Toyota Celica GT-Four + Saab 9-5 Aero daily.
Discussion
Been a lurker for a while so thought might as well put up a project log of my current fleet of cars.
First is my daily drive a Saab 9-5 Aero. Only had this since February this year but bought it as the perfect family wagon for kids and more importantly the dog! I also wanted something with a bit of oomph so the Aero was the only choice!
Not much has been done to it at present. Mainly fixing the the little niggles it had when bought. A full thorough service and a good mop and polish. It does have a few mods though being polybushed front sub frame, rear anti roll bar bushes and front torque rod bush. Has stiffened up the old girl quite well! Nothing really crazy planned for the future. Will stage 1 map it at some point and maybe add a spoiler.
My ST205 I have had for 3 years and a lot has changed in that time. Started off as a low mileage, non sunroof and non abs model. I tried a sunroof model but my 6ft3 frame didn't fit!
Earliest pick I have of it. Only mod at that time was a set of carbon fibre riser blocks for the rear spoiler (Pretty much the ST205's party piece) and de tango indicators. I actually had these before I even purchased the car!
Next up was to give the car facelift lighting. This included fitting the face lift head lights and tail lights. A huge improvement over the old fresnel lenses.
Did a few track days and then the modding commenced. It was already very well poised on track. Tein super street coilovers, C-One front strut brace, cusco rear brace and white line RATB but thought it could do with a little more power as it is not the lightest car in road trim (1380KG's). Over the months including a shattered ceramic turbine I have ended up with the following spec list.
GFB G-Force II ECB, Turbo Technics S148 hybrid turbo, Berk decat pipe and Fensport 3" front pipe. I have also invested in a header tank/swirl pot system to compliment the aluminium rad. I coupled this with a lagged chargecooler to reduce temps for track work. Next year will be looking at 800cc injectors, fuel pump and stand alone plus a slush fund for when I need to go forged
. At the moment I would say it is around the 300-320 mark.
Following on from this I also relocated the battery to the boot and made a straight intake. Picture is an old one as the idle breather has been removed and plumed directly into the intake pipe.
A closed air box is currently in the making but that will have to wait till after christmas!
It is not all about the go faster bits either. The car is still used for those weekend trips out with the family so did a little something about the interior. First I fitted facelift dash plastics followed by re-soldering all the dash LED's red and finished off with some red dials to match.
For a bit of bonus content this is currently the other half's daily an Suzuki Ignis Sport. A proper little hot hatch of old but with modern comforts! Always has the nuts thrashed off it and been super reliable for the past 2 and half years we have had it. Our driveway is one of the most unique in the street that's for sure!
Have most likely missed out a few things as it is three years worth of threads across 3 cars but will make sure to update this thread in the future!
First is my daily drive a Saab 9-5 Aero. Only had this since February this year but bought it as the perfect family wagon for kids and more importantly the dog! I also wanted something with a bit of oomph so the Aero was the only choice!
Not much has been done to it at present. Mainly fixing the the little niggles it had when bought. A full thorough service and a good mop and polish. It does have a few mods though being polybushed front sub frame, rear anti roll bar bushes and front torque rod bush. Has stiffened up the old girl quite well! Nothing really crazy planned for the future. Will stage 1 map it at some point and maybe add a spoiler.
My ST205 I have had for 3 years and a lot has changed in that time. Started off as a low mileage, non sunroof and non abs model. I tried a sunroof model but my 6ft3 frame didn't fit!
Earliest pick I have of it. Only mod at that time was a set of carbon fibre riser blocks for the rear spoiler (Pretty much the ST205's party piece) and de tango indicators. I actually had these before I even purchased the car!
Next up was to give the car facelift lighting. This included fitting the face lift head lights and tail lights. A huge improvement over the old fresnel lenses.
Did a few track days and then the modding commenced. It was already very well poised on track. Tein super street coilovers, C-One front strut brace, cusco rear brace and white line RATB but thought it could do with a little more power as it is not the lightest car in road trim (1380KG's). Over the months including a shattered ceramic turbine I have ended up with the following spec list.
GFB G-Force II ECB, Turbo Technics S148 hybrid turbo, Berk decat pipe and Fensport 3" front pipe. I have also invested in a header tank/swirl pot system to compliment the aluminium rad. I coupled this with a lagged chargecooler to reduce temps for track work. Next year will be looking at 800cc injectors, fuel pump and stand alone plus a slush fund for when I need to go forged
. At the moment I would say it is around the 300-320 mark.Following on from this I also relocated the battery to the boot and made a straight intake. Picture is an old one as the idle breather has been removed and plumed directly into the intake pipe.
