89' Toyota GT-Four Lightweight
Discussion
james yea I see these in plenty of cars, very comfy they are too..
Bar - Monster didn't last long with me, didn't give me energy so much as made me twitch and feel mild paranoia
epom I agree, it's on the list of things to do, quite far down but still there. I had custom decals made up for the 15" roulettes and need to do the same with these. Should set them off nicely. They've recently been refurbed hence the missing decals
edit: epom - let's see the RC then
Bar - Monster didn't last long with me, didn't give me energy so much as made me twitch and feel mild paranoia
epom I agree, it's on the list of things to do, quite far down but still there. I had custom decals made up for the 15" roulettes and need to do the same with these. Should set them off nicely. They've recently been refurbed hence the missing decals
edit: epom - let's see the RC then
Edited by squareflops on Friday 7th December 19:29
It's a shame the box has the ratios it does. Lovely, short geared punch can be awesome but you do need a longer top gear for cruising and general road use. On spirited track drives, I'd have it above 80mph so I'd inevitably need to use the top gear. To think that it would bog down on the upshift is a shame, when you want the car to flow along and use the power. Maybe it would have been a better idea for Toyota to have given this car a 6 speed box, with grouping gears 1-5 closely together with a longer, overdriven 6th that shares some powerband with 5th. That way they could have kept the close ratios on 1-4 (and so kept the box useful out on the rally stages) whilst still having a usable cruising gear.
Bar it's an interesting point and that would have sorted things. I believe the limiting factor is space inside the box and around the engine bay. Quaife developed a 6 speed box for these and they had to 'tag' on 6th outside the box itself (this is my very rudimentary understanding of the Quaife box) and therefore it was very susceptible to sloppy shifting, one bad shift and it scuppered the box.
I'm sure Toyota could have come up with a better design themselves at inception though.
Lewis have to agree, should look more purposeful when I fit the wheel spacers (longer 63mm studs received today).Infuriatingly Interesting the splines on the longer studs are finer (and taller) than the standard studs. This means the longer studs won't pull through the hub without machining. I'm going to need to have the studs splines machined down so they physically pull through whilst still providing an interference fit. Nothings ever simple..
Some random pics
on Vixpys rollers in Surrey
Having a compression test done @ South Wales Tuning in Caerphilly
190 across all 4 cylinders. Most importantly the readings were consistent however 190 is too high a ratio, should be around 160 which leads me to believe the heads been skimmed in the past and a standard head gasket used. Not ideal but hey ho.
pulling out the AC gubbins
exhaust being fitted @ Prospeed in Cardiff
ST205 rear brake setup that I never got around to fitting and sold on. They would have been handy to have now.
Few pics from a while ago
Having alignment done @ A&A Tyres on Hadfield Road Cardiff
Things were pretty out before hand
changing the rear arb drop links
I'm sure Toyota could have come up with a better design themselves at inception though.
Lewis have to agree, should look more purposeful when I fit the wheel spacers (longer 63mm studs received today).
Some random pics
on Vixpys rollers in Surrey
Having a compression test done @ South Wales Tuning in Caerphilly
190 across all 4 cylinders. Most importantly the readings were consistent however 190 is too high a ratio, should be around 160 which leads me to believe the heads been skimmed in the past and a standard head gasket used. Not ideal but hey ho.
pulling out the AC gubbins
exhaust being fitted @ Prospeed in Cardiff
ST205 rear brake setup that I never got around to fitting and sold on. They would have been handy to have now.
Few pics from a while ago
Having alignment done @ A&A Tyres on Hadfield Road Cardiff
Things were pretty out before hand
changing the rear arb drop links
bit of an update.
Cars been languishing in the garage for a few months. It's been collected today by Warner @ Lewis Rally Sport and is going to get some much needed maintenance and fettling.
In the last few weeks I replaced all of the ignition components from TCB in a hope to fix the miss-fire. I replaced the coil, all leads inc' HT, distributor cap and rotor arm, 4 plugs. It still miss-fired
So with the whole ignition system being new it's likely to be two things - injector or rings have gone in a cylinder. Number 3 plug was wet when I pulled it out so No 3 is the likely culprit. I'll find out soon after a compression test. I'm hoping it's an injector!
