Ehrgeiz' project -, Celica sold - MR2 bought. Options

[Ehrgeiz]

Hey guys, figured it was time for my own project thread since my Celica is slowly turning into how I want her to be. I bought her in September 2011 for a price I just couldn't say no to.
And so, after driving my mom's car for the past four years, I was finally driving a Toyota again (had an MR2 SW20 before this)!

It really felt great from the get-go, 90's Japanese sports cars really are different from everything else. I was in love!
But to be fair, I fell in love with the 6GC in 2003/2004 when my brother bought a black ST202 (later bought by Kadett, who some of you might know).
It was such an amazing car and I knew I had to get one somewhere along the way.

When I bought my car, I immediately knew what I wanted to do with it. A clean, subtle bodykit. JDM lighting (tails, fronts). Good suspension (coilovers, strutbars). 18" wheels. And the list keeps going on. Here's how I got her:



It had the full Toyota OEM bodykit, which I think was an option in Europe only. For some of you it might seem rare, but here in the Netherlands they're pretty common.
So I sold the front and rear lip (I called it "the chin"), and started searching for one of the key exterior pieces I just had to get. A genuine Postert front lip.
When I found out Postert went bankrupt a couple years back, I thought it wouldn't be a problem because I was sure someone would still have a front lip lying around.

I was wrong (or so I thought)!

I have managed to find one, but more on that later. First, I slowly started modding my car. JDM tails!



Really one of the best mods we can do to our cars, I think. I just used my old wiring so I have only two lights atm, but I'll rewire them someday to get all four lighting up.

Then it turned out my muffler was starting to rot. Time for something else.
I almost ordered a brand new Blitz Nür Spec universal rear muffler when I found a new HKS Hipower for sale on the Dutch Honda Club forums.
I bought it the same day I saw it online. I went to a custom exhaust shop and had them modify the muffler to fit my stock exhaust, because I didn't want it to be loud.
And it's not, it's very quiet but with a nice roar on full throttle.

Perfect!



It's very low though, I hope I won't hit any speedbumps when the car is lowered soon. Our country is full of speedbumps.

So then I was thinking about getting coilovers and wheels, when I found a cheap set of TRD rear spat replicas for sale on the UK Celica Owners Club forums.
They were already painted so I didn't have to think twice. Bought them!



So the ass of my car was pretty much done.

Right around the time my rear spats were fitted I was having second thoughts. It was April now and I've been searching for that front lip since September.
I said to myself, if I don't find a lip this month I'll think about selling her. I guess someone didn't want me to sell it, because a couple days ago I found one.

A genuine Postert front lip, I think it's a pretty rare piece of kit for our cars, but it was on a car for sale in my neighbourhood. Talk about luck!
I went over to the guy and asked him where he got it, he didn't know but told me the car was already sold to someone. I almost cried a little.
Then I offered him €200,- cash. Straight up. He was mumbling a bit in himself telling me he really couldn't because the car was already sold,
but as he did he walked into his house and came out with a screwdriver. First I thought it was to kill me but then he took off the front lip and agreed on the €200,-.

I was so happy! Now, the lip and my front bumper will get a respray next week, so I'll add some pics of that later, together with my brand new Wolfie pre-facelift clear corners (which look great).

Hope you enjoyed my little story and will check for updates, because this car will not be done anytime soon.
My BC Racing coilovers will ship soon from the UK and I've already put down the payment for my wheels (which will probably be here in June).

What wheels they're going to be will remain a secret for now, but they'll be badass!

Peace out!

This post has been edited by Ehrgeiz: Sep 15, 2012 - 12:13 PM

[SwissFerdi]

Mooi.

[Ehrgeiz]

Dank je.

This is my old MR2 by the way. I had to sell it due to various reasons. Still miss it.









Going for a similar style with my Celica. Clean and subtle, with a great wheel setup. No Professors this time though.

This post has been edited by Ehrgeiz: Apr 27, 2012 - 7:52 PM

[Box]

Car looks great! Shame you had to get rid of the MR2. My uncle has one, they're nifty little cars.

[dudeofchaos]

Hmmm nice car! Will surely follow this build. Looks clean, nice job for keeping it man!

[kurt95gt]

Finally lol took you long enough to make a project thread lol
Thats a cool looking lip cant blame you for looking for so long
Id be happy with the euro lip myself tho too lol

[RabidTRD]

Finally lol took you long enough to make a project thread lol
Thats a cool looking lip cant blame you for looking for so long
Id be happy with the euro lip myself tho too lol

And the skirts.

[Ehrgeiz]

Heh, thanks guys.

