lip kit. Hopefully SS-II splitters for the front and TRD for the rear with the OEM facelift skirts on the sides.

[RabidTRD]

Let me start by saying... ****.

So about 5 days ago after work, I started my car and black smoke came out the exhaust. I looked behind me and went outside to check and see how dark it really was. Got to the rear and it went away...

...Okay. So I figured it was just some crap that got into the cylinder and burned off. I brushed it off and went along for the past 5 days without it happening again or any problems.

Today I got bored, so I decided that I should check the gap on my plugs and, just to make sure, see if there was oil in the cylinders. Took out plug 1, whew, nothing. On to plug 2, again, nothing and gap was perfect just like the first. So then comes plug 3. Again, nothing to worry about. At this point I'm happy and just like, "oh well everything is fine, I just worry too much." Plug 4. ****! I pull the plug out and oil drips off and onto my finger. Plug smells like burnt oil. Wonderful, so I dry the plug off and run a few extensions down into the cylinder to see how much oil is in there. The oil only left residue on the tip of the extension.

I call my boss and ask him his opinion (If you guys haven't already figured out, I work at an autoparts store and the top on in our division at that) on what I should do. My thoughts were that my piston ring is leaking. So I ask how much would labor and all of that cost? His response, "you have to take the whole bottom of the engine apart, so you might as well swap the engine out at that point or replace it." Grrreeeaaat. I can't afford that right now. I don't know how to do that on my own and I don't have a cherry picker or a stand. My friend does, but I doubt he'd want to help me with this. I'm already suffering from depression, I have had a recent breakup with a girl that I devoted myself to for 3.5 years that decided to tell me that we have nothing in common and we should break up. I'm also trying to deal with my mothers death and my father re-marrying...

This damn car is the only thing keeping me sane right now besides my friends and alcohol. I work on it when I feel upset, I tinker and I forget my pain and feel free for just a small amount of time. In that amount of time I feel happy, I know what I'm doing and I know I can fix it. Right now, I'm lost. I don't know if I should rebuild it, replace it, do the 3S-GTE swap that I really wan to do, or make a hybrid engine with a 3S-GTE head and a 5S-FE block... (That one always intrigued me.)

I'm losing my mind and I don't even have enough money to go buy some beer to just calm down. My dad yelled at me after I told him to pray for me because I might need to replace the engine and told me, "You've already spent too much on that piece of junk car." That again crushed me. I hate when people call my cars "junk." I proved with my last one that anything was possible and even the junkiest of cars have life left in them and deserve respect and love. I honestly feel like crying right now because this car is my only love. I can't lose this one too.

Just an example of what my Camry came from when I first got it:


I then turned it into this:

A 160hp BMW killer.

[Malhar95]

feel ur pain man, somewhat the same story with my car, ppl dont understand what it really means to us (well atleast what it means to me)


just a tip, dont get the ebay rebuild kit, i got it and within 1200 miles , bearings failed (it might be the mechanic to blame but) i can tell u now the quality doesnt feel too good....people warned me but i was stubborn and still got it, just a heads up

[beams78]

sucks to hear that dude life is already hard enough as is but hey if you love that car then revive it. it wont happen over night but as long as you get something done on it you ll feel good my celica engine blew on me and also need a few other things and i still have it i didnt let it die before i wont let it die now. besides theres other ppl in this forum that are from the same area as you( im one of them) that probally wont mind giving you a hand i already found someone who will help me whit my swap for my celica (when i finished saving up for the engine that is >_>) so take it easy and good luck whit your car

[RabidTRD]

I actually may go another route. I've found a guy on Toyota Nation that seems to know a lot about 5S-FE's. He is building a 200 hp one that is NA. I may buy another engine and follow his advice and see if I can build one with at least 170.

At this point, I'm trying to figure out what is most worth while. There is a local guy that has a 3S-GTE swap that I really want to meet up with and get some advice from.

