Richee3's Progress thread., Wilwood BBK installed. Options

[richee3]

You might be asking yourself, "Self, how does a person who just sold their Celica make a progress thread for a Celica?" The answer is easy: you go buy another Celica. So I picked up a '96 GT hatchback with a blown engine.

The story: My brother's friend got the car brand new in '97. It's a '96 model though... gotta wait until the end of the year so you can get a good deal on a car! So back in 1997, a slate gray Celica pulls into my driveway. I've never seen one before. My brother is always telling me about how fast the car is. Flash forward a few years and I find myself with a '96 ST sitting in my garage and I find out that my brother lied to me and that these cars aren't fast at all. So here I am, 3 Celicas and a Lexus IS 300 later, and I miss my Celica. I had my hopes up for a swap and a GT4 front end conversion. So what did I do? I called Marc tonight and asked him about his old Celica. I knew he never changed the oil and never even checked it. I knew he blew the engine up. Tranny is still good, body is still good. New brakes and tires. Even has good blades on the windshield wipers. So tonight I call him and ask if he still has the car and he said he'd let it go for $250. I was there in 30 minutes with a check in hand. The car I grew up watching, the Celica that made me love Celicas, is now mine. Forgive the bad pictures, since it was night before I got there to buy the car. Better pictures coming later.









Like I said, the motor is blown. Not a big deal since I am doing a swap anyway. It was lady driven at first, and ladies suck at driving (no offense, ladies.) So she cracked the skirts and had a body shop remove them. No big deal since I am putting TRD skirts on. The car needs paint. No big deal since I was painting it anyway. Needs a new head unit... You get the idea. That's literally the extent of things that are wrong with the car. Everything else is in good shape.

Plans for the car... I'm still undecided. It's definitely getting a 3S, whether it's a BEAMS or a 3rd gen -GTE.

So... here I am, 6gc. It was a long month without a Celica, but I'm back and I'm here to stay.

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Update: 5S-FE to BEAMS 3S-GE wiring explained with pictures:

• EA1 Plug: Pins 17 and 4 need to be bridged. Pin 17 needs power when pin 4 has it. Pin 17 is in the lower left corner, black w/red trace. Pin 4 is the big black wire at the top, center of the plug. Doing this gives the BEAMS spark. Pin 17 coming off of the EA1 plug can be snipped and covered up, left alone. (See picture 1.)
• EA1 Plug: Pins 2 and 12 need to be bridged. They are both ground wires, white w/black trace. (See picture 1.)
• Clutch start wire: Black w/yellow trace. This one is a bit tricky to explain. There are 3 vertical plugs next to the ECU. On the body side of the plugs, you have a white (19 pin) plug, light gray (13 pin) plug, and dark gray (17 pin) plug. The clutch start wire is pin 18 on the white plug. Move it to pin 17 on the dark gray plug. (Refer to picture 2.)
• If using your OEM tach and a tach adapter, you'll need to intercept the tach signal going from the ECU to the gauges. This comes from plug C, wire 27 on the ECU plugs. It's a gray wire. (Refer to picture 3.)
• Cruise control wiring: I have a 1998 USDM Celica. In my case, no wiring changes were necessary and my cruise control works perfectly. I believe that this is standard across the board of USDM Celicas, although some pre-98 models may still require changes. Further research from others is necessary.
• Airbag light: To get your airbag light to function properly, you run a wire from the EA1 plug to the light gray interior plug (either pin 4 or pin 5, I have read separate posts saying both and I chose not to do this step so I cannot confirm which pin it is.)

Picture 1. EA1 plug: At the top, pins 2 and 12 are bridged together. These are grounds. In the middle with the yellow butt connector, you can see pins 17 and 4 bridged together, red w/black trace and plain black wire. At the bottom of the picture, you can see the unused and covered wire that used to be pin 17.


Picture 2. Body plugs next to the ECU. Here you can see the clutch start wire in the bottom left corner, black w/yellow trace.