A closed air box is currently in the making but that will have to wait till after christmas!
It is not all about the go faster bits either. The car is still used for those weekend trips out with the family so did a little something about the interior. First I fitted facelift dash plastics followed by re-soldering all the dash LED's red and finished off with some red dials to match.
For a bit of bonus content this is currently the other half's daily an Suzuki Ignis Sport. A proper little hot hatch of old but with modern comforts! Always has the nuts thrashed off it and been super reliable for the past 2 and half years we have had it. Our driveway is one of the most unique in the street that's for sure!
Have most likely missed out a few things as it is three years worth of threads across 3 cars but will make sure to update this thread in the future!
Edited by BricktopST205 on Monday 5th October 10:44
A few little updates last summer the Saab 9-5 Aero was about to do the journey of its lifetime. England to Lithuania which is circa 1500 miles. One problem is when you are going to be driving for 20 hours plus a 6 CD changer isn't going to cut it. Out with the soldering iron, a butchered aux lead, an old switch and a AUX input was made using the telephone feature of the head unit which outputs stereo. Aux lead was put through the center console and into the storage compartment to keep it looking clean. Now I had access to thousands of songs at my finger tips.
Undertaking a massive journey requires preparation whether it is in a brand new car or a 12 year old car on 120k miles so a brand new set of Assymetric 3's were ordered and also a sump drop kit for piece of mind. Luckily for me the car has been looked after well and the sump was in great condition with just a little bit of RTV on the strainer.
Car cleaned and waxed just before its epic voyage.
Car performed very well with only negative being a cracked ABS ring which cost a couple of quid and half a morning to replace. 4000 miles in two weeks and the other half cracked 140mph with plenty to go on the Autobahn which is the fastest she has ever been!
On the Celica front I have only done about 1500 miles in it this year mostly driving to Goodwood FOS. A lot of tinkering though.
Car on axle stands while I take a trip to get my AD08R's fitted.
Tucked away in the garage for the winter.
Was trying to get the car track ready for Blyton a couple of weeks back but other things popped up. Car is coming up to 66000 miles so thought it was best to do a cambelt change which turned out to be one of the biggest ballaches evers. I have changed cam chains before that were less involving. Just changing the water pump required removal of the AC compressor to get to remove a bracket. Also upon inspection I had a split C.V boot so had a fun afternoon playing rubix cube with C.V joints
Engine bay looked like a minefield and this was before I had to remove alternator and move AC compressor!
Last gremlin was a squeaky clutch slave cylinder so a replacement was ordered and fluid replaced. Wouldn't be surprised if it is the original fluid from 1995. Coupled with a gearbox fluid change to Motul Gear 300, Gulf Gear LS in the rear diff and the gear changes are smooth as silk now.
Car is now all back together and almost ready. Just need to do something about the brakes. Got 2 litres of RBF660 in the garage and will most likely be going carbotech pads with some J hook discs.
Undertaking a massive journey requires preparation whether it is in a brand new car or a 12 year old car on 120k miles so a brand new set of Assymetric 3's were ordered and also a sump drop kit for piece of mind. Luckily for me the car has been looked after well and the sump was in great condition with just a little bit of RTV on the strainer.
Car cleaned and waxed just before its epic voyage.
Car performed very well with only negative being a cracked ABS ring which cost a couple of quid and half a morning to replace. 4000 miles in two weeks and the other half cracked 140mph with plenty to go on the Autobahn which is the fastest she has ever been!
On the Celica front I have only done about 1500 miles in it this year mostly driving to Goodwood FOS. A lot of tinkering though.
Car on axle stands while I take a trip to get my AD08R's fitted.
Tucked away in the garage for the winter.
Was trying to get the car track ready for Blyton a couple of weeks back but other things popped up. Car is coming up to 66000 miles so thought it was best to do a cambelt change which turned out to be one of the biggest ballaches evers. I have changed cam chains before that were less involving. Just changing the water pump required removal of the AC compressor to get to remove a bracket. Also upon inspection I had a split C.V boot so had a fun afternoon playing rubix cube with C.V joints
Engine bay looked like a minefield and this was before I had to remove alternator and move AC compressor!
