The new Toy

Just picked it up today: Car had been sitting for 18 years, friend bought it, cleaned it up, decided he couldn't afford it.

Picked up the wheels yesterday, they're p-type Supra wheels (14x7s), got 'em for a good price, made up for that price in buyin' freakin' lugnuts as they're different between the steel wheels and the alloys, no one carries the ones for the alloys, and the closest ones we could find needed to be double washered to not bottom out... and of course, the only washers we could find we're just an RCH too small to fit over the shank of the lugnuts... so we spent another hour making those work....

Then I go to drive it over, burn out the fuse for the wipers and turn signals 5 minutes into a 4 hour drive (did I mention it was raining, and I was on the freeway?)... turns out someone had put a 5A fuse in a 15A slot, lol.

Then the real fun started as the 18 years of gunk in the fuel tank decided to start plugging the fuel inlet... leading to intermittent chuffing and power loss... I figured out to shut the car off, coast for a 10 seconds or so, and fire it back up, and it would drop whatever had suctioned to the inlet for the next 30 seconds to 10 minutes when it'd start all over again...

All in all, I don't care. It's worth it. I've wanted a Mustang-back Celica for years now, and now I own one. I rule.

ReverendDexter wrote: RCH

Hahahaha.

No really, awesome car.

Wow, that looks really sweet. Any plans for it?

I like it!! Has a lot of potential.

Twin_Cam wrote: Hahahaha. No really, awesome car.

Thanks!

ArtOfRuin wrote: Wow, that looks really sweet. Any plans for it?

First get all the crap out of the gas tank ;) Then I'm looking to make it a somewhat daily driver/autocrosser/once-in-a-blue-moon drift car. It's definitely gonna need some different front brakes - stock are solid disk (I didn't even know such things existed, heh), and I'd like a little more power, though I need to see how it feels when it's actually running at it's full capacity. I've tossed around the idea of building a 20R/22R hybrid motor for it, as this already has the "right" 20R head for such a beast, and it would bolt right in. It's definitely getting a header, as the current exhaust manifold has a crack in it, assuming I can find one (toyoheadauto sells a pacesetter 4->1, but I'd really prefer a 4->2->1 if I can find one). Oh, and since it's the same rear diff as a AE86 GT-S, it's definitely getting a LSD at some point

For right now though, it's just get it sorted out, cleaned, waxed, and running good enough that I can trust it to behave for the g/f.

That is a fantastic car. Was it garaged/protected for those 18 years??? Killer find. So glad it ended up in the hands of one of the good guys.

Check this site out (if you haven't already) www.japanesenostalgiccar.com

and lower that thing ASAP!!!

Looks great in white, too. Congrats!!!

Keep us posted on the refreshment of it.

Unfortunately, it was outside... this is a picture of after some of the brush was cleared away:

There's definitely sun damage in the interior, and it has that musty/moldy smell. It also photographs a lot better than it looks.

It's a lot of fun so far! Manual steering combined with those wide supra wheels makes one very efficient with steering input, that's for sure!

Ouch.

Well, at least they don't rust so quickly in California.

If that were in New England, it would be kaput.

ReverendDexter wrote: Then I'm looking to make it a somewhat daily driver/autocrosser/once-in-a-blue-moon drift car.

That's pretty much what I'm planning to do with the RX-7 I just picked up. Like Gamby said, it's a good thing that Celica is in Cali, it would have returned to the earth by now if it were in my neck of the woods.

Glad it found a happy home, it was a pretty lucky find by that fella.

I would like to extend an invitation to www.1stGenCelica.com, and good luck with all the future plans!

BTW, those wheels look pretty nice with polished faces. I just finished a quick polish on mine, and I also painted the Azenis tires to see how it would look, pretty nice IMO.

White letter Azenis!!! Very cool.

Yeah, those wheels do look nice polished, though I am enjoying the white on white for the moment. I appreciate the offer to the board - the guy who actually found the car is on there as Stock77, and he details the find in his intro thread.

Unfortunately, there is some rust on the car, though not much. There was a little under the hatch, and there's a patch at the base of the driver's side a-pillar, inside the door jamb. I have no clue how to deal with the latter.

I have the stock steel wheels, which were on the car until yesterday. The supras came with brand new continental negotiators (no name tires, but the local drifters supposedly swear by them), so I won't be looking into tires for a while (well, that's not true... looking to put some RT-615s on the Cobra, and get rid of the obnoxious knobbies that were on the Bronco when I bought it,,, just nothing for the Celica at the moment).

I'll probably be hitting up that Celica board... This isn't my first Toyota by far, nor my first carb'd R-motor, but I'll definitely have some questions, if nothing else some places to get some parts!

Nice save, it looks very well preserved.

blaze86vic, what sort of paint did you use on those tyres? They look great.

Dupli-Color's Hot Tires

Linky

sexy, I've always thought they looked like stangs, needs more V8

They're actually called "Mustang Celicas" byu the oldschoolers.

Nice find! I almost bought a yellow one when they were new, [added to my list of regrets].

In my neighborhood it would have rusted back to the Earth by now. Because of sun fade, I would also be careful with any rubber product on the car, brake hoses, gaskets, that kind of stuff.

Keep the pictures coming.

Dan

Jealous. What did it set you back? I've been looking for a coupe for a while now.

I love the white letter tires. Too awesome.

HAS potential? That car is awesome as-is!

For some reason, those tail lights don't look at all familiar. Are those original, or did someone graft in some Mustang signals?

jstein77 wrote: For some reason, those tail lights don't look at all familiar. Are those original, or did someone graft in some Mustang signals?

From the factory. The whole rear end of these cars is nothing but a blatant rip-off of the '69 Mustang fastback, and I love it that way. The rest of the lines are still pretty close to the '69, even down to the quad headlight setup. I think the '69 fastback is one of the best looking cars of all time, this gives me the look while being a heck of a lot cheaper, easier on gas, and better handling.

Fantasy motor swap would be a 4GR-FSE from an IS250, but that will never happen as I have horrendous luck with motor swaps. I am keeping my eye out for an early 22R block, though.

The suspension is an identical setup to an AE86 Corolla, it may even be the exact same other than spring rates and shocks (this is about 4-500 lbs heavier than a hachi), though I haven't measured. It is the same 6.7" rear as the GT-S, which will make finding an LSD much easier.

Coupes are actually a LOT easier to find than the fastbacks. The liftback was only stateside for 2 years: '76 and '77, whereas the 1st-gen coupe was '71?-'77. Bonus with a coupe is that you can find a pre-smog one, if smog is of concern to you.

white letter falkens droool

Holy Crap is that HOT! ... All the good Old Skool Japenese Iron is on the other coast!

Very cool. I've always loved those cars.