Rally Gt-Four Appareance, Pg. 5 for latest pics. Converting a Celica GT to a GT-Four Rally Options

[JohanFer]

Hi everyone, this is an attempt to convert a Toyota Celica '96 GT into the Rally Castrol Celica GT-Four we all know and love. This project will only concentrate in the exterior appearance as I live in California and pretty much cannot get a 3S-GTE engine installed. I will get it to look as much as I possibly can and will be basing most design as seen in the video game GT5, with a few modifications. I will much appreciate input and suggestions as time goes by. This will take some time as I don't have much money available to throw into the project, but I expect it to go in a steady peace.

I should start by stating that I fell in love with the car since I saw it in the video game. I really didn't pay much attention to cars as I only saw them as simple machines to take you from one place to another, but the Celica is so stylish and sleek that it changed everything. I see other cars and none match this one car. As a tribute to the car that got me into this, I decided to buy the car and make it look as close as I possibly can to the Castrol Celica. This will have to be my everyday car here in So. Cal. so it has to be street legal and comfortable, but also look like that awesome car.

To start, back in November I bought a Celica GT '96 automatic for this project. I know, it should've been stick, but I just could not find one that I really liked, plus this was an opportunity that I could not let get away. The car is pictured in my profile and it was mostly stock; it had HID low beam lights, and a custom thief alarm with remote start and seat covers in red-black. The car's paint is not original as it was painted from the original white to a creamy pearl color, which has a lot of imperfections. I must say that there are some imperfections all throughout the car that need to be fixed first.

What I've done so far (this will be updated as progression goes on):

1. Placed my JOHANFR license plate on the car on 11-11-11.
2. Changed front right car bearing on 11-21-11.
3. Changed the Water pump on 11-28-11.
4. Changed the Time Belt on 11-28-11.
5. Got a pair of tires on 12-10-11.
6. Installed a new reverse glow gauge on 4-12-12.
7. Got JDM tail lights on 4-27-12.
8. Did a front end conversion on 8-4-12.
9. Replaced the radiator 8-26-12
10. Painted the car in its original white color 9-16-12.
11. Got the OZ Racing rims I was hoping to find 2-14-13.

I still need to buy a new antenna so the car can look a little better.

As for the modification in appearance, this is what I plan to do and where I am open to suggestions:

1. I am getting the rear wing with the blocks to lift it. I plan to paint the block black.
2. Converting the front of the car so that it will look like the GT-Four. I plan to buy the front clip without the engine so that I can follow the tutorials described here for a complete change. I know about the disadvantages with the hood and all, but will try my best to do this right.
3. Installing JDM tail lights. I've actually bought them already and am waiting on the shipping.
4. Paint the car the original white once all parts have been installed. I am not sure as to leave the exterior rear view mirrors in black as well as the devise used to open the car doors. Also, I have not yet decided on weather I should paint the car matte white or not.
5. Order the Celica Castrol decals or have it car wrapped with the same design.
6. Tint all windows, if legal.
7. New leather upholstery on the car per original specifications, only featuring black and red.
8. New O.Z. rims as in the rally car. I've been looking for these, but cannot find them; not that I have the money to buy them right now, but would love to know how much they are.
9. If not too expensive, change the car from automatic to stick.
10. Depending on the founds and how the car looks, increase its power in any legal specifications without sacrificing much fuel efficiency. Again, any suggestions regarding this would be much appreciated.

This is all I think I want to do to the car. Again, I would not do an engine swap since the car would always fail emissions in my state. As you have read, I had not been a big fan of cars, so I am a newbie in this modification matter, I am only driven by the impulse of having a car that looks like one that has some history.

Again, suggestions are always welcomed and appreciated.

Pictures to follow.

This post has been edited by JohanFer: Mar 5, 2015 - 12:24 AM

[JohanFer]

Ok, so it is time for an update. While I get ready to buy the front conversion, two weeks ago I set to clean the actual seats so I took off the seat covers to see what the actual seats look like. They were very dirty, but in good shape overall. Here are some of the pictures to show how they looked before and after.










I had never seen these seats and although they are not the greatest, I am not disappointed.

I also cleaned the excess dirt and grease off the rims, especially in their inside. I am basically getting them ready for the deep cleansing as the tutorial seen here in this forum. This is the progress.






As you can see, there is a clear coat that is falling apart. I really don't know if it is original or the previous owner added it but I will probably be sanding it off unless anyone can tell me how to remove it and clean just the aluminum alloy. I would appreciate any input on this.

Also, as you guys have much more knowledge than me about this car, could anyone tell me if this gap in the trunk is normal? I noticed more after I reinstalled the seats. It has always been there but it didn't bother me as much as after the re-installation of the seats.

If it is not normal, how do I go about getting rid of it? Do I have to readjust something or is it missing a part? Please let me know.

As for the future of this project, I am almost ready to buy a "front end conversion kit" or the whole "front clip" off eBay. I will not be using the 3S-GTE engine but since I plan to make the conversion from automatic to stick in the future, I would like to see if the rough difference of $ 1,300 is worth all the parts, assuming I can install the 3S-GTE stick transmission into a car with a 5S-FE engine. See, that front clip also has the projector headlights which, if I buy separately, would set me back another $ 500 plus shipping, so I would be getting the engine and transmission for roughly $800 which I can have standing by in case I go crazy and decide to place it in the car way far in the future.

Oh well, this is where I stand and I would like to see if I can get some help from you guys, which I consider experts on the matter. I've been reading a lot in this site and have learned so much, but being as I am, I never take things for granted. I say this because I don't want you to think I am lazy and don't search for information. I might ask something for which I might have a general answer but I ask anyway to make sure. These things are expensive and I must be cautious. For instance, I read somewhere that one can install the 3S-GTE transmission into the 5S-FE engine because they both were S series engine and that they bolt right in; in addition, I read that if one is to do the conversion from an automatic to a stick transmission, one must also change the car's computer to avoid having the check engine light permanently on. Since I think that those computers are engine specific, I don't know what would happen with the check engine light if I combine the 5S engine with the 3S transmission so then I am obligated to ask the question above, but I do read this website so that I bother you as little as possible. Anyway, I hope you guys can help me with this endeavor so that it can go as smooth as possible. I will be greatly indebted to you all.