Hello from New Zealand Options

[Quidam]

Hi all

Just introducing myself.

I recently purchased a 94 Celica GT4, 2 previous owners in NZ and imported from Japan. Bought it as a daily driver so that I can keep the K's down on my 2004 MX5 factory turbo (known as Mazdaspeed Miata in the U.S.). These MX5's are very rare, only 6000 made worldwide, and only 15 sold new in NZ -mine is one of them :-)

However, I've come to like the GT4 so much I've decided to share the K's evenly between both vehicles, and thus prolong its life.

It is in beautiful condition for age and milage of 178K's (pics available in my profile) and almost completely factory original. First owner in NZ was a Toyota employee and had 40% discount on everything he spent on it! Second owner had the car for 6 years and kept it well serviced and maintained -I've got a full history of receipts from both owners. Just before selling it the last owner had the clutch; cambelt and waterpump all done. Drives really well, runs smooth. Purely by chance, previous owner used a mechanic who is just down the street from where I live, so I guess I'll keep using him because he must know the car pretty well by now considering some of the work he has done, and I just can't fault the condition of this vehicle. He will probably be quite surprised to see the car coming back to him

I've put some 18inch mags on it, as the only thing I didn't like that much were the factory orignal tri-spokes -butt ugly IMHO. This has also made the ride a little more firm, which I like (still soft compared to the MX5). To me the car has a very neutral feel to the steering and balance, which I like alot.

Car has a few extra goodies on it, such as a factory electric sunroof; parking sensors; turbo timer; gps surveillance and a big bore exhaust -neighbours all know when I'm coming or going lol

Anyway, this looks like agreat forum, I've read a few of the posts and everyone seems to play together well

Speaking personally, I'm not a boy-racer (too old for that) I just figure if I have to drive, I may as well enjoy the experience

Peace
Bruce

This post has been edited by Quidam: Nov 27, 2009 - 7:00 PM

[HaysoosKreesto]

Welcome , its a great forum and there are few people from New Zealand who are on this site as well.

[mmmchocolate]

lets see some PITCHAS!

[SwissFerdi]

Not a fan of the 'flashy' 18s, but they are maybe a bit better than the three-spokes...although I'd rock the three-spokes over those.

Pretty funny...I have an ST and my mom has an '08 MX-5, so basically your garage is a better version of mine.

[delusionz]

Nice to see another Kiwi GT4 owner onboard.

If you have any questions, ask away, there are a few of us who have been around the block with these cars and have been active on here for quite a while.

Rusty
TRDGT4
WWsidewinder

These guys are very knowledgable and helpful

NZers

[Rusty]

great to another NZ Celica owner (finally we can start to show off what NZ owners can really do)...also it'll make our meets a bit bigger. lol

so where about's in NZ are you?

[Quidam]

[Quidam]

Not a fan of the 'flashy' 18s, but they are maybe a bit better than the three-spokes...although I'd rock the three-spokes over those.

Pretty funny...I have an ST and my mom has an '08 MX-5, so basically your garage is a better version of mine.

lol 08-MX-5? Nice!

Here's my 5

[Quidam]

Nice to see another Kiwi GT4 owner onboard.

If you have any questions, ask away, there are a few of us who have been around the block with these cars and have been active on here for quite a while.

Rusty
TRDGT4
WWsidewinder

These guys are very knowledgable and helpful

NZers

Thanks dude

Well one issue I have is that the Battery guage doesn't appear to work. Have no reason to believe the battery isn't charging but had a quick look in the fuse box and realised I have no idea what I'm even looking for. I do wish I had a handbook, will probably see if I can get one through Toyota. Am taking it in to the mechanic to get the hand-break checked out and was going to ask him about it then..

great to another NZ Celica owner (finally we can start to show off what NZ owners can really do)...also it'll make our meets a bit bigger. lol

so where about's in NZ are you?

I'm in Wellington. Well Lower Hut (Wainuiomata, which is known for its fair share of petrol-heads -infact my car is pretty tame compared the roar of V8's being tuned early almost every Sunday morning Arrrhhh)

This post has been edited by Quidam: Nov 27, 2009 - 10:24 PM

[delusionz]

There's no battery gauge in the ST20X series Celicas (Only the ST18X had them), Are you refering to the boost gauge?

Bottom left dial on the right window in the cluster?

If that doesn't ever change it may be due to a couple things - Faulty map sensor, Tampered/Broken map sensor signal wire (Aftermarket Fuel cut defender?) Or possibly a broken solder joint in the cluster unit itself. The JPNZ Toyota Celica handbook should be on trademe for about $40, I can email you the ST205 service manual in PDF?

