Toyota Celica GT-Four + Saab 9-5 Aero daily.
Discussion
danllama said:
Great thread! Your gt4 looks suspiciously like one that belonged to a guy I bought a grey mr2 turbo off 4 years ago! His house and drive way was very similar too. Are you him?
I bought the car from a guy in Western Super Mare nearly 6 years ago. He had a history of MR2's and Celicas. I have never owned an MR2 although that might change as I fancy a convertible/T-Top for next summer.kaveney said:
With regards to the Carbotech XP10 units what are your thoughts on them as I was looking at them or the XP9 units to upgrade from the yellow stuff I have on the MR2 next year .
Initially I was sceptical as they had proper racecar squeal and the car is still a weekend car with full interior so wanted some normality. The track day soon sorted that out though and they are fine now. The pads are in a different league to yellowstuff which in my opinion are a great fast road pad but soon fade on track. My friend has them on his MX5 and they fade after around 5-6 laps. Cannot imagine what they must be like on a more heavy car.Edited by BricktopST205 on Thursday 18th October 19:08
BricktopST205 said:
danllama said:
Great thread! Your gt4 looks suspiciously like one that belonged to a guy I bought a grey mr2 turbo off 4 years ago! His house and drive way was very similar too. Are you him?
I bought the car from a guy in Western Super Mare nearly 6 years ago. He had a history of MR2's and Celicas. I have never owned an MR2 although that might change as I fancy a convertible/T-Top for next summer.Edited by BricktopST205 on Thursday 18th October 19:08
Genuine Sachs clutch and gearbox change/new seals on the Saab 9-5. Also polybushed the front anti roll bar while it was out. A job i do not want to be doing again in a while that is for sure. Garage was a mess but at least the engine bay is squeaky clean and oil free. The bonus is I now have a very smooth reverse gear now and no more popping out of 5th!
Garage nice and clean now but a boot full of waste for the tip!
Only problem I have now is my radio is asking for a code. Guess i need to find someone local with Tech II!
Hopefully Saab is not going to give me grief for a while as I think I have had every "common" fault now. Lovely snapped exhaust manifold studs. A weekend, 90 degree drill chuck, some easy outs and a bucket load of tea! 4 out of 7 studs were snapped! All better now and my boost leak is now gone and car is pulling strong again. Now to get the car booked in for a noobtune.
Car is driving great now. As it has a new clutch and the radio needs a recode a short trip to Noobtune was needed. Car now has a radio again and 275BHP 420NM now
Garage nice and clean now but a boot full of waste for the tip!
Only problem I have now is my radio is asking for a code. Guess i need to find someone local with Tech II!
Hopefully Saab is not going to give me grief for a while as I think I have had every "common" fault now. Lovely snapped exhaust manifold studs. A weekend, 90 degree drill chuck, some easy outs and a bucket load of tea! 4 out of 7 studs were snapped! All better now and my boost leak is now gone and car is pulling strong again. Now to get the car booked in for a noobtune.
Car is driving great now. As it has a new clutch and the radio needs a recode a short trip to Noobtune was needed. Car now has a radio again and 275BHP 420NM now
Also have new silicone coolant hoses as one of my old ones burst on a track day so better just to replace them all. Still need to get those fitted. Also treated myself to a birthday treat and had my wheels refurbished. Whilst white was nice once clean with the carbotech's was a pita to keep clean. Now done in light gunmetal. Just waiting for the caps to be machined as they were chipped and need a lot of work. but cannot wait to get them on the car.
Good work keeping them both up to scratch! I love those volks, but they give me a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth - bought a set off a guy locally, 16", staggered, perfect for my MR2. Only thing was, he advertised them as 5x114.3, and when I got them home and went to try them out, turnt out they were 5x100! I didn't even think they might be anything but 5x114, as they're most common in that fitment. I thought maybe it was an honest mistake but I told the guy and he agreed to meet me for a refund, then blocked my number. t
t. Well you live and learn, but to this day I still keep an eye out for him
t. Well you live and learn, but to this day I still keep an eye out for him I guess because of lockdown. Now is the perfect time to sort out my "lockdown" charging setup.
