94 celica st manual "restoration" Options

[Box]

Im going to rock the 1.8L for a while or at least until I get my 93 trac running. I may take my camry to carmax and see what theyd give me for it without trading it in just for kicks. You dont need big power in a fwd car anyway to have fun so 1mz or 3mz might be a better route then the 5vz.

My point exactly. In an All-Trac or MR2 the 5VZ is probably the way to go, but with FWD I'd say 1MZ. 200 hp is plenty for a 2400 pound car.

[fhalperformance]

Yes the 5vz will fit in the fwd celica although I doubt the stock intake manifold will allow the hood to close. It sticks up higher then the mr2 engine lid but there are other oem manifold parts that you can use to get its height down. I dont think there has been a 5vz swapped into a sixth gen fwd. I need a tow vehicle so I may do something crazy with the 6th gen I havent decided yet. I cant stand driving trucks I seem to get speeding tickets like crazy.

[Box]

Tow vehicle you say, find an El Camino or Ranchero. What I'd do.

[fhalperformance]

So v8 rwd with solid rear axle, beafed up frame, and remove hatch window for fifth wheel hitch would be looked down upon? haha that would be a fun project.

[fhalperformance]

Got a line on a gas tank and filler neck the last couple pieces I should need before paint. I also ordered a can of spray paint matching that lotus color with lotus clear so I can paint a section/see how it will look. I want to see how it will look on the car before I make any decision.

[fhalperformance]

Havent updated in a while been a little busy with my other projects. Got her 90 percent ready for paint with the only thing left to do is some sanding and install my new passenger side door to make the exterior 100 percent again. Then Im probably going to sell her, I have too many projects and really need to free up some time if im going to have my 93 trac running before winter time. Im in the middle of swapping my spare 94 mirrors onto my 93 alltrac to get rid of those "ear mirrors" Ive never been too fond of (picture below) while I collect parts to put her back together.


-most recent picture I have of her


-5th gen with 6th gen mirrors

[fhalperformance]

Finished getting the seats in and prepping for paint. I have a pending sale and the guy is giving me extra money to have the car painted so It should be going into the bodyshop on monday for paint. I got too many projects so Ive decided to let someone else enjoy this car. I am getting a 2uz v8 beginning of next week which is kind of bad timing but Ill use it eventually lol. Next week I may start dropping the motor into my 93 if this car is gone.

This post has been edited by fhalperformance: Aug 8, 2013 - 8:05 PM

[fhalperformance]

I was going to sell the car and work on the alltrac untill my DD got totalled. Now the 94 is my new DD and have been working on her alot lately. I got a 97 gt parts car for the rear disc brake conversion and for parts/spares I needed.

To Do List:
Paint - thinking subaru world rally blue right now
Modify my two post spoiler for the CF riser blocks I bought & get riser gaskets
ST205 clip - motor for the trac, hood/bumper/head lights for the 94 & possible rhd conversion in the future
Swap interior plastics from my parts car as mine are all scratched up
Mount the snows I had for my camry on the aluminum rims I bought for the car - waiting for the rims to be refinished professionally
Shave the antenna - possibly get a roof antenna from a matrix
Purchase some coil overs to replace the shot suspension - probably BC Racing
preventative maintenance - alternator, battery, starter, ball joints, inner & outer tie rods
Maybe install the headunit & subs I have sitting in my room
Sell the 19 inch oz racing rims from my camry as I have no use for them anymore

This post has been edited by fhalperformance: Nov 15, 2013 - 8:57 PM

[fhalperformance]

Here's some update pictures for the car. I got the rims professionally refinished and the tires mounted. Im waiting for the paint to harden up before I balance and install them on the car. I wish I had taken some pictures of them test fitted on the car they look great/almost flush. I still havent figured out the offset of the rims which I probably should do.. I also got some new spline drive lug nuts for the rims as well to replace the rusty oem ones currently on the car.