Last gremlin was a squeaky clutch slave cylinder so a replacement was ordered and fluid replaced. Wouldn't be surprised if it is the original fluid from 1995. Coupled with a gearbox fluid change to Motul Gear 300, Gulf Gear LS in the rear diff and the gear changes are smooth as silk now.
Car is now all back together and almost ready. Just need to do something about the brakes. Got 2 litres of RBF660 in the garage and will most likely be going carbotech pads with some J hook discs.
Edited by BricktopST205 on Monday 5th October 10:55
Nice cars! I tried to find a nice low miles Aero recently but they are getting rarer!
I can relate to the Ignis Sport as well http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
I can relate to the Ignis Sport as well http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
HybridAero said:
What an awesome mix of cars! Did you stage 1 the 9-5 in the end? What's the Celica like on fuel?
Yeah it is stage 1 but that will be as far as I am taking it as I don't have pockets deep enough to modify two cars! I get roughly 250ish to a 60 litre tank so not very good. 
I have so much love for this thread after owning a Saab and now a GT4. Where are you based? I am in Derbyshire if you should ever need a hand with anything.
Your GT4 is a similar spec to mine, ie everything including the dump valve, turbo and intake (although mine isn't straight!). Should be running similar power. What boost do you run?
I was also wondering where you had the swirl pot made up?
Your GT4 is a similar spec to mine, ie everything including the dump valve, turbo and intake (although mine isn't straight!). Should be running similar power. What boost do you run?
I was also wondering where you had the swirl pot made up?
Sent my wheel for a re-trim in alcantara with red stitching. Certainly freshens up the interior compared to the old shiny leather item. Think I will get the gear gaiter done the same.
Modified my shift to make it even shorter and installed a shift extension was a bit apprehensive at first but the shifts feel fantastic.
Lastly i used up one of the blanks on the dash and installed a red latch switch to switch between boost presets quickly.
Modified my shift to make it even shorter and installed a shift extension was a bit apprehensive at first but the shifts feel fantastic.
Lastly i used up one of the blanks on the dash and installed a red latch switch to switch between boost presets quickly.
Edited by BricktopST205 on Monday 5th October 11:33
The GT4 currently has a 3" downpipe and front pipe but is still connected to the OEM exhaust system which is 2.5" at best. Managed to score myself a Fujitsubo Legalis R 3" straight through system for a good price. Although it was in quite a state externally. Nothing a bit of elbow grease cannot sort. Just got the second section to do now!
When bought.
50/50
Hopefully get it on the car tomorrow and upload a chavy exhaust video to go with it! :P
When bought.
50/50
Hopefully get it on the car tomorrow and upload a chavy exhaust video to go with it! :P
A bit of Suzuki love recently. The Suzuki is the household workhorse and is driven near enough 365 days a year and doesn't get much love but is totally dependable. Missus one day driving home from work noticed a weird scraping sound and a loud exhaust. Being a woman she drove 10ish miles like that before stopping 1 mile from home only to find the back box had split and the mid pipe had been dragging along the floor so what would have been a simple back box replacement ended up needing a full system 
. Luckily a system came up for sale in a reasonable distance. Again a bit of elbow grease and a new 4" tip and it was ready to fit. M.O.T was coming up as well so I refurbished my dealer option 16's and stuck 4 new Dunlops on. New wheels fill the arches a hell of a lot better!
BEFORE
AFTER
. Luckily a system came up for sale in a reasonable distance. Again a bit of elbow grease and a new 4" tip and it was ready to fit. M.O.T was coming up as well so I refurbished my dealer option 16's and stuck 4 new Dunlops on. New wheels fill the arches a hell of a lot better!BEFORE
AFTER
Edited by BricktopST205 on Friday 15th September 14:20
BricktopST205 said:
The GT4 currently has a 3" downpipe and front pipe but is still connected to the OEM exhaust system which is 2.5" at best. Managed to score myself a Fujitsubo Legalis R 3" straight through system for a good price. Although it was in quite a state externally. Nothing a bit of elbow grease cannot sort. Just got the second section to do now!
When bought.
50/50
Hopefully get it on the car tomorrow and upload a chavy exhaust video to go with it! :P
I had a 3" Kakimoto exhaust on mine, used to set off car alarms, especially in multi-story car parks... chav central When bought.
50/50
Hopefully get it on the car tomorrow and upload a chavy exhaust video to go with it! :P
Massive update incomming. Missed most of the summer with the Celica as I had a mini resto on the rear end, new discs and pads all around plus refurbished calipers.