Maintenance list is
Fix the miss-fire
Fix the battery discharge problem
Sort the hot start problem
Change the fuel filter
remove air con pump (around 25kg on the front of the block)
anything else that comes up, gaskets, water pump etc
More interesting bits
Changing from air to air inter cooling to charge cooling (using fluid not air to cool the intake charge)
As I'm fitting the charge cooler I'm replacing the a2a bonnet with a FB CS unit with aerocatch bonnet catches which should save quite a few kilos also
Fitting a paddle clutch or OS Giken Super Single depending on costs
Fitting front and rear brakes from an ST205 with Lexus IS 200 front discs
H&R 25mm spacers front and rear
Suspension built to Group N spec
an exact replica TTE 4 pod lamp pod that sits between the standard lights
Set of mudflaps front and rear
replacing the slightly chavvy jap spec exhaust with a more functional rear section
Think that's about it.
So off the car goes
always nice to see naked ladies on service vehicles
When it's back it'll look and drive a little differently
Cars been languishing in the garage for a few months. It's been collected today by Warner @ Lewis Rally Sport and is going to get some much needed maintenance and fettling.
In the last few weeks I replaced all of the ignition components from TCB in a hope to fix the miss-fire. I replaced the coil, all leads inc' HT, distributor cap and rotor arm, 4 plugs. It still miss-fired
So with the whole ignition system being new it's likely to be two things - injector or rings have gone in a cylinder. Number 3 plug was wet when I pulled it out so No 3 is the likely culprit. I'll find out soon after a compression test. I'm hoping it's an injector!
Maintenance list is
Fix the miss-fire
Fix the battery discharge problem
Sort the hot start problem
Change the fuel filter
remove air con pump (around 25kg on the front of the block)
anything else that comes up, gaskets, water pump etc
More interesting bits
Changing from air to air inter cooling to charge cooling (using fluid not air to cool the intake charge)
As I'm fitting the charge cooler I'm replacing the a2a bonnet with a FB CS unit with aerocatch bonnet catches which should save quite a few kilos also
Fitting a paddle clutch or OS Giken Super Single depending on costs
Fitting front and rear brakes from an ST205 with Lexus IS 200 front discs
H&R 25mm spacers front and rear
Suspension built to Group N spec
an exact replica TTE 4 pod lamp pod that sits between the standard lights
Set of mudflaps front and rear
replacing the slightly chavvy jap spec exhaust with a more functional rear section
Think that's about it.
So off the car goes
always nice to see naked ladies on service vehicles
When it's back it'll look and drive a little differently
Absolutely love it!
I am a massive Celica fan having owned an ST162 (first car!) and an ST182 in my time.
Sadly never had a GT4.
I think your car looks absolutely stunning, and like you say, very much a bargain compared to rally reps of the day.
One mad thing about Celica's is how practical they are. Massive boots from what I remember
I am a massive Celica fan having owned an ST162 (first car!) and an ST182 in my time.
Sadly never had a GT4.
I think your car looks absolutely stunning, and like you say, very much a bargain compared to rally reps of the day.
One mad thing about Celica's is how practical they are. Massive boots from what I remember
Cheers guys, I'm hoping the plan I have for it will enhance the look and retain the original idea behind the Lightweight model built for rallying purposes.
Duncan the ST162 is a rare car nowadays, always easy to look back and think "wish i'd kept that!" thinking the same with my classic mini.
The boots certainly are huge, can fit two freeride (large) mountain bikes in there with lots of room to spare, although that might change if I decide to go for a cage in the future
Thanks Lee, any pics of ur CS, always like to see another 185. Yea when the Roulettes in 17" came up I had to have them, they're the only set I've seen for sale so shows how relatively rare they are.
Thanks again for the comments guys.
A very small update, the ST205 re-engineered brakes are being taken off the 600bhp time attack ST185 originally from Japan (if they stopped that they should stop mine) tomorrow and being sent to LRS so glad I could acquire those. I could have gone for Fiat Coupe Turbo calipers with bespoke discs and bells up front and AP calipers on rear but the Toyota setup keeps the promise of a balanced system and retains the manufacturer 'purity' so these two things appeal over a different setup.
Duncan the ST162 is a rare car nowadays, always easy to look back and think "wish i'd kept that!" thinking the same with my classic mini.