I got the gt rear crossmember & spindles apart from the rear arms so I can start getting them ready for the disc brake conversion. Turns out the former owner completely removed the ebrake hardware underneath the rotor hat so Ill probably need some more work to get them ready to go. Ill need new backing plates, bushings, new rear arms (already have the new bolts & nuts for putting it back together), and time to refinish the new cross member as it has alot less rust then the one currently on the car.

Also got a new paint idea for the car which I have included a picture of below. (newer style) British Racing Green. My widebody will be blue and I havent found more then one blue color that I liked. Best to keep with the program so far and have all my cars be different colors. White (mr2), Red (93 trac), Black (91 trac), Blue (widebody), and then the 94 celica with the green paint.







This post has been edited by fhalperformance: Nov 15, 2013 - 9:03 PM

[fhalperformance]

News on the project front:
ST205 front clip with body panels. Motor will go in my trac and hood/bumper conversion will go on the trac. Will be saving the rhd conversion parts for a future project.
16 inch rims with 205/55R16 continental extremewintercontact (better pictures to come)
OEM rear strut tower bar with cover & end plastics
BC Racing coilovers for AT200 (purchased- being manufactured for shipping)
Four Wheel Alignment on the AT200
Color conversion body shop appointment for the middle of december





This post has been edited by fhalperformance: Nov 27, 2013 - 6:27 PM

[fhalperformance]

Parts to purchase next week:
Drivers side quarter window (molding chipped up)
Gas Lid


Things to do:
Roll rear fender lip (bought a tool to do it)
Get the final touches done before paint
Remove interior plastics so Im not charged for it
Prep the new passenger side door
Swap radiator support

This post has been edited by fhalperformance: Nov 27, 2013 - 6:34 PM

[fhalperformance]

Its been a while since I updated this posting in quite a while. I sold the ST205 body parts to a friend because I was going to sell the 6th gen in order to buy a truck. I always wanted a 6th gen but I need a truck more then a daily driven car. I was making plans to sell when it sent a connecting rod through the side of the block with little to no warning. I installed a new motor from a friend (from a 94 corolla with no egr... may have been a mistake) and that broke a connecting rod pulling out of the garage immediately after finish installing it lol. I sidelined the project and bought a Saturn to drive/flip for some cash while I looked for a new motor. Luckily I found a southern celica in my local pull yard that just arrived same color/year/trim/transmission that I plan to gut this weekend so I can go for the third time on a motor install in my car.

I blew a tire at 110mph on Watkins glen with my previously/barely finished 93 st185 project coming out of a corner ripping my fender, hood release cable, and body harness into pieces. I was lucky enough not to put the car into the wall even with all four wheels off the pavement although I will have to spend a decent amount of money redoing things I had already spent money on the month before. I was lucky enough to find a tire close enough in size to limp the car home where its sat while I worked on fixing the lights & wiper wiring on the car as well as finding a new fender.

I took the 5vz mr2 to the track this spring and it has developed some problems since. I had been daily driving it while the 94 celica was down for its heart transplant and it was getting cold. I need to work on it but I don't have the time and money for it right now. I had tried to sell it but have been jerked around a bit by buyers so that's going away for storage for now. Maybe Ill sell it next spring when it would be more likely to sell so I can get rid of some of these projects. I have a 93 t-top mr2 rolling chassis available to me with low miles that Id love to pick up for my nascar team leftover 5vz heads/turbo hybrid motor build I have half the parts for sitting in my room right now just waiting to be put together with the few remaining pieces that I am missing. No sense taking apart my current mr2 to replace parts I just bought within the last two years and trying to sell those used specialty performance parts but Ill cross that bridge if I get there.

I need to post up a thread with all my extra 6gc parts so I can generate some money for my two current/upcoming projects: 01 mr2 spyder 2zz 6th speed swap & 2000 celica gts ff-gt custom wide body 2gr/c60 swap.