Richee3's Progress thread., Wilwood BBK installed. Options

[Stambo]

did you do the mod to convert the projectors to lhd or just aim the lights down? I just picked up a set for a steal and i figured i'd give it a try

[richee3]

I just aimed them down to a certain degree. You can aim them down a you want but the cutoff will still shine up into traffic. If you think about it, the bulk of the light is still pointed down at the road, but the edge of the beam still shines up. Not as intense as the light on the road. You can get away without the modification, but it's really better to do it. I do get flashed from time to time. I've read that it's really not an issue if you use standard halogen bulbs but I'm using HID's so they can be annoying to oncoming traffic.

[Bigblock]

richee3---

IDK how to select-quote, but---

Lol...... You are some kinda funny!!!... I am not as patient as you!!!...

Hopefully in mid spring or early summer the Camaro will sell, & we will be able to get another 6g. Til it sells, I am SOL...

[4-eyed-freek]

awsome job! congrats! cant wait to see it in the spring.

[richee3]

It's been a while, but I finally have a small update. First things first, the BEAMS is running great. We've got around 15,000 miles on it and no complaints. I've had to fix little things that I broke (A/C lines, power steering leak) but no complaints from the BEAMS. It's still running a little rich, and I've got my ideas why. Working on those every day but the only things left are a bit pricey. I've added a few things since my last update. I was going to wait until paint before posting the update, but it's going to be a while before I can get the car painted now. Sorry for the crappy quality pics... Not much point in getting good pictures of a Celica that is two colors.

-ST205 WRC Front End Conversion
-Wolfie Clear Turns
-TRD Front Splitters
-GT4 Spoiler
-DCW TRD Replica Skirts
-TRD Short Shifter
-SS-III Seats








Sweet TTE Rain Guard.


Awesome 6gc decals, dyno proven for +8 whp.


As for the old seats, they make great balcony furniture.



As for things that are on the way, I got to see Batman722's and hurley97's BEAMS powered Celica in person. I was nearly done modding this one, but now I'm aware of how much power can be unlocked with a lightweight flywheel and bigger exhaust. I knew my factory exhaust was holding the BEAMS back a little bit, but the comparison between my 2" exhaust and their 2.5" is like putting my BEAMS in a semi and expecting it to be just as quick. So there will be a larger exhaust put on the Celica soon, still keeping it as quiet as possible. And there's more...



Poly front suspension bushings. I'll also be getting OEM tie rod ends and lower ball joints. A little bit later, I'll be doing all the rear suspension bushings, Racing Beat end links, maybe a new rear sway bar. Not sure on that one yet. All kinds of goodies on the way...

[navseal345]

I know this is "hers" but deep down I have a feeling that you love it more.
Looks great!

This post has been edited by navseal345: Apr 9, 2012 - 6:46 PM

[kurt95gt]

That looks amazimg!!!!!

[BonzaiCelica]

I know this is "hers" but deep down I have a feeling that you love it more.
Looks great!

ha same here. jealous of your trd replica sideskirts

[spolski07]

when ya gonna get it all painted?

[Batman722]

Nice updates !

Want me to send you a black carpet ? I'll trade you for some more Pibb

The front bushings aren't too difficult to put in but the rear are. It took Stef a few hours at the dealer to install hers, and that was with a lift, big air gun, and a torch. Good luck with the end links in the front when you do the bushings, it might be worth it to pick up some 185s front links from twosrus. The racing beat Miata end links are fantastic in the rear, big difference once they're installed.

btw , seats look great !

[richee3]

Thanks guys!

when ya gonna get it all painted?

It was going to be painted by the end of the month, but regrettably, some other expenses have gotten in the way. I broke our tan seats, so I had to drop $650 on SS-III seats. The BEAMS chewed up an axle, so there's more money gone. My IS needs some work as well, so the paint is going to have to wait. Should be by the end of May.

Nice updates !

Want me to send you a black carpet ? I'll trade you for some more Pibb

The front bushings aren't too difficult to put in but the rear are. It took Stef a few hours at the dealer to install hers, and that was with a lift, big air gun, and a torch. Good luck with the end links in the front when you do the bushings, it might be worth it to pick up some 185s front links from twosrus. The racing beat Miata end links are fantastic in the rear, big difference once they're installed.

btw , seats look great !

I'm tempted to take you up on that black carpet now. My seats were fine when we were up there, but I've since broken the front seats, so now we ended up with these. I can send as much Pibb as you'd like. The BEAMS just dominated the passenger side axle so I'm going to get the axle replaced and all the bushings done at once. I didn't think about the ST185 front end links. There has never been one single day that I've looked at the car and didn't like the factory alloys... until I got your GT4 front end. Now I really wish I had bought your spacers and rims. If you ever decide you're willing to ship them, I'll definitely take them. The seats aren't as nice as yours, but they're really in a lot better shape than the pictures look. The pictures make the seats look faded and stained, but they're actually very clean. There are a few loose threads but nothing big at all.

By the way, I forgot to say in the first post... We were going to get the car painted metallic black, but we've since decided on Toyota 3K6- Sunburst Pearl. Came on 5,000 limited edition '97 models.

[bloodMoney]

I definitely took one look at the work involved in replacing the rear bushing set and threw my arms up with a "screw it. I'm out."

It might have been the previous 13 hours of working on the alltrac though.... That and I didn't want to start that job at 12:30am.....

*sigh* someday....

[enderswift]

THAT, is one nice looking celica. I hope to get deck mine out with all the fancy trd and splitter bits one day.

[cheela]

SURE you "broke" the tan seats. LOL you know u just wanted the SSIII seats in there. LOL j/k

but wow, what a transformation! now I'm definitely gonna need to come to the next meet that I'm able to make.

[richee3]

I definitely took one look at the work involved in replacing the rear bushing set and threw my arms up with a "screw it. I'm out."

It might have been the previous 13 hours of working on the alltrac though.... That and I didn't want to start that job at 12:30am.....

*sigh* someday....

You'll get it soon! After the Dragon a few days ago, I'm sure you have all kinds of motivation to get the job done

THAT, is one nice looking celica. I hope to get deck mine out with all the fancy trd and splitter bits one day.

Thanks Luke! You'll have your swap and conversion done in no time and there won't even be any comparison between our cars after that

SURE you "broke" the tan seats. LOL you know u just wanted the SSIII seats in there. LOL j/k

but wow, what a transformation! now I'm definitely gonna need to come to the next meet that I'm able to make.

Haha I broke the crap out if the tan seats! The driver seat was getting a tear in in so I went to swap out the back rests and accidentally'd the whole thing >:( I managed to mostly fix the passenger side but the driver side still wants to recline at free will. The SS-III's are definitely comfy. Even the rear seat feels firmer but that could be due to less use. My only complaint is now the lumbar support is on the passenger side of the car, so when I drive I feel like I'm grandpa driving with my head touching the roof.

Anyway... Last weekend I was browsing Yahoo! Auctions Japan and stumbled across a TRD Version S exhaust system for a 3rd gen 3S-GE. Came with a cat, resonator, muffler, and all the piping. I picked that bad boy up for $114 before shipping, which will hurt quite badly. The exhaust isn't really intended for a BEAMS but it'll be a lot better than the GT exhaust I'm still using. Gotta say, I will miss how quiet the car is.

My BEAMS still smells like its running a bit rich. Recently, Trace and I have been doing a lot of brainstorming as to why. We think the undersized exhaust might be an issue but now we're both thinking it's the flywheel and here's why. The first picture is my stock BEAMS flywheel, second is the flywheel I'm using, a 2nd gen 3S-GTE OEM flywheel.




