Red Celica ST205 GT4
Discussion
After entering mid-life I decided to take any thoughts of a crisis head on and start buying reasonably fast cars. Five years back I bought a Nissan 350z, then moved onto a Vauxhall VX220 and then into R33 GTST ownership - I sold the R33 and was wondering where to go next, I was seriously looking around at various Nissan 300zx TTs but after a number of viewings of awful rusting heaps I was feeling somewhat despondent and found myself browsing the Pistonheads classifieds and by chance clicked upon this:
It looked decent enough and the spec list was quite impressive, its not the WRC version but had some nice options like sunroof and ABS - I had heard about the pitfalls of Gen 6 GT4s but this guy had clearly spent a small fortune on the car. Completely refitted suspension including the Fig 8s. Retrimmed the interior in leather. TRD goodies adorning the interior. Genuine TRD spats and side skirts. Aussie exhaust and downpipe with a nice HKS BOV. Shiny bits from eBay in the engine bay. Sacco hose kit. Braided brake hoses. Calipers refurbed including seals and pistons. Clutch and Flywheel replaced. HID lights. Alpine head unit and speakers all round fitted. It really did read well as an advert where the guy had spent time and money on the car.
Anyway, I went to look and it was stunning, blew me away. I made an offer an hour later and the following weekend was back at his place exchanging cash and documentation.
A week or so later, the car parked outside my house received and unwanted visit by some builders working on next doors roof. 3 slate tiles flew off and landed on the bonnet. Initially I went mental but then realised I was out there seconds before, it could have been my head.
Anyway short of the long was that they forked out for my visit to TGM in Fleet to have a top class repair, an inconvenience but not the end of the world. As always a great repair from Will at TGM.
So now could really go out and enjoy the car and get some photos, didn't have time for a proper detail but a decent wash, polish and wax got her looking good and ready to strut her stuff.
After spending a few weeks just enjoying the car got in a few more serious detailing products. Some GTechnique Trim Rejuvenator along with some Victoria Concours wax.
The interior plastics do wear but this stuff is pretty impressive at bringing it back up. I do intend to do either some carbon fibre wrapping (using actual carbon fibre not vinyl) or hydro dip some of the panels soon but this will suffice for now. The Victoria Concours wax is a revelation, fantastic piece of kit.
Next up was the ride height, ordered a set of Teins Springs and had those fitted by the helpful chaps down at the South Coast Workshop.
Whilst up in the air took the chance to look underneath, looks pretty clean.
The outcome I thought gave the car a much better stance, handling wise was much better for road driving (clearly won't be doing any rallying any time soon though!)
Whilst in there the guys removed the engine insulation and the bonnet strut and installed the hydraulic bonnet lifters - with the insulation gone suddenly I could hear the turbo and BOV in all their glory, it was a great drive home.
Also added some bonnet vent bling, just in case anyone was in any doubt as to what model of Celica it is.
I managed to source some under trays off a breaker on eBay which I discovered were missing when the car had the springs fitted. There are a few delicate parts under there so got these installed as soon as they arrived.
Apparently quite common for them to be missing, as over the years they get removed for servicing and never put back again.
Whilst on a Celica forum was chatting with a member who agreed to sell me their chrome kick plates, these were an optional extra on the very late JDM models only and rare as the proverbial hens teeth, so snapped them up and installed them, certainly an improvement over the black plastics.
Getting back to the interior, the dash was looking decidedly sad and dim at night, so went a bit off piste and got some red LEDs. The photo doesn't really do them justice as it makes the centre points look very light when in fact it does have a nice even spread of red across the dash to the naked eye.
[url]
I also had a bit of luck on eBay, won a nearly new set of Rota GTR wheels for a very reasonable price. I also invested in some Vredestein Vorti's and on they went.
So seemed like a good time to run her on the dyno. JDM imports roll out the factory at 255bhp so was pleasantly surprised to see her rack up nearly 281bhp on the rollers.
In between all this I have serviced the car (NGK sparks, Millers Oil etc) and installed an Alpine 10 inch bass speaker.
And thats how far I have got, so far. Car is lovely, a nice mix of performance and practicality. I am tempted by an EBC next but lets wait and see...
It looked decent enough and the spec list was quite impressive, its not the WRC version but had some nice options like sunroof and ABS - I had heard about the pitfalls of Gen 6 GT4s but this guy had clearly spent a small fortune on the car. Completely refitted suspension including the Fig 8s. Retrimmed the interior in leather. TRD goodies adorning the interior. Genuine TRD spats and side skirts. Aussie exhaust and downpipe with a nice HKS BOV. Shiny bits from eBay in the engine bay. Sacco hose kit. Braided brake hoses. Calipers refurbed including seals and pistons. Clutch and Flywheel replaced. HID lights. Alpine head unit and speakers all round fitted. It really did read well as an advert where the guy had spent time and money on the car.
Anyway, I went to look and it was stunning, blew me away. I made an offer an hour later and the following weekend was back at his place exchanging cash and documentation.