Been meaning to do this for a while. Plug and play charging setup for my car when it is in the garage. No more messing about with crocodile clips and opening bonnets. Hid the connector behind the number plate.
Been meaning to do this for a while. Plug and play charging setup for my car when it is in the garage. No more messing about with crocodile clips and opening bonnets. Hid the connector behind the number plate.
Few updates to the fleet.
Ignis has had its wheels refurbished for a second time. Now also Mot'ed for the next year. Cars reliability over the past 7 years has been fantastic. Has costed peanuts to run.
Saab is also having a little bit spent on it. New DIC as the old one has a crack in it so will start to fail before too long. I also replaced the PCV system as I was getting blue smoke on a cold start. Initially thought valve stem seals but after testing they are fine. At least now I don't have a massive blue smoke screen on a cold start in the morning.
https://youtu.be/VZ_cOc1aqFE
Also after my greasy prints everywhere treated the engine bay a decent wash and dressing. Scrubs up not to bad for coming on 17 years old.
Big updates coming soon as I have a load of polybushes and new dampers coming to refresh the Saabs suspension. Also the GT-Four is currently going through a refit for a front mount but I have torn a muscle in a my back so will have to wait for now
.
Ignis has had its wheels refurbished for a second time. Now also Mot'ed for the next year. Cars reliability over the past 7 years has been fantastic. Has costed peanuts to run.
Saab is also having a little bit spent on it. New DIC as the old one has a crack in it so will start to fail before too long. I also replaced the PCV system as I was getting blue smoke on a cold start. Initially thought valve stem seals but after testing they are fine. At least now I don't have a massive blue smoke screen on a cold start in the morning.
https://youtu.be/VZ_cOc1aqFE
Also after my greasy prints everywhere treated the engine bay a decent wash and dressing. Scrubs up not to bad for coming on 17 years old.
Big updates coming soon as I have a load of polybushes and new dampers coming to refresh the Saabs suspension. Also the GT-Four is currently going through a refit for a front mount but I have torn a muscle in a my back so will have to wait for now
.Edited by BricktopST205 on Monday 5th October 11:50
Treated the Saab to a mid life suspension refresh (153k on what looks like original). New Aero Sachs dampers, poly rear trailing arms, new top mounts/bearings and polys for the front wishbones.
Only managed to get the rear done today as I had to fight a rusty top nut on one damper. Just got back from a little b road blast and the car is immeasurably more planted on the road now and that is just with the rears done! Hopefully get the front end done tomorrow. Front shocks will be easy but not looking forward to doing the front arms.
I am not aiming for knife edge handling but before it was a bit sketchy at speed. Especially on a windy day.
Only managed to get the rear done today as I had to fight a rusty top nut on one damper. Just got back from a little b road blast and the car is immeasurably more planted on the road now and that is just with the rears done! Hopefully get the front end done tomorrow. Front shocks will be easy but not looking forward to doing the front arms.
I am not aiming for knife edge handling but before it was a bit sketchy at speed. Especially on a windy day.
So come November whilst overtaking an Audi A7 I managed to blow the engine. Piston number 4 bit the dust. Big shout out to Doncaster Saab Repairs who put a refurbished bottom end in with a new genuine chain kit. Unfortunately that didn't last long as come M.O.T in Feb it failed on rear arch rust which is a lot worse than I thought it was. Just about finished one side. Just need to paint it up but is a very labourious process welding it all up but I did it all myself so only cost me £80 in material.
All done and sealed up. Once dried will apply stone chip and paint. Out of picture but also had to weld up the dog legs by the rear doors and also around the fuel filler neck. Drain was blocked so it ended up trapping water. I am hoping the passenger side will fair a little better
. Very strange however as the rest of the car especially the front end is basically rust free but this seems to be a common problem area with 9-5's.
