slightly sporty modifying bangernomics 96 Celica GT
Discussion
After, my astra banger.
I fanced some fast ford action
However much as I loved driving it, it was a bit cramped with a young family and after it passed its MOT last October first time, I decided to move it on for something a bit bigger.
After making a profit on the go faster bits I got such as the K&N kit etc and breaking even on the sale of the Puma, I had a budget of about £1k.
Went back to my toyota Celicas, as while not everyones cup of tea, I know them inside and out, well gens 4-6 anyway, and having broken up my race celica for spares, I had plenty of bits if needed.
Found a black one on Ebay,
Watched it drop from a very hopefull £1200 - £800.
Went and saw it and apart from being filthy it was okay and very sound underneath.
Did a deal at £750 and took it home. this was October last year.
so what did I get for my money.
3 owner car with fsh, 97k on the clock backed up by all bills and MOTs, I have a folder full of paperwork inc bills of sale between other owners.
5 months tax and MOT till july this year.
Orginial bar tints and an awful sticker on the rear quarter!
The state of the car was something else, but it was very good paint underneath.
A detailing mate helped me with a 3 stage paint treatment.
as you can see before we started it kind of looked blue!
During, it was a cheap Mquires kit and elbow grease we used
We also clayed it and killed my clay bar!
but the end result after 5 hours graft was well worth it
The interior was in excellent condition, and just needed a good clean
As you can see it was fitted with the rare dealer option CD player, cost new £400!
Sadly after a short while in daily use a wheel bearing collasped, a legacy of it standing unused for a while, so a used hub was bolted in place for £20
Then the clutch which I thought was on its last legs, said enough, lack of use and my lead foot I guess not a good mixture for the original unit.
So £65 for a new one and £10 for a set of drop links and help from two mates, we changed it on the drive in an afternoon.
And off we went, far nicer and now I could use all 173 horses or what still not escaped from under the hood!
Fast forward to Feb and the exhaust which had been bodged before developed a blow at the manifold and also on the flexi pipe. In fact the entire exhaust was shot, again being the original one. So a used Cat and manifold, and a pattern system went on the car, £115 all in.
A mate had some Cermaic costing left over from his race car project, so my stock manifold got a make over.
At this point, I was getting fond of the thing, and decided that we would both be served by better tyres, as the ones on the stock rims were awful, cracked, and cheap, not a great combo.
I found a set of cheap straight 17" rims with two part worn tyres for £60.
Quick spary coat in satin black, to at least make the look okay, They were a nasty two tone before.
and a deal on some decent mid spec rubber saw the car change a bit
as you can see the spare aftermarket nuts stood out a mile so some black ones were found ASAP!
I got some tinted front indicators to freshen up the front and changed the side repeaters to try and make the car slightly less dated.
a cash incentive at work allowed me to get my wheels done for £20 each, and I sold the two part worn tyres I had, so all in all, my new tyres and refurbed wheels cost me £296, not too bad I feel
I choose a custom bronze colour as I feel it suits the car.
as you can see the paint has responded well to contined work and now has a decent shine
I also debadged the rear, for a cleaner look.
A bargain Apexi induction kit completes the mods for present.
I have ready to go on the car, new disc and pads front and rear, rear drop links, cambelt and water pump. Already I have changed the fan belt, and done an oil and plug service. I have also replaced the front ARB bushes, rear links and bushes to be changed next.
Next step is some bargain 40mm uprated springs to go on, I got them for £80
Okay its not really proper bangernomics, as I am spending money on the car, but really its all done to a very tight budget and keeps the car fun.
Plan is to keep using and modifying it as we go, the drivetrain is great, uses no oil and underneath, unlike most celicas in the tatty price range, this has no rust, the last owner, while not polishing it, stipped and undersealed it at least twice.
I get about 35mpg on a long run, 25mpg round town in the daily grind of a cross town commute. Its no rocket ship, but its nippy enough.
Handling wise its no ford Puma!!, but I think after the springs go on, and if I can find a pair of front shocks, then it will be up to par.
Thanks for reading.
I fanced some fast ford action
However much as I loved driving it, it was a bit cramped with a young family and after it passed its MOT last October first time, I decided to move it on for something a bit bigger.
After making a profit on the go faster bits I got such as the K&N kit etc and breaking even on the sale of the Puma, I had a budget of about £1k.