Have a look into checking your ECU error codes, Theres a quick guide on here under How To, Check ECU Error codes, 205.

[HaysoosKreesto]

I love your mx5, it looks amazing. Your Celica seems quite supra-esque because of the large trd spoiler, which looks amazing by the way. I love how you have Quidam as your license plate . You have a great set-up.

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=70817

there's my setup, and yes, I can see the jealousy on your face .

This post has been edited by HaysoosKreesto: Nov 27, 2009 - 11:09 PM

[mmmchocolate]

beautiful!

[Quidam]

There's no battery gauge in the ST20X series Celicas (Only the ST18X had them), Are you refering to the boost gauge?

Bottom left dial on the right window in the cluster?

If that doesn't ever change it may be due to a couple things - Faulty map sensor, Tampered/Broken map sensor signal wire (Aftermarket Fuel cut defender?) Or possibly a broken solder joint in the cluster unit itself. The JPNZ Toyota Celica handbook should be on trademe for about $40, I can email you the ST205 service manual in PDF?

Have a look into checking your ECU error codes, Theres a quick guide on here under How To, Check ECU Error codes, 205.

Classic! And thankyou for clearing that up

I assumed that becuase it had a +/- sign it was the battery charging indicator lol

I've got a lot of learning to do.

Well I haven't seen it move, but I really haven't paid much attention to it until I noticed it was still sitting at zero even with the engine idling, at which point I assumed it was reading the battery charge.

It's possible it may not even be broken, I'll take a closer look at it when I'm pushing it along the moterway to see if it moves.

And yes, would be awseome if you could email me the service guide, that would be much appreciated -I'm sure it would help me learn a lot about this car.

+ I'll check trademe for the owners manual

Glad I joined this forum already!

ps. thanks for the link to the ecu guide. looks simple enough to do -I'll do it tomorrow when I've got a bit more light (lighting in my garage is minimal)


This post has been edited by Quidam: Nov 28, 2009 - 2:38 AM

[Quidam]

I love your mx5, it looks amazing. Your Celica seems quite supra-esque because of the large trd spoiler, which looks amazing by the way. I love how you have Quidam as your license plate . You have a great set-up.

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=70817

there's my setup, and yes, I can see the jealousy on your face .

lol, I'm overcome with the green-eyed monster.

ps. I'm a big fan of Cirque du Soleil, Quidam was the first show of theirs I ever saw. When I'm not obsessing over my cars I do a lot of Yoga:



This post has been edited by Quidam: Nov 28, 2009 - 2:46 AM

[Quidam]

Glad someone likes my new mags!!! I reckon they go great with the car

[HaysoosKreesto]

Thats pretty sweet dude. I wanted to get into yoga but my old girlfriend was into yoga and ever since then I have hated it by association lol.

The first time I saw Cirque de Soleil was when I was tripping on mushrooms, like in the movie "Knocked Up." That was a hell of an experience. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas my ass

[SwissFerdi]

Your Celica seems quite supra-esque because of the large trd spoiler, which looks amazing by the way.

Not a TRD spoiler, just a 2-post with riser blocks. Came standard on the 94-95 GT-4.

This is a TRD spoiler:

[Quidam]

Thats pretty sweet dude. I wanted to get into yoga but my old girlfriend was into yoga and ever since then I have hated it by association lol.

The first time I saw Cirque de Soleil was when I was tripping on mushrooms, like in the movie "Knocked Up." That was a hell of an experience. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas my ass

Classic. Actually I met my X through Yoga, but ironically it was being with her that made me lazy with my practice. After we broke up I really got back into it again, I learnt a lesson from that. I reckon you should get back into it and just forget about her! (easily said I know)

[Magic]

Welcome Quidam....Forum will help you a lot....
Beno is from NZ (ex GT4 owner).....

Any plans for the beast?

[Quidam]

Welcome Quidam....Forum will help you a lot....
Beno is from NZ (ex GT4 owner).....

Any plans for the beast?

Hi Magic,

Well initially I have a few cosmetic things on my list. The drivers door has a couple of dents in it (only dents on the whole car) so I'm going to get that sorted. I'm also going to get the bonnet repainted as it has quite a few stone chips, and I'll probably just use some touch-up paint for the chips on the front-bumper.

I'd also really like to get the interior redone in leather.

