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Glad you like

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Thank you! and yes, space is indeed a non stop issue. Especially now that the cruiser has been winterized. Nothing would make me happier than an upgrade to at least a two car garage.


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Glad I'm not the only one that can stare at these kinds of things haha. Don't know what it is, but watching CNC machines do their thing is almost hypnotizing


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not mine! its my old mans. I do get to use it often though; which is great because it allows for major upgrades/maintanance to happen during the colder months. Otherwise I'd have to build one of those big white tents in my driveway and buy a torpedo heater

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That's how Dan makes me feel with his car lol. Usually after seeing his car all I want to do is drop all of my responsibilities and spend a months worth of salary on paint

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Thanks Keiri, I've been trying to show the basic approach and reasoning behind the projects I take on. So I'm glad people are getting something from it, and I hope it makes things like a 3s or SS swap seem llike less of a challenge

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Thanks Ben, I'll be glad when it's done so I can finally start to feel like this is a balanced car and actually put some power down.

Quick update:


Superstrut is officially plug and play with my LHD frame All that's left is rustproofing/powdercoating, and replacement of select parts with a few upgraded bits. Right now I'm looking to buy stainless lines, poly endlinks, poly sway bar bushes, new crush tubes, a control arm dust boot to replace one I damaged during one of my finer moments, supra pads, and some other things that I cannot remember at the moment.

Also have an s54-06d in the works. Hopefully I can convince this importer to split their engine set and sell it to me. If not I'm gonna have to scramble to source one elsewhere.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Nov 6, 2013 - 1:17 AM

Hey 6gc, small update:


The sway bar endlinks that came with my superstrut weren't looking too good so I decided to replace them. Unfortunately st205 endlinks are few and far in between. If you find a set, they're going to cost you. Aftermarket performance adjustable links are always an option but those tend to be expensive too... and who's going to spend an arm and a leg for links?

Which is why my buddy and I spend a good 40 minutes at the back of an Advance auto opening every end link kit they had until we found this:


New link on top, original st205 link on bottom. Paid ~$70 for both


Here's the part number for those interested. I'm pretty sure these links are originally meant for a mazda protege 5.


I mocked everything up to test the fitment and found no issues


All that's left is just cosmetic work and rust proofing. Should be getting everything installed in the next few weeks

This post has been edited by enderswift: Nov 11, 2013 - 12:21 AM

Lookin' good man!

SWAY BAR LINKS!!!!
Believed to be from a MP5 protege (useless Mazda knowledge isn't so useless now is it lol)

Hello 6gc,

I have another update ready. Like always, my plans and timeline for this swap have been blown completely out of the water. The biggest issue I ran into was the fact that I could not find any importer that wanted to sell an s54-06d transmission. That is, I couldn't find an importer that wouldn't flake last minute. They all seemed more than happy to split their engine sets and sell just the transmission until I asked for photos of the axle holes. Then they would stall with the pictures for days before suddenly realizing the transmissions aren't LSD afterall...Go figure. The funny thing is they would refuse to update their online listings to reflect that the transmissions aren't indeed LSD... You guys should really take care to ask the right questions if you're considering a BEAMS engine set in the near future.

Anyway if they wont sell an LSD transmission to me, then I'll build my own:

Thus I sourced a TRD helical diff. I've never opened a trans before, so this build is going to be an interesting challenge.

As far as the suspension is concerned, its been a very slow process; mostly due to the limited availability of a 20 ton press and a stubborn broken bolt that took over a week to extract. Luckily both of those issues have been resolved.
The subframe paint on the other hand, has turned into a disaster. POR 15 is very hard to work with, and I honestly don't have the facilities to maintain proper humidity and temperature. So I've decided to have the subframe powdercoated along with a few other pieces instead. Its pricey but guarantees a durable, and fantastic looking finish.

Anyway here are a few photos of some of the other small things I've been keeping busy with:

This is a before shot of one of the ruined dust shields that arrived with my clip. The importer unfortunately had them support the weight of the suspension during shipping.


And here is the same shield after an application of several wood blocks, a table vice, pliers/vicegrips, and my friends blasting/powdercoating skills. Lots of work but better than buying new ones from TCB


Here I have one side of the suspension ready for blasting and powdercoating. I still need to use the press to squeeze out the bearing on the other side. If I'm lucky I'll get to it this coming weekend.


New bearings and seals all ready to go once parts get coated.


Finally here are the suspension arms ready for a coat of POR 15 chassis black. These will hopefully be easy to paint compared to the subframe.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Dec 3, 2013 - 12:24 AM

I wonder, how do you replace the ball joints or rubber on those parts? do you have to get them new?