A week or so later, the car parked outside my house received and unwanted visit by some builders working on next doors roof. 3 slate tiles flew off and landed on the bonnet. Initially I went mental but then realised I was out there seconds before, it could have been my head.
Anyway short of the long was that they forked out for my visit to TGM in Fleet to have a top class repair, an inconvenience but not the end of the world. As always a great repair from Will at TGM.
So now could really go out and enjoy the car and get some photos, didn't have time for a proper detail but a decent wash, polish and wax got her looking good and ready to strut her stuff.
After spending a few weeks just enjoying the car got in a few more serious detailing products. Some GTechnique Trim Rejuvenator along with some Victoria Concours wax.
The interior plastics do wear but this stuff is pretty impressive at bringing it back up. I do intend to do either some carbon fibre wrapping (using actual carbon fibre not vinyl) or hydro dip some of the panels soon but this will suffice for now. The Victoria Concours wax is a revelation, fantastic piece of kit.
Next up was the ride height, ordered a set of Teins Springs and had those fitted by the helpful chaps down at the South Coast Workshop.
Whilst up in the air took the chance to look underneath, looks pretty clean.
The outcome I thought gave the car a much better stance, handling wise was much better for road driving (clearly won't be doing any rallying any time soon though!)
Whilst in there the guys removed the engine insulation and the bonnet strut and installed the hydraulic bonnet lifters - with the insulation gone suddenly I could hear the turbo and BOV in all their glory, it was a great drive home.
Also added some bonnet vent bling, just in case anyone was in any doubt as to what model of Celica it is.
I managed to source some under trays off a breaker on eBay which I discovered were missing when the car had the springs fitted. There are a few delicate parts under there so got these installed as soon as they arrived.
Apparently quite common for them to be missing, as over the years they get removed for servicing and never put back again.
Whilst on a Celica forum was chatting with a member who agreed to sell me their chrome kick plates, these were an optional extra on the very late JDM models only and rare as the proverbial hens teeth, so snapped them up and installed them, certainly an improvement over the black plastics.
Getting back to the interior, the dash was looking decidedly sad and dim at night, so went a bit off piste and got some red LEDs. The photo doesn't really do them justice as it makes the centre points look very light when in fact it does have a nice even spread of red across the dash to the naked eye.
[url]I also had a bit of luck on eBay, won a nearly new set of Rota GTR wheels for a very reasonable price. I also invested in some Vredestein Vorti's and on they went.
So seemed like a good time to run her on the dyno. JDM imports roll out the factory at 255bhp so was pleasantly surprised to see her rack up nearly 281bhp on the rollers.
In between all this I have serviced the car (NGK sparks, Millers Oil etc) and installed an Alpine 10 inch bass speaker.
And thats how far I have got, so far. Car is lovely, a nice mix of performance and practicality. I am tempted by an EBC next but lets wait and see...
Yes I was never a fan of the alloys on the car, but the rest of it is in such good shape it was something to tolerate until I saw something I liked come up - didn't want to pay out full price for wheels and tyres so was looking for used wheels with minimal markings on them. Took a few months of trawling but turned those up eventually, very pleased.
Ah yes the bonnet, I did have an absolute fit at first, it was the day before I was meant to be taking the car to a car event and plonking it on a GT4 stand for the first time as well.
There is a children's playground at the end of our road, it could have been a small child under that instead and it quickly dawned on me those tiles could have killed someone - it quickly brings things into perspective!
There is a children's playground at the end of our road, it could have been a small child under that instead and it quickly dawned on me those tiles could have killed someone - it quickly brings things into perspective!
It is pretty rapid for sure, 4WD and relatively light weight compared to modern equivalents it really is a bit of an unsung hero. Plenty of old Subarus, Evos etc going for a fair bit more and I would suspect more expensive to insure etc.
As long as you pick up a rust free one, with all the suspension work done (the superstruts) you generally are getting a hell of a lot of car for the money. Addition of an EBC and some raising of the boost to around 1.1bar should see in 300bhp on on this car.
As long as you pick up a rust free one, with all the suspension work done (the superstruts) you generally are getting a hell of a lot of car for the money. Addition of an EBC and some raising of the boost to around 1.1bar should see in 300bhp on on this car.
Edited by coldel on Thursday 26th November 14:18
Few updates, working hard on getting the interior a bit more modern. Invested in a dash cam (which ironically sits in the window behind the rear view mirror), a JVC double din media player as well as a full set of LEDs to change the colour scheme over to full ice blue (the red just wasn't bright enough) in both the speedo/revs etc and the air-con unit.
I am just surprised at how more people aren't picking up on these. Permanent 4WD (unlike Skylines), excellent engine, parts are so easily available, build quality is excellent mine is still super tight and pointy in the corners, you can forge and boost these to 360bhp+ for a few grand with the cost of a really good base car is around £4k-£5k so overall probably less than a bog standard Impreza or Evo - 360bhp doesn't sound like much compared to 600bhp+ GTRs or Evo's but at least you get to use all of it most of the time.
I appreciate the looks can be somewhat marmite though haha.