[beams78]

thats cool to know theres also a guy in the are that has done a 3sgte swap on his celica ive seen it once in person(which was awesome) he seems to know what hes doing plus hes also a member in the 6gc.(hes the one that told me about the site) hes name is JDcelica pm him he might be able to help you out whit any imformation you need

[imthedude3219]

how do make your lights that color? the bulbs in mine are burnt out on the sides.

[RabidTRD]

thats cool to know theres also a guy in the are that has done a 3sgte swap on his celica ive seen it once in person(which was awesome) he seems to know what hes doing plus hes also a member in the 6gc.(hes the one that told me about the site) hes name is JDcelica pm him he might be able to help you out whit any imformation you need

He is actually the one I am talking about haha. He has the black 3S-GTE hatch. I'm trying to meet up with him soon to talk.

how do make your lights that color? the bulbs in mine are burnt out on the sides.

Which lights? The highs have yellow 9005 bulbs at 60W, and I painted the interior bezels black with engine paint to handle the heat. The rears I used VHT Red on to get the pure, candy apple red. The front signals and the side markers are Depo Smoke lenses with amber bulbs inside. They run on ebay for around $70 for the set and they even include sockets and bulbs! Make sure you get the ones specifically for your year though. I almost bought facelift lights by mistake!

[beams78]

lol what a small world

[RabidTRD]

Yeah, I honestly had no idea anyone from Rochester had any decent 6GC's. All the ones I see here are dented, rusted and neglected. There are a crap ton of RIT students with 6GC's. I was hoping to get some kinda local meet going and post info up at RIT for them to all come. There is a black one there from Vermont that has TRD calipers and a few mods. We chatted once when he pulled up behind me to get gas at a gas station and we stared at each-other and just laughed and said, "Nice car!"


If you ever need any parts, stop by the Advance Auto Parts in the city of Rochester. The one at 527 Monroe ave. It's on the corner of Monroe and Goodman. You can see my white Celica parked in the back and probably a MK2 Red golf, a MK1 GTi Rabbit and soon a blue VW Corrado (yeah I work with a bunch of VW heads.) If you see the white Celica, I'm working haha. Just don't come in hoping to chat for too long if the black Rabbit is there. I'll get in trouble because that's my GM. And please don't show up on Fridays, as we have to put truck away. Otherwise, stop in for parts, to chat, whatever. I've got lots of experience with basics on these Celicas. I don't know much about engine swaps though hahaah.

Also, I may have figured out what the oil in the cylinder is. I may have a bad seal at the base of the spark plug tube. I forgot to check that in my fury and it took a guy at Toyota Nation to make me think haha.

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Jul 8, 2011 - 10:17 PM

[beams78]

lol yeah you dont see these cars alot in these area although mines its beat up but not not bad but for a car that i got for free i cant complain which in the end im just making it into my little project and hopefully i could swap in either a 3sge beams or the 3sgte although im still in a debate on which one to choose cause of the fact on turboing the beams but im also a n/a motor fan so im still undicided hopefully for next summer i could do a swap on mines

lol thats kool to know mabey ill stop by someday if i have time though life pretty crazy these day so choosing where to go is sometimes a hassle >_>

This post has been edited by beams78: Jul 8, 2011 - 10:22 PM

[RabidTRD]

Have you ever thought about building the 5S-FE? If you don't like turbo that much... it's the easiest way, especially if you don't want to spend a bunch. I'm planning a cam upgrade soon.

[beams78]

yeah i would have done that but to bad my is an st model not gt so 7afe no good lol

[RabidTRD]

You can still build the A series engines to a pretty satisfying state. In fact, you've just got more room to work with haha.

[RabidTRD]

So I took the time to finally rip the top off my engine. Well I sourced the leak issues and there was oil leaking into tube 4. Nothing on the inside this time! So it must have just collected around the base of the plug and when I pulled it, it all seeped into the cylinder. Thank freaking God. Struggled getting the tube out and ended up using vice grips on it, but it came out and I polished it up.

