rentaspace's progression :), How My Celica Came to Be :) Options

[rentaspace]

So gonna start my progression thread, and update it occasionally.
I'll start with how I got my Celica:
So it all started last year in around March, when I got my Red P's and was searching for that first car...
I tested a lancer, a prelude and a Hyundai Coupe... They all had their pluses and minuses, but none felt 'right'...
On the way home from the Prelude, we passed a Ford dealership and sitting in the middle was a little white PreFacelift Celica, as soon as I saw her, I knew she was the one I wanted. When I got home I jumped online and and contacted the dealer; she was an auto (I am not legally allowed to drive manual yet, thanks to my dads non-functioning speedometer).
The next day, my dad drove me and my beautiful girlfriend out to the dealer and we test drove the car. At the end of the test drive the dealer wanted 8k for her. I knew this was steep for it, but she was in almost perfect condition.

The only damage I could pick was a scrape on the passenger side rear wheel fender, a few small dents over her and quite a large dent in the roof (it looked like the previous owner had hit her with his fists)...
With the $8k as a base, we negotiated with the dealer and came out with a total:
- $7700 for the car
- All dents removed from the car
- Brand New 5 treads
- and finally what really made me go for it, A 12 month warranty... on an 18 year old car

Here she was on that exact day, right after out test drive:




A few weeks later, we got a call saying that she was ready for pickup, All the dents had been removed ($1500 worth of dent removal and paint) and she was good to go. A few days later her first photo shoot:



Her Interior and Engine were immaculate for her age:




After a few weeks our small troubles began, she started leaking oil all over the ground... After a call to the dealership, she was booked in for her first warranty inspection... They re-did all engine gaskets and replaced all seals in the engine... When we got her back, she was still leaking... We took her back again and were told that the transmission seals were shot, they were replaced and the engine was flushed out; the leaking stopped... for now...
Over all, the work would of cost ($1800 by the dealer, if not for the warranty).

Ill post the first of many mods in the next few hours or so, Once I get together the photos and know exactly what I want to say

This post has been edited by rentaspace: Oct 21, 2013 - 1:34 AM

[rentaspace]

Update:
Just a general update on the car...

Well yesterday she was taken into the dealer for repairs to the engine mount and the transmission seal...

She went in, and to my horror... The front engine mount was completely, and I mean completely, ripped in half... and the rear engine mount was cracked too... and the dealer will not cover these under the warranty... $400 out of pocket for that... Going to be pursuing it further with Aussie Department of Fair Trading as this part is pretty integral to the safety of the vehicle...
They also tried to spit some BS at me about the seals 'never being covered under our warranties' and when I said well its been there 5 times, all of the times seals were replaced and I even have some spares that your mechanic gave me.. they replied with 'we will cover the seals'... When the car was NRMA reported last week, the engineer said that the lurch in reverse (which it has had since I got it) was caused by the front engine mount, yet the dealer is saying that they never noticed it and therefore they will not cover it... How could they miss that when they had the engine removed from the car?...

Anyway, in lighter news, I ordered a set of JDM tail lights from a guy in Japan and they should arrive by next week pending installation the following weekend. I also will have my skirts on the car (hopefully this weekend, weather permitting) and Ill have an update when this happens... From there, Ill be saving my $$$ for some 17" Rims and Clear Headlights and High Beams.

She is sitting like this as of now:

Only difference is there are TRD decals on the mirrors

This post has been edited by rentaspace: May 1, 2013 - 7:01 AM

[rentaspace]

Got the car back today, Oil leak appears to be gone , The reverse no longer clunks, and acceleration and shifting feels a lot smoother (as it should)...

The discs need to be machined and the AC Compressor Bearings are on their way out...


The car now shakes sort of when gears are engaged and stopped at lights I have no clue what could be causing this... when in 'park' it idles fine, but as soon as it is put into reverse or gear the car shakes
there is also no shaking when the car is driving or shifting gear

so we will find out what is causing that...


I have also been in contact with the eBay member that sold me the JDM tails and he has put aside until I get paid a pair of white TRD Reat Splitters; so when I get the cash these will be ordered and put onto the car

This post has been edited by rentaspace: May 2, 2013 - 1:04 AM

[The_enD]

Mine also makes a bad noise when I put her in reverse.
And shakes just a tiny bit when I shift and I am almost ready to release the clutch pedal. It's hardly noticeable tho.

