You wanna know how I tracked mine down? I added a boost gauge line to the compressor housing outlet on a T and sent it to my other TRD gauge [Yes I have two cause I'm TRD like that ] and piped the other from the end of the intake manifold. Then I observed the two and noticed I was getting 2psi less on the IM gauge. So I moved the Turbo one up the piping at various spots until the two gauges read true to each other then I knew the leak was between what was left of the piping and the end of the IM. Found it about 5mins after that. Worked like a charm

that's a great way to find vac leaks. luckily we could hear it hissing near the intake manifold so it wasn't too hard to track down

oh btw on the ST205 brakes for your ST202 in the rear ... Joe & i read lubu's project thread & it looks like depending on the size + offset of your rims you may not need a spacer in the rear.
it's really amazing how much the ST202 suspension/brake setup is almost identical looking to my Camry, after seeing all of lubu's pics.

>

>

I found two links for the st185 conversion, one here and one here.

But the st185 conversion is not the same as the st204's, the spacers DEATH and I was talking abt is not for the rims but for the caplipers to align themselves to center with the rotors.
For the fronts I have yet to measure the amount needed to trim but the diameter would need to be trimmed down to 300mm, at least.

Before commenncing this mod I heard many stories abt how hard this is gonna be and that its not worth it, but with abit of research I found this conversion very straight forward.
Whats needed in this conversion are accurate measurements, thats it.

>

i'm well aware the ST185 conversion is completely different than any ST20x ... i find it interesting just how different it is after doing it on our ST185.
i also find it interesting how similar a ST204 is to my Camry, that's all.
i'm only trying to help by giving a guideline of what we personally did on our ST185 since Death asked.

joe & i studied the 2 links you posted before we even got our 205 brakes and while they offer a semi-decent guidline there are many things that we did way differently.

as far as trimming the rotors to less than 300mm, just watch out for the calipers/pads - they may start hanging off the rotor and you won't get the same clamping force.

i heard the same stories regarding ST205 brakes onto a ST185 and that they weighed so much & it wasn't worth the effort etc. etc.
it's been well worth it already and the brakes will be able to handle the amount of hp the car will be putting out.

This post has been edited by darthripley: Jul 26, 2008 - 3:16 AM

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Actually the caplipers are much lighter than the stock's, but the rotors are bigger therefore heavier. So in a sense the weights cancel each other out.

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Thats what I was thinking too.

This post has been edited by lubu: Jul 26, 2008 - 4:18 AM

Blingy chromy type stuff seemed to be the order of the weekend [Which is strange because unlike my racoon-like friends - chrome holds no fascination for me - in fact in most cases I just find it to be a heavy metal coating better suited to show cars then race cars. Be that as it may...]

I have, for the last week been spending every spare moment [about 12hrs total] polishing my spare Turbo Heatshield. Let me tell you, this was an enormous task that ate up a tn of time, elbow grease and about $30 in dremil bits/supplies etc. Also I got a wild hair up you know where and decided to install the heatshield that came with my Apex'I intake filter/adapter and it too was chrome [Quite the worthless device I'm sure but I guess it helps balance out the look of the engine bay a bit]:

Checking fitment on STB and accessability of fluid level reservoirs, TB clearance, etc. [Also here you can see where I was fitting up extra bracing for the STB mounting points - I need to take a current pic so you guys can see how that wored out - very nicely BTW]

Made a killer difference [I need to get pics with that thing finished, ground smooth and painted right]. BTW - It looks crooked in the top two pics cause it wasn't attached on the DS side correctly yet - it does not look crooked anymore [Anybody else notice the stock 3 point is not symetrical?]

This post has been edited by DEATH: Aug 11, 2008 - 3:37 PM

STB looks good!
the heat shield will turn gold like ours, it was chromey at one time - all the heat from the exhaust manifold turns the polished chrome to gold.

are you gonna get a ST205 front bumper someday? that would look SO nice!

