Celica GT4...worth buying???

[vodafonemcl]

im looking to replace my current car with something a bit more powerfull and certainly more fun. The Toyota Celica GT4 looks like a bargain, as to me it seems that you get quite a lot of car for your money, but is it worth me buying. They seem to have plenty of tuning potential, but what should i be looking out for when i go to buy, and what are the most common problems with them?

[magpie215]

which years/model

[Mastodon2]

Can't speak with regards to buying advice, but I will chip in to say from what I've read they are supposed to be great cars. You won't get Elise-style handling or feedback, and the engine is not as powerful as it's rallying contemporaries the Lancer Evolution or the Impreza, but the tuning potential is there if that's your thing. On the plus side, having less powr means you will be able to drive it harder when you are having a bit of a hoon and you won't catapult yourself into licence losing territory so quickly!

They also look and sound fantastic. I was out for a drive with my brother not an hour ago and passed a white GT4 sitting at the side of the road. If I was in a position to get insured on a turbo, 4WD Jap car, I'd say the Celica GT4 is a conniseurs choice, not as obvious as a Lancer or a Scoob, and by al accounts a joy to drive.

Buy one I say, love it and then lament the complete and utter mess Toyota made of the Celica in later years!

[Riknos]

Mastodon2 said:

they are not as powerful as it's rallying contemporaries the Lancer Evolution or the Impreza

That's a pretty bold statement! Depends on which Impreza you are comparing them too?

[RobCrezz]

Also worth mentioning is that the insurance on these is considerably less than the Evos/Imprezas in my experience.

[rb5230]

Watch out for the figure 8`s, ideally they want to have bee replaced as that can be very costly otherwise. Great cars after some minor mods.

[Mr E]

Mastodon2 said:

Can't speak with regards to buying advice, but I will chip in to say from what I've read they are supposed to be great cars.

I miss mine. If you have specific questions, shout - there are a few owners on here who can help.

Mastodon2 said:

You won't get Elise-style handling or feedback

Interestingly, I sold mine and bought an Elise.

[Mastodon2]

Riknos said:

That's a pretty bold statement! Depends on which Impreza you are comparing them too?

The most powerful production Celica GT4 ST205 was the Japanese market model, at 250bhp or so, and the export model was 240bhp or there abouts. More powerful than naturally aspirated Imprezas and some of the lower powered turbo models, but a iirc most WRXs and certainly STis were "276bhp" out of the factory but actually considerably more powerful.

However, the Celica is not an underpowered or slow car by any means, and as said, the tuning potential is there to make it even more powerful. I think if I had £5k to buy a car I'd take a Celica!

[mikey P 500]

Mastodon2 said:

The most powerful production Celica GT4 ST205 was the Japanese market model, at 250bhp or so, and the export model was 240bhp or there abouts. More powerful than naturally aspirated Imprezas and some of the lower powered turbo models, but a iirc most WRXs and certainly STis were "276bhp" out of the factory but actually considerably more powerful.

However, the Celica is not an underpowered or slow car by any means, and as said, the tuning potential is there to make it even more powerful. I think if I had £5k to buy a car I'd take a Celica!

To compare like for like you need to turn the boost up on a GT4, as Toyota went for reliability over performance but its thought to be safe to set it to about 1.1 or 1.2 bar which will give you 280 to 300bhp which is more comparable to evo’s and Impreza’s which run about this level of boost as stock.

[Mastodon2]

Now that I didn't know, thanks for telling.

A Celica is seeming more and more like a dream car to me. Unforunately, those damn insurers just don't want to let me near one! 22 years old, a few months off two years NCB and even after I've got my two years I bet they won't play ball for less than £2500 a year

[Riknos]

Mastodon2 said:

Now that I didn't know, thanks for telling.

A Celica is seeming more and more like a dream car to me. Unforunately, those damn insurers just don't want to let me near one! 22 years old, a few months off two years NCB and even after I've got my two years I bet they won't play ball for less than £2500 a year

This was 4 years ago now, but when I was 20 I had 2 years NCB and a fault claim, and all mods declared I insured through Sky TPFT for less than £1000. Might be worth speaking to them.

[Mr E]

17.5PSI is the limit of the stock fuel maps. Any more and you need a custom ECU or you risk detonation.

I ran with an induction kit, decat and Bliz NUR pipes for 4 years at 1.05bar (15psi) with no issues. Reckoned on about 260bhp and lots of traction.