The boots certainly are huge, can fit two freeride (large) mountain bikes in there with lots of room to spare, although that might change if I decide to go for a cage in the future
Thanks Lee, any pics of ur CS, always like to see another 185. Yea when the Roulettes in 17" came up I had to have them, they're the only set I've seen for sale so shows how relatively rare they are.
Thanks again for the comments guys.
A very small update, the ST205 re-engineered brakes are being taken off the 600bhp time attack ST185 originally from Japan (if they stopped that they should stop mine) tomorrow and being sent to LRS so glad I could acquire those. I could have gone for Fiat Coupe Turbo calipers with bespoke discs and bells up front and AP calipers on rear but the Toyota setup keeps the promise of a balanced system and retains the manufacturer 'purity' so these two things appeal over a different setup.
Right well..
Call from LRS and number 3 cylinder is very likely shot i.e. ring land failure
not good news. Way forward is a basic rebuild with a 2nd hand known good bottom end, new bearings etc and a crank regrind / polish and fit to my head.
The up side is (forever the optimist I am) is that having this happen now means I have a little disposable cash to cope with this eventuality, and at least it's happened now when the car is in the perfect place to be worked on rather than a far more inconvenient time.
In addition while the engines out the head gasket can be replaced along with new water/oil pump etc so I'll have a good strong/refreshed base to work from.
Ahh well - just means a few things will have to come off the 'nice to have' list
Nothing will be done for the next week or so but there'll be lots of pictures once the rebuild starts so I'll update when things start rolling.
Call from LRS and number 3 cylinder is very likely shot i.e. ring land failure
not good news. Way forward is a basic rebuild with a 2nd hand known good bottom end, new bearings etc and a crank regrind / polish and fit to my head.The up side is (forever the optimist I am) is that having this happen now means I have a little disposable cash to cope with this eventuality, and at least it's happened now when the car is in the perfect place to be worked on rather than a far more inconvenient time.
In addition while the engines out the head gasket can be replaced along with new water/oil pump etc so I'll have a good strong/refreshed base to work from.
Ahh well - just means a few things will have to come off the 'nice to have' list
Nothing will be done for the next week or so but there'll be lots of pictures once the rebuild starts so I'll update when things start rolling.
Little bit of an update.
Having decided to refresh the engine; Warners (Lewis Rally Sport) dropped a build spec that's being completed at the moment. Spec is as follows:
Helix organic clutch kit the Helix is £425 and with expected power goals of around 260chp an OEM organic clutch will cope just fine @ around £90 so money can be put aside for other things
ACL bottom end race bearing kit
Cometic HG
Crank grind and re polish and balance
Toyota pistons ring set
Toyota rocker cover gasket set
Oil filter
VR1 10 50 oil
Toyota head bolts
cam belt kit with idler
Toyota cam belt tensioner
re cut and lap valves
head skim
5 litres gearbox mineral oil - hopefully will make it a little smoother and last a little longer
New Toyota oil pump
Block is being re honed so will need to be run in - could be a tense first few 100 miles ensuring this is carried out correctly..
I'm having the 205 (well, Lexus IS200) discs from the Wasp (a 600ish hp Japanese imported time-attack ST185) skimmed and fitted front and rear to match the altered ST205 four pots up front and twin pot rears. Plus some new grp N spec suspension.
Given the decision to refresh the engine it hasn't left much for chargecooler etc at the moment so that will have to wait.
Not a bad little list though.
Having decided to refresh the engine; Warners (Lewis Rally Sport) dropped a build spec that's being completed at the moment. Spec is as follows:
ACL bottom end race bearing kit
Cometic HG
Crank grind and re polish and balance
Toyota pistons ring set
Toyota rocker cover gasket set
Oil filter
VR1 10 50 oil
Toyota head bolts
cam belt kit with idler
Toyota cam belt tensioner
re cut and lap valves
head skim
5 litres gearbox mineral oil - hopefully will make it a little smoother and last a little longer
New Toyota oil pump
Block is being re honed so will need to be run in - could be a tense first few 100 miles ensuring this is carried out correctly..
I'm having the 205 (well, Lexus IS200) discs from the Wasp (a 600ish hp Japanese imported time-attack ST185) skimmed and fitted front and rear to match the altered ST205 four pots up front and twin pot rears. Plus some new grp N spec suspension.
Given the decision to refresh the engine it hasn't left much for chargecooler etc at the moment so that will have to wait.
Not a bad little list though.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff