BoostMe's 1975 Toyota Celica :D

[ChristopherJason]

Found these two pics today showing the current state of the car before tear down this week.


Taken at Driftober Fest by Nick Quigley


Taken Yesterday at IA by Chad Lunn

Cant wait for more pictures of progress !

[StanceswithWolves]

Great to see people bringing these back to life and getting them in good condition! Like the looks of it, wheels are real neat!

The recovering of dash and speaker shelf is different, I like it. However the seats are completely wrong, you should find something more suitable.

Where did you buy all your suspension parts? Are they available for the RA23 also?

My celica:

Wow, nice work. I love these old Celica's. BTW, they look great with the mirrors on the fenders.

[BoostMe]

Great to see people bringing these back to life and getting them in good condition! Like the looks of it, wheels are real neat!

The recovering of dash and speaker shelf is different, I like it. However the seats are completely wrong, you should find something more suitable.

Where did you buy all your suspension parts? Are they available for the RA23 also?

My celica:

The seats are modernized for comfort. They are just late model Celica seats. I've scouted some old school Recaros but they are hard to find. All o the suspension is Techno Toy Tuning. Every item they sell is on the car. It's fully converted to AE86.

As an update I started tearing down the car today. The motor will be completely out tomorrow. Starting mockup of the new engine. Here is a teaser of the AE86 rack on the SR.


And here are the new smiley bumpers I picked up

[ShadowWabbit]

you should really put in a toyota motor just to spite all the purists... but swap in a Prius motor.... There! its a toyota motor, happy!? lol

[ScottNicolas]

Was there much modification needed on suspension/brake etc. setup? So far I've only thought about buying the Celica parts they have, but would not mint at all a more complete setup w/adjustment.

Don't give up ur search on the Recaro's

Scott.

[BoostMe]

Was there much modification needed on suspension/brake etc. setup? So far I've only thought about buying the Celica parts they have, but would not mint at all a more complete setup w/adjustment.

Don't give up ur search on the Recaro's

Scott.

Pretty much everything in the front has to be converted to AE86. The camber plates are celica specific but you must run AE86 hubs and brakes to work with the coilovers. The rear 4-links and panhard just bolted right up. Honestly its a very expensive setup but well worth it.

[BoostMe]

So today was day 1 of tear down.

Go a ton accomplished. Here are some progress shots






This is where I stopped for today. Next step is a ton of cleaning. Decided frame down will be satin black and frame up will be base/clear white to match the outside of the car. Not sure yet how extensive I will go into shaving the bay. I want it smooth but do not want body filler. I have considered tubbing the front so Its cleaner looking. We will see.

....and what ever idiot made the exhaust one piece from header to muffler I could slap. Going to have to cut it in sections to remove.

[BoostMe]

Was only able to work on the Celica for about 2 hours today. Was able to remove the rear portion of the driveshaft, cut out all of the old exhaust, and do some cleaning on the engine bay.

Here is a progress shot from when I started to when I finished...



I am amazed in the condition of the factory white in the bay. Tomorrow I hope to get the AE86 crossmember and manual rack and pinion installed.

[BoostMe]

So today I started swapping the crossmember and steering rack. I was told that the AE86 crossmember bolts right up but after removing the stock I find this...



The bolt pattern is much farther apart. I will be having to modify it now. I can not really progress on the swap now until I get this done.

I did go ahead and arrange it in the bay where it will mount and sit the SR on it. Looks like it was meant to be!



You can see here how the brackets will need to be modified to fit on the crossmember. I may even just modify the crossmember to fit the SR.




That's all I can get done this weekend. Hopefully one day this week I will be picking up the new 8.8 rear end.

[BoostMe]

Well not really any updates. The AE86 crossmember ended up being too wide and I will have to have it modified along with several other things. This weekend I plan on getting the stock crossmember reinstalled so I can send the car to the fab shop next month. I decided to go ahead and have everything done at once buy the same guy so all I have to do is bolt up the new motor. Been lazy getting things done the past few weeks. I also need to tackle the wiring at some point!

[BoostMe]

Test fit some new wheels today. I am pretty sure I will purchase however it will put a hold on the new engine because they are a bit pricey. First time I have seen a set available in long time and I would **** to miss the opportunity. Thoughts?

Watanabe Magnesium RS-8. 16x8 +2 fronts and 16x8.5 +6 rear.

[jared1988]

What's harder to come by, the wheels or the engine?

[BoostMe]

What's harder to come by, the wheels or the engine?

I can get the engine anytime. Finding these wheels for sale in the correct size and offset MAYBE once every 5-10 years or worse!

[jared1988]

So you should probably get the wheels

[J954sho]

yes stoked on your work. another car rescued! keep it up. looks boss

anyone seen Wheeler Dealers that TV show? I feel like I just read an episode

You said it!!!