I appreciate the looks can be somewhat marmite though haha.
Been a while so some more updates:
Installed new gear linkage bushes to tighten up the throw
Wipers getting rusty so got a full rub down, prime, spray and lacquer for winter
Some speaker upgrades, pioneer front and alpine rears - really restricted on speaker selection due to odd sizes but these sound great
Got to work for a full day with the DA polisher and menzerna polishes (highly recommended)
Got some neo chrome nuts for the wheels, really do suit it actually. Recently added some neo chrome dust caps as well after losing the ones in the picture at a garage after putting air in!
Some chrome rings in the dash, just gives a slightly more modern feel - and goes with what I had planned further down...
Took her in to Wheels in Motion for some tracking, a fair bit of toe in to sort but all done now and running true
Was umming and urring about this, but glad I had it done as it makes the line flow nicely over the car disguising the sunroof, 3M gloss black vinyl wrap - and yes I do wax the windows!
Some more engine bay work, painted the turbo, heatshield etc and added some aluminium blackchrome vinyl wrapped engine covers
Spoke to a company on ebay who engrave custom gear knobs and designed and got this done, as well as ordered a Sparco handbrake cover to modernise the interior a bit. Also bought a home flocking kit for the centre part of the dash
So thats where I am, have a few jobs to do before Christmas, certainly will be putting down a decent layer of wax protection. She is looking very nice now - a few more changes planned, will swap out the tank guard at the back from alu one, also replace front bumper. But she is looking rather pretty now!
Installed new gear linkage bushes to tighten up the throw
Wipers getting rusty so got a full rub down, prime, spray and lacquer for winter
Some speaker upgrades, pioneer front and alpine rears - really restricted on speaker selection due to odd sizes but these sound great
Got to work for a full day with the DA polisher and menzerna polishes (highly recommended)
Got some neo chrome nuts for the wheels, really do suit it actually. Recently added some neo chrome dust caps as well after losing the ones in the picture at a garage after putting air in!
Some chrome rings in the dash, just gives a slightly more modern feel - and goes with what I had planned further down...
Took her in to Wheels in Motion for some tracking, a fair bit of toe in to sort but all done now and running true
Was umming and urring about this, but glad I had it done as it makes the line flow nicely over the car disguising the sunroof, 3M gloss black vinyl wrap - and yes I do wax the windows!
Some more engine bay work, painted the turbo, heatshield etc and added some aluminium blackchrome vinyl wrapped engine covers
Spoke to a company on ebay who engrave custom gear knobs and designed and got this done, as well as ordered a Sparco handbrake cover to modernise the interior a bit. Also bought a home flocking kit for the centre part of the dash
So thats where I am, have a few jobs to do before Christmas, certainly will be putting down a decent layer of wax protection. She is looking very nice now - a few more changes planned, will swap out the tank guard at the back from alu one, also replace front bumper. But she is looking rather pretty now!
Thanks Crossy, seen a few of the Access ECUs kicking around, cheapest going for £500 up to over a grand. Anything making its way across from Japan is just flying up in price at the moment (thanks Brexiters! lol).
I am a little hesitant putting more bhp through it though, its never been more than standard, worried about blowing anything up!
Whiteline ARB is on the cards too, most places are out of stock and have to go on a waiting list, but have heard its a great mod.
I am a little hesitant putting more bhp through it though, its never been more than standard, worried about blowing anything up!
Whiteline ARB is on the cards too, most places are out of stock and have to go on a waiting list, but have heard its a great mod.
Only a small update but a good one, took out the old throttle cable (which is about x4 longer than the one I replaced it with and would wind its way around the engine bay, over the turbo across the heatshield etc.) and put in a cable from an ST202. It also took out a little bit of slack in the throttle, which means a tap on the throttle response is a bit more instant - have to learn to be a bit more subtle in traffic but even that extra bit of sharpness helps the car feel a bit more responsive on the gas.
Just remembered I had a thread on here, for anyone who might be interested in these little beasts some updates.
Have been tinkering over the last few months, no big changes but attempting to look after the small things :-)
Engine needed a clean up so many brushes, gunk remover and metal polish later...
Some nicoman mats, totally rubber but very comfortable and super hard wearing...
A new insert for the HKS SSQV to give a lower pitch to the BoV...
Something a bit 90s added to the rear brake light...
And a turnout at Ace Cafe to plenty of plaudits...!
Have been tinkering over the last few months, no big changes but attempting to look after the small things :-)
Engine needed a clean up so many brushes, gunk remover and metal polish later...
Some nicoman mats, totally rubber but very comfortable and super hard wearing...
A new insert for the HKS SSQV to give a lower pitch to the BoV...
Something a bit 90s added to the rear brake light...
And a turnout at Ace Cafe to plenty of plaudits...!
Thanks Griffin, yes the engines can be a bit temperamental so keeping mine on standard boost still makes 280 though which is more than enough. Very excited as just booked ferry tickets for the Euro trip I am doing in it in July, me and a few mates in a Boxster, 911 X50, Vantage, BRZ a nice mix of cars.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff