rentaspace's progression :), How My Celica Came to Be :) Options

[rentaspace]

So gonna start my progression thread, and update it occasionally.
I'll start with how I got my Celica:
So it all started last year in around March, when I got my Red P's and was searching for that first car...
I tested a lancer, a prelude and a Hyundai Coupe... They all had their pluses and minuses, but none felt 'right'...
On the way home from the Prelude, we passed a Ford dealership and sitting in the middle was a little white PreFacelift Celica, as soon as I saw her, I knew she was the one I wanted. When I got home I jumped online and and contacted the dealer; she was an auto (I am not legally allowed to drive manual yet, thanks to my dads non-functioning speedometer).
The next day, my dad drove me and my beautiful girlfriend out to the dealer and we test drove the car. At the end of the test drive the dealer wanted 8k for her. I knew this was steep for it, but she was in almost perfect condition.

The only damage I could pick was a scrape on the passenger side rear wheel fender, a few small dents over her and quite a large dent in the roof (it looked like the previous owner had hit her with his fists)...
With the $8k as a base, we negotiated with the dealer and came out with a total:
- $7700 for the car
- All dents removed from the car
- Brand New 5 treads
- and finally what really made me go for it, A 12 month warranty... on an 18 year old car

Here she was on that exact day, right after out test drive:




A few weeks later, we got a call saying that she was ready for pickup, All the dents had been removed ($1500 worth of dent removal and paint) and she was good to go. A few days later her first photo shoot:



Her Interior and Engine were immaculate for her age:




After a few weeks our small troubles began, she started leaking oil all over the ground... After a call to the dealership, she was booked in for her first warranty inspection... They re-did all engine gaskets and replaced all seals in the engine... When we got her back, she was still leaking... We took her back again and were told that the transmission seals were shot, they were replaced and the engine was flushed out; the leaking stopped... for now...
Over all, the work would of cost ($1800 by the dealer, if not for the warranty).

Ill post the first of many mods in the next few hours or so, Once I get together the photos and know exactly what I want to say

This post has been edited by rentaspace: Oct 21, 2013 - 1:34 AM

[rentaspace]

And the Mods Begin:

Sipping over adding iPod connectivity to the car, the mod that got me started was adding my foot well LED's. Now initially, I had planned just to have them installed for extra light at my feet when the door was opened and then off when closed. Simple enough...

But, after thinking more and more, I decided this was the time to start my theme... So to be different from the hype, I chose a blue theme (all my mates were going with Red as a theme)

So I got off onto eBay and ordered my first lot of LED strips for the foot well LEDs. To mix it up, I put a double throw switch in, so I could now turn them on and off myself manually and also have them controlled by the doors. (Why go simple on your first mod eh? )

The first attempt wasn't all that great, some of the LEDs were a different colour to others, and I used this as a learning curve. I contacted the eBayer and they refunded me for the LEDs, and I bought another set which turned out to be great

iPhone Photo:

SLR Photo:


At the same time, we did my mates Lancer and my other mates Corolla. After this; I was hooked... I went back to my house to think of more mods to do


The next mod was driving lights...
After looking at other Celicas in the area, I found the front looked better with driving/fog lights. Now, I didn't want the standard OEM ones (because I like to be different like that). So I started researching lights and prices, I couldn't be bothered getting anything fancy, so I just went to Super Cheap Auto and bought some of their house brand driving lights. I wasn't exspecting much from them, but amazingly they are actually good... Haven't had any issues with them and I actually like them better than the OEM Toyota ones...
Before:

After:
Day:

Night:


I then heard of this stuff called PlastiDip, and decided to check it out at changing my badge colour to black. I was going to paint my rims with it, but it's so expensive here in Australia... ($33 a can...) So I threw that Idea out and decided to just wait for the funds and get new rims
The badges came out alright, its no paint job... But it was good enough for me. It has also lasted, just under a year now





And then I was thinking... What next?

This post has been edited by rentaspace: Apr 21, 2013 - 3:25 AM

[rentaspace]

My next mod was my first and only performance mod so far, The exhaust...
Now I wanted something that sounded beefier, but not so loud that it could be heard 4 blocks away. So I took it to a local shop which had done a good job on my mates Lancer.
I am pretty sure its a 2 1/4" Catback but it may be 2.5". I'm not entirely sure. But overall it cost me $250 for piping, muffler, Tip and installation which was not bad at all.
I also like the look of this tip way better than the cover that was on the stock tip. It also sound's a lot better
Before:

After:


I was also starting to get real sick of a few other things on the car:
- The Gauge colour
- The Length of the stock antenna
- The faded 'SX' sticker on the rear.
So I started researching what I should get to replace what I was hating. At the same time My dad had some old air horns from his Holden Panel Van in the garage, and I decided to use them. (By Old I mean, 1970's LOL). It sounds... funny... But meh, louder than the 2 stock electronic pieces of crap.



After installing the air horns, I decided to 'test' them repeatedly (and annoy the neighbors who had partied the whole previous night keeping me awake). The stock fuse held out, and everything was going well... So I thought...

Two days later, I had to go up to the local shops, thanks to a mistake by the guy behind the counter giving me a blank case with no game in it
Anyway, when leaving I got reversed into, causing some pretty bad damage to my fender above the rear wheel... I saw the guy coming, and hit my horn and as luck would have it; the horn fuse blew... YAY!
Luckily, they reversed into me, so their insurance covered me... But, what I found hilarious is that I was reversed into by a guy in a repair shops loner car... xD
Damage:

The photo doesn't really show the damage much... But it was pretty deep and about 30-40cm in diameter
The same people that fixed the car for the dealer did the work, and we were told that was another $1500 worth of dent pulling and painting (Not a cent was paid by me though )

The timing was just perfect; 1 week before my HSC testing.. (Final testing for school in NSW). So I had no car for 3 days of HSC testing
But hey at least the damage was just cosmetic

Right after my HSC, I had nothing to do for a good 3 months. So I applied for Tafe (I am way to Lazy for Uni xD) and bought the parts needed to replace the annoying parts on my car.
Next was the antenna, I bought a 'shark-fin' antenna from Great Britain for $18AUD shipped (again not expecting much but was pleasantly surprised). This was the first major mod to the chassis and I was quite nervous drilling into the roof >.< but all went smoothly and the antenna went on with no water leaks I also got the Blue LED dash kit delivered from eBay which cost $7 for all the needed LEDs. I also bought a set of 10x 3mm Wedge LEDs to replace the power window switch light. I also decided to remove that stupid 'SX' sticker and replace it with a 'TRDSport' badge. I got it off eBay from the United Arab Emirates (of all places) for like $12AUD delivered. I am actually very happy with it, the adhesive was 3m and the build quality was good too

[The_enD]

Looking good so far.

[rentaspace]

Looking good so far.

Thanks Got the last bit coming pretty soon
She runs really well...

[rentaspace]

Final Post for tonight and this will just about rap it up so far:

As Christmas approached, I decided I wanted a better Headeck. The Sanyo I was using was okay, but the AUX jacks had started playing up and that meant that my iPhone could no longer connect to the unit
I searched for a bit and persuaded my father to purchase a Sony Headdeck with bluetooth
It works great and we just jeryy-rigged the connection off of the Sanyo's lol... So when you look behind my Head deck there are 3 seperate head deck connections xD
In NSW, it's illegal for P platers to even have a phone turned on while they are driving, so the bluetooth allows me to listen to my music with the phone hidden either in the glovebox or my pocket It also auto answers any calls so I can then talk to people too It's illegal for me but meh
I also (after the girlfriend forced me) changed the clock, ashtray, cigarette lighter ring and glove-box lights to pink LEDs. So my theme is now Blue and Pink. I don't mind it actually and it's different

I also added an LED (Not pictured) in the storage space under the head deck, but this has since started flickering and flashing and is going to go

We then approached another problem one afternoon when I started the car, she stalled... that's right, my automatic stalled... After popping the hood, the reason for my stall and a few other problems in the past (low idle etc...) became clear; The PCV valve had a massive crack all the way through it and when I touched it, it sheered straight off... We called the dealer and they booked the car in again for repairs, but how were we going to get her there?
My dad and I searched the garage and found some 'quick gasket repair' crap, and used that to at least hold the valve in place... Amazingly she started and ran, so with dad in the chase car, we set off to the dealer... I got there They replaced the PCV valve and the rear boot seal (it has snapped off) and the next day I got her back. It was luck that she decided to die in the driveway, and not on the road and that she managed to drive back to the dealer with gasket crap as the PCV valve LOL... The mechanic gave us the weirdest look when he saw it xD

