Ken Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 (edited) Well, this is gonna make Brian jealous, but I thought I would share anyway. I just bought myself a new project... Actually, two projects. Definitely not minty. I have been trying to replace my first car for about 5 years now. I have been searching high and low. About 2 months ago one of the guys here at work tells me about these two. I tried to call the shop they sit behind and get no response. He stops by last week and gets the 'I am going to restore it some day' reply. I figured that would be the reply. Surprisingly, he gets a call this morning. The owner says that he has too many projects already and would like to sell the celica. Unfortunately, it is a package deal. Both cars and all the parts he has collected. When my friend finds out the price he calls me immediately.... Get this... 500.00$ for both cars and a truckload of parts. I take possession on monday. My friend will let me store them at his shop. I have checked the cars out and the floorboards are good. The white car has a title, the brown car does not. That is okay as I plan to use the same plan the gentleman I bought them from had. The brown car will be a donor for the white car. I did a quick check and most of the parts missing on the white car are solid on the brown car. The dash pads are the only questionable item. Here are some more pics... I have to say, that I am giddy as a school girl. I can not wait to start on this one. Oh yeah, he also offered me a 20R motor with 25,000 miles on it for 250.00$ Edited March 31, 2009 by Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crispy Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 I remember seeing a few of those around when I was just a wee boy. I didn't think they were that great to look at. Now, I'm older, and even in the state those cars are in they look COOL! I'm happy for you and hope you'll show us pictures as you restore and finish. Congrats! Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJWood Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Good luck with your project Ken. Just don't use the Testors tube glue on it. And yes, post some wip pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kombi Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 (edited) Very cool project. I look forward to seeing your progress. I have to admit as well that as a child I wouldn't have been caught dead near one of these cars. But now there's just something about them, be it a quirkiness or something about how infrequently I see them anymore. At any rate, I always enjoy seeing them nicely restored (and improved). Edited May 9, 2008 by MkIII Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted May 9, 2008 Author Share Posted May 9, 2008 The plan right now is to get one up and running. modification will come later. There is a celica rotting away across the street from me. It has the 22R motor. I will have an extra 20R motor to mash it with if I can get the owner to let go of it. The 22R block with the 20R head is the way to go with these without doing a major engine swap. The wheels are already turning in my head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal.au Posted May 11, 2008 Share Posted May 11, 2008 Hi Ken I am going a bit of topic here but in the first pic there is a house No make that a mansion in the background, or is it something else like a hospital??? Good luck with the projects, are the dash pads cracked?? Mal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Mal, that is a brand new office building that they are building, but some of the houses in that neighborhood make it look small!!! Yes, the dash pads are cracked, but one only has a couple of cracks. The other one is wasted!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickr442 Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 (edited) Those were really popular in the Northwest, I havent seen one together in quite q while! And, looks like you got two sets of Chastain Shadow rear window shades... future collectibles! The interiors were a bit cramped and tacky when the cars were new, (to my taste), and the Mustang wannabe styling was not all that attractive to my eyes, but it's not a bad start... and with the hatchbacks it's easy to store parts! Hardest part of the project may be finding trim pieces, but Just Dashes in Van Nuys Ca. should be able to do the pads, may be able to help with other trim bits too. Good luck with them! Edited May 15, 2008 by rickr442 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 The dash pads are the only part of the interior that will need some help. Most of the other bits will just need some clean up. Nice thing about having the extra car is I have two of each to chose from Rick, I have been frequenting the classic-celica.com board lately and it is amazing how many of these there are up in the Portland/Seattle area. I know I don't see them really at all around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal.au Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 Hi Ken I have just finished a hobby course in car upholstery and the way I saw someone fix a dash pad with cracks in it was Fill the cracks with silicone and then they recover it with a vinyl, recovering it isn't that hard, cover the vinyl and dash pad with contact glue, wait till it isn't tacky and start sticking it down on the top part of the pad, when it comes to getting it to go round corners just break out the old hair dryer heat and form to the shape. I only saw it done I haven't done it but it didn't look to hard Mal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrObsessive Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 I remember when those were new when I was in high school, and always thought that was Japan's version of the Mustang! Right down to the roof vents. Good luck with your project Ken! You got a good deal on those two especially if one of them is rock solid. Here in PA, the dreaded tinworm claimed a lot of 'em so you've at least got a good foundation. And yes, please show us progress pics along the way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick F40 Posted May 17, 2008 Share Posted May 17, 2008 The plan right now is to get one up and running. modification will come later. There is a celica rotting away across the street from me. It has the 22R motor. I will have an extra 20R motor to mash it with if I can get the owner to let go of it. The 22R block with the 20R head is the way to go with these without doing a major engine swap. The wheels are already turning in my head. well well, very good thinking on the engines. My dad had a 74 Celica so I love these cars, I'm actually think about getting an 85 Celica, and maybe putting a 20 valve in it who knows,I wish those could be mine or I could find something like that around here. I love these body styles. hey is he willing to sell that 240/260? Z or that Civic or Corolla? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted May 19, 2008 Author Share Posted May 19, 2008 (edited) It is a 280Z, not a ZX!! I imagine that he would want a fair price for it. I looked at two 280Zs before I found this deal. Neither car ran, but both were all there. Price was just like this one, 500$ I have no idea if they are still for sale. Who knows, when I get done with my parts car, I imagine that it would make a great starting point for a project car. I spent a little time on saturday with the cars. Except for the lower rear quarters, the brown car is very solid. Almost a shame to use it for parts... of course the lack of a title makes up for that Transport is arranged for this week. Then I can tear out the interiors and decide what to do first... Oh yeah, they are not civics or corollas... they are Starlets, three to be exact! There are two blue ones way in the back of the pic. There is also a black 57 Ford, looks like a moonshiner's car. He has another 57 Ford stored inside as well. Edited May 19, 2008 by Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick F40 Posted May 19, 2008 Share Posted May 19, 2008 Oh yeah, they are not civics or corollas... they are Starlets, three to be exact! There are two blue ones way in the back of the pic. There is also a black 57 Ford, looks like a moonshiner's car. He has another 57 Ford stored inside as well. Yeah, I was gonna say that after studying them some more, but anyways, 3??? I love Starlets, you can do so much and so many people put 20 valves in them and they ran, I WANT ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Would I be able to give you the money, and you pick them up? I also love any 57 Ford, he willing to sell them to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 The landcruiser is for sale for 1000$, but it needs about 1500$ worth of work on it. No real updates as of yet. I pulled most of the front body panels off of the brown one to check for repairs. The driver's side fender was fine. The passenger's fender will need some rust repair on the bottom. I may just do what I can and look for a fender without all the rust. Bought a taillight to replace the one broken one... it was broken on both cars. Bought some fender vents, because all eight of mine were bad. I have bids in on hood to fender bumpers and stops, also bidding on some window regulator bushings. Bought a weber carb off of Ebay for 50.00$ Talking to the previous owner today and I tell him about the weber I bought(downdraft) and he says.... "Would you rather have a sidedraft? I have a sidedraft with linkage and manifold that I bought and never installed. They are still in the boxes up in the loft. I would be willing to sell them to you..." After picking my jaw off the floor, I asked how much would they run me... 200$ SOLD!!!! Then he pulls me aside and digs through one of his tool chests. He pulls out a TRD camshaft spec sheet. "I got this up there too if you are interested." "Yes, I am interested, but not right now" He says no worry, it is not going anywhere. I will have some pics eventually of the parts in primer. I will definitely post pics of the NOS weber carb and intake when I get them. Oh yeah, I did score this off of the Bay as well. Probably paid too much, but it was an impluse buy... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...y0%3D%26fvi%3D1 I have vacation from wednesday of this week to the monday after July 4th. Most of it will be spent re-roofing my house. Whatever I have left will be spent with the celica. Hopefully, I will get the gas tank re-installed and at least start her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modellpularn Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Cool cars, and you scored some good stuff! It's good that you have two of each, to get the best parts and build one really nice car. Is it possible to ditch the big bumpers?? Rework them to make them slimmer would make a lot for the looks! Good luck on your project..... Now I have to get down in my garage and jack up the El Camino. Need to change the trans fluid and filter, messy job I guess..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eshaver Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Cool cars, and you scored some good stuff! It's good that you have two of each, to get the best parts and build one really nice car. Is it possible to ditch the big bumpers?? Rework them to make them slimmer would make a lot for the looks! Good luck on your project..... Now I have to get down in my garage and jack up the El Camino. Need to change the trans fluid and filter, messy job I guess..... Ken I don't know if this company still exists but I recall an ad in Hemmings Motor News called Just dashes. They did domestic cars but seems to me they could do asian cars too. Also Action Crash Parts here in the Richmond Virginia area could help you with some of your needs too I dont have their phone handy but I do know they send pretty much any thing anywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 Ken I don't know if this company still exists but I recall an ad in Hemmings Motor News called Just dashes. Yeah, I know about just dashes, rebuild will cost about 500$ so it will wait a bit. The white one has a dash cap right now, so that will have to do. Here are some pics of the carb and intake. I keep pulling it out of the box to stare at it and make vroom, vroom noises Reroofing in the house right now, so the car will have to wait Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 Is it possible to ditch the