It all started by a siezed rear toe cam as I wanted to get the car alligned for the summer track day season and didn't want to ruin my AD08R's. Due to its positioning it was very difficult to get at with tools so decided to drop the rear subframe to make access a lot easier.
After giving it a quick hose down I wasn't really happy with its condition. It wasn't terrible but didn't look good. This is where the phrase going down the rabbit hole springs to mind.
First a bit of chemistry. Electrolysis to remove the rust from all the arms and subframe pieces, nuts and bolts.
Once that was all done the bushes that needed replacing were, and the arms and pieces painted up.
Then some more chemistry happened and decided to zinc plate my nuts and bolts. This required a lot of trial and error to get the voltage and amps correct. Also dipping the bolts first in hydrochloric acid first helped a lot. I went with a clear passivate in the end as thats how they would have been from the factory. I could have also done them in that yellow tinge but decided against it. Not perfect by all means but the bolts now at least have some protection on them.
Before and after with the rear toe adjustment cams which was my original objective!
Rear subframe was in good condition and just needed a flappy wheel and paint. Diff hanger bushes were shot however and replaced with poly.
After around 2 months managed to get everything back on the car and bolted up.
Now i could put my discs and pads on that I was originally going to do before. Went with carbotech XP10's and Mtec grooved discs but as I was in that restoration mood decided to refurbish my calipers while I was at it so stripped, new seals, pistons where needed and a lick of new paint in a OEMish colour.
Booked the car in for an M.O.T and four wheel alignment. No advisories which isn't bad for a car aproaching its 24th birthday.
Did at least manage one track day before the weather got worse and the car performed great. Had a split heater hose in the morning but a new piece of hose and some coolant and she was fine for the rest of the day. Was just one of those things that happens when you have an older car. Was mightily impressed with the XP10 pads. Being able to outbreak VX220's in a 1300KG car is just a testament to their quality.
Next job over the winter is to get my Tein Superstreets rebuilt as they are looking super scabby and will most likely be due a rebuild. Will be getting my wheels refubished in an easier colour as with the new pads the white wheels turn to a horrid grey quite quickly! Might even do Cadwell next month if we can find some decent weather!
It all started by a siezed rear toe cam as I wanted to get the car alligned for the summer track day season and didn't want to ruin my AD08R's. Due to its positioning it was very difficult to get at with tools so decided to drop the rear subframe to make access a lot easier.
After giving it a quick hose down I wasn't really happy with its condition. It wasn't terrible but didn't look good. This is where the phrase going down the rabbit hole springs to mind.
First a bit of chemistry. Electrolysis to remove the rust from all the arms and subframe pieces, nuts and bolts.
Once that was all done the bushes that needed replacing were, and the arms and pieces painted up.
Then some more chemistry happened and decided to zinc plate my nuts and bolts. This required a lot of trial and error to get the voltage and amps correct. Also dipping the bolts first in hydrochloric acid first helped a lot. I went with a clear passivate in the end as thats how they would have been from the factory. I could have also done them in that yellow tinge but decided against it. Not perfect by all means but the bolts now at least have some protection on them.
Before and after with the rear toe adjustment cams which was my original objective!
Rear subframe was in good condition and just needed a flappy wheel and paint. Diff hanger bushes were shot however and replaced with poly.
After around 2 months managed to get everything back on the car and bolted up.
Now i could put my discs and pads on that I was originally going to do before. Went with carbotech XP10's and Mtec grooved discs but as I was in that restoration mood decided to refurbish my calipers while I was at it so stripped, new seals, pistons where needed and a lick of new paint in a OEMish colour.
Booked the car in for an M.O.T and four wheel alignment. No advisories which isn't bad for a car aproaching its 24th birthday.
Did at least manage one track day before the weather got worse and the car performed great. Had a split heater hose in the morning but a new piece of hose and some coolant and she was fine for the rest of the day. Was just one of those things that happens when you have an older car. Was mightily impressed with the XP10 pads. Being able to outbreak VX220's in a 1300KG car is just a testament to their quality.
Next job over the winter is to get my Tein Superstreets rebuilt as they are looking super scabby and will most likely be due a rebuild. Will be getting my wheels refubished in an easier colour as with the new pads the white wheels turn to a horrid grey quite quickly! Might even do Cadwell next month if we can find some decent weather!
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