[rentaspace]

Mine also makes a bad noise when I put her in reverse.
And shakes just a tiny bit when I shift and I am almost ready to release the clutch pedal. It's hardly noticeable tho.

Well, mines auto... It doesn't shake when shifting between any of the gears... It only shakes when I stop at a set of lights and have the brake pressed.. it's as if the car is not revving high enough... but the Tachometer is showing the car at a steady 900rpm idle... which is what it has always been It also never did this until the work was completed

[rentaspace]

Update:
Well After a planned mod-day on Sunday, I unexpectedly ended up in hospital (oh the joy), so Sundway was spent recovering... No Mods were complete
But, Early this morning, my JDM tails arrived, bought them 7days ago and arrived this morning so 6 day turnaround from Japan, and shipping wasn't that dear either

Un-boxing:




Pending Installation:


Wiring Harness was also there with all bulbs (Not sure if they work though):



Ill have them installed when I am free sometime this week, and I will get some high-res photos too....
So the next update will be by next weekend at the latest...

[JoshuaM]

Update:
Well After a planned mod-day on Sunday, I unexpectedly ended up in hospital (oh the joy), so Sundway was spent recovering... No Mods were complete
But, Early this morning, my JDM tails arrived, bought them 7days ago and arrived this morning so 6 day turnaround from Japan, and shipping wasn't that dear either

Ill have them installed when I am free sometime this week, and I will get some high-res photos too....
So the next update will be by next weekend at the latest...

SOOOOFFFFFFTTTTTT!!!! Come on, they take like 10 minutes to install... maybe a couple of hours max considering in oggle time

[rentaspace]

Update:
Well After a planned mod-day on Sunday, I unexpectedly ended up in hospital (oh the joy), so Sundway was spent recovering... No Mods were complete
But, Early this morning, my JDM tails arrived, bought them 7days ago and arrived this morning so 6 day turnaround from Japan, and shipping wasn't that dear either

Ill have them installed when I am free sometime this week, and I will get some high-res photos too....
So the next update will be by next weekend at the latest...

SOOOOFFFFFFTTTTTT!!!! Come on, they take like 10 minutes to install... maybe a couple of hours max considering in oggle time

hahaha, have tafe from 8am - 12pm and then an hours drive to work (I start at 1:30 and finish at 6pm),

I may have a day or two off this week or tomorrow arvo and if I do they'll be going in (Sounds kinky)

[rentaspace]

Update:
I didn't have work today so I took the time to install the JDM tails
I ran into a big problem when two of the nuts were 5mm instead of the 10mm that every other was >.< So, I took the rear plastic off, and started searching for a spanner to undo the nut... I found a socket/screwdriver hybrid which fitted perfectly (If Only I had found it before so I didn't have to remove the plastics)...
Installation is straight forward as we all know, so I won't go through all that jazz and instead just show photos:
Before:


The difference is pretty amazing; One JDM, one ADM:


And After:




During the work, my cat decided to pay a visit lol:


And my Fav photo of today :

[JoshuaM]

Update:
I didn't have work today so I took the time to install the JDM tails
I ran into a big problem when two of the nuts were 5mm instead of the 10mm that every other was >.< So, I took the rear plastic off, and started searching for a spanner to undo the nut... I found a socket/screwdriver hybrid which fitted perfectly (If Only I had found it before so I didn't have to remove the plastics)...
Installation is straight forward as we all know, so I won't go through all that jazz and instead just show photos:

I just replied to your PM... but I see you have it sorted

Looks really fantastic as we all know; pulls the car forward another 5 years

[Payne]

JDM tails are the simplest yet best mod for any 6GC, good choice!

[rentaspace]

JDM tails are the simplest yet best mod for any 6GC, good choice!

Looks really fantastic as we all know; pulls the car forward another 5 years

Thanks, they really do change the appearance of the rear

[Ted95]

Nice ride man thing really coming along! I love white hatches man cant wait to see more!

cool cat too man haha

[rentaspace]

Nice ride man thing really coming along! I love white hatches man cant wait to see more!

cool cat too man haha

Thanks man

Next will be installing the side skirts, I'm also getting some rear splits sent from Japan, so they'll go on too

And then I will be fixing the boot and sound system up

[rentaspace]

Update:
My LED dash kit started flickering on the way home tonight; so I am going to replace it with a spree kit.