I also decided that I hated a few more things:
- The amber indicators on the front and side of the car
- The red courtesy lights in the car
- The red third brake light

So after some research I found that Wolfie on 6GC made the clear third brake light, and could get his hands on the clear courtesy lights from the Tundra that fit perfectly. (Toyota Australia fought me saying I was 'making it up' and that they couldn't special order the part for me, complete bs if you ask me). So I got Wolfie to send them to me and they arrived and installed with no problems whatsoever Unfortunately, by the time I found out about Wolfie, I had already purchased some crystal front and side indicators, but this doesn't bother me as I like their style and they match the side markers.
The final fitment of Wolfie's 3rd brake is spot-on, he does a fantastic job and big props to him:


Even up close, his detail is amazing:


As I as installing the light I decided to screw around a bit with a pink LED:

Wish this was actually legal haha

And as I wrap up the progress for now, recently when browsing eBay for 'Celica' I came across a guy in South Australia selling a Front Bar, Rear Bar and Side Skirts for an VS2 Kit. I watched the items for a few days, and saw that no one was going for them, I decided to go for the skirts, as I am not particularly fond of the flares and crap on the VS2 front and rear bars. As fate would have it, the guy accepted my offer of $120, and to ship them from South Australia to New South Wales cost $60. They were primed but not painted, so I contacted my mate who is a painter, and he is getting me some two-pack to match my car in the next few days, and then we are painting them on Thursday and hopefully they will be installed by next weekend if all goes to plan.
My Cat Liked The skirts and claimed them as his own:


We all know where side skirts go, but meh here is a 'before' shot:


And finally we conducted a 'dry run; to make sure they fit properly:


And finally, the warranty is coming to an end soon and we noticed some more oil on the driveway so we decided to get an NRMA report done to pick anything else up and they have found that the Front Engine Mount is completely cracked (resulting in the whole engine tilting when shifting into reverse) and a major oil leak from the front passenger side transmission seal. The car is going in for repairs on Monday 30th.


Near future plans:
- Paint and Install Side Skirts
- Painting my Calipers Blue to match theme
- Installing some Undercar LEDs just because I can
- Installing front Grille Meshing
- Buying and Installing Black 17x7" Rims
- Buying and fitting Lowering springs or Coilovers.
- Buying and installing front and rear splitters.

This post has been edited by rentaspace: Apr 21, 2013 - 5:12 AM

[The_enD]

Did you put a colored film over the clock or actually changed its light?

[rentaspace]

Did you put a colored film over the clock or actually changed its light?

At the moment I have just gone ghetto and used cellophane LOL But I am considering changing the actual light inside if it's possible... I'm not game enough to open it up without a replacement on hand if I screw it up.

[mkernz22]

Did you put a colored film over the clock or actually changed its light?

At the moment I have just gone ghetto and used cellophane LOL But I am considering changing the actual light inside if it's possible... I'm not game enough to open it up without a replacement on hand if I screw it up.

It's not really that hard to screw up when you open it. Just a couple screws and the casing comings apart. I took the piece out of mine and stuck in a blue gel sheet with double sided tape and it worked perfectly fine!

[rentaspace]

Did you put a colored film over the clock or actually changed its light?

At the moment I have just gone ghetto and used cellophane LOL But I am considering changing the actual light inside if it's possible... I'm not game enough to open it up without a replacement on hand if I screw it up.

It's not really that hard to screw up when you open it. Just a couple screws and the casing comings apart. I took the piece out of mine and stuck in a blue gel sheet with double sided tape and it worked perfectly fine!

Yeah, I have removed the clock before and removed the brown piece of crap... I just haven't managed to find a piece of pink perspex or plastic that will work properly... That's why I have gone ghetto and used cellophane wrapped around clear plastic

[JoshuaM]

Noooo... You never told me it was an auto :'( Oh well, better than not driving at all, but you should make sure you get your full licence as soon as you can

Wasn't cheap, but great condition and good value with that warrenty... You have well and truly taken advantage of that I bought mine from a dealer too (though manual and on the other side of the country) and they werent very interested in helping... When it had an oil leak they got a mechanic up here to do a half-arsed patch up and told him to was the engine down and get it roadworthied before it drips again -.- So I am jealous of that service

I started on the red interior lighting, but got tired of it very quickly at night, and changed everything to blue. I have decided to keep it red by day (seat covers, shift boot and knob etc.) and blue by night.

