Project UK GT-T, AKA Ethal Options

[mikegt]

Well this is Ethal AKA project Celica. I bought 6 years ago now. And through here life with me has undergone some subtle but effective changes.


First mod was a K&N 57I induction kit

Followed by a new custom built 3" twin tail, smoothed rear clusters and clear side repeaters



Before long i decided to make some alterations and decided i would have a wheel refurb in white, as well as lowering the suspension 35mm with a Spax spring kit. I also added some white graphics to the body to break up the colour, and added the new Rays stickers to the wheels.



Next came along a touch of detail work under the bonnet to clean & tidy it up.


Random picture of Ethal at the Japs 2008 show.

More upgrades followed shortly after with upgrades to the front and rear suspension with Cusco front & rear strut bars


More enigine bay upgrades followed with stainless radiator brackets, stainless cooling plate, Demon motorsport blue cooling hoses, and a set of Sokie Tech bonnet dampers






A HKS high preasure radiator cap was also purchased

Next i turned my attention to the interior, and decided to buy a TRD gear shift knob, and a new Richbrook steering wheel coupled with a Momo boss adapter kit.



Next it was time to turn my attention to the exterior of the car, nothing serious just a couple of marks here and there, but at this point i decided to replace my small low level spoiler for the GT4 high rise wing and riser blocks, i also had the front and rear bumpers repainted, along with the whole of the boot lid and number plate surround.






The rear spats were painted, but the fit was so poor i decided not to fit them but to sell them instead, as these need fitting " before " they were painted.



On the first glance the transformation was awesome, but soon after when i was able to wash & wax it i noticed that the paint work wasn't right, and requested it to go back and be painted properly. The company in question finally took it back after 14 weeks and a call to trading standards and this is how she returned. But i also had fitted some genuine WRC rally mudflaps, brand new BK racing tuner nuts, and a brand new JDM style 4" powerflow back box to suit the new " rally " look, as the twin tail was just the wrong look.




As an xmas pressie my missus decided to buy me a brand new GT4 alloy race radiator, which was pretty damn sweet of her

After a few tweaks due to misaligning nuts etc it was finally fitted and running


Ethal stayed pretty much un altered after this for some time whilst i planned my next move. Now unfortunatly i can't locate the pictures anymore of my next upgrades.... but i wanted to go for the fully fledged GT4 look, so i needed to aquire the parts for the conversion.
I swapped an old xbox for the GT4 bonnet from a celica club member from scotland, i then haggled with some guy on ebay for a complete GT4 front bumper to include the fog lights, grills, and indicators.............got it for a bargain price of £130 delivered, but i'm sure he wanted rid of me pestering him more, than getting rid of the bumper lol. Next i had to find the complete front GT4 crash bar, brackets, dog legs, and bumper strip. Luckily on the Celica owners club there is a specialist GT4 breaker, so a quick call to him and the parts were on there way for another bargain price of £50 delivered.
Now i had all the parts needed, i just needed to find a painter, and a good one at that due to previous paint not being to the highest standard. I was directed to Dream custom paints on hedon road Hull, England who has painted several club cars in his time and drives a mean looking RX7 with a flip paint.
So we had a chat about what i wanted and agreed on a price. I had the bonnet, bumper front wings painted in my 756 colour, but i also had the wiper arms, bonnet grills & vents + bumper grills taken out and repainted in matt black for a good price @ £250. 4 days later job done and here she is now.....a complete transformation dont you think ?


And the project hasn't stopped there! I have all the exterior exactly how i want it, apart from 2 things. 1st being the front indicator lenses, i want some clear ones, and 2nd being the ridiculously long antenna which needs to go in favour of a smaller one, but they are not a priority so these will be looked at next year.
But now i'm concentrating my efforts on an engine swap. I am removing my 3S-GE engine and going to turbo charge the car with the the 3S-GTE power plant from a JDM ST205 GT4. A very simple swap, as im keeping my Mcpherson strut susspension, brake set up, gearbox, clutch, drive shafts etc etc as they can all be used and they will cope with the current power of the new engine. I do need a few parts though like a manifold, full exhaust, and a wiring loom, which i'm looking out for at the moment.
I will have the engine in the early part of January and i hope to have it stripped, checked and installed by the end of Feb to early March. Once that little job is complete i'm turning my attention to the seating, as i would like some Cobreu full bucket seats and then re-trim the rears to match



Thoughts and opinions are always welcome.....

[kormysh8]

I love the wheels! rally style FTW! good stuff.