Pics:






Got it all together and decided to clean out my engine bay:


Before and after:

[RabidTRD]

Next on the list is to get an allignment and the exhaust finally on! Then I'll be doing body work and looking for the TC rims. After that, Webcams!

[RabidTRD]

Received my 6gc.net stickers today! Put them on as soon as I got home from work haha.



Then I found another package that arrived while I was working. I finally got my gauge bezels! These things weren't cheap, so I'm glad they actually turned out like I had hoped.


You just round out the back side of the aluminum to make it hook and it stays in place. Pretty good idea!




Had to modify them a tiny bit to get a super flush fit.




And the end result is this:


Much happier with this than the previous bezel. That one is up for sale if anyone wants it!

[RabidTRD]

Inside the car:



I have to get a shot of how sexy these things are at night.


More stuff on the way.
- Polk Audio speakers (in hand, waiting for install)
- Strut tower bar (this is one that crosses over the center and fits under the OEM one to stiffen it even more at $75 instead of the $300 pricetag on the TRD one)
- 07 Scion TC 17" rims
- Godspeed dual core aluminum high performance radiator with red silicone hoses
- 4 new calipers and SS hoses
- Cross-drilled rotors.

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Aug 6, 2011 - 6:04 PM

[beams78]

thats actually pretty cool gives the dash a new look

[Needles]

nice gauge , its 100% perfect

[TRD11]

love the car ....... clean looking

[RabidTRD]

Got my Polk Audio speakers in. Tweeters are so much better than factory that it's not even funny. I actually had to turn my highs down because at louder volume, my head started to hurt. The mids that I have in the rear now (6.5") are much better than factory, but lack the bass I was hoping for. This also may be because of the gauge wire I used. I realized after I put it all together that the wire was smaller than factory... quite a bit.. So I'll have to re-do those before giving an opinion.

Brother gave me his dual 12" Kicker subs and told me to have fun... (le sigh) too much bass for my liking and the box for them is huge. I may sell them and get a bass tube. At least that way I can take the subs out when I need to transport anything or auto-x.

Anyway, pics!




Taking out the rears




Rears are a PITA to take out compared to the fronts and tweeters lmao.

[RabidTRD]

Found a set of Euro fogs and installed them with my own custom switch and wire harness:



I got tired, and sloppy last night in the dark and managed to scratch the area around the plug. Going to touch that up shortly

And photos of them working with the parking lights (they're wired into the side parking lights so I don't have to have my headlights on and can cruse with these on instead):


The custom plugs I made to fit into the OE female plug:


Very happy with the look and extra light. Going to put in yellow bulbs next to optimize the foglight effectiveness.

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Sep 9, 2011 - 7:50 PM

[NYp8tBaller07]

Just saw the bezel, very nice and how are you liking the led's?

[Grega]

Anyone know if this means my car is really made in Japan and if this also means my car is the 675th car made?
What kinda information can I learn from this sticker?


Also, anyone putting on emblems, don't use this garbage:

Just use 3M Sticky Tape and cut it to fit. You'll be better off for a clean, easy job. This **** sticks to everything but the thing you're trying to stick it to. What a freaking mess.

I don't know if you already find that up, but by using your chasis code, I get this informations:

http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/q?vin=jt2st07n9r0014907

[RabidTRD]

Just saw the bezel, very nice and how are you liking the led's?

The ones in there are eBay ones and they are starting to flicker. Otherwise they look fantastic. Waiting for my spree kit

[NYp8tBaller07]

I thought they looked a little odd. You'll love the kit, at least I love mine lol

[RabidTRD]

Something finally came in the mail the other day!



WHOOHOO! Instead of buying the TRD 3 bar strut stabilizer, I found one that goes under the OEM strut to firewall one and made my own 3 bar!