Other than that, just want to keep it well maintained for the next couple of years by which time my mortgage is paid off and I'll then make a decision about whether to start modding th engine for increased power/performance, just for the pure fun of it -but we'll see. Honestly, it's powerful enough as it is for my modest needs

ps. just had a look at your GT4 -Holy crap

[Quidam]

More PICS :-)

[Quidam]

Ok, so now that I know what it is, I can confirm the boost gauge is working fine (I'm such an idiot)

Thanks for your help

[Rusty]

haha thats good to hear, nice cleaning btw.

[mmmchocolate]

I love your mx5, it looks amazing. Your Celica seems quite supra-esque because of the large trd spoiler, which looks amazing by the way. I love how you have Quidam as your license plate . You have a great set-up.

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=70817

there's my setup, and yes, I can see the jealousy on your face .

lol, I'm overcome with the green-eyed monster.

ps. I'm a big fan of Cirque du Soleil, Quidam was the first show of theirs I ever saw. When I'm not obsessing over my cars I do a lot of Yoga:

More PICS :-)

licences plate..

coincidence?!

i think not

[Smiley]

welcome but why cant there be more gt4 owners from down christchurch region im sure im the only 1 in this forum from chch

[Quidam]

Hey look at it this way, you are Unique!

[Magic]

Nice Quidam
I repaint my bonnet but needs again
Your car looks very clean in the last photos Well done!

[Quidam]

And what's sad is that I actually enjoy keeping my new baby clean and shiny -but not sure how long that will last

[Magic]

And what's sad is that I actually enjoy keeping my new baby clean and shiny -but not sure how long that will last

You are lucky that your color is not BLACK!!!!

[Raymond_UK]

Nice!

I always wanted a GT4 but never had one. Bought an ST for the gf so halfway there

Not kiddy friendly so I had to buy a family wagon....

But then again, I do like the comfort of the 5 Series

[njccmd2002]

those plush teddy bear seats bring it down IMO

[Quidam]

those plush teddy bear seats bring it down IMO

Hey there -Those are pure wool seat covers I put in to protect the seats. The drivers side was starting to show some signs of wear.
While they might not appeal to some peoples tastes, believe me they are very comfortable and make getting in/out a lot easier.

eventually I plan to redo the interior in leather

ps. the car did come with the orignal rear parcel tray, I've just taken it out and put it in storage (along with the original mags). It really isn't useful to me -I think the back storage space is more practical without it installed, and with the back seats down you get a lot of usable space!

This post has been edited by Quidam: Nov 29, 2009 - 4:14 PM

[HaysoosKreesto]

those plush teddy bear seats bring it down IMO

Hey there -Those are pure wool seat covers I put in to protect the seats. The drivers side was starting to show some signs of wear.
While they might not appeal to some peoples tastes, believe me they are very comfortable and make getting in/out a lot easier.

eventually I plan to redo the interior in leather

ps. the car did come with the orignal rear parcel tray, I've just taken it out and put it in storage (along with the original mags). It really isn't useful to me -I think the back storage space is more practical without it installed, and with the back seats down you get a lot of usable space!

Yeah I was going to say the same thing. Pure wool huh? If my memory serves me correctly, wool is the itchiest substance known to man correct? (lol)

It is unique though, definitely. It has some style to it that, although it took some getting used to, definitely adds something personal.

[delusionz]

Don't suppose you've taken the pleasure of reaching 6000+ rpm already?

Or dropping anchors at over 80kph and halting on the spot.

That type of engine power and stopping power is only in a GT4, no other Celica has it.

But notice how it can also be just as dosile as any regular car when you're not wearing heavy boots?

[Quidam]

Don't suppose you've taken the pleasure of reaching 6000+ rpm already?

Or dropping anchors at over 80kph and halting on the spot.

That type of engine power and stopping power is only in a GT4, no other Celica has it.

But notice how it can also be just as dosile as any regular car when you're not wearing heavy boots?

lol well there is a new on-ramp onto the motorway that is absolutely ideal for planting boot. Not sure if I've hit 6000+ rpm, I've been too to busy keeping my eyes on the road and thinking "holy crap" I'm still getting to know this car -but it is the ideal place to go hard

And you are 100% spot on. GT4 = Dr Jeckal and Mr Hide, that's what I like so much about it, you get to choose, and it fits right in.

[SwissFerdi]

I liked this thread right up until the GT-4 superiority talk. I'm so jealous.

Wish you many happy miles with her man.

[CastrolCelica]

Take that filter box off your ride and put a cold air intake in, and you'll have the perfect car!

