Squids Celica RA23 Restoration and Conversion.

[Squid]

Well seeing all the CCG guys before summernats has inspired me so I am about to undertake on a project car. I thought I would documents as much as possible from start to finish, so here goes.

Background:

2000, A mate purchased an old school Celica for an absoloute bargain ($300 if i recall. Upon getting it home his parents refused to let him fix it up, so it got driven to his farm out the back of captains flat, we had a bit of fun tearing up the paddocks etc, then tarped it up and left it. It's condition was fair, heaps of surface rust, but nothing major, engine was rough and exhaust leaky (untill we cut it off :P) but she went all right.

Sometime 2003 Mate took it out for a spin suprising still working and in not much worse condition than when we left it, he cannot remember if he tarped it or not :rolleyes:



The Plan : Drive to the farm this weekend, recover the car, bring it back to my place and fix it up, put a different engine in it and replace the corolla as my daily.

I can't even remember which model celica it was (could be an ra28, but I'm not confident) so I will have to wait till it is in my hot little hands to decide on engine. My hopes are to use the 1GGTE as that seems to be realtively simple for my first attempt at a conversion.

Goals:

To perform an engine conversion, doing as much work as possible myself.
Restore the car to a nice condition, perhaps a bit of a head turner.
Learn a bit more about mechanics.
Have fun.
Get a nice car out of it in the end.
Document as much as possible (starting with recovery this weekend), hopefully writing a decent tech article about it.

[HAVABEER]

sounds like a good plan. be sure to include many before during and after pics.....invest in a manual aswell will prob become your best friend. how much money are you willing to spend on the project?

[ace]

sounds sweet
glad to see another celica will be restored to its original glory

[ndgcpr]

great idea mate. Its always fun to have a go. I built my z10 soarer with a 1G-GTE (which is pratically the exact same as the celica XX or something, (ie. if it has a 1G-GE motor in it, its fairly easy in a conversion sense).

Dunno if it will help but check it out, not sure if there is any hints or anything but it may help to read.

GZ10 TT conversion (http://forums.toymods.org.au/index.php?t=msg&th=73011&prevloaded=1&rid=&S=464d4112849c5270b888e79b633c70c6&rev=&reveal=&start=0&count=60)

[Squid]

HAVABEER I plan on taking an extrordinary amout of photo's and bugging you all with them!

Budget - well I am hoping 10k, but realistically expect up to 15... Depends how much i can get done at mates rates or do myself.

ndgcpr - already read that a few times, will no doubt refer back it it from time to time. As I said I can't be sure what engine cos im not sure what the car is!

[ndgcpr]

as far as i know only the top notch celica's had 1G-GE motor in em, i would put my money on it only having a 4cyl, but i could be wrong.

[tricky]

It's a first gen, so it won't have a G in it.

Good project! It'll be good to see another schmick first gen celica gracing the streets of Canberra once more!!

[EldarO]

it will contain either the 18r - ra28, 23 etc.
or
the 2t - ta22, 23.

depends how old skool you go i guess

second gens will mostly have the r series engines i think? ra40, 65 etc.

Eldar.O.

[Squid]

It doesn't have a 1g in it yet - but it (probably) will at some stage.

I'm about to head out the the farm to pick it up, I hope it is in good nick, well time will tell - i'll take lots of piccies etc and post tonight!

[Stefan]

as far as i know only the top notch celica's had 1G-GE motor in em, i would put my money on it only having a 4cyl, but i could be wrong.

No Celica had a 6cyl from the facory.

The JDM GA6xs had G-series engines are were called "Celica XX"s, and the ADM MA6x's were called "Celica Supras", which may be the confusion here. But these are Supras. If Squid thinks the car may be an RA28, then likely to be an xA2x of some sort, and unlikely that it's an xA6x.

[Squid]

Well I just picked up the car, turns out it is an RA23 - which from a 1ggte point of view is good news! Looks pretty good, no major rust which was a pleasant suprise, the bonnet has severe surface rust, but nothing a good sand wont fix. There are a few panels that aren't as straight as I would like, but can be recovered. Interior is even pretty tidy, and can probably be saved without too much done!

[brett_celicacoupe]

second gens will mostly have the r series engines i think? ra40, 65 etc.

Eldar.O.


RA40's and RA45 (GT's) are second gen. the RA60/SA63 and RA65's are in the third gen.



good to hear the car is all good. and it sounds like a 1g-gte is the go. great engine in my opinion and easy enough to put in. also means you'll be able to use corona strut/hilux callipers/ peugot rotors up front without too much trouble.

$10 - 15K should see you have a beautiful car by the end.

if your gunna fit a different engine, id probly do that sort of stuff before you get it painted. same with modding the panels, ie. flares etc.
im kicking myself i didnt flare my guards before i painted the car:(

good luck

brett

[Squid]

Brett The plan goes:


Find Engine
Fit Engine, Intecooler etc
Acquire/Build and fit Exhaust
Upgrade Brakes, Front and Rear (and master cyl)
Replace steering rack (it is bent)
Add Surge Tank, and upgrade Fuel Lines
Remove all of the above.
Straighten and paint car
rebuild engine (and turbos)
get straight painted shell back.
Assemble
Work on interior (will prolly get someone to do this part)
engineers Cert + Rego

[brett_celicacoupe]

you sure its got a steering rack?!

or do you mean the drag link?

[Squid]

you sure its got a steering rack?!

or do you mean the drag link?

No, and maybe!

What ever it is, the wheels have about 15 degree toe out :rolleyes: so I'm guessing something needs to be replaced!

[74gt]

So when do I get to come around and take a look :D

[Squid]

74gt - you know where I live, just knock on the door when you see both celicas and corolla are home. If you want to come over and help do some work you would be welcome to ;)

[brett_celicacoupe]

pics of the car??

[Squid]

I got a panel beater to inspect the car last night, his advice was to walk away. He said it could be fixed, but there is a lot of work in it, and it would be costing lots!! So I now have to find a straight one. There is lots of good trim etc on this one so I will strip it down before dumping it.

PS if anyone wants anything in particular off it let me know.

[ace]

is it possible for you to take pics of the trim, bumpers, interior so we can see what we'd like?
ace