Went back to my toyota Celicas, as while not everyones cup of tea, I know them inside and out, well gens 4-6 anyway, and having broken up my race celica for spares, I had plenty of bits if needed.
Found a black one on Ebay,
Watched it drop from a very hopefull £1200 - £800.
Went and saw it and apart from being filthy it was okay and very sound underneath.
Did a deal at £750 and took it home. this was October last year.
so what did I get for my money.
3 owner car with fsh, 97k on the clock backed up by all bills and MOTs, I have a folder full of paperwork inc bills of sale between other owners.
5 months tax and MOT till july this year.
Orginial bar tints and an awful sticker on the rear quarter!
The state of the car was something else, but it was very good paint underneath.
A detailing mate helped me with a 3 stage paint treatment.
as you can see before we started it kind of looked blue!
During, it was a cheap Mquires kit and elbow grease we used
We also clayed it and killed my clay bar!
but the end result after 5 hours graft was well worth it
The interior was in excellent condition, and just needed a good clean
As you can see it was fitted with the rare dealer option CD player, cost new £400!
Sadly after a short while in daily use a wheel bearing collasped, a legacy of it standing unused for a while, so a used hub was bolted in place for £20
Then the clutch which I thought was on its last legs, said enough, lack of use and my lead foot I guess not a good mixture for the original unit.
So £65 for a new one and £10 for a set of drop links and help from two mates, we changed it on the drive in an afternoon.
And off we went, far nicer and now I could use all 173 horses or what still not escaped from under the hood!
Fast forward to Feb and the exhaust which had been bodged before developed a blow at the manifold and also on the flexi pipe. In fact the entire exhaust was shot, again being the original one. So a used Cat and manifold, and a pattern system went on the car, £115 all in.
A mate had some Cermaic costing left over from his race car project, so my stock manifold got a make over.
At this point, I was getting fond of the thing, and decided that we would both be served by better tyres, as the ones on the stock rims were awful, cracked, and cheap, not a great combo.
I found a set of cheap straight 17" rims with two part worn tyres for £60.
Quick spary coat in satin black, to at least make the look okay, They were a nasty two tone before.
and a deal on some decent mid spec rubber saw the car change a bit
as you can see the spare aftermarket nuts stood out a mile so some black ones were found ASAP!
I got some tinted front indicators to freshen up the front and changed the side repeaters to try and make the car slightly less dated.
a cash incentive at work allowed me to get my wheels done for £20 each, and I sold the two part worn tyres I had, so all in all, my new tyres and refurbed wheels cost me £296, not too bad I feel
I choose a custom bronze colour as I feel it suits the car.
as you can see the paint has responded well to contined work and now has a decent shine
I also debadged the rear, for a cleaner look.
A bargain Apexi induction kit completes the mods for present.
I have ready to go on the car, new disc and pads front and rear, rear drop links, cambelt and water pump. Already I have changed the fan belt, and done an oil and plug service. I have also replaced the front ARB bushes, rear links and bushes to be changed next.
Next step is some bargain 40mm uprated springs to go on, I got them for £80
Okay its not really proper bangernomics, as I am spending money on the car, but really its all done to a very tight budget and keeps the car fun.
Plan is to keep using and modifying it as we go, the drivetrain is great, uses no oil and underneath, unlike most celicas in the tatty price range, this has no rust, the last owner, while not polishing it, stipped and undersealed it at least twice.
I get about 35mpg on a long run, 25mpg round town in the daily grind of a cross town commute. Its no rocket ship, but its nippy enough.
Handling wise its no ford Puma!!, but I think after the springs go on, and if I can find a pair of front shocks, then it will be up to par.
Thanks for reading.
Very nice, it came up a treat after a bit of elbow grease looks 100% better and the wheels look much better than standard 
I've had 2 mk2 mr2's and they were the most reliable cars I've owned hopefully you'll have the same luck, not that you need it with such helpful mates
Oh and you got the same morphy richards vacuum as us
I've had 2 mk2 mr2's and they were the most reliable cars I've owned hopefully you'll have the same luck, not that you need it with such helpful mates
Oh and you got the same morphy richards vacuum as us
thought I would bring my car post up to date.
most recent pictures
Def going to replace the passenger front wing and rear bumper when money allows as they are the two worst panels on the car.
bit of a journey to get her to this state.
she has had.