This post has been edited by darthripley: Aug 11, 2008 - 4:27 PM

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I thought about that but I just used various grades of sandpaper to remove the factory coating [Whatever that stuff is it's tough!] and then slowly worked my way throught the dremil sanding, to polishing and finally a little wet sanding with 1200grit wet/dry paper - those pictures do it no justice whatsoever - it looks mirror polished in person.
You still think it's gonna turn yellow? Damnit I hope not - I'll keep taking it off and sanding it down then

This post has been edited by DEATH: Aug 11, 2008 - 4:29 PM

can someone sum up this thread in a single post plz

are those splitters i see??!?

i just fixed me a pair of the TRD splitters for my vert:D

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Yes, he has front and rear splitters.

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WTF does that mean?

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Yep - not 100% fitted yet but getting there. Gonna need a respray on all the front's new components sometime next year probably.
Sweet on the vert with TRD splitters - was the fitting much work? Or are we talking fronts only?

This post has been edited by DEATH: Aug 11, 2008 - 5:10 PM

You can probably use metal polish (maybe even Brasso, but that's a maybe) on that heat shield to remove the gold patina if one develops. There's this really excellent metal polish called Simichrome - it'll probably do the trick VERY nicely and help maintain the high mirror polish you've achieved. Use a soft cotton cloth with it, applying in a circular motion, and then buff it out with a soft cotton cloth as well. Amazing results.

well i know you he has the rear as those went/ were riveted permenantly on the car when he took delivery of it
I just cant tell if they are the TRD as well///

i had front on it but they were damaged back then....glad you found a new set too
i only have fronts right now, waiting to find the curren rear splitters, cant find a dam set!!!!
as for fitting they fit VERY well, where the two main bolts go at the bottom of the fenders, you need to bend the tabs to adjust fitment, on my vert i bent the rear tab down and the front tab up, this left them fitting very well and tight against the body of the car (very sturdy) I guarantee they wont fly off this time

If you want to drive down here some day when you get all your parts ill be happy to spray them NHBP for you
and we can have a 6gc mini meet

>

we did the same thing you did, even went up to 1500 & 2000 grit sandpaper to get it nice & mirrored & then polished it with some blue polish stuff.
it turned gold from the heat in a month or 2 iirc.

griffgirl is right, the gold patina will polish off.
i may have to try that simichrome stuff - i've heard of it before but never used it.
i'm just too lazy to take it off & polish it back to chrome

Well that and the enormous bolt in my DS front tire just took the wind out of my sails Oh well - I'll keep polishing it everytime I get sick of the yellow

>
Mine is still perfectly chrome - I wonder if it has something to do with deposits left by that polish you were using? Maybe mine just hasn't had enough time yet?

Anyway, latest upgrades have been pretty simple - nothing engine related.
1 - WRC Hood Spoiler [Had to get now cause it was already factory black and in good shape]
2 - 3 Spoke Steering Wheel [Nice - Thanks Zero]
3 - Toyota Hyper Sports Floor mats [Nice - thanks Ripley and Joe ]
4 - Custom Front Strut Tower Brace [Still needs some grinding, sandblasting and then paint - I'll get off my ass and finish soon]
5 - Finished interior restoration except:

Next up:
- Buying some SS-III Seats - the black ones with the red splash.
- Will be getting shift bag and ebrake bag to match [Black with red stitching]
- Front Suspension revamp starts sometime next month including: Sway Bar mounts and End Links, Upper Strut Mounts and bumpstops
- Tires!!!! YokoHama Parada Spec II's in 225-35R17
- Fuel components: Got New Fuel Filter already, Gonna Get my spare injectors cleaned and swap out possibly upgrade the fuel rail if my buddy will sell his to me

Still future plans:
-Projectors
-Rims
-Paint Job [just a refresh/Paint the Hood and Splitters and buttloads of Clear Coat]

This post has been edited by DEATH: Aug 28, 2008 - 6:19 PM

death, have i ever told you about how i secretly covet your car i want to eat off the engine its so clean! and i also want run away with it back to charlotte? do i haver permission? lol (dont tell the ninja)

you are the man! excellent job! and i will get at you soon about the stb!

