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84 p type up keep and basic mods

91K views 190 replies 32 participants last post by  ddd228 
#1 · (Edited)
EDIT: Adding Current status of the car to the top and table of contents to make it easier, as well as list things i have purchased but not installed to shame myself into doing them faster hopefully...

Here is the car as it sits 6/6/17. 17x8 +10 and 17x9.5 +0 Simmons with 235/45 and 255/40 Hankook R-S4's(supposedly they run bigger than specs listed, so i went conservative with them.) Advan Carbon hatch and hood thanks to George at Raptor Racing. T3 DIY coilovers up front, Eibach springs in the rear(old, no longer made, will be trying Dobinsons in the near future), KYB AGX's all around still. JDK BBK(Wilwoods) front and rear. Still running an old 3" Raptor SS exhaust from the catback, stock exhaust and manifold on the 5m with Raptor cold air intake that is otherwise stock at the moment.




CF hood with stock hatch, 16x8's with 225's all around(still have the wheels with all seasons on em, they clear wilwoods fine)





Mod list(links to guides):
16x8 +0 XXR 532 with 20mm spacer and ARP studs out back Smashed dust caps up front to fit center caps and put new custom TEQ decals on them
350lb gc coilovers up front, 199lb ST static springs rear 450lb GC Coil overs up front with camber plates and rca's and 300lb dobinson static height springs rear and got it aligned with specs to my liking
Stock brakes with SS lines
Nardi Classic on NRG QR hub(literally just scroll down, it is in the first friggin post)
Hayden econokool power steering cooler(again first post)
Truck-lite LED conversion headlight housings
Advan oem style carbon hood with Quik Latch hood pins with modified degased stock hood struts so it doesn't bulge in the middle
Pioneer deh-prs80 with 4's in modified stock front location and 5.25's in rear
3" Raptor Racing SS catback with test pipe for now
Radar detector mirror mount


Fix guides:
Power steering reservoir o ring(also pics of fortrans)
Door pocket elastic fix
Radiator top tank crack ghetto fix
Rear valence and interior area rust repair/removal and prevention
Hood bumper install and adjustment
Raptor Racing direct replacement radiator
Tail light seals
Interior rattle ghetto fix
Aftermarket metra power antenna install, mpguino, fj80 trim packers as rear spring spacers, and shiftgasm. also road trip to tail of dragon meet...


Live and learn:
Powered hidden antennas will not get good reception at all, don't bother(scroll down to see how i tried it though)



Things i have and need to install:
16x7 fortran wheels i need to refurbish(scroll down)
Flex a lite fan
Innovate wideband o2 for stock ecu use (might just hold off until standalone and sell it unused...)
Emumaster ECU standalone
CT26(still need manifold and turbo) oil/coolant line kit, 3" downpipe
Raptor racing fender flare trim kit(need to repaint RR flare and source LR rock guard)
Cooling panel for in front of radiator from ebay that fits badly
Rear subframe and control arm bushings, still need the new rear subframe brackets
SS Clutch line
MPGuino en route, need to figure out vss signal from cluster to cruise control or get an adapter
LS400 tool kit



Future plans/fixes/purchases:
Oil leaks
Leaky whiney LSD(need to buy spare to fix up, pref 4.10 or lower)
80A 92 Camry alternator upgrade working fine so far, road testing before 4awg wire to battery to see if i can tell a difference
Sticky back foam under misc interior parts to stop rattles(rear package cover for sure)
Cat/silencer added to test pipe, 3" is loud as all get out NA, turbo should quiet that down though...
Oil filter relocation kit(already have) for easier intercooler piping(have mk3 piping/ic not sure if i'll use it though, thinking small air to water might fit well)




Ok back to the original start of the thread, hope the links help find things...


The car has been in the family since the 80's, and well kept i might add, so i'm just trying to keep that going and maybe improve things a bit when they break.


First order of business was a new windshield. It was only a slight leak at the top, but it had caused rust around the entire mounting surface so i had them take care of that while they were at it. In hindsight i wish i had asked for one with an internal antenna, live and learn.