I've recently come across the information that the BEAMS got the lightest flywheel of any of the 3S's, and the GTE's have larger surface area for bigger discs. The difference might only be a single pound between the two, but when a factory flywheel is 15 lbs and a lightweight flywheel is 11 lbs, you can imagine that each pound makes a difference. Plus, as Trace, pointed out, the weight of the BEAMS flywheel is more centralized than the GTE flywheel, which helps it act like a lighter flywheel. We all know how finicky the BEAMS can be, and apparently the ECU relies heavily on the ISCV to keep the idle under control. I'm aware that the GTE flywheel is holding me back somewhat but I just wonder if the ISCV is going crazy trying to compensate for the added mass, and the engine not revving as freely as the ECU expects it to at WOT. I have a little over 15k on the clutch now so I'm torn between trying to get my BEAMS flywheel resurfaced and put in now or just holding off until I need a new clutch. I'd really love to get it put in right now but I worry that the clutch might not fare well if I do.

What are the community thoughts about the heavier flywheel? Possible culprit or have I totally lost my mind and I just need to buy a 4th BEAMS?

[navseal345]

It seems really weird that a different clutch could affect the fueling of an engine. But anything can happen.

So you are currently using a heavier flywheel correct (3S-GTE)? And the Beams uses a lighter weight flywheel? If the exhaust helps it but still acts weird then this I see could be a problem.

[ricochet1490]

yeah dan, the flywheel is a problem... but we should prolly wait until the exhaust is done.... gong up a hill would have the same effect... but the exhaust should make it awesome.

Edit: "a" not "the" flywheel

This post has been edited by ricochet1490: Apr 25, 2012 - 10:15 PM

[navseal345]

But you could also get another Beams and give this one to me. That way all I have to worry about is wiring and tran.

[richee3]

It seems really weird that a different clutch could affect the fueling of an engine. But anything can happen.

So you are currently using a heavier flywheel correct (3S-GTE)? And the Beams uses a lighter weight flywheel? If the exhaust helps it but still acts weird then this I see could be a problem.

But you could also get another Beams and give this one to me. That way all I have to worry about is wiring and tran.

Just the flywheel, not the clutch. The idle speed control valve on the BEAMS throttle body has a larger influence on how the car is running than I originally thought. There is some speculation that a lightweight flywheel will cause idle issues but Dustin and Stef have been running one for quite a while with no issues. I'm thinking that if there is that much worry about a lightweight flywheel messing with the ISCV, then my heavier flywheel can't be helping anything at all. For what it's worth, I have a BEAMS longblock in my garage that is going for scrap soon. You could have it if it wasn't more work than its worth.

yeah dan, the flywheel is a problem... but we should prolly wait until the exhaust is done.... gong up a hill would have the same effect... but the exhaust should make it awesome.

Edit: "a" not "the" flywheel

The exhaust is going to take way too long to get here! But I agree, it'll be pretty sweet. Just barely more than what stock exhaust for the BEAMS would be. I don't expect to unlock 238 hp with it but I'll be happy as long as the butt dyno can feel a difference, I'll be happy. After that, I have 37 hours of vacation time which I think I need to take soon. I'm thinking flywheel, poly bushings, new tie rod ends and ball joints are coming all at the same time. I'm seriously tempted to get new Suspension Techniques sway bars as well... Depends on how much I feel like spending. I'm mostly just debating spending $20 to get the stock flywheel in or go for ~$150-200 for a lightweight flywheel. That expense comes before everything else at the moment. I'd rather have a multicolored Celica with a confused identity (started life as an ST204, got a heart transplant from a 202, and now looks like a 205) that runs well than a single colored car that still has one really small issue.

Small teeny tiny update, the burnt orange valve cover and intake runners are no longer burnt orange. They looked alright when Brigette painted them but now they're slightly... Salmon. I pulled them off and put their red counterparts back on for now while we repaint the spares metallic silver. The emblems will be black and silver. As if the car isn't already confused enough... Why not give it a 3S-GE Silvertop?

[SwissFerdi]

I'm very curious to hear where you're getting a $20 flywheel...junkyard?

As always, nice progress guy. Funny that you used to speculate about having a BEAMS, and, well, there you are...

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Apr 27, 2012 - 7:40 PM