This post has been edited by easternpiro1: Sep 5, 2008 - 12:59 AM

LOL - Tell you what bro - you get yourself down here with TMNT2 and race me [At the track of course] and the winner can eat from the losers engine bay [Which is gonna be you most likely eating from my 2nd gen's engine cause IDK if I can hold up to 4th Gen power]
Here's how she sits ATM except I'm currently filling the last few imperfections on the new STB and will be painting tomorrow and reinstalling:


^^^Love that pic^^^

This post has been edited by DEATH: Sep 5, 2008 - 9:56 AM

lookin good man!
liking the engine bay.
are the pipes painted or coated?
(sorry to lazy to read thru to find out, and am at work..lol)

No problem. They were coated before a different color so that's underneath a few different layers of color. I was gonna sandblast them at my job but then I'd loose that coating too so I just sanded them smooth and put another layer on top to retain the original coating.
Thanks for the compliments I have spent ungodly amounts of the last 8mos of my life removing, cleaning or replacing almost everything that needed it under the hood and several other large zones on the car. i'm trying to be systematic about it too - I'll buy everything I need for one area and then tear it all down to the frame and rebuild it completely. it's very satidfying in the end - the car drives so well now compared to just 4mos ago.

Did you ever get your windshield squirters goin?

>I think we all are

This post has been edited by D-Man: Sep 5, 2008 - 11:47 AM

No place to mount the reservoir and I haven't found a suitable one from another car at the junkers yet. If anyone can think of a small windshield washer reservoir/pump combination, preferably firewall mounted LMK. Would be cake if the signal wires to the pump were just one positive and one negative like the MR2 one I have ATM.

This post has been edited by DEATH: Sep 6, 2008 - 10:50 AM

Why not implant one from another car? The wiring can be figured out easily enough (hell it's a pump, there are only so many combination ON and OFF can be ) We can always figure it out, but it's your (IIRC) HID boxes that are taking up all that room; yeah? So find one from any ol car and custom mount it...

Or we could always modify one of the ones you have. I've got plastic skills too

>

YOU DID include this pic in the 2009 calendar... RIGHT DEATH?!??

i now covet your car even more and im planning on kidnapping it!

that's a real nice pic death

i like what you've done with the strut brace too - it will look great painted.

try looking on smaller cars for a smaller sized washer reservoir ... older civics, tercels & stuff like that. don't look at a camry those are way way way too big. AW11 MR2's have medium sized reservoirs - if there's one in a junkyard check it out.

what size rims do ya have on there?
you just need some spacers in the rear to flush the wheels out the fenders to lose the sunken battleship look .... some ST205 brakes wouldn't look too shabby either ... red calipers with the word Celica in black mmmm

^ I think I love this woman.

Ah yes Griffy [My main 6th gen woman] meet Ripley [Joe's main GT4 woman - she's my homeslice to you know ] - You too would get along famously.

Ok here's the promised finishup on the new STB. the last couple of days i've been strengthening the welds, slicking them down,sandblasting the whole bit and the filling the imperfections with JB Weld. Then I did one last pass with the circular grinder I love so much to mak it look namebrand quality and Voila!:



Paint goes on tonight along with much hightemp clear with the dust repellant properties, bake in oven a bit and then reinstall tomorrow.
Then it's on to cut the stock flanges off the stock 3 point, widen the part s that accept the new bars i'll be making from yet more hardcore tubular metal and weld it back together. The last thing Ill be doing is making one more for the rear [Pretty much for show but couldn't hurt]
And them someone is gonna have to give me an indepth guide on sway bar bushings, endlinks and mounts so I can overhaul them. Links to these items with red polyuerathane a muct. I've been thinking to gor twsrus in the endlinks and suspension techniques on the rest.
Anyone really knowledgeable in this field wanna help me out?

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Noone wants to see my car in the calender bro - My tastes are too eclitic for most people to appreciate.
Besides there are well over 12 cars that deserve it more.

>
The invitation is there - when you bring Vadar down I'll be measureing him up for one at cost [Wjich isn't sh*t] - It would be my please to add my work to that beast

>



First I wanna say Its nice to see women around here theres not to many...Lol and I dont mean u Death not trying to offend you...
Ok so a few questions
#1 what do u use when u paint things in ur engine bay? Is it high temp stuff from autozone..bc I was thinking of doing that
#2 are u going to make any bars like that to sell bc I would be interested...It be much better then paying $300 for trd and will look perfect once painted.
#3 have u painted anything in ur interior or do anything to ur interior...Just looking for ideas.

I love the black and red soo much