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Yeah I know I've been waiting a looong time for skirts that weren't gonna cost too much. Got lucky with somebody parting out an SSIII in Ireland. Surprisingly enough they were fairly cheap even after shipping. Plus they're already white so no painting required

If the rust spot is isolated and not too big you can cut it all out and back the hole with fiberglass, then fill it with Bondo Glass before topping with regular Bondo and proceeding with primer and paint etc... Not really the ideal method, but it's easier than welding in patches and being you plan to replace the door anyway it'll at least hold you over.

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Yeah I work at an automotive body shop supply store and can get the supplies to do it pretty cheap. Ideally I would like to get a new door but finding one locally will be pretty tough.

It's always nice to get stuff for cost plus ten.

Took the car out of storage Wednesday night Felt so good to finally drive it again.



Then yesterday this happened Oh well, I still have the Camry to drive for now anyways. That's why I took it out of storage so early.



This post has been edited by PegGTS: Apr 2, 2016 - 9:27 AM

Haven't done much with the car so far, although I did get my side skirts last week! They even still have the stock seals around the top and clear protective vinyl. Did a test fit of them and I can't wait to get them on

I also installed Eibach camber bolts in the front to hopefully stop the fronts from rubbing on bumps.

So funny story Recently the flex pipe started leaking and the car was pretty loud. Thought it might have been the header gasket so I unbolted the exhaust pipe from the header but the gasket seemed fine. I was going to check the manifold gasket but then I got busy and never got a chance to get around to it. I've been driving around open header for the past couple weeks...although I usually just take the Camry because it's way too loud lol. Anyways, the other night I was driving to a friend's place and heard some clunking coming from the front and then something fell. Looked behind me and my exhaust pipe from the header with the flex pipe completely broke off and fell out behind me, van behind me had to evade it lol. Pulled over and a guy walking down the street had picked the pipe up and gave it to me.

So now the car is at my uncle's place getting a new flex pipe welded on

Here's the skirts after hosing them down. The driver's side is a little rough towards the bottom but you can barely even notice when they're on the car.



And some shots of the driver's side mocked up.







I've gotta do a bit of work on the passenger side of my car before I install the skirts though so it'll have to wait a week or two.

very nice! looks complete now.

They just don't make them like they used to, eh? Sideskirts look good though!

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Thanks! Can't wait until I get a chance to actually mount them. Planning on getting it done before the first car show of the season on May 15th.

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Thanks. And yeah, surprised the whole pipe just fell apart and fell off lol. Oh well, my uncle was able to weld in a new one today so it's all good

This post has been edited by PegGTS: Apr 26, 2016 - 2:31 PM

Love the car looks awesome, love the financial mistake sticker on the rear spoiler haha, skirts look good on it

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Thanks man and thanks so much for the skirts! Can't wait to get them fully mounted, they'll complete the look!


So I got a new flex pipe welded in yesterday and the car is much quieter now. It's actually quite a bit quieter now than it was when I originally had the exhaust done, which leads me to believe that the flex pipe had been leaking ever since the exhaust was done, and just finally gave out completely.

Also I'm pretty certain my calipers are sticking, because I was stopped on a decent hill on my way to work this morning, in neutral without the brake pressed, and the car wasn't rolling. And when I drive for a little while, I can feel the car slow down really quick as soon as I let the gas off, and sometimes it has trouble even getting up to 80km/h. If I turn the engine off and let it sit for a minute then turn it back on it seems to fix it for a little bit but it comes right back.

So about that brake issue, I ended up tracking it down to the master cylinder, replaced that last week and it's good to go again!

Other than that, I've been cleaning it up and getting it ready for a show that was on Sunday. Did some rust repair and painting, clay barred the whole car, and tried to buff the hood out. The hood seems to be beyond buffing at this point, it's gonna need to be refinished.

Ground down the rust, applied rust inhibitor, some POR 15, a bit of body filler, and sanded down the filler.




Primed a good portion of the side.




Then painted and cleared with a 2K clear coat. Really happy with how it turned out.











Some shots of the hood before trying to buff it:






And after buffing and polishing. Slightly better, but not by much.







Also installed my side skirts the other day, removed the mudflaps and front windshield banner and I'm extremely happy with how the car looks now! Here's some shots of it at a local car meet!












