Not sure about my Celica anymore, not sure if its worth working on Options

[Mannyrav]

When I first bought my Celica and came to this site, I was so enthusiastic about working on it. I fell in love with the car and the idea of having it the way I wanted, and I fell in love with the 3sgte engine and the thought of a GT4 conversion.

I forgot who was it that told me, but someone recommended that I sat down and thought about what I really wanted to do with my car. Well I did alot of thinking, and with my budget, by the time I have enough money to get the dream celica I wanted 4 years would've passed by.

I never knew doing an engine and tranny swap would be so expensive.

I know most would probably respond with; its a process that takes patience and time, and you need money for these kind of things, it never comes easy; but I still wanted to work on my car.

By the end of the year I should have atleast 1 grand saved up, and I expected to accomplish something with that money..but it seems that even a bodykit is out of reach with my budget. (I'm a college student with a crappy job at radioshack, with bills up the a@#; not some broke bum).

Yeah I know I'm kinda impatient, but I'd like at the least for my car to be a manual so that I can get more out of my everyday driving experience.

So my question is, with my situation is attempting to hook up my car even worth it? Or should I just buy a crappy manual coupe and work on that (I'm still paying for my celica btw)...I don't know what route to take, and I'm disappointed that I feel discouraged when I grew to love my little st celica

Edit: I was even willing to take a different and alot cheaper route than a gt4 conversion- getting a 4a-ge engine and a manual tranny and a invader bodykit..but I dont know what I'll be looking at there $$ wise

This post has been edited by Mannyrav: Oct 19, 2007 - 12:39 AM

[xs94st]

my girlfriend makes me feel the same way about my car. saying its too old n not worth it >:[ but i think that my baby is awesome no matter its flaws. yea its got some front end damage. yea its needs new paint everywhere. yea its got some funky sideskirts. but i dont care. people still look at it even though cuz people rarely see celicas. people even mistake the celi as a supra until their knowledgeable friend puts them in their place. i know its an ST, but i see people driving Geo Metros still n they are like 40 years old. i duno how old you are, u seem young n u said ur in college, so im assuming 18-21ish.

when i first got my celi, i startd dreaming of all that could be done, but when i realized i gotta prioritize things n save up, i realizd that it can happen, just through time n patience. i know that if i keep my car in good condition, it will last me forever. its also my teacher cuz i learn more stuff from it every day. n when it doesn't start or just takes a dump on me, its testing me n making me learn more.

don't think about the money part as much. if you want it done, you will get it done. it just takes time.

[GriffGirl]

my girlfriend makes me feel the same way about my car. saying its too old n not worth it >:[ but i think that my baby is awesome no matter its flaws. yea its got some front end damage. yea its needs new paint everywhere. yea its got some funky sideskirts. but i dont care. people still look at it even though cuz people rarely see celicas. people even mistake the celi as a supra until their knowledgeable friend puts them in their place. i know its an ST, but i see people driving Geo Metros still n they are like 40 years old. i duno how old you are, u seem young n u said ur in college, so im assuming 18-21ish.

when i first got my celi, i startd dreaming of all that could be done, but when i realized i gotta prioritize things n save up, i realizd that it can happen, just through time n patience. i know that if i keep my car in good condition, it will last me forever. its also my teacher cuz i learn more stuff from it every day. n when it doesn't start or just takes a dump on me, its testing me n making me learn more.

don't think about the money part as much. if you want it done, you will get it done. it just takes time.

I was going to reply to the original posting, but then I saw what this posting said and thought, hey, that's me! I feel exactly the same way. That totally describes me!

I'm driving an ST with no sunroof and manual windows with 221k on the body - NOT what I had envisioned when I set out to buy a '99 GT and quickly realized I was about 7 grand short and more than a few days late. It has a crappy spray job on the hood, a crack in the front lip, needs new rotors, drums, shoes and pads, not to mention new shocks/struts all around. I had to put a new starter in it the first week I had it because the little **** that sold it to me had the engine already running when I met up with him twice and lied to me about some stuff. (yet another car lesson learned!)

So yeah, you prioritize, work on the mechanical stuff and get it where it needs to be before you drop a bunch more money into it. Take small steps on the bells and whistles - today I ordered hyper white LEDs for the gauge, and I can't WAIT to get 'em! I'm NOT 20 years old, I'll be 34 in two weeks! (ugh!) But it's like 15 bucks that'll enhance my driving experience that much more.

I love my slow ass little ST. It's a sexy ass car to begin with, it's a GREAT place to start and like I've always said, if a car could be bullet proof it'd be a Toyota. They kick ass! I truly don't think anyone will ever have a finer car than a Toyota, for reliability, looks, cost and ownership cost combined. You can't beat it!