New clutch,
New exhaust, with second hand mitsi evo 8 box welded on rather than the stock box, cost £10
New discs and pads all round
New drop links and ARB bushes all round
Good used front and rear shocks
New lowering springs
New Cambelt
New water pump
New dizzy cap / arm, plugs etc and two oil changes
New coolant
New PAS fluid
New gearbox fluid
New brake fluid
Upgraded Head unit and front speakers with sound deadening added to doors
Clifford Wasp alam and Imob
New Tyres all round
17" wheels refurbed and powder coated.
plus lots of little other touches
Exc running costs, she stands me in at £1387.65, I have sold stock parts on to try and keep costs as low as poss
passed her MOT last Saturday, bar an advisory for a slight tear in a CV boot, Have to go for a proper OEM this time, the cheepie universal one just did not last.
Still fair bit to do, rust proofing is a priority, fit my used passenger door, re bush the rear suspension and fix the most pressing issue, the PAS pump is failing, I have a refurbed one to go on next weekend
I have a new uprated gear linkage bush set to go on, black silicon rad hoses, import SS3 front spliters, uprated rear 6x9 speakers, along with a further full service planed.
having played with the timing she is running well and I even crack 30 mpg a fair few times now too.
Thanks for looking.
most recent pictures
Def going to replace the passenger front wing and rear bumper when money allows as they are the two worst panels on the car.
bit of a journey to get her to this state.
she has had.
New clutch,
New exhaust, with second hand mitsi evo 8 box welded on rather than the stock box, cost £10
New discs and pads all round
New drop links and ARB bushes all round
Good used front and rear shocks
New lowering springs
New Cambelt
New water pump
New dizzy cap / arm, plugs etc and two oil changes
New coolant
New PAS fluid
New gearbox fluid
New brake fluid
Upgraded Head unit and front speakers with sound deadening added to doors
Clifford Wasp alam and Imob
New Tyres all round
17" wheels refurbed and powder coated.
plus lots of little other touches
Exc running costs, she stands me in at £1387.65, I have sold stock parts on to try and keep costs as low as poss
passed her MOT last Saturday, bar an advisory for a slight tear in a CV boot, Have to go for a proper OEM this time, the cheepie universal one just did not last.
Still fair bit to do, rust proofing is a priority, fit my used passenger door, re bush the rear suspension and fix the most pressing issue, the PAS pump is failing, I have a refurbed one to go on next weekend
I have a new uprated gear linkage bush set to go on, black silicon rad hoses, import SS3 front spliters, uprated rear 6x9 speakers, along with a further full service planed.
having played with the timing she is running well and I even crack 30 mpg a fair few times now too.
Thanks for looking.
Edited by alwayzsidewayz on Sunday 7th July 12:32
Edited by alwayzsidewayz on Sunday 7th July 12:35
Edited by alwayzsidewayz on Sunday 7th July 16:01
Very nice and underrated car imo. Got mine for £400 with tax and MOT, for a N/A 2.0 its pretty swift and sounds brilliant. I actually regret stripping mine out and turning it into a trackday car, would love to revert it back and have it as a second car but I stupidly binned all the stuff 
How much of an improvement did the new springs make over standard? I have a set waiting to go on.
How much of an improvement did the new springs make over standard? I have a set waiting to go on.
the springs have made a great difference, I fitted a set od standard but much better condition shocks and changed the drop links front and rear as well as the arb bushes. that combined with a rear strut brace of a st205 have made it much more fun, still progressive at the limit, but a whole heap more fun.
I have camber adj bolts to go on the front too
I have camber adj bolts to go on the front too
Cheers for all the kind comments guys.
The celica is pretty underated as a buy I think. It does lack a bit of character, but it does deliver good bang for your buck. The 3sge lump is pretty bomb proof.
Not the fastest or best handling, but you can get sound ones for a few hundred quid.
decent space inside too.
The celica is pretty underated as a buy I think. It does lack a bit of character, but it does deliver good bang for your buck. The 3sge lump is pretty bomb proof.
Not the fastest or best handling, but you can get sound ones for a few hundred quid.
decent space inside too.
Replaced the power steering pump at the weekend. The old sludge I took out while doing the cambelt was masking a host of issues in the pump.
finally now got decent quiet power steering, quick oil and plug change, new rad hoses and coolant where replaced at the same time.
next step is to do battle with the rear bushes.
finally now got decent quiet power steering, quick oil and plug change, new rad hoses and coolant where replaced at the same time.
next step is to do battle with the rear bushes.
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