My yellow lights came in too:


They were fake Nokya's though... so hopefully the paint doesn't chip off while I'm waiting for my pair of real yellow glass Nokya's to come in.

[NYp8tBaller07]

nice grab on the bar =)

[RabidTRD]

Yeah, it took forever to get here. $75 for it, but well worth the wait.

[SwissFerdi]

Could be a real bargain over buying a traditional three-point bar, if you could get the OEM GT bar in a junkyard for cheap as well. I wonder if there's a difference in rigidity. The one-piece unit might flex less, more effectively tying the front together?

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 16, 2011 - 7:23 AM

[RabidTRD]

I guess. I had a bar like this on my previous car and I can honestly say, especially after my trip to the pocono's, it's way stiffer than just one bar alone.

The DWG Meet was great. I really enjoyed talking to everyone and the highlight of my trio was driving down this mountain pass that was like something straight out of initial d. 2 hairpins, a few s curves and a bunch of angled hard rights and lefts, all on a steady decline. I loved every second of it. Gave me a chance to test my suspension.

Also, on the trip, I snagged a Medalion GPower JASMA certified header! Very happy with it. Once I get a 2 1/4" downpipe made, I'll toss the exhaust on and be done for the winter.

Installed my spree kit too. Very happy with the end results. The red is super red! Now I've got to update my head unit and I'll be set.

I also found a girl that is going to let me do payments on TC rims and tires! Very excited.

[ricochet1490]

This stuff:



Also used a grey primer by the same company and type under. It worked great on the Camry I used to have, so I did it on this as well. 500 degrees and ceramic.

TOPGEAR!!! Greatest show ever!

[RabidTRD]

Top Gear UK, MTN Dew Pitch Black, and 6GC.net. All of life's essentials at one time

[RabidTRD]

Pics from the DWG '11:

[RabidTRD]

Ok! I've been really busy working all the time recently, and the weather has been ****ty up until this week. So I finally had some money and decided to do some maintenance.

First off, I couldn't figure out why my rear window kept fogging up on cold days, or wet days... and there was this weird rattle coming from the rear. Well... I crawled under the car because I had a sneaking suspicion...

...yeah fears were real:


That was after I cleaned and cut out the rust. And for the other side:


Found that after pressing against the metal. Oy vey.
So the work begins (sparks are good for ratings right?):









The tool used to do the cutting and grinding of the rust:


And what I look like while working on my car:

(Lmao, idk why, I just felt like taking a pic)

Also decided to zinc primer some rust under the car before doing some undercoating:




Picked up some replacement odds and ends that are broken here and there:

1. Rear caliper bracket bolts
2. Wiper arm nut covers
3. Distributor o-ring (will take measurements and get an aftermarket equivilant part number for customers with Camry's and Celica's because I hate not having something like this at my store)
4. Parcel shelf clip for the passanger side (they gave me the wrong side!)
5. Body drain plugs/drains (old ones are cracked and painted over)

Also got a new storage DIN (old one is broken on the spring side) from black93hardtop! (Thanks again for the super fast shipping!)


More items to come and updates to follow. Doing this one thing at a time.

[RabidTRD]

This is what I do when I have no money to work on my car and I'm bored:


This was also the result of too much "adult beverage"

[bmj67]

hahaha nice glasses. I hate fixing rust but good work on it.

[kurt95gt]

gotta say i love your celica

[RabidTRD]

Thanks guys!

At this point I'm concentrating on repairs and then I'll be putting the exhaust on.

[Ted95]

car look great bro ive always wanted a clean white hatch!

[NYp8tBaller07]

nice clean up. i need to take care of some rust as well

[RabidTRD]

nice clean up. i need to take care of some rust as well

Don't use regular bondo like I did. I forgot that Bondo isn't waterproof. It's basically talc. Go for bondo-glass. It's waterproof and will work better long term. I'm going to have to cut my bondo out in the spring and re-do it.

