1997 ST - The Bushmobile Options

[Bushmatic]

Just put some money down on a red 1997 Celica... I'll be bringing it home on a trailer this weekend, don't even have it yet. But I'll be updating this thread with little things that I do to it. For now, here are the pictures ripped directly from the Craigslist ad:











This post has been edited by Bushmatic: Jul 30, 2018 - 12:06 AM

[Bushmatic]

Might as well post a quick update... Nothing particularly major to report apart from a new Magnaflow muffler. This video is the closest sounding one I could find on youtube, even though it's a different product. The 7A is weak but it can make a mean sound Just had it professionally installed last week along with new brake pads and rotors in the front.

A bunch of smaller things I've done/have planned, in no particular order:

A few months back I slapped some basic white TRD decals onto the stock mudguards as an experiment. I noticed that a lot of older cars, especially Japanese ones, have decals on the stock mudguards. One example here. I always thought it was the perfect small detail to give a car more of a "retro" kind of look. I'm very pleased with how this turned out, you can see for yourself in some of the pics below. Easiest "mod" ever!

I got a set of clear front turn signals and sidemarkers which I equipped with LEDs. Also swapped in LEDs for the third brake light and rear turn signals (all of these lights use 1156 bulbs. In the pre-facelift years, the third brake light uses a 194 bulb, which is smaller). Popped in a flasher relay so they actually work. I didn't do the four tail lights because I feel like 1157 LEDs (dual filament--used in front turns and taillights because they need two levels of brightness for normal function) don't have enough of a difference between the "low" and "high" brightness levels. Every video I've seen comparing standard filament brake lights to LED brake lights shows a quicker response time in the LEDs (a good thing) at the cost of a clear distinction between "braking" and "not braking" (a potentially VERY bad thing). This is due to the LED being SO BRIGHT to begin with, that when the brakes are applied, it's hard to notice it getting even brighter. Here's an example I just randomly found on youtube. The guy in the video has the same complaint as me, even though it's kind of hard to tell for yourself. That's why I only put an LED in the third brake light, where there is a much clearer distinction between "braking" and "not braking" (on and off, respectively--hard to misinterpret by someone driving behind me). It's safe to say that I get the best of both worlds doing my rear lights this way. Instant on/off time in the third brake light, clear braking designation in the taillights.

I have a European license plate surround and a hood spoiler I still need to install. Just need to devote a few hours to drilling some holes. I never even considered that the Euro plate surround would have different license plate hole locations than the USDM one until I had it completely bolted in.

Still waiting on a few shipments of small parts, including almost everything needed to install factory cruise control. I may have mentioned before that the car has a pair of ebay foglights installed deep in the air dam. I could never get these to work until a couple weeks ago when I traced the wiring up into my dash and found the fuse, which was blown. Then, after some quick testing, I found out that one of the bulbs is burnt out. So I ordered a new pair of yellow H3 bulbs from Hella, gold headlight film, and a new box of the fuses (the previous owner used a weird kind of fuse that I've never seen before). After it all arrives I should have a nice set of working yellow foglights. The switch will be semi-OEM looking, placed in the "second choice" location described in this thread.

I've decided that when I source a new hatch door, I'm going to get this ducktail spoiler. It would be the finishing touch to the wingless look. My current hatch is getting eaten by rust from the inside out, so I'm going to wait before I do anything major like a new spoiler. As to why I've decided against a two-post spoiler; it was a toss-up until my girlfriend saw a picture of a GT-Four and literally the first thing she said was, "why did they put such a dumb spoiler on that?" So that was the tie breaker

Over the past few months I've noticed my brake pedal sinking into the floor as I keep it pressed down paired with a loss of braking power. I have to pump the brakes or use the e-brake every time I'm stopped on a hill. When I had my pads and rotors replaced they also bled the brakes, and the problem has persisted. So it isn't air in the brake lines. I think a new master cylinder is in my future. Speaking of brakes, I hate that they put drum brakes on these models. My old Volkswagen from 1967 had drum brakes, it's an ancient technology!

I want to do one of those false wood floors in the trunk. If you don't know what I'm talking about, here's one example. It's one of the few tricks from the VW scene that I actually really really like. Needless to say, it's a bold design decision, so I would make sure to do it well and make it easily removable.

Still have plenty of stuff planned for when I have more money! Brake master cylinder (obviously), coilovers or lowering springs (along with new top mounts, bearings, etc.), full respray (in my previous post I said I wanted to respray in a Saab factory green color. Now I'm leaning toward just doing it in my factory color, renaissance red), treat the rust in the driver's door handle area, new speakers, blue climate control LEDs, various bits for the engine, other stuff I'm forgetting.

And now for a random dump of cell phone pics, including one from the early stages of today's eclipse! Featuring a dirty car that looks somewhat clean from a distance:









Bonus: I have a mystery item on the way from Japan... All you get now is a sneak peek!