Chumpcar caused me to adopt a Celica.

mndsm wrote: Hehehehe, It may actually end up Ratica at this point.... we found a pretty sweet lookin boso-style 240 online, and 2 of the 3 of us agree that it should look like that. Onto business. Brakes. How good are the factory binders on this thing? Chumpcar has the 2x rule, so I'm wondering if upgrading to MKIII Supra brakes would be a viable option. I figure we could make mounting brackets easily enough (Or have them made, our cage guy is the mad scientist of machining) and that would theoretically allow us to run bigger calipers/rotors/pads. Don't want to overheat the poor little things that came with the car if I don't have to. Another question I have, what were the factory wheels on the gt-s? Those fall under the 2x rule too. Ours came with steelies and caps, but something tells me the OEM wheels were those trick 5 star wheels. I'm trying to sort out what upgrades we CAN do, before we tear the thing apart completely, so we don't have a rotting hulk, and no direction.

Upgrading to Supra brakes are NOT a viable option. The stock brakes are fine, assuming you have discs in back, which you should, because it's a GTS. If you REALLY want to upgrade, grab some off a 92-93 GT with rear disc. They're about 11". The most i would bother going with, since you'll be gutting this thing anyways is the 92-93 GT upgrade, stainless lines, nice pads, cheap rotors, and high temp fluid. It'll be fine. I'm honestly unsure i would even both going with the 92-93 idea.

The OEM wheels were 15" 5 spokes, but the kindof twirly ones. The AllTrac guys call them "Teddy Bears." Same as the AllTrac wheels.

4Msfam wrote: Just wondering... are either the GT or GTS interference engines? Found a couple around here with "possibly broken timing belts".. how terminal (or not) is it? Marc

They're both 5sfe. Non-interference.

That said, a timing belt on these is INFURIATING. Expect to swear a lot, skin your knuckles, and spend at least 4-5 hours minimum. Getting the motor in time is a real treat. (Not really, the motor is canted back at an angle which makes it a royal pain in the ass to figure out WTF you're looking at.)

93celicaGT2 wrote:

mndsm wrote: Hehehehe, It may actually end up Ratica at this point.... we found a pretty sweet lookin boso-style 240 online, and 2 of the 3 of us agree that it should look like that. Onto business. Brakes. How good are the factory binders on this thing? Chumpcar has the 2x rule, so I'm wondering if upgrading to MKIII Supra brakes would be a viable option. I figure we could make mounting brackets easily enough (Or have them made, our cage guy is the mad scientist of machining) and that would theoretically allow us to run bigger calipers/rotors/pads. Don't want to overheat the poor little things that came with the car if I don't have to. Another question I have, what were the factory wheels on the gt-s? Those fall under the 2x rule too. Ours came with steelies and caps, but something tells me the OEM wheels were those trick 5 star wheels. I'm trying to sort out what upgrades we CAN do, before we tear the thing apart completely, so we don't have a rotting hulk, and no direction.

Upgrading to Supra brakes are NOT a viable option. The stock brakes are fine, assuming you have discs in back, which you should, because it's a GTS. If you REALLY want to upgrade, grab some off a 92-93 GT with rear disc. They're about 11". The most i would bother going with, since you'll be gutting this thing anyways is the 92-93 GT upgrade, stainless lines, nice pads, cheap rotors, and high temp fluid. It'll be fine. I'm honestly unsure i would even both going with the 92-93 idea. The OEM wheels were 15" 5 spokes, but the kindof twirly ones. The AllTrac guys call them "Teddy Bears." Same as the AllTrac wheels.

Yeah, I figured they were the "teddy bears". I went brake hunting last night, and after some discussion, we're just gonna make sure that everything works, as you said, and run it as close to stock as possible.

Question for the Celica heads..... since I broke the wheelstuds playin' Incredible Hulk, I need new ones. Anyone know if the rotors are pre-studded or if it's a stud-through-rotor design? Trying to figure out what I need to order so I can get this pig moved.

Stud-through-rotor design.

I've broken quite a few of those myself. I actually have a bent one on my Celica right now that i've been putting off replacing while i try to find the correct part number for the ARP extended units.

As for brakes, sounds like you came to the right conclusion. Gotta realize that they're essentially AllTrac brakes, which were meant to stop a 3300lb car, and they do quite well even on an AllTrac. Gut the hell out of the GTS, and you're sitting at probably 2400lbs, if not less. Oh, it'll stop. HARD. My car is PAINFUL in full panic stop mode.

Fun stuff. Good to know that the brakes on this are solid. Silly Toyota dealer wanted 400$ and change for the calipers on this thing, and Rockauto wants like... 40$. Sure they're remans, but I don't really care. Now to source me a FSM so we can get some part #'s.....

What part numbers do you need?

Celicatech used to have the FSMs up on their site. Don't know if they're still there or not.

Not sure on the part#'s yet. This thing might have drum rears, which will require a little extra work to get it converted, or so Toyota says. I haven't been under it yet, (My tetanus shots aren't up to date) so I'm not entirely sure what we're going to need to replace. I'll let you know...

And if I haven't said so already, thanks for the help.

I'm reasonably sure that all GTSs came with 4wheel discs. Stranger things have happened, though. If in fact it DOES have rear drums, the conversion should be pretty simple and self-explanatory. Go to the junkyard, grab a hub from a car with rear disc, slap it on.

If you want a cheap suspension improvements, the 92-93 swaybars were beefier, and the spring rates were stiffer.

PS: If the car has "System 10" stereo (identified by the 8" speakers in the doors), then we need to talk.

It DOES have the system 10. I can guarantee that. Does not have the factory H/U though. God only knows what else was replaced. It will be coming out of the car FWIW.

If the door panels are gray and in good shape, me wants.

They are grey. I will get pics of the door panels quicklike for ya. We don't want em.

Tell me what part numbers you need and I'll see if I can look them up. I'm "Hy T3ch," y0.

I've done the timing belt on our 97 Camry 5SFE a couple times. I didn't find it difficult at all. Oh, and we're still on the original rear brake shoes at 200K miles.

Now, where can I find a FSM (BGB) for a 2005 Scion xA? Online would be great (wink wink).

My wife bought a 90 GT with 75K miles on it right before we got married and we sold it with 295K with the original shoes on the back brakes.

Other than it likeing to eat alternators and starters (thank God for Lifetime warranty) it was a great car, handled well, was very entertaining on the back roads of eastern Ohio. I would like to get a nice GTS one of these days.

Yeah, the right rear is completely seized, and I broke 2 wheel studs (one was already gone, for a total of 3 missing), so it's going to need a tear down anyhow. Other than that, and the fact that the rockers are gone, it's a pretty solid car.