6G Celicas Forums

Wow its been a while since I read this thread. I'm caught up now - fantastic progress. It would be faster if you stopped when parts had been refurbished rather than rebuilding them to at least new standards, but that level of dedication is going to make this car truly a sight to behold when finished, and for many (many, many, many...) years to come.

And of course, congratulations on the dad news! Exciting times

Good luck, and I really hope that nothing gets in your way from finishing this!

Edit: Also, have you looked much into the new alarms yet? I was looking at doing a Viper PKE with remote start in my MX5 early next year.

This post has been edited by JoshuaM: Sep 9, 2015 - 10:28 AM

Yes I will be painting it myself too. another thing to learn. The engine is still in the garden it will be sent away for a rebuild in a month or two when I can afford the £4000 ($6200) rebuild cost.

I'm shocked you're not doing it yourself

I'm currently learning lots about paining car parts with my hybrid GT-4 bumper. things I learned about include: sand, prime, sand. Wet sanding is my new best friend, how awesome 2000 and 3000 grit sand paper plus polishing compound can be on a fresh clear coat finish. also how addictive and time consuming it can be to polish out all the imperfections to get that mirror finish. I also learned that the edges of the painted area and clear coat need to be prepped. I have a clear coat line and a bit of a mess on the edge of my painted area. the clear coat isn't sticking because I didn't prep that area. may just live with it for now. This probably won't be a problem on your car as your paining the whole thing.

This post has been edited by antoine64: Sep 9, 2015 - 3:52 PM

Holy crap, Just read this thread from start to finish.
I have no idea how I missed it, but damn you've put in a lot of work.
Makes me pumped to see more updates.

Cheers I havnt looked into alarms yet, although I do like Toad alarms but may get something different.

My new semi industrial sewing machine arrived today, so all being well, in a couple of weeks I can start learning upholstery and cover the dash to the standard I think it should have been done

Well the past few months has been hell.........my soon to be born daughter had an extra scan after we thought there may be problems, turns out everything was okay. Then my Dad was diagnosed with cancer, he died about two months later on the 28th Oct with his son holding his hand. It's a terrible thing to watch your Dad die and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. fortunately we managed to get him home for one night before he went. His funeral is on Monday, the hearse is a motorbike and sidecar, which pretty much sums up my Dad. I will miss him for the rest of my days and hope he looks out for his granddaughter. Life will never be the same.

Anyway, it has made me have a different outlook on life, I am learning the guitar and saxophone. I don't know if I will have anymore time or enthusiasm for this project anymore. I hope I do as I would love to get it finished, I will give it a few months and see how I feel.

As a side note, today I bought a pushchair......it cost more than my first car, what's going on there???

This post has been edited by Nial: Nov 7, 2015 - 5:21 PM

I've read about the situation on Facebook.
I'm sorry for your loss.

I'm sure he's proud of you.

That's too bad about your dad. My mom suddenly died a few years ago. She never got to see my finished movie. That kind of thing can re-focus your life and priorities. Your attention to detail on this project has been inspirational so thanks for sharing.

Nial: I have read your thread a while back and today I logged back on. Your build is incredible and was inspiring for many of us. I am very sorry to hear about your dad's passing. I was standing next to mine when he looked at me one last time and then closed his eyes for ever. I was only 17 then but still remember that moment as it just happened. It is true that life changes afterwards. My dad had leukemia. Life goes on.

I can assure you that he would have wanted you to finish this build. Take some time off, take care of the baby and wife. Then come back to it.

Awesome build and will wait for you to enlighten us with your attention to detail.

thanks for sharing with us all your hard work!

This post has been edited by msk59: Nov 21, 2015 - 9:14 PM

Thanks for the kind words. The support both me and my mum have had over the past few weeks has been tremendous, from all corners of the globe, it has certainly helped a lot in coming to terms with the situation. Watching your dad die leaves a mark which I don't think will ever go away, questions buzz around your head like, was he in pain? Was he scared? Could I have done something to save him? Did I say all I had to say, questions I will never know the answer to .........and the worst of all dad not seeing his granddaughter, he was so excited about becoming a granddad, he was a very talented musician and wanted to teach her to play guitar etc I will never get over that for the rest of my days.



Although I haven't set foot in the garage yet I have ordered some custom Pistons for the engine rebuild, one 5sgte on the way the block should arrive soon too. I guess it won't be too long before I get back into it! I am going to help fix a poorly st185 today that won't run, maybe this will kickstart my enthusiasm again.

Nial You are absolutely on the money about thoughts that buzz in your head. I think at 17 I was more scared of what we will do in terms of how I will support the family. I was still in school and my mom and two sisters were home at the time. My older brother had left home on not so good terms with my dad a few years earlier and we all knew that my brother's departure was eating him inside. Just before he closed his eyes he asked me where is my brother. I had telephoned him to come home as soon as possible, but he didn't make it in time. (He was overseas at that time). The sadness in his eyes coupled with disappointment still haunts me to this day.

Sorry, Lets not talk about sadness. You have so much to look forward to. Hang in there my friend, as time will heal some wounds and it will get better. I promise you that. Take care of yourself, your mom and your wife and of course the baby.

Cant wait to see your engine rebuild thread.

This post has been edited by msk59: Nov 22, 2015 - 6:55 PM

I set foot back in the garage at the weekend, spent a happy hour or so doing some paintwork prep. Enthusiasm returned. TRD Strut brace prdered, heated front windscreen arrived. Still waiting for the TTE header tank to turn up. Targetting October 2016 for completion...or at least to get it running.

Good plan mate . Since I plan visit you in July 2016 (about) will have chance to see it right on time before you ride it and make all completely dirty .

This post has been edited by malpaso: Dec 15, 2015 - 4:38 AM

Looking forward to it bud.


Masked off the car and have starter rubbing down the paint





I also managed to get my hands on a TRD strut brace.



Its going to look very different in a few weeks time.....i have already managed to get the "TRD" badge looking like brand new, its hidden away to keep it safe

Looking forward to getting this underway again

Nial,

It is so nice to see that you are able to continue with your project. I have been following you from the early days, and continued on FB and know the pain personally. None of us lives forever. It is always too soon, and nothing anyone says can lift your spirits when it comes knocking. But, one thing I do know, and that is putting yourself back into action is the best medicine. You will see as you give yourself the gift of becoming re-immersed in your project.

Speaking of which. . . It should give you tremendous solace to know how many people have been deeply affected by your attitude and principles of work. You are a Zen Master when it comes to that!

Bill
Durham, North Carolina (US)

I could be wrong but I believe you have to put spacers under the strut brace if you are going to be running the top mount charge cooler, otherwise it will not fit on the st205.

You are correct.....but i wont be running the top mount. a custom made FMIC will be used....once i have got the calculations back to give me the required size etc. Thats why i have gone for the TRD strut brace and not used my existing cusco brace.

Nial: Glad to see you are back on the project. I will check everyday to see your progress. You are an inspiration to us all. Thank You very much.

Let the build began!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, high praise indeed which i am sure i don't deserve, but if i inspired one person to pick up a spanner then it makes me proud and all the effort was worth it