Picture 3. Plug C, wire 27. This is the tach signal wire that needs to be intercepted for a tach signal adapter.


This post has been edited by richee3: Aug 26, 2014 - 10:01 PM

[enderswift]

Awesome updates dude,

really liking the side by side night shots. Also the double din looks great, I really need to get one of those...

[richee3]

Ha ha! I love it, the compromise. Guess I won't have to deal w/ that just yet being single. Did you ever think about silver or gold? My calipers are gold and I think it matches the Baltic Blue (given that the engine cover was also gold).
Silver would've been another option, less "subtle" perhaps.

We wanted a color other than the usual red, black, or silver but what color beyond those we couldn't quite agree on. I would have loved a dark blue to match Baltic but that seemed to be out of the question without getting something custom mixed up. Also, give me those 57CR's you have...

Awesome updates dude,

really liking the side by side night shots. Also the double din looks great, I really need to get one of those...

Far from the most awesome updates in any of the project threads here lately. Just small, inexpensive easy stuff so far. The boost gauge was needed for quick reference at a glance and the wideband is a necessity. The speakers were needed as well but the head unit didn't cost very much. Your car has a single DIN in it? I could have sworn you have a double DIN. I just like the double DIN to be able to quickly see everything and change songs or adjust volume without having to put much thought into it, otherwise I probably wouldn't spend the money on them. I frequently miss the steering wheel volume adjustment in the GT4 although I do like the Momo steering wheel. I want an EBC to replace the MBC but we'll see how long it takes me to spend the money on that.

[richee3]

Sunday update!

Last weekend I picked up a new BEAMS harness from Aspen so this weekend I got it swapped into the car and moved the battery back up to the engine bay. Last summer I spent more time than I care to admit diagnosing the harness for a couple of different issues. First and foremost has been an ongoing issue where the ECU was pulling timing after the engine warmed up. I assumed knock sensor, ran a new wire external to the rest of the harness, tested all my connections, and never could find the issue. The second issue is that sometimes it acts as though the alternator isn’t charging. A couple of years ago I had an alternator burn up and cooked the end of the wire so I had to cut and splice new wires, so presumably that’s the cause of this issue. Either way, that’s two pretty big issues in my harness that have been a thorn in my side so when Matt told me he had a harness available, I jumped on it. Plus it’s nice to have the trunk space back.





I missed part of the battery tie down at the junkyard, so that sucks. Gotta get that fixed ASAP.


For the GT4, no big update. Finally got around to putting some Lexus door strikers, small and subtle but a nice touch.




Then I pulled the seats for a thorough vacuuming and steam cleaning, then I had some fabric and vinyl dye so I dyed the top of the back seats black again. Unfortunately they’ve gotten a little faded but it was a quick and easy fix. Then I tossed these seats back in it instead.



Got some free JDM money from the seats though!




Next weekend will be a thorough wash, clay bar, and polishing followed by ceramic coat.

[navseal345]

So did the new harness work/ solve the issues? Such a cliffhanger.

[richee3]

So did the new harness work/ solve the issues? Such a cliffhanger.

I honestly don’t know yet myself. The engine turns over and starts quicker with the new harness and battery back up front but all I’ve done is swap the harness in and burp the coolant where I had to disconnect the heater core hoses, then pulled the GT4 into the garage. First drive will be tomorrow.

[richee3]

Lame update incoming!

Today I replaced the fuel pump in the BEAMS. No idea yet if any change will be made but if it doesn’t, then this turd will stay slow forever. Getting pretty tired of messing with it. I won’t find out for a month or so if it’s made a difference, since I’m not allowed to drive any of the fun cars.

Last weekend I did some paint correction and ceramic coating on the GT4. It’s not perfect but at least it’s got some protection!





Also bought some Redline 75W90NS for the trans but we haven’t swapped it out yet. That’s a job for the wife next weekend while I supervise since apparently I’m not allowed to turn wrenches for a while now either. (I did the fuel pump while she was grocery shopping. )

But most importantly, we got a special delivery for the ‘Four.