All done and sealed up. Once dried will apply stone chip and paint. Out of picture but also had to weld up the dog legs by the rear doors and also around the fuel filler neck. Drain was blocked so it ended up trapping water. I am hoping the passenger side will fair a little better
. Very strange however as the rest of the car especially the front end is basically rust free but this seems to be a common problem area with 9-5's.Saab still going on strong but have had some time to tinker with the Four. Gone is the chargecooler and in is a front mount. What a Faff that was. New custom gearbox and power steering cooler to fit the front mount without cutting. Also had to weld up an intake pipe to fit all the breathers. Have gone with a Ramair Proram air filter. It is certainly big enough. Will make a box for it at a later date but is fed by a cold air feed in the wing.
Just waiting for a couple of mikalor clips for the hot side and then I can try it out! I also need to readjust the pre-load on the wastegate as it is chattering since clocking the turbo. That is going to be fun!
Just waiting for a couple of mikalor clips for the hot side and then I can try it out! I also need to readjust the pre-load on the wastegate as it is chattering since clocking the turbo. That is going to be fun!
Edited by BricktopST205 on Thursday 25th November 09:15
Wow this is an awesome thread to pop up this morning! Enjoyed reading it. I owned a red ST205 for 4 years (sold it back in 2018 to a guy that flew from Ireland for it!) and it was a great car, did a road trip down to Lake Como in it as well as the NC500. Looks like you are very hands on and can do a lot of work on it which no doubt saves a fortune in labour costs as these are road going rally cars and do need fettling.
Mine was pretty standard running at a dyno tested 280bhp with standard turbo etc. only had a decat and 3" exhaust. But was full leather interior with all the options that came with the car original. I sold mine before the dreaded super strut started creaking. I did mostly cosmetic stuff to mine keeping it pretty standard mechanically.
I did feel the car was a little heavy, what have you done in terms of weight reduction for your track days? I had ABS on mine which worked pretty well btw.
Anyway some red ST205 porn just because, well, its Celica...
Mine was pretty standard running at a dyno tested 280bhp with standard turbo etc. only had a decat and 3" exhaust. But was full leather interior with all the options that came with the car original. I sold mine before the dreaded super strut started creaking. I did mostly cosmetic stuff to mine keeping it pretty standard mechanically.
I did feel the car was a little heavy, what have you done in terms of weight reduction for your track days? I had ABS on mine which worked pretty well btw.
Anyway some red ST205 porn just because, well, its Celica...
I wouldn't say mine feels that heavy although it was what I would call the "superleggera spec". No Sunroof, No Abs, No airbags. Was 1350 on a weight bridge. All I have done is ditch the chargecooling now, removed spare wheel, lightweight rays alloys and relocated battery to boot. I also stripped out all the rather heavy amps and things from the interior and simplified the stereo.
I have thought about going the "clubsport" route and removing the rear seats, half cage, fibreglass wings etc but that is at the bottom of a long list. I am sure you could get these to 1300KG's without sacrificing too much. With a built block and mapping that would see close to 300BHP/Tonne.
Superstrut is a non issue now as there is a Russian lad who rebuilds them professionally for a decent price. Only problem is he has a huge waiting list.
I have thought about going the "clubsport" route and removing the rear seats, half cage, fibreglass wings etc but that is at the bottom of a long list. I am sure you could get these to 1300KG's without sacrificing too much. With a built block and mapping that would see close to 300BHP/Tonne.
Superstrut is a non issue now as there is a Russian lad who rebuilds them professionally for a decent price. Only problem is he has a huge waiting list.
Edited by BricktopST205 on Thursday 25th November 11:27
Ah yes I remember the Russian solution! I think he was just starting up when I sold mine. From memory if replacing SS in full with Toyota parts was circa £1500. I did take the back seats out of mine to replace the rear speakers (what a job that was!) and they do weigh in at a fair heft. Might be worth considering?
Not sure where you located, but there is a chap called Barry who works out of his own business down in Emsworth who a few years ago built a rocketship ST205 fabricating a lot of parts himself. If you wanted to go even more track orientated he would be able to help out. Its called South Coast Workshop I believe from memory.
Not sure where you located, but there is a chap called Barry who works out of his own business down in Emsworth who a few years ago built a rocketship ST205 fabricating a lot of parts himself. If you wanted to go even more track orientated he would be able to help out. Its called South Coast Workshop I believe from memory.
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