Boris' 95' Celi GT Slow Progress Build Thread Options

[955SFE]

The name is Boris. I've lived in SoCal for about 14 years or so. Well enough about me.
It all started back when I was off to college. I needed something economical. Well I found this 2000 Toyo Corolla. I forgot the mileage but it was AT. At first it all seemed good but then I realized that almost all the motor oil was gone within 500 miles. Then I saw the undercarriage...it was rusted :wowza:.
Well I decided to sell it and move on.

(Up to this day, I regret that color)

I was in a need to buy another car as soon as possible. Well my grandparents recently had purchased a 1997 Nissan Maxima. They decided to sell it to me. Why? They're fans of Toyo trucks and 3rd gen 4runner's; they needed the money to add a 4runner to the family .
I was a bit skeptical since I didn't know much of Nissan's reliability. Well turns out the VQ series was top notch. I did get into some modding :thumbsup:with the Maxima. Power was there but I didn't like the ream beam suspension. December 2012, a girl with a 2009 Nissan Sentra decides to slam her brakes in a rainy day and rear end me :facepalm:. My guess was that she was either speeding or distracted. The repairs were not worth spending due the mileage of the car and I wanted to move on again.


More pictures here:
http://forums.maxima.org/members-rides/642...g35-wheels.html
Day of accident: Rear bumper and reinforcement was damaged. Quarter panel was damaged. Trunk was damaged.



I did manage to part out a lot of parts before I decided to junk it.

Now for the main course.
Once again, I needed a car. Took me months of search and patients to find this gem. 1995 Toyo Celica GT, 5-speed MT with 94k miles, clean title. First thing I noticed how well it was taken care of. In my test drive I noticed that it threw bluish smoke on start up (Turned out to be valve stem seals...no biggy). It never reached operating temperature, it was obvious that the thermostat was out. The owner wanted $3,500...without any thought I gave him my money and I drove off.

I replaced the thermostat and coolant.
Timing belt was done as well.
Replaced sway bar end links with thicker ones.
It has fresh gear oil, new NGK wires with Denso plugs, Denso cap/rotor. At the moment it has 99k miles.
I barely also bought 4 Kumho Ecsta 4x tires.

I will be concentrating on suspension rather than engine performance. My only engine performance mod would be a 3SGE or 1MZ-FE swap

This are my goals right now
1) TRD/Eibach lowering springs - Done
2) 3 point front strut tower bar. (TRD) Done
3) OEM rear strut tower bar (the one that comes stock on the GT-4) -DONE
4) Thicker sway bars end links...front and rear. -DONE
5) Wider wheels.
6) Low beam projector headlights.
7) JDM rear tail lights Done
8) NRG removable steering wheel. Done
9) Get rid of the erection with a s2000 antenna - Done
10) Suspension Technique Sway Bars Done
11) 3sge Beams Red Top or 1MZFE w/ vvti
12) VIS Carbon Fiber OEM Hood DONE

Well here you go:







Barely breaking her in:

:OMG:


:clap::smokin:


I got a brand new GT-4 rear strut tower bar from the dealer. Got it for $135 :rockon:

Pretty much the same price as this used one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/JDM-Toyota-Celica-...e58&vxp=mtr



Getting ready for a make-over:D



Brand New Leather Shift Boot for $17, not bad
Thanks to bluecelicawife




Finally got around installing the Eibach springs







Despite my hit and run incident, I am still doing a few things here and there.
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=91550

Recently installed the NRG Removable Steering Wheel Kit.


I believe the door courtesy light came red from factory. Well it wasn't bright enough. Thanks to xFAHxQx, I bought some clear door courtesy lights with LED's.



I also finally worked on the Honda S2000 Antenna.



This post has been edited by 955SFE: Oct 8, 2014 - 10:32 PM

[xFAHxQx]

man your car looks nice... wish my car was black and not green but o'well....glad you liked the clear courtesy lights w/leds they look very bright

[JasonTX]

nice looking car, clean and pretty low mileage for the age, nice find

This post has been edited by JasonTX: Jan 10, 2014 - 1:19 AM

[cheela]

ugh.. those 8th gen corollas...
I'm driving one right now for my beater.
goes through oil like a fat kid goes through bacon.

the celi looks great though. keep it up.

[955SFE]

Sneak Peak.

VIS Carbon Fiber Hood (OEM style)



This post has been edited by 955SFE: Apr 3, 2014 - 9:29 PM

[Box]

My brother has a '98 Maxima SE 5-speed, definitely surprises people not in the know.

Want to trade colours? Red is TOTALLY your colour.

[955SFE]

My brother has a '98 Maxima SE 5-speed, definitely surprises people not in the know.

Want to trade colours? Red is TOTALLY your colour.

Definitely. I Loved my VQ30DE. Very reliable and quick. Almost the same gas mileage as a 5sfe
Tell your brother to look into converting his DE to a DE-K also known as a 00VI swap. He'll get more top end with more low end torque. (It helps to remove the rev limiter with a 00VI swap to take advantage of the high end gains.)

I'll keep my black Celi

This post has been edited by 955SFE: Apr 3, 2014 - 10:05 PM

[Box]

He had looked into that, along with just going to the VQ35, but now he has a Genesis 2.0T for his daily and is considering selling the Maxima to fund a muscle car project.

Darn.

[955SFE]

I'll post some pictures of the VIS hood after I install my facelift bumper.
I'll be also installing these babies soon. I got them for $270 no tax. Updated version and brand new.






This post has been edited by 955SFE: Jun 10, 2014 - 9:59 AM

[955SFE]

Just waiting on one headlight to put everything together. I'm so anxious.

[JoshuaM]

Facelift, lightweighting and suspension mods all at once, AWESOME!

[955SFE]

Face-lift bumper and VIS CF Hood




VIS hood has a 98-99% fitment.

[955SFE]

Suspension Technique sways bars. Definitely worth the money. Especially since I got them for $260 w/tax.
Right now the rear is in the softest setting.


Its a lithium ion battery. Way way lighter than a acid battery. Weights at 3 lbs. Putting her on a diet is expensive. Starts up a bit quicker than the old battery I had (wasn't even a year old). No driving issues. No idle dipping when A/C and headlights are on during idle.

[955SFE]

Update:

Got a set of Racing beat polyurethane endlinks (rear)

Found a set of Kouki Taillights locally.


Got a TRD front strut tower bar for a steal price

[JoshuaM]

OOhhhh, more nice updates