Seriously though, if you ever find yourself hating your GT-Four for no apparent reason, just.. ya know.. ship it on over here.

[Quidam]

Take that filter box off your ride and put a cold air intake in, and you'll have the perfect car!

Seriously though, if you ever find yourself hating your GT-Four for no apparent reason, just.. ya know.. ship it on over here.

OK, duly noted and added to my "to do" list

In the very unlikely event I ever decide to sell this car, I'll give you first option! That is, assuming you don't mind a right-hand drive -would you even be allowed to have it in the U.S.?!?

[Quidam]

Sheesh -now I feel bad. If it's any consolation, I think your ride looks pretty sweet..

[Dyran]

welcome but why cant there be more gt4 owners from down christchurch region im sure im the only 1 in this forum from chch

I'm in the Christchurch region, you're right though, not many other st205s down here eh.


Nice GT-Four Quidam, looks good. I think I remember seeing this GT-Four on trademe and thinking it looked like a good buy, glad you found your way to this site. So you had a bit of a mission finding wheels to fit aswell? Me too lol.

[Quidam]

welcome but why cant there be more gt4 owners from down christchurch region im sure im the only 1 in this forum from chch

I'm in the Christchurch region, you're right though, not many other st205s down here eh.


Nice GT-Four Quidam, looks good. I think I remember seeing this GT-Four on trademe and thinking it looked like a good buy, glad you found your way to this site. So you had a bit of a mission finding wheels to fit aswell? Me too lol.

Hi there!

Funny thing is the trademe add (Mike Baker Motors) was pretty lame, and I almost didn't bother going to look at it. I was seriously considering the one that was down in ChCh (white) which looked mint and had a great add, but thought since this one was already at my back door it can't hurt to at least have a look at it. I got a real surprise at the condition it was in -much better than I was expecting. I got a bit of info on its history, purchased the carjam report + they had a full list of receipts of work done on it by the 2 previous NZ owners, which included a full clutch rebuild with cambelt and waterpump done, in just the last couple of months. At that point it became a serious contender. So I arranged to come back with my trade-in and to take it for a test-drive. The moment I took it on the motorway and gave it some juice I think was the moment I decided I was going to buy this car lol.

When I got back fromt the TD there was someone else already waiting who wanted to test drive it after me. At that moment I knew I had to make a decision, buy or don't buy. So I gave them a deposit (meaning they sent the other guy away packing lol) and I agreed to the purchase subject to the results of the pre-purchase inspection (VTNZ). Well the check came out perfect across the board -engine compression mattered most to me. A quick visit to my bank manager to bump up my personal loan (I work for the bank in I.T. which helps lol) and hey presto, proud new owner of a very original GT4

I factored in a new set of mags into my financing of the car, and yes, Mag and Turbo warehouse changed their tune after looking at the size of the brake callipers. All of a sudden I had a choice of just 3 rims. I almost went with much simpler 5 spoke 17inch wheels, but they offered me a great discount on the 18inch Konigs and I decided I liked the look of lower-profile tires and a slightly firmer ride that 18inch wheels were likely to give me

One thing is for sure, I know where all my money is going to go over the next couple of years or so

This post has been edited by Quidam: Nov 30, 2009 - 4:41 PM

[delusionz]

Did that pre-purchase check cover turbocharger shaft play? If so I'm going to bang my head against the wall, I should have known I was getting a lemon.

My turbo crapped out a week after I got it, There wasn't enough oil getting to the turbo because there was too much crap build up, even though when I bought the car the oil was golden. Later down the track I met a mechanic who had worked on this car before, Said it had been neglected for 40,000kms and had been properly serviced only within the last 10,000kms of me buying it

[Quidam]

Ahh now this is interesting and a good cautionary tale. So to answer your question the pre-purchase check definately did not cover the turbo-charger condition (other than the fact that it was working). I should mention I also purchased a 2 year autosure warranty, which seems quite comprehensive, and definately covers the turbo.

You remind me that I need to get in touch with the mechanic who has worked on this car previously -who just happens to be down the road from where I live.

I would definately like to get his opinion on the car in general, and its service history (from his perspective) and perhaps any issues that he may be aware are still outstanding. Going to call him now!

I can say I've been through every receipt (ordered them by date) and the car does appear to have been well serviced with a lot of money spent on it whenever it needed it. In fact I almost felt guilty paying what I did for it given how much money its sucked up over the years -but I guess now its my turn

[HaysoosKreesto]

How can you feel guilty for owning such a magnificent car?

*correction TWO magnificent cars lol?