My front bumper and front lip are almost done, I'll get them back from the autoshop tomorrow. I'll try and make some pics as soon as the sun starts shining so I can wash her!

And I also got confirmation that my wheels are ordered. Now I just need a set of tires. They need to be 225/40/18 all around.. Thinking Falken FK-452, but not sure yet!

Any recommendations?

[Ehrgeiz]

Lip's been fitted! The bodyshop managed to destroy my front emblem though, so I ordered a new one.

[Box]

Looking good.

[SwissFerdi]

Twingo en 323, typisch...lip ziet er mooi uit.

[Ehrgeiz]

Haha yeah, typical Dutch cars I guess. Thanks guys.

[SwissFerdi]

It's too bad you sold the original lip. Shipping would have been disastrous, but I would love to have that on my Celica.

[Ehrgeiz]

The original lip was too low.. Even on stock suspension I managed to scrape it a couple times. Imagine how that would be on coilovers. The Postert doesn't sit as low, thankfully.

[SwissFerdi]

Would be fine, I'm only lowered 40mm. Low is good for looks. There aren't too many bumps and things around here anyway.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: May 6, 2012 - 11:22 AM

[Ehrgeiz]

Two more pictures! It looks weird without the emblem, but I'm getting it in the mail this week.





Blah, I need my wheels and coilovers fast!

This post has been edited by Ehrgeiz: May 7, 2012 - 1:14 PM

[Ehrgeiz]

So I got my gold emblem in the mail. Looks pretty awesome on black right?

[Ehrgeiz]

I picked up some wheels...





Excuse the bad pics!

They're original Racing Hart CP-035R in 18x9 ET28 front, 18x9 ET23 rear (will be adding a small spacer). Tires will be 225/40/18 and it'll be dumped on BC Racing coilovers.

More pics when everything's mounted!

This post has been edited by Ehrgeiz: Jun 22, 2012 - 10:57 AM

[dliverance]

I love those racing harts. Great size too.

[Ehrgeiz]

Thanks man. I was supposed to get Varrstoën ES 2.2.2 but when I saw these for sale I just had to get them. Rare, original, lightweight and beautiful! Testfitted two of them today. Check out my monster truck.





Haha, looks ridiculous. Can't wait to slam it next week.

[dliverance]

Fitment is perfect!

[Ehrgeiz]

Yeah, better than expected! I have 10mm spacers for the rear but they sit pretty flush as it is... Although there will be a bit of toe-in when I lower her on the coilovers.

[dudeofchaos]

Looks very clean I love it ! But yeah, it definitely needs to go LOWAAAAA!

[Ehrgeiz]

Excuse the very bad pics, but it was dark and we only had my brother's iPhone. I'll have some awesome pics soon!









To be honest, I want the rear wheels to come out a little further but I'm still waiting on my 10mm spacers. I also want to lower a bit more, but all in due time!

[dudeofchaos]

THAT... is perfect stance to me. Looks very sleek man, good job!

[kurt95gt]

Wow
Looks amazing

[Ehrgeiz]

Thanks guys. Some proper pics were made today!

[BonzaiCelica]

uh-oh looks like we have competition timmyface

[SwissFerdi]

Super gedaan!

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Jul 2, 2012 - 7:40 AM

[celica74]

Datz perty. Looks awsome.

[cax_11]

Nice

[Ehrgeiz]

Nothing really new, just a couple stickers on the rear window.



I've also decided to get a completely new brake setup. Will post some pics of how that goes!

[Timmyface]

^i can't compete with that! Haha. Chrome style wheels aren't really my taste, but they fit so well. I think if you get camber bolts for the rear, you'd be cheerin.

When I get around to getting new longer studs, I'll push mine a bit further and join your stance

[Ehrgeiz]

I really wasn't going for the "chrome" look either, I wanted matte black Rota Grids or Varrstoen.. But when I saw these local, I just had to buy them. I might switch to the Varrstoens in the future though, who knows.

[Ehrgeiz]

After a days work of polishing and waxing (by my little brother ), the 18-year-old paint came back to life..





She's up for sale though.. But if no one bites, 3S-GTE is the next step.

This post has been edited by Ehrgeiz: Aug 18, 2012 - 6:07 PM

[Box]

SHINY.

No sell!

[Ehrgeiz]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand sold. To a girl! She promised to take good care of it though.

Somehow my car looked better than ever when I saw it driving away. Maybe I should just buy a GT4 and start all over, lol!

This post has been edited by Ehrgeiz: Aug 26, 2012 - 2:00 PM

[zfjohnson07]

god!! you should have kept it, would have been clean if it was dropped

[Ehrgeiz]

It was dropped about 2".