Not the Gram Lights I wanted, but those are still on the to-do list. We just like these Enkeis more than the Lehrmeisters that came on the car.

[navseal345]

*drool*

[Box]

So wait, when did this ST205 come around?

[bloodMoney]

LMAO

Welcome back Box.

[NgoFcukinWay]

ST205 needs coilovers.

[Box]

It's also in my second favourite Celica colour, just behind Iris Pearl. I guess this happened sometime between January and March since it'd have just turned 25, guess will have to go back a few pages.

[navseal345]

It's also in my second favourite Celica colour, just behind Iris Pearl. I guess this happened sometime between January and March since it'd have just turned 25, guess will have to go back a few pages.

Yes, that's what Daniel told the government. Lmao

[richee3]

So wait, when did this ST205 come around?

It's also in my second favourite Celica colour, just behind Iris Pearl. I guess this happened sometime between January and March since it'd have just turned 25, guess will have to go back a few pages.

It came around by chance, certainly not intentionally. Right car, right price, right here in town. Happened back in December, perhaps the only fed legal ST205 before the 25 year rule hit. I'm not a fan of cars that didn't come in legally when it's my money on the line.

ST205 needs coilovers.

Lol it's actually lowered already, but the way it sat when I put it back on the ground doesn't look like it. No coilovers for the 'Four.

Yes, that's what Daniel told the government. Lmao

See above. Nothing against any of the cars that were already here but I would never have bought this one if it wasn't here legally. I'm definitely not wealthy enough to risk a car getting crushed.

[navseal345]

I know, just trying to make a funny.

[Box]

Well if it's going by the month and it was made in '93 could still meet the 25 year rule, but hey so long as it has a valid U.S. title just roll with it. Not wealthy enough, pl0z you has turbo Supra so donut lie to me.

[Box]

Side note, lolz Daniel is Dink:

[richee3]

I know, just trying to make a funny.

Ah, that went right over my head. I just took a break from doing homework to check 6gc so I’m taking everything too seriously.

Well if it's going by the month and it was made in '93 could still meet the 25 year rule, but hey so long as it has a valid U.S. title just roll with it. Not wealthy enough, pl0z you has turbo Supra so donut lie to me.

This one is like 08/94, if memory serves correctly. I bought Supra Turbo when Supra Turbo was cheaper, wouldn’t buy one again at today’s prices. Especially not $175k or whatever one just sold for...

Side note, lolz Daniel is Dink:
[img]https://memegenerator.net/img/instances/68834671.jpg[/

This is my life plan, yes. I’m just kind of winging everything else.

[Box]

You have to get the Dink theme music to play now whenever you show up somewhere, and your vocabulary has to mostly consist of "Very Expensive" or "Whatever".

I don't understand Supra prices, then again last I saw manual V8 fourth gens were going up. I won't complain since I have one I need to sell for a Miata, but I don't think they're worth what they're going for either but at least it's a lot closer to reality than the Supra... You should cash in on the Supra hype right after the new one totally bombs and people want the MKIV even more.

[Ted95]

Damnnn Richee has a GT4 now? Baltic blue gt4?? Makes me want to actually start my lift back project lol .. love the new wheels Daniel!!

[richee3]

Damnnn Richee has a GT4 now? Baltic blue gt4?? Makes me want to actually start my lift back project lol .. love the new wheels Daniel!!

Yes sir! It’s more like Brigette’s car than mine, really. I just provide labor in exchange for occasionally getting to drive it.

While we were away, I had to replace the fuel tank in the white car... again. The new one kept getting new leaks. Frustrating to say the least. RockAuto warrantied it out for me for the same brand so I’m certain this one will be leaking in no time as well. As such, I didn’t even bother coating this one with anything. It’s already supposed to have a rust-proof paint on it but I don’t trust it to last another 20 years.