[RabidTRD]

Today was eventful. So I start off the day on my way to work (on time *gasp*) and my car starts puffing magic smoke out of the hood on the driver side. I immediately shut it down and pop the hood. Nothing is on fire, no critters nests or BBQ squirrel... what the hell could be making that terrible smell and smoke!? So I shut the hood and turn it on again, shrugging it off and decide to try to drive the two miles to work. Starts smoking out the passenger side at the first stop sign... Ok, now... So I pop the hood again and this time leave the car running. It's coming from the belt side of the engine, but I couldn't see where! I'd rev the engine and the smoke would come out of the bottom of the engine bay towards the front. Wtf. So I shut it down and start sniffing. Smells and whines, the engine feels bogged down. Called my boss (because now I was late) and let him know what was going on. Decided to pray and then drive to work and hope nothing burned up. Got to work fine and smoke was gone. Smell was still there though.

So I work my shift, the thought crossing my mind now and again on what it could be. Ran through a few things with my boss and finally decided to pull the serp belt and run the engine and see whats going on. Opened the hood to find the battery had acid on top (wasn't there two days ago) and to that stupid smell again. So now my mind is going towards bad alt, maybe it's seizing under load and the magnets are gripping too much. Popped the belt off and what do you know, the belt had glazed into the shape of the alt pulley. So there's my answer. Started the engine, no whine. Fricken-a!

All said and done, today I installed 4 batteries at work, and one alternator in the parking lot on my Celica. Thank God it's so easy to access on this 5S-FE. But now I'm down $130 for a new belt and Alt. Oh well. Better now than in the winter I guess.

[beams78]

lnice work on that rust dude and hey better now then later on i gotta change my clutch on my st by this week too supposely we r gona have snow soon >_>

[RabidTRD]

Lol It snowed a couple nights ago while I was in the garage working on the celica.

Car's been on jack stands for a week now. I decided I wanted to fix the hand brake before the snow hits... so I go to take the caliper off and the bracket bolts break... all of them. Drilling them out of the brackets would have taken time and money and new hardware to rebuild the calipers was just as expensive as buying new ones. So I just dropped $200 on new calipers and got them in. I painted them and put new (dealer bought) bolts back in the and put new rotors and pads on. Painted the rotors as well.

Now it's time to finish up the little things with the rear and start on the front. I also need to take the heat plate off my alternator and paint that to match the engine. Oh and pop out my washer pump and warranty it at the dealer. Oh! And put a new dizzy o-ring in. Man I've got my hands full the next couple days.

[RabidTRD]

Finished the brakes! I'll get some fresh pics in the morning when it stops raining of the car down with wheels on, but for now... this is the progress:
Fronts started like this:


Ended like this:


Rear:



Hover car!!!


I finally have a garage to work in


This primer works great on the calipers or anything rusty (undercar chassis parts)




Also paint matched the new alt's heat shield to my valve cover:




Finished the Spree LED install:






More pictures as I find them. I took them on 3 different cameras including my phone rofl.

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Nov 29, 2011 - 9:07 PM

[NYp8tBaller07]

How do you like the spree kit? The red looks nice :-)

[cheela]

beautiful progress. love the SPREE kit.
i have mine half installed. still need the HVAC lights.

[RabidTRD]

How do you like the spree kit? The red looks nice :-)

I love it. The kit has been a build since the summer. I just kept adding things to it and ordering more led's lol.

beautiful progress. love the SPREE kit.
i have mine half installed. still need the HVAC lights.

The HVAC isn't fun... but when it's done, it's well worth it.

I'll be tackling the rust on my doors with a new "rust infuser" product that I'll give feedback on when I finish. Trying to get this damn thing fully rust proofed before winter, but things keep happening. I think my rear wheel bearings are going too

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Nov 29, 2011 - 9:17 PM

[RabidTRD]

Giving up on the TC wheels. I've been looking at them and I don't think I'll like them as much as I thought I would.