big bumpers?? Rework them to make them slimmer would make a lot for the looks! The japanese market celicas came with bumpers just like you describe. In the celica community, they are called "Smiley" bumpers. Unfortunately, they cost quite a bit to import. Decent ones go for over 500$ Really good ones go for twice that I am gonna look for a 71-74 celica in a junkyard as those have the 'smiley' bumpers and they will fit mine with a bit of modification. I am hoping I can find a pair for a hundred bucks or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modellpularn Posted June 27, 2008 Share Posted June 27, 2008 The japanese market celicas came with bumpers just like you describe. In the celica community, they are called "Smiley" bumpers. Unfortunately, they cost quite a bit to import. Decent ones go for over 500$ Really good ones go for twice that I am gonna look for a 71-74 celica in a junkyard as those have the 'smiley' bumpers and they will fit mine with a bit of modification. I am hoping I can find a pair for a hundred bucks or so. Good luck on your bumper hunt! The car will look much better.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted July 9, 2008 Author Share Posted July 9, 2008 Even with ten days off I did not get much done to the cars. I did get half my house re-roofed. That is a story in itself... I never knew a roof could support soooo many shingles The final day of my vacation the wife let me go play with the cars. I got the old intake off and started fitting the new intake and sidedraft. I have a couple more pieces to fabricate, but it will go on without really much hassle. I ripped out the carpet in the front and got a good look at the floorboards. Everything looks great there as well. I got some junkyard seats from a wrecked 91 celica and started to fit them. It will take a lot of fabrication, but they will work as well. Basically, I need to figure out how to fit the seat rails from the stock seats to the 91 celica seats. Otherwise they sit way too high. None the less, I did climb in and test them out... complete with sound effects and everything. Next on the list is new shocks and struts along with brake rebuilds. The gas tank looks pretty good, but I may still have it cleaned at a radiator shop just to be safe. The radiator itself looks to be in decent shape. When I removed the intake manifold, the car puked nice bright green fluid every where. I already know that the engine turns over fine. A month or so ago, we hooked jumper cables up to it and turned her over a couple of times. All the dash lights came on as well. I will need a new intake gasket when I get to that point. Still haven't found better bumpers, but I haven't really looked either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick F40 Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 she puked everywhere! oh and....PICS!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jairus Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 (edited) I am loving this project! Just like a model only ... useful when done! I can remember three of these cars from my past.. one owned by a room mate in college but that is another story. This short story is about a young girl who attended my church and she was about 17 at the time of the event. Lisa is her name and she was very cute. Her family was and still are close friends and she eventually married a good friend and moved to Cali. Anyway, she drove one of these Celicas for a couple of years after getting her license. It was bright orange/red, with aluminum 5-hole wheels and the rear window slats. One warm summer day, I don't exactly remember the year.. must have been 79 - 80 - or 81. Lisa was exiting Lancaster Mall and was accosted by two hispanic dudes who spoke no english but threatened her with a knife for her car keys. Since the Celica had a clutch.... and neither knew how to drive a clutch... they ended up forcing her to drive them to the coast. For over an hour she took them from Salem Oregon to Lincoln City and then turned south for about 20 min's with a knife pointed at her ribs. True story! At some point they turned up a smaller road off Hwy 101... and then off that side road to a little dirt logging road where they forced her to drive about a 1/4 mile. Lisa told me that she was pretty sure she wouldn't get out of this and was thinking about running as soon as the car stopped. The guys told her to stop and then they got out, tossed the keys into the bushes and walked up the road leaving her sitting there. ( I suspect she had been crying but then she's a pretty tough kid...) Anyway, after searching the bushes for an hour Lisa managed to find the keys... back down the logging road without getting stuck and drove to the nearest pay-phone where she called the police and her parents. The Police found a pretty large pot grove up that logging road but as far as I know never found the two dudes. Lisa is cool now has three kids and has been married since 1984... or so... I don't remember exactly. It is still fun to listen to her tell the story because she laughs now and is not really afraid of anything anymore. I guess life can be like that. Anyway, Lisa and Doug sold the car shortly after getting married and they come and visit her folks a couple times a year so we keep in touch. Ciao! Edited July 9, 2008 by Jairus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted July 10, 2008 Author Share Posted July 10, 2008 Okay, here are some pics from this evening. I stopped by real quick to grab one of the seats to play with. Here she is with the 'new' front sheetmetal hung. I need to do some fitting work, but at least she looks like a car again. Here are the floorboards minus carpet, I still have to try and get that factory undercoat off. Don't worry the 'rust' colored stuff in the second pic is actually dirt and insulation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick F40 Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Niiiice I like the patina colored "new" panals this looks like it's coming along and the interior..well....looks fun! Where do you have these stored? Hey hows the finding me one going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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