[alwayzsidewayz]

Always gets me with these threads, everyone assumes the late model one is the only worth while GT4.

Always compared to the scoobies and evos yet the GT4 was on stage and on sale before either was a wet dream in a journos head.

The GT4s first rivals were the Delta integrale, the BMW M3, the Sierra Sapphire cosworth and the Mazda 323 turbo ( a great characterful car, again sadly overlooked ) both on stage and in the showroom.

The original GT4 can be a really fun drive for not a lot of cash, with an open rear diff, its very tail happy, sort out the too soft stock suspension, whack on a set of decent front brakes, a stiff rear ARB and up the power to about 250bhp on the stock ecu with simple bolt on mods and you have one hell of a fun car, much more raw and involving the a ST205, far more rare too and a real sleep in stock form, as no one has a clue that its 4wd and turbo charged.

Great value, decent ones go for 1 - 2k , avoid the rust pits though. compare that with prices for the 80s stuff I mentioned, find me a straight delta for 2k, or an saph cossie that wont live up to the name fix or repair daily for 2k. And as for E30 M3s, well, yeah..

So why be like the herd, the crowd the sheep and go for the grand kid 205, when grand dad 165 has still got some tricks and class.

[McGtfour]

I recentley had this dilema over which car to buy and the Celica won it for me. They are insurance Group 17 and even though mine is an import at 20 it is insurable @ £1500 no ncb, fully comp. When I was looking at Imprezas/Evo's insurance was a no no! The only other option was a 200sx which imo without styling tweaks look a bit bland!

Mine has been no trouble, had it 6 months, had to replace the 'Fig 8' joint which everyone raved about but tbh it wasn't that expensive to do!

They are a heavy old car mind in comparison to my brother STi Ver3 it feels bulky and not as rapid but you do get a mix of comfort and performance which from time to time is nice!

Mine is running an aftermarket mid/back box but is standard everywhere else and stil feels quick however the fuel consumption is horrendous :-( coming from its n/a engined Mr2 brother god its bad!

If insurance isn't an issue for around £5k I would personally buy an Evo as you seem to get more bang for buck out the box but my experience with a GT4 so far has been excellent!

[Riknos]

Mr E said:

17.5PSI is the limit of the stock fuel maps. Any more and you need a custom ECU or you risk detonation.

I ran with an induction kit, decat and Bliz NUR pipes for 4 years at 1.05bar (15psi) with no issues. Reckoned on about 260bhp and lots of traction.

In comparison, I was running with a induction kit, decat, custom exhaust system and boost set at 0.95 bar and it was running 293 bhp at Vixpy's RR. I was very pleased with that.

[Mr E]

Riknos said:

In comparison, I was running with a induction kit, decat, custom exhaust system and boost set at 0.95 bar and it was running 293 bhp at Vixpy's RR. I was very pleased with that.

I estimated 260 as conservative. It may have been higher. She went well enough to 100mph. Ran out of steam after that (suspect high drivetrain losses didn't help).

[Mastodon2]

Five minutes on a quote generator sees me with a price of £1800 fully comp with two year NCB, think I could bring it down a bit more with some named drivers and phone haggling. Only a few hundred pounds more per year a Peugeot 306 GTI and a lot more car for the money.

Toyota Celica: added to the "Cars I might buy" list!

[grumble]

ive just bought one after an rb30 skyline , cant match the nissan for grunt but round the twistys it will beat it hands down, mines induction decat better exhaust and ive just replaced brakes , i reckon it is about 300 bhp , its a 205, ive had a 185 a few years ago and apart from the body shape i cant see much difference in them, i love mine and its like going back to carting days really good handling.
i would recommend one to anybody oh and it more than keeps up with all the local scooberpoos and mixupbitsas,
if its wasnt for a faulty circlip;) it would of no doubt in my mind have been the best rally car ever

[D1 MAD]

Please excuse me dropping in on this thread but should anyone happen to be looking for a very nice, original lowish mileage UK 205, with and interesting history I should have one on the market in a few weeks if plans work out. Have a look in my garage profile. It's also the car featured in this top gear video; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm2txziUpGU

[vodafonemcl]

thanks for all the advise guys...all i have to do now is sell me tool box and put the dosh down to get one. If anyone knows of someone that is after a Toolbox, then mine is up for sale now, as Audi do not permit you to have your own toolbox in their workshops. Its been valued by MAC Tools, whom i bought it from, at £2300, with some slight damage...and all the proceeds will be going towards my next motor