So, here's to new ideas.

One I'm thinking of:

I want a gold rim. I really like how the gold looks against the white on our cars and these are nice chunky ones. I especially like the lip on them.

[RabidTRD]

What I really want are these:

[kurt95gt]

I just got tc rims an love them

[mkernz22]

What I really want are these:

i'd suggest some engine work before you drop 2g's on those rims. i found the listing on ebay. definitely not worth it.

[NYp8tBaller07]

when you get those rims let me know because Im looking to get rims for spring! also because we both live in NY it wouldnt be too bad to meet up.

[RabidTRD]

Yeah, I'm not going to drop 2k on rims. I'd rather drop $600 on cams before that. It's just wishful thinking. I may get the Drag one-piece clones that I have pictured up above because I can get them with Yokohama S-Drives for just under 1k. Or I can do these Konigs: http://www.discounttiredirect.com/product/...onfea.g.ang.jpg for just over a grand with the Yokohama's.

I'm thinking I'd rather go with the Konig's being that I trust that brand and I don't want FAKE two piece rims.

when you get those rims let me know because Im looking to get rims for spring! also because we both live in NY it wouldnt be too bad to meet up.

I want to get something going locally. There are a few guys here that own 6GC's that I'd like to meet up with. There is a good meet place up at the beach where all the import crowd shows up in the spring through fall. Usually sat nights.

This post has been edited by RabidTRD: Dec 5, 2011 - 1:43 PM

[RabidTRD]

Updates; photos of what I've done the past few weeks:

Here is how the calipers look:




I changed my dizzy o-ring yesterday... it was def leaking from it and when I pulled it off, the thing cracked and fell in half in my fingers.



(Always make a mark so you know where it should be when re-installing it so you don't have to re-time)

Because Toyota is smart, the make a notch to show you the placement of the rotor on re-install.


The car made a mark for me lmao:


Last but not least, a video showing a bit of what I've done to it:

(Has mostly exhaust noise and intake noise. I love how this thing sounds with an intake. I removed the second cat, otherwise it's stock exhaust)

[Unicorn]

Really love the look of that spree LED kit mate. How long do you think it's taken you to install that? You think it's something that I could accomplish in a couple of days?

Keep up the great work, this little Celi is getting some awesome treatment!

[kurt95gt]

Hope to have my celica look as clean as yours one day

[RabidTRD]

Really love the look of that spree LED kit mate. How long do you think it's taken you to install that? You think it's something that I could accomplish in a couple of days?

Keep up the great work, this little Celi is getting some awesome treatment!

It took me the longest on the HVAC. I'd say do the easy stuff first (gauges, clock, key ring, ash tray and cig lighter) in one night. Then the next day do the HVAC. The look of the lights on the dash and whatnot will motivate you to finish it. The HVAC is a little of a pain in the ass... but the end result is well worth it.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask along the way. The HVAC cables can be a bit confusing.

Hope to have my celica look as clean as yours one day

Thank you, that means a lot. It's been a struggle sometimes, but I'm doing the best I can on a $20k yearly income and living on my own.

[Unicorn]

It took me the longest on the HVAC. I'd say do the easy stuff first (gauges, clock, key ring, ash tray and cig lighter) in one night. Then the next day do the HVAC. The look of the lights on the dash and whatnot will motivate you to finish it. The HVAC is a little of a pain in the ass... but the end result is well worth it.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask along the way. The HVAC cables can be a bit confusing.

Thanks for that info. It shouldn't be too bad for me as I will be installing the lighting in the dash whilst the car is stripped, before the interior goes back in again.

[kurt95gt]

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=81758
just incase you didn't see this

[RabidTRD]

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=81758
just incase you didn't see this

Holy cow! Thanks for the heads up!

[kurt95gt]

welcome
I want a set too but don't have the extra money so figured I pass the word on lol