It was garage kept until me, so i got a nice fitted car cover for a couple hundred bucks.Very happy with it so far. I park in a garage at work, so i figure it has about as much garage time and more time protected than before, so i don't feel too bad...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001V5CW9A/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
http://www.covercraft.com/carcovers/car_cover_fabrics.html


After that i got it detailed to bring the paint back to life a bit, and have been just fixing things as they come.


I installed a nardi classic steering wheel on a NRG hub, how to thread here: http://www.celicasupra.com/forums/s...steering-wheel-with-nrg-hub-and-quick-release

I put a new to me turn signal stalk in there while i was at it to get my wipers working again. Being able to pull the wheel off to work under the dash has been a huge help for things like adjusting the clutch pedal, which i've done a few times so far to get it where i want. Installed stainless steel brake lines since my pedal was mushy there too, and i'm all around way happier with the way it drives day to day now. I hard wired a dash cam mounted just under the rear view mirror as well, so far happy with being able to just set it and forget it.

Recently the low pressure power steering line developed a leak so i replaced that, and while i was in there i tossed in a cooler since i've read threads about issues while autocrossing. The hayden imperial econo-kool 241009 matches up to the stock cooling loop well, minimal modification required. Simply trim the end off the stock loop, mount this one in line, and attach it however you fee is secure to the stock mounting hole. I used a rubber covered metal strap. It even came with enough extra hose to fix my cracked one i was replacing in the first place. I cleaned the screen on the reservoir while i was in there, did not replace that o-ring since i forgot to order that but im keeping an eye on it...



It got dark by the time i finished, but you get the idea. Not a bad mod for $20.


I put in a powered hidden antenna, seems to work not as well as anything with a mast, but that seems to be the consensus for hidden ones. I tried all manner of variations and nothing worked much better than anything else, so i went with the easiest/cleanest way i could get it to reach.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000B9E3QM/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I started at the passenger b pillar, pulled the stock extension back to there and tucked it all into the headliner. Pulling the oh shit handles and the upper seat belt bolt and that piece of trim makes it way easier, along with all the rear passenger interior parts of course.

I grabbed power from the stock power antenna plug, just tested with the multimeter to find one that is only on with the radio.

I tucked it into the headliner trim at the top of the windshield, and ram it all the way around and tucked the big clunky power box into the c pillar in the rear. I got slightly better reception when turning off my dash cam, but that isn't gonna happen. If anyone has had better results with a hidden antenna i'm all ears, but this works for me for now, if not great.




To do list:
Mirror black paint code 202 painting:
Repaint stock passenger mirror, paint new driver mirror i got that works fine but looks so bad i'd rather use my broke stock one. Paint sun shade. I'm actually tempted to try plasti dipping these parts since i've not tried that at all yet, just wondering it they have a glossy black that looks decent.
White painting:
misc touch ups, passenger rear fender was repainted at some point and they put in too much hardener possible because it is all cracked. fill the stock antenna hole and get that painted since mine is rusty, or stop the rust and put a rubber plug, haven't decided.


The bfg's look great and all, but the grip sucks. I got a set of 16x7 wheels off the club4ag forums that fit well, i need to take them apart and clean and paint them before putting tires on them. I've got some arp wheel studs and 20mm spacer coming to make them and the stockers fit right in the rear.



I got a set of springs for the rear and ground control fronts for a good price, keeping my eyes open for a set of shocks/struts. The upper strut mounts are cracking too so i'm also in the market for caster/camber plates. I'd like to run the 16x7's on stock suspension and see how i like that, i honestly kind of like how it drives now for daily use so i might end up not dropping it after all. Time will tell. Maybe stock height with double stacked stock rear sway bars and an upgraded front bar would make it fun enough on the street but still have enough travel for bumpy roads? I might end up upgrading to the mpv front brakes rotors with q45/z32 calipers, but that depends on how well the wheels fit i think. If they need a bit of a spacer to look right i might as well upgrade the brakes instead of getting a spacer :p

I would like to upgrade the stereo eventually, but the tape deck with an adapter makes noise for now. I need to figure out where to put a phone dock, but that is also way down on my list.
 