There is no real way to recondition superstrut parts that I am aware of. Paul from GT4-Racing is the only one that offers rebuilding services. It's the unfortunate downside to owning superstrut. Thankfully all of my joints are still smooth and tight, so I expect to get a decent amount of life out of them barring some kind of pothole/accident. At least in the future when the current stock shocks give out I'll be able to simply cut and weld on a BC coilover set. In the distant future I'll probably be forced to swap back to McPherson when parts truly do become impossible to source. Which wont be a horrible thing to do. For now I'm just going to enjoy the multilink goodness.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Dec 5, 2013 - 8:13 PM

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Ahh so this is the TRD LSD you were pm'ing me about. Its hard to say if it truly is a TRD helical vs factory helical. Unless you got one side by side, and even then I guess.

Were you given the trd part number or did you source it from my thread? As its not listed on website.


Edit:
Found this: http://www.newcelica.org/forums/showthread...p;highlight=LSD

This post has been edited by Rusty: Dec 3, 2013 - 5:34 PM

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Thanks Rusty,

The seller provided me with P/N 41301-ST900, which corresponds to a TRD diff. Unfortunately there are very few clues to go on. Luckily I got this for a great price

This post has been edited by enderswift: Dec 4, 2013 - 12:34 AM

Quick update:

Put my new press to work and freed the remaining bearings this week. Thus I was able to get 80% of the powdercoating done. Only the subframe is left. It's sure nice to have a friend that is getting into the blasting/coating business:


There just is no substitute for oxide blasting. Removes every single speck of rust.


I took care to protect the bearing surfaces during the whole process.


Here is a terribly blurred photo comparing the shields before and after being restored.


Here is the bulk of what I intended to powder. In the future I may coat the calipers as well depending on how the current paint holds up. Plus I plan to do a bunch of miscellaneous engine brackets as well.... And maybe a transmission case

This weekend I'm hoping to apply POR chassis black to the control arms and struts. Then finally the rustproofing will be complete

I still wont be able to assemble the suspension however. I unfortunately ordered the wrong front wheel bearings and will have to purchase the correct kits on Monday. This means the suspension refresh will be pushed out at least a week more. Oh well, gives me time to chip away at the other million small things I still have to pay attention to.

This post has been edited by enderswift: Dec 6, 2013 - 6:45 PM

Cool, are those powder coated or painted?


I just bought an el cheapo blasting cabinet for smaller things like that. I don't want to powder coat them, just want some heavy duty paint.

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WIN!

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Those have been powder coated. Honestly, powdercoating will be easier than painting. The only paint that can stand up to the rocks and abuse parts like this will see is POR 15/chassis coat, and that stuff is TOUGH to work with. It just doesn't cover the way you expect it to... Anyway you can buy a craftsman powdercoating gun for ~$60 and some decent powder for $5/lb; which is less than the ~$90 I paid for a quart of POR. Even harbor freight has halfway decent powder. Basically you just have to do a good job sand blasting, bake the parts to burn off any grease/oil (after a decent simplegreen soak), mask off the bearing surfaces, place plugs in any threads, then you just coat and bake in an electric oven

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because racecar

Quick update:

Things are at a standstill at the moment because the holidays are demanding my project funds. Furthermore my wheel bearing kits have been stopped in customs and I'm waiting on supplies to undo the mess I created while trying to use POR chassis coat black. I just don't know what I was doing wrong, but it turned out awful every time I tried.

Since I had such a rough time painting the suspension parts I am no longer on the fence on whether or not to have the subframe professionally powdered (it doesn't fit in my friends oven unfortunately). I'm just tired of exerting enormous amounts of labor on it. The suspension on the other hand should not be placed in any oven so I'm going to have to keep trying different things until I get a decent finish.

I also have to purchase new axles, a set of stainless lines, and poly bushings for the sway bar. After all that I'll be ready to acquire the last few tools necessary to tear into the trans. I just know it's all gonna be worth it in the spring

This post has been edited by enderswift: Dec 16, 2013 - 11:11 PM

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trust me if you want a good durable finish. powder coat it! it will cost less in the long run

Amazing attention to detail! Looking forward to your updates!

Excellent work as always!

Time for an update. I've been keeping busy making all of the superstrut components look new again:


I was never happy with how the Calipers came out when I first painted them. So I decided to start over with POR 15 Chassis coat. The stuff actually flows out really well if its applied as a spray...sure wish I knew that sooner! . After applying multiple coats, I had my buddy sand the celica lettering to a nice shine. This was all followed by a high temperature clear coat.


The rear calipers received the same treatment.