Future/current plans:
- install skirts
- install rear splits
- spree led kit
- front grille meshing
- projectors (if I can ever get the money)

[rentaspace]

UPDATE:
Today I got up nice and early ready to go round to my mates and paint the skirts... We got four paint coats on; and the clear:
Before the clear:

The the weather went to poop; so the skirts were put into the garage:

(It's much darker in real life)


I also decided to get this photo last night of the JDM tails at night:


And earlier today I got these photos with my dads embarrassment er... car:





Since it's mother's day tomorrow, I doubt I will be able to install the side skirts... So that is going to have to wait... Hopefully, I am free this week sometime, otherwise it will be next week >.<

[JoshuaM]

So you swapped over the wiring harness from the new lights too then? I got them with mine, but just chucked them in the cupboard... I might have to go 4 lights (Then again, I always drive with my lights on, so having them come on separately will make it more obvious to idiots not paying attention behind me... )

[rentaspace]

So you swapped over the wiring harness from the new lights too then? I got them with mine, but just chucked them in the cupboard... I might have to go 4 lights (Then again, I always drive with my lights on, so having them come on separately will make it more obvious to idiots not paying attention behind me... )

Yeah, since I had the rear plastics off anyway I decided I may as well use the JDM harness

And You still have the third brake light for the idiots... I usually pump the brake a little when I start braking to alert morons behind me

I thought, if I am using the JDM tails mayaswell go the JDM style, 4x Tail Lights and 5x Brake Lights (Including the third)... It looks better IMO anyway

The harness is very simple to change, its plugged in just behind the plastic, and has a rubber which comes off when you pull the harness, the new harness rubber was pretty difficult to get in (Until I used the screwdriver, but you have to be careful of both damaging the rubber and the paint on the car... Took me about 5mins for the first as I didn't know what I was doing and then 20secs for the second lol)

[rentaspace]

Big Update (Sort Of):
So, The skirts are done and on the car !
I'll go through the whole progress here, so there is gonna be LOTS of photos

So basically, it began a month or two ago when I was searching eBay a came across a guy in South Australia selling the Veilside front bar, side-skirts and rear bar. I am not a fan of the Veilside front or rear (It makes the car look bulky and I just don't like it). So I offered the guy $120 for the skirts and he accepted. Now came the fun of getting them shipped from South Australia to New South Wales, I found a low-cost company that would ship them to Villawood Depo for $60 including $300 transit coverage. So $180 delivered to my door (almost):



Now, the manufacturers primer was shotty at best... and I rang around finding out prices to paint the skirts.. I got varying number from $250 - $1000+ (JUST to paint)... After scraping that idea, I approached one of my mates who worked for a smash repairs locally. His work agreed to supply the paint at-cost ($90 for a liter of two-pack) and my mate agreed to spray them for me at his house. Before going over, I decided to install the skirts on the car in a dry run to make sure they fitted:

The fitment was alright, some small minor imperfections were on the skirts (But that was to be expected).
I then took the skirts to my mates place and we got four layers of primer onto them:
http://i1326.photobucket.com/albums/u653/R...zps5d511818.jpg
Giving a much better finish then the crappy manufacturers stuff...

After a week of crappy weather and me ending up in hospital (long story short I drank to much), We finally got the skirts painted and cleared:

Drying the clear in the sun

The next day, (Mothers day), we went to install the skirts only to find that the door trim was being blocked... So after marking out the area that needed to be cut, I had to leave to go to my girlfriends for lunch and then my grandparents. I got these photos of the installed (But not held on) skirts:



Later that night, using 4 screws, double sided tape and Sikaflex we installed the skirts properly (I don't think they will be moving anytime soon...)
There is some small imperfections in the paint and the skirts themselves, but nothing that detracts from the appearance (Some need to be fixed later on this week when the clear coat is fully cured)
Overall I am very happy with the final product, and a big thanks goes to My mates and girlfriend that helped a lot through the whole process
Once it got dark it was time for a photo-shoot:




And again, my favorite photo of the night:


I will get high-res night and day photos later this week when I get the fitment and everything perfect on the skirts

This post has been edited by rentaspace: May 12, 2013 - 8:42 PM

[JoshuaM]

They look great And seeing them all fitted now, I think they will flow on fantastically with the TRD rear spats... Much better than the OEM skirts

Have you thought about euro / SSIII / TRD front splitters?

[rentaspace]

They look great And seeing them all fitted now, I think they will flow on fantastically with the TRD rear spats... Much better than the OEM skirts

Have you thought about euro / SSIII / TRD front splitters?

Thanks man

And I haven't really thought about fronts yet... I will definitely be getting some, but for now focusing on getting the rears delivered and painted