The skirts will look good, they look naked without any Do you have any plans on what splitters to use with those skirts?

Will be interesting to see how the blue calipers will look You might need a couple of other blue accents on the outside to make it work.

Anyway, good work

P.s. Saw you trying to sell your orange indicators on eBay the other night

[rentaspace]

Noooo... You never told me it was an auto :'( Oh well, better than not driving at all, but you should make sure you get your full licence as soon as you can

Wasn't cheap, but great condition and good value with that warrenty... You have well and truly taken advantage of that I bought mine from a dealer too (though manual and on the other side of the country) and they werent very interested in helping... When it had an oil leak they got a mechanic up here to do a half-arsed patch up and told him to was the engine down and get it roadworthied before it drips again -.- So I am jealous of that service

I started on the red interior lighting, but got tired of it very quickly at night, and changed everything to blue. I have decided to keep it red by day (seat covers, shift boot and knob etc.) and blue by night.

The skirts will look good, they look naked without any Do you have any plans on what splitters to use with those skirts?

Will be interesting to see how the blue calipers will look You might need a couple of other blue accents on the outside to make it work.

Anyway, good work

P.s. Saw you trying to sell your orange indicators on eBay the other night

Hahahaha yeah I sold the front's lol but the sides didn't sell ((

And yeah, I also wanted auto more for the every single day in bumper to bumper traffic...

The warranty has been great so far, Its going in again on Tuesday for the cracked engine mount and oil leaks

I am looking at either SIII or TRD splitters... I don't know what they will look like with it we will see though I am also planning to put some blue undercars and I have blue courtesy lights

[smkr3w]

I am looking at either SIII or TRD splitters... I don't know what they will look like with it

my vote would be for TRDs, at least for the rears..

[rentaspace]

I am looking at either SIII or TRD splitters... I don't know what they will look like with it

my vote would be for TRDs, at least for the rears..

Yeah I am thinking this too

[rentaspace]

Update:

So Yesterday, I went around to my mates house to start prepping and painting my side skirts. I arrived at 10am to find his Corolla pulled apart on the front driveway with the gearbox removed and dismantled...
After a few hours of watching I decided to start painting my Calipers, since I had the paint in the car and my mate had the wax and grease remover.
Took about 40mins to clean the calipers of 18years of crap, and after letting them dry for a further hour we started with the painting... I am the most retarded painter there is, so I left this up to my other mate...
My Mate Cleaning and Masking the Calipers:


After applying a few coats of paint we let them dry for an hour or two and then applied a few more coats. We then applied the 'TRD' decal and clear coated over the top. By the time the clear cot went on, it was starting to go dark... >.<
My Mates Corolla visible in the background


Due to the rapid cooling of the autumn night, the clear coat wouldn't dry... So, After 2 hours we got some heat lamps and set them onto the calipers... At 10pm, almost 5 hours after clear coating, they were still wet... Luckily they were dry enough to put onto the car:


We then put the wheel back on and I drove home The final product:


It's nowhere near as bright during the day, this was taken under the heat lamps and the gloss is still semi-drying...

In-fact, it's now 4:36pm the next day and they are still drying lol...
Tomorrow the rear calipers will be painted and the remaining parts of the caliper that aren't painted will be painted black

Meanwhile as we tackled with the calipers, My mate prepped the side skirts and applied a few coats of primer:

They will be painted tomorrow

Higher Res Photos:






This post has been edited by rentaspace: Apr 26, 2013 - 2:06 AM

[rentaspace]

And yesterday I finished off the calipers (sort of) by doing the rears.






And I also used the last of my TRD decals on the mirrors:

[Payne]

Nice car man, good to see some more Australian members!!

[rentaspace]

Nice car man, good to see some more Australian members!!

Thanks man there doesn't seem to be too many Aussie members on most of the Celica forums

[JoshuaM]

Nice car man, good to see some more Australian members!!

Thanks man there doesn't seem to be too many Aussie members on most of the Celica forums

Except on OzCelica

You been validated yet?

[rentaspace]

Nice car man, good to see some more Australian members!!

Thanks man there doesn't seem to be too many Aussie members on most of the Celica forums

Except on OzCelica

You been validated yet?

Nope haha