Here is a picture of my upright with a partially pressed-in bearing. I decided to have a press adapter machined before I pressed these in the whole way. No sense in risking $300 worth of bearings! I'm really happy I went with powder coating on these parts, the stuff is damn near indestructible!


After lots of trial and error I finally figured out how to paint suspension parts with an oem finish. Hopefully my choice of paint stands the test of time and keeps everything from rusting, which is the whole point of doing all of this.


Using a heat gun to cure the paint between coats really cut down on the time needed to do all of this. Even so I think I spent a total of 15 hours refinishing all of these suspension parts.


I decided to go the extra mile and mimic the appearance of my sway bar endlinks by polishing and clearing all of the ball joint housings. Sorry for the dark photos, its tough to take pictures of satin parts while indoors unfortunately.


Hopefully the clearcoat holds up and these wont rust!

That's it for now; hopefully I'll have the suspension installed in the near future

This post has been edited by enderswift: Mar 4, 2014 - 11:12 AM

great update and a great build man! heat gun between coats will definitely help speed up the process, but painting always takes time regardless, its a trade of patience! lol .. the clear coat on the ball joints should hold up for a while but will eventually wear off due the location and abuse they will see from the roads. I cleared my struts and springs 5 years ago when I installed them and they do have some rust from over the years but nothing compared to what it would've been if i didn't clear them. Everything looks tho great man, awesome attention to detail, keep it up!

I hope to have my celica this well done up one day.

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Thanks for the kind words guys. I really cannot wrap my head around how much work all of this was. I orignally thought I could slap together a compatible and painted superstrut setup in a week! Silly me

ha ha ah ha ha, i understand, ive had my stupid car on jackstands for a month, for stupid rear bushings. this was not what i planned for either. but then again, its all worth it.

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It's definitely a labor of love.... and hate... and frustration... but indeed worth it in the end. I just have to remind myself how sweet it felt to hit max boost the first time after rebuilding the 3s for over a year. This will be no different

This post has been edited by enderswift: Mar 25, 2014 - 10:11 PM

Superstrut is done! New bearings installed, all parts checked over and recoated, dust shields reconditioned, calipers loaded, rotors restored to like-new
I'm so glad to finally have this finished. Now I can move on:


Ah finally, I can begin to create my very own LSD s54. It's going to feel great to actually put some power down. For those wondering if an s54 is up to the task of holding 3S power, just ask my car. Or Bens car. Or a number of other cars. These transmissions are tougher than they've been given credit for.


I got a great deal on this trans. The previous owner actually runs a Toyota speed shop in Indiana. He turned out to be a real cool and straightforward guy. I visited his shop and was literally surrounded by at least 5 3sgte's of various gens, and at least 3 2jz's. Supra and MR2 parts galore. This guy is serious about Toyota's so I feel waaay more comfortable buying an s54 from his old daily driver than simply ripping one out of a junkyard. As a bonus he gave me a like new clutch set




It wont be long before my seran wrapped helical differential will find its new home in this s54. I just have to buy an FSM that details proper torque specs, a low-range snap-on torq wrench, and a new set of bearings. I'm not going to go with a full rebuild on the transmission. Just an inspection and straightforward diff install. Transmissions don't feel mileage the same way engines do. A properly maintained 5spd can outlive multiple engines. So as long as the cones, synchronizer teeth, and bearing surfaces pass inspection I'll stick to the basics....except for this: My friend is offering to powdercoat the casing in fresh-cast aluminum finish. Should I do it?

That's it for now. I'd like to have all of this done and installed before the spring meet, but life rarely lets my plans work out on time haha.

i would get it painted!

For sure! Powdercoat FTW.

It'll stand up to whatever you can throw at it.

Unless the case explodes from all that POWA!

^^^ or that.

stick a 3.9 final drive in it!!! since you'll want it for turbo engine. they are found on euro s54 transmission don't know where you can source here in the usa...

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He can source it from a S53 transmission from a Celica 5th gen.

I would know, I have one in my 6GC right now. It's still got a bad 5th gear though. Might want to also get a taller 5th gear with that S54 LSD while it's open. A Camry S51 transmission 5th gear would be the best since it's not our .8xx ratio, but rather a .720 IIRC.

Cruising in 5th goes up to 3000RPM at 65MPH.

This post has been edited by Syaoran: Mar 26, 2014 - 10:25 PM

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Hmm this is interesting to me. 1st gear is useless on an s54. No lsd can solve that. But a final drive just might. I'm guessing you swapped the ring gear on your differential and pinion on the countershaft correct?

This post has been edited by enderswift: Mar 27, 2014 - 5:57 PM