Oh yeah and I put the car up for sale yesterday. Just a feeler at the moment and seeing what interest there is for it, but I can't afford 2 cars at the moment, especially not one that sucks all my money

This post has been edited by PegGTS: May 21, 2016 - 8:24 AM

If you feel the Celica is trustworthy again with the replacement engine might consider selling the Camry, being you pretty much stole it you could make a good profit on it and I'd imagine the market for the Camry is probably a little bigger. I just see you regretting selling the Celica after you've put so much time and money into it getting it how you want it. I still regret selling mine from time to time, but seeing it meander around town from time to time exactly how I left it helps since the kid needed a reliable car.

Oh as far as the hood goes if you do recoat it make sure the epoxy resin is UV resistant, and it probably wouldn't hurt to wipe it down with AeroSpace 303 protectant whenever you wash the car.

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I have no doubts the engine is trustworthy, it's just the rest of the car mostly. Always seems to be something going wrong and I just can't really afford to keep up with it, being a broke student and all lol.

At this point I just feel like I will never get back what I put into it so I might as well sell it while I can. I'll probably part out all the parts I have on it and sell the car as is, I would get a lot more that way. I was actually planning on selling both the Camry and the Celica and picking something a little newer up that I can drive all year round with no issues. I'm not selling it just this moment, I still want to drive it around for most of the summer and enjoy it a little longer, but for sure later this summer or next spring I will be.

I will definitely regret selling it and I really don't want to do it, but it almost needs to be done unfortunately.

This post has been edited by PegGTS: Jun 8, 2016 - 9:34 PM

That's understandable. Being you're in Canada you could get a GT-Four and swap all your parts to it. At the very least I guess you have time to think about what you want that's in your budget. There are a few early 00's cars that'd be fun and reliable dailies.

if only we were closer. a hood swap would be in order haha

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I wish haha! I'm going to try and give the hood a wetsand, then buff and polish and see if that helps any.


A younger kid and his dad came to look at the car today. Asked a few questions about it and took it for a test drive. When they got back I asked how it was and the dad just said "I shouldn't have let him take it for a drive" because the kid really liked it haha. He's interested in the car with all mods on it. Was planning on parting it out but if he wants to pay the extra money I can keep them on for him. I'm just worried he won't understand the value of some of the parts. Oh well, if he's willing to pay a little extra I'll throw them in for him. I estimated all the parts, not including wheels and tires, to be about $1300 USD, which is almost $1700 CAD...

You could always do a walkaround and point out what parts are what and how they're special etc... Selling to someone that really likes and wants the car helps with letting go.

So the kid wants to buy the car as is with everything on it, I sent him a list of all the parts with prices I was going to sell them for and he said he wants everything. We came to an agreement on a price and he said he's just waiting for a guy to pay him for his truck then he'll have the money, so this looks to be it...definitely very sad

So I guess you're going to meander around with the Camry for now? Any idea as to what you're going to get next?

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Yeah probably just daily the Camry for now and keep checking local classifieds in case anything pops up. I'd like something a little more practical for the time being to daily, something early to mid 2000's. Gotta be manual though, maybe even a 5 speed Corolla, who knows. There's actually a pretty nice 2006 Lancer Ralliart up for sale right now for a good price, I might go take a look at it.

Took the Celi to my gf's dad to take a look at and see what it needs. Found out the passenger side axle bearing was completely shot, surprised I couldn't even notice it while driving until I saw it on the lift...there's nothing left of it.

So last night I picked up a new axle and got to work on replacing it. It was going well until I tried getting it out of the wheel hub, it wouldn't come out. I tried unbolting the LCA to make it a little easier and of course I snapped the inner bolt.




Luckily I was able to drill the stud out pretty easily and then I was able to move the hub enough to get the axle out. This is what was left of the bearing:




Couldn't get the bracket off the old axle because the race from the bearing was stuck inside of it. Had to slam the dust shield a bit to get it off but the race was still stuck in there, so I gave it to my gf's dad along with the new axle to take it apart at work and put the bracket on the new axle because I didn't have the tools for it. So tonight I'll get it all back in and together.

The kid says he should have the money for the car this weekend so this might be the last week with it

Awww.

Last night I finished installing the axle and it's good as new again. Although when I put my wheels back on I had really bad positive camber, then found out I had my camber bolts installed in the wrong direction. Fixed both sides and it's all good now. Probably the last time I'll work on it, the guy is supposed to come tomorrow and pick the car up.

sad to hear but...... ur in Canada. just pick up a GT-four when you're ready.

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That's the plan lol. When I have the room and the funds I'll import one as a project

sad to hear this car was traded for a camry.

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Not necessarily traded. Just downsizing the fleet...for now.