[zfjohnson07]

oh woopsy,

[Ehrgeiz]

But yeah, I wanted her lower. Really thinking about buying this GT4 though..



But there's so much stuff for sale. MR2 turbo's, RX-7's, Supra's, WRX's.. So much to choose from.

[kurt95gt]

Gt-4 or supra those are the only real options

[Box]

Depends on what you're wanting, here I'll help.

If you want an AWD car then you get a GT-Four
If you want a RWD car then you get a Supra
If you want a mid-engine car then get a MR2

See, easy.

[UndaGrwnD]

Gt4 offcourse

[SwissFerdi]

Sad to see it go, you didn't have the car for long. Moving to RWD right?

[Ehrgeiz]

Or AWD. Not sure yet. I want to at least test drive a Supra, RX-7 and ST205 before I decide anything. The white one I posted looks pretty awesome though, and it's well within my budget.

And yeah, I've only owned the car for a year. Pretty good year though. Even won Celica Of The Month!

[Syaoran]

Don't buy a WRX.

RX-7 is a rotary. Upkeep is high and gives random problems most of the time.

Supra is big and bulky. Plus everything is going to be at least 50% more expensive (50% more pistons and displacement...)

MR-2 is light, nimble and is fun in the twisties.

GT-4 is like an AWD MR-2, and it's pretty damn reliable. Plus you can get it to looks as sexy if not sexier than your previous Celica.

[Box]

Supra still has the best power to weight ratio, not to mention the best power potential. Supra doesn't weigh too much more than a GT-Four either. As far as parts, only thing that'd be more expensive would be in direct correlation to the extra 2 cylinders.

[celica74]

dont get a rx7, every 10-20k youll get the new engine light on the dash, mr2 is really a mr version of a celica, and yes take it too hard into a corner and itll spin like a bottle cap, supras are too much money to even obtain one, let alone another 10k to get 800hp out of them. gtfour would just be like said before, an awd mr2. by far the supra and celica look the best, the mr2 will handle the best, the supra will be the fastest, but the gtfour will be the best of all worlds.

[diegohiga]

yes!!
1. get the white one
2. remove the lip
3. send it to florida (my house)
4. ill be !!!!!!
5. otherwise ill fly to you and steal it

This post has been edited by diegohiga: Aug 27, 2012 - 3:13 PM

[Ehrgeiz]

I kinda really want a white Supra TT.

[Box]

I kinda really want a white Supra TT.

THEN GET IT!

[Ehrgeiz]

Yeah, going to testdrive a '93 RHD Supra TT manual (with only 71k miles) next week. It's white, with a bodykit which I don't like but looks like a sweet project!

[Box]

Good luck! Let us know if you get it.

[Bladey]

Having been in many cars you have listed i thought i might add in my 2c

I own a ST205 and by far the best car ive ever owned, its fast ( stock for stock beats evo 4/ v4 wrx) handles very well with just some springs, looks the business and with a exhuast the 3sgte roars., only problem is that there is 0 and i mean 0 off power boost.

WRX's are extremely common over in nz and its quite well known the bottom end is gone by 130,000 they shoot rods like no ones business.

Before my ST205 i test drove numerious MR2 turbo's and i can say that they are amazing cars and feel extremely quick but given a wet road and the quick spool nature of the 3sgte i think they are at least 5x scarier than the MR2 non turbo.

RX7's are unreliable and use so much gas ( brother had a 300wkw one for over a year) They do go round corners though and go very very very fast i'd take one over a twin turbo supra for sure ( even over my bias toyota love)

And finally the Supra TT is just mental fast, and it takes BIG BIG BIG balls to drive one of these fast, if you ever plan on modding it get ready to chew rears like nothing else and has tons of torque from 1500rpm

Thats just my 2c i'd say get a rx7 or a st205 but drive them and see how you like all those options in the end its what you want from a car as these are all very very very differnt ( drivetrain, power delievery)

[Ehrgeiz]

I already made my mind up. It'll be a Supra. It's just nostalgia (played so much Gran Turismo when I was a kid) and I LOVE the 2JZ-GTE engine. Especially with a single turbo.

We'll see how it goes.

[Box]

I await Supra pics.

[SwissFerdi]

Mmm, Supra. Lekker.

[Ehrgeiz]

Heel lekker.

Will keep you guys posted..

[Ehrgeiz]

The Supra I was eyeing was sold suddenly, so I figured I should just start a new and cheaper project. 1994 MR2 SW20 N/A (but European version, so with 175HP 3S-GE engine).





