95 GT-Four Progress Thread Options

[azian_advanced]

I just flew in to Vancouver today and picked up a 1995 GT-Four that I imported myself. So now that I have a celica again, I decided I should have a progress thread since I never made one for my previous car.
It is a 1995 Celica in baltic blue (code 752) with the optional sunroof. That's about the only feature it came with from the factory.
Upon arrival, I was disappointed that the exporter did not show pictures of the worn and damaged areas of the car. The only damage noted was a dented rear hatch door and was in excellent mechanical condition.

First, I'll start with the pictures that the exporter had posted of the car.















optional factory seats. but obviously i went with the recaro's.
















here are some pics after i picked up the car and gave it a wash.












this is the mileage when i first picked up the car and drove to the nearest gas station a couple of kilometers away since the gas tanks are emptied when the car boards the ship.
i spent exactly $100 to fill! damn vancouver gas prices are high!








no idea why this is in the car. looks like a turbo timer diy that went bad...





driver-seat.. side bolster is beat to ****! i'm so disappoint!




but the passenger-side looks very good




it has LED map light installed





a couple of adhesive pads were left on the dash. not sure what it was for but i sure hope it can come off easily




this is the head-unit that the exporter agreed in installing.




i found this inside the shifter surround plastic. seems like a turbo-timer DIY install that went bad.





there's also this blitz boost controller which i think is a dummy since it doesn't light up or anything..





black spoiler... seriously?




here's that dented hatch door i mentioned.. hope it can be easily repaired.




small nick on the spoiler blocks




severely faded hood and vents





headlamp rubber seals are about to come off... typical 6gc problem.





and the rest are just random stickers and insignia











some goodies found in the glove compartment












I've spent most of the day driving around the city getting used to the RHD. it feels like learning how to drive all over again. shifting with the left takes some time to get used to. the turn signals are on the opposite side now and out of habit i'm turning the wipers on instead. after a few hours i've gotten used to most of it but downshifting in traffic while using the turn signals & changing lanes simultaneously is nearly impossible to do at first.

mechanically, the turbo spools up like it should but i'm really concerned about how much life it has left. nearly half of the foam in the hks mushroom air filter has already disintegrated, so there's literally no filtering at all! seems like the previous owner didn't care for it. also, when i picked up the car, it was on a gravel lot and the car was dusty. i really hope no sand was sucked in to the compressor and engine to cause long-term damage. i won't be driving through any gravel roads from here on out until i get back to winnipeg in 3 days.

you can really tell the difference between the gear ratios of the e154f & s54. i need to shift at a higher rpm so that the engine doesn't bog down on the next gear.. like the engine is begging to be revved! i'm still a softie when it comes to pushing the engine, looks like things are gonna be different from now on!
the shifter itself is notchy when downshifting to 3rd and 2nd or when trying to shift at higher than normal rpms so i'm guessing the synchros are starting to go?
i still haven't made any hard pulls since i'm still trying to get the hang of driving a RHD but I'll likely do a few once i get on the highway tomorrow. the drive through the mountains is gonna be fun.

This post has been edited by azian_advanced: May 16, 2012 - 1:24 AM

[azian_advanced]

You wanna swing by tonight and talk shop!?

LMK. I'll hook you up with an addy.

I doubt you will - I bet you're beat from the trip so far. Long trips make me tired.

i had already planned to see my relatives in Calgary for the night. they will be letting me stay with them when i arrive in calgary for several weeks until i get my first couple of paycheques and find my own apartment. i'd like to try to go to the ogopogo meet but i don't know for sure at this time, but i'll have a better idea once i start the new job.

Need to get that Recaro matching back seat..i have one in both Celicas

I find bolster wear is a problem with Recaros suggest rotating seats.
You can order real Recaro material to fix seat

I am 6'5" , 250 and pushing 40 but my old bum loves the seats.
I know what you mean about tight squeeze. Once get sorted take on
twistes and seats will feel amazing ..

Cruise control will be interesting as ST205 is not set up for it at all.
I dont even see it listed in EPC ...

Congrats on purchase. Welcome back..

i finished swapping the seats over. it's too bad oem seats aren't setup like the recaros where you can just unbolt the seats from the seat rails and easily swap them. i wanted to do this on my leather seats since the side bolster on the driver seat was worn. while i had the seats out i did a full vacuuming job and found miscellaneous japanese coins, gundam (anime) cards, some receipts from who-knows-where, and an unused, still-wrapped chewing gum (no i wasn't gonna see what japanese gum tasted like )

the seats hug really well, i just wished it wasn't so hard to get in and out of.

nice welcome back, you cant have my mats!!!!

lol i don't think they'll fit anyway. you'd expect there to be some in japan or something since they usually get all the accessories and we get none. i might have to look for rhd 5gc/7gc rubber mats, or anything from a rhd with similar sub-flooring just to keep the snow and dirt from going on the carpets.

really nice to see so many more GT4s now! i've seen 2 around the GTA... it's been barely 2 weeks after selling my celi and i'm already missing the 6gc... sooo tempted to get a gt4 for a next car... was already looking at jdm importer sites... too bad nobody imports lhd ones from europe. also can't wait for my trip in the summer through the rockies/banff, it looks sweet! first time heading out there and i've been living in ontario all my life hah.

if you are going to travel out west in more than 3 months time, you might as well buy a gt-four from japan, or any jdm car if you don't mind the RHD. it's not difficult to do, you just need to know the process. i saved money not having to order from an importer. i only spent about $5.5k on mine all in! not that importers charge a decent coin for their work, but i was also lucky to have the exporter upgrade me to the next available gt-four due to their incompetence. normally you would find this car advertise for $7k if already landed considering the condition, features, and mileage. having the car on the trip made it very convenient to be able to get around and see places as i really hate having to take taxi's and public transportation when i'm travelling. the problem is making the long drive back to the GTA and not have cruise control.

i made the trip out west for the first time in 2009. if you're going to be with at least 8 people you definitely should try going whitewater rafting. they have excursion packages in banff but it takes place in B.C. about 1.5 hrs from Banff. it's not as dangerous as it sounds but you do have to sign a waiver in case of accidental death or whatnot but to put it into perspective, our guide was saying he was able to do most of the 22km ride by himself since he had a raft full of skinny japanese women who really couldn't paddle even if their lives depended on it lol.




----

getting back to the car, i checked the wiring on the fuel-cut defencer, speed limiter cut controller, and boost controller. they were all wired for power & ground but it seems the last owner didn't know how to wire the rest. i looked for the online manuals for these devices and figured out how to get fuel-cut defencer and boost controller working but i couldn't find out where the green & white wires connect to for the speed limiter cut controller. i'm not planning to take the car to max it out on the highway (i'm too chicken to do it anyway..), or setting the boost at dangerous levels, but would just like to know that they're set up properly since they're already in the car anyway.

This post has been edited by azian_advanced: May 21, 2012 - 8:08 AM

[KAOS]

You wanna swing by tonight and talk shop!?

LMK. I'll hook you up with an addy.

I doubt you will - I bet you're beat from the trip so far. Long trips make me tired.

i had already planned to see my relatives in Calgary for the night. they will be letting me stay with them when i arrive in calgary for several weeks until i get my first couple of paycheques and find my own apartment. i'd like to try to go to the ogopogo meet but i don't know for sure at this time, but i'll have a better idea once i start the new job.

Most companies are pretty understanding if you say something like, "I already have plans for these days (in your case; August 9 & 10th ) and won't be available for work"
As long as you don't go crazy on the holidays within your first month of work, you should be alright.