First thing that's happening is a 3S-GTE swap.

[Box]

Good buy! Looks just like my uncle's! Except for his is the crappier USDM N/A. I'd like a MR2 myself.

[Ehrgeiz]

These things drive so good.

[Box]

Until snap oversteer occurs, but until then it's all good.

[Syaoran]

Huge front sway bar and stiff front springs, kills some of the oversteer

Good buy! 3S-GTE swap indeed, but do a 2nd gen swap.

[Box]

Oversteer in itself isn't the issue, it's snap oversteer. The one downside to mid-engined cars.

[Ehrgeiz]

Huge front sway bar and stiff front springs, kills some of the oversteer

Good buy! 3S-GTE swap indeed, but do a 2nd gen swap.

Why not a 3rd?

[Syaoran]

Megasquirt Plug and Play

Also doesn't the third generation 3sgte have the weaker rods?

[Box]

Megasquirt Plug and Play

Also doesn't the third generation 3sgte have the weaker rods?

I thought that was the fourth?

[BonzaiCelica]

Megasquirt Plug and Play

Also doesn't the third generation 3sgte have the weaker rods?

I thought that was the fourth?

yea man it is 4th gen. it wud be dumb to put a 2nd gen(older motor into a new celica. Its like going backwards in life.

[richee3]

It's an MR2 though.

Looks great! Drop a 3S in it and you'll have many happy miles!

[Box]

I'd definitely say go 3rd gen 3S-GTE for the MR2. Doing all the work anyway, might as well use the best.

[kurt95gt]

I know this is just gonna sound like me bring me but id do a v6 swap
It's a lot more common on Mr2 an been done almost as much as 3s swaps on celicas . I mean guts pull out there turbos motors to drop in v6s. Just sayin lol

[Box]

Depends on what he wants. Stock engine for stock engine I'd say go 1MZ-FE, due to lighter weight and no turbo lag. But if he's wanting to build a higher power car the 3S-GTE already has known upgrades that can be done. Could just turbo or supercharge the 1MZ I suppose, wouldn't think would be room though.

[Ehrgeiz]

I'm definitely aiming 300+ rwhp. So it has to be turbo.

Took some pics yesterday with the new OEM white cornerlights. The car is a bit dirty here from all the rain the last couple of days, but she's still red as fcuk (opposed to the pink she was before)!



Notice my little brother's JDM Integra Type-R DC2!





This post has been edited by Ehrgeiz: Sep 14, 2012 - 4:30 AM

[kurt95gt]

There's room if you do it right lol
300+ can be done with a v6. Just a good all motor build should get you close to those numbers before turbo if you get a newer 1mz with vvti or build off of a 3mz then it wouldn't take a lot off boost with a good tune to hit 300+

[Box]

Just find the 2GR-FZE out of that Lotus Evora, 345hp and 295 ft lb torque. I already see the goal here, he wants something that'll smoke his brother's Integra.

[Ehrgeiz]

Haha, you figured it out. The Teg is fast!

I made some more pics, right after washing the MR2.







I love the way the '94 stock body looks. Really nothing needs to be done but lowering and some fancy wheels.

[zfjohnson07]

sexy

[Box]

Coilovers and some Enkei RPF's.

[Ehrgeiz]

Love those. But I think I'm going for 17x8 and 18x9 Advan RG1's!

[SwissFerdi]

17x8 and 18x9

Dat stagger.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Sep 17, 2012 - 9:34 AM

[Ehrgeiz]

I know right.

[WhipCreamCelica]

Or AWD. Not sure yet. I want to at least test drive a Supra, RX-7 and ST205 before I decide anything. The white one I posted looks pretty awesome though, and it's well within my budget.

And yeah, I've only owned the car for a year. Pretty good year though. Even won Celica Of The Month! :D

aww! sad to see the car go!, my favorite car on the forums, who did you sell the POSTERT LIP to???!!! im dying to find that lip, im in the US and ive tried google, ebay, even UK ebay, and i cant find it, love it,

[Ehrgeiz]

Wow, sorry man, just saw this. I sold the complete car to a girl, I didn't sell any parts. The Postert lip is indeed very rare, I was about to give up the search when I found one local. Talk about luck!

To be honest, I've seen a couple of them on Dutch, Belgian and German cars, but never on American 6GC's.. I doubt you'll find anything in the States. If you really want one, you should start looking on international websites like http://www.ebay.de and http://www.marktplaats.nl. Postert was a German company so you'll have the most luck over there!

This post has been edited by Ehrgeiz: Dec 10, 2012 - 10:39 AM