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#2 ·
I took the rear interior apart to clean it all up and see how bad it is, not sure how i went so long without checking it. The spare was almost dead flat, and there was standing water under it. I cleaned it all up and put it back in.
Under the stock jack there was a wet pile of trash that can be best described as body hiding supplies. Gloves, plastic wrap, rope, and paper towels to clean up after i guess? All were sopping wet, so in the trash they went.

Cleaned this up a bit and put it back with air in it. White letter in? For shame. When i put the 16x7's on i'll toss the nicest one back there, assuming i can get it water tight...


The hatch seal looks decent, i think the water is coming in through the tail light gasket. Running down the hatch, behind the tails, and inside.




Looks like the cheapie harbor freight torque wrench fits under the deck on the right hand side. On the compartment on the right hand side i picked up a canvas bag at home depot meant for paper sorting and put some spare tools in it, as well as a breaker bar tucked behind it. Works well for cheap, doesn't seem to make much noise. Trying to decide if i want to cram fluid in the jack spot, or just live with a small box full of spares/fluids/manual and junk.
 
#10 ·
I took the rear interior apart to clean it all up and see how bad it is, not sure how i went so long without checking it. The spare was almost dead flat, and there was standing water under it. I cleaned it all up and put it back in.
Under the stock jack there was a wet pile of trash that can be best described as body hiding supplies. Gloves, plastic wrap, rope, and paper towels to clean up after i guess? All were sopping wet, so in the trash they went.
]
You did say this car was in "The Family", right?
 
#3 ·
I think that about covers it, figured i should toss it all in one thread finally. The car has some old school passive alarm installed, so i've been pulling that out as i see it in whatever area i am in. Not sure how i posted that many pics without one of my dumb dog interfering. Here she is being lazy while i messed around with the hatch yesterday:
 
#4 ·
Nice work! How about putting the hidden antenna outside of the car, like right on the underside of the 84 sunshade? It would be out of sight, farther away from anything metal than it is right now for better reception, and could be tested temporarily in that position with some Velcro stick-on pads or black tape while running the cord out of the top of the hatch and simply closing the hatch on it. If it works better, then you can figure a way to run the wiring through the hatch and under the sunshade.

I also really like those wheels, because the design is VERY similar to the 87-94 Toyota 4x4 truck/4Runner aluminum rims. So you have aftermarket wheels that still look like stock! I also agree that white letter tires on a white car is the way to go. :)
 
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#7 ·
the great snowpocalypse of 2014 happened here in austin so i didn't get anything done this weekend, and the supra is hanging out at home until whatever they treated the roads with works itself off. There were over 100 accidents in one day because of the ice, so i'm just glad i was off work and my netflix was working. i've got another car that needs a set of tires so i'm hoping i can get the wheels cleaned up in time to work a package deal on 2 sets, but we'll see how the weather this weekend is...
I did not even think about the rear window sprayer hole, that would be a good way to pass an antenna though. i'm not sure i could run the hidden antenna to it in a decent hidden way, but i'll give it a look see when i get a chance, and since i plan on repainting it anyways i won't mind sticking things to it temporarily. i wonder if one of the more modern mini shark fin looking antennas would work well through there under the spoiler. i also keep running the spare tire well in my head, and am thinking if i got a 15" spare from a cressida or something i could nicely cram a few tools in there and they would not be in my way at all.
my brother just sent me this link, i think the flat sides would make it easier to cram in the stock speaker holes up front. maybe enclose them with pvc caps while i'm at it. http://www.parts-express.com/tang-band-w4-1320sjf-4-bamboo-full-range-speaker--264-915
i'm thinking 5.25 woofers out back, will have to see how big i can fit without modifying the stock grills.
 
#8 ·
That 4" looks like a good choice for your fronts. I have 4" Boston Acoustics mounted behind the stock grilles with 1" Vifa tweeters mounted on the triangular mirror trim pieces at the top front of the doors with their crossovers hidden in the lower dash. 5 1/4's will indeed fit well in the rear and I would suggest just a midbass driver without a crossover or tweeter for great rear fill. Of course for decent sound, you'll need a sub of some sort and there's many ways t do this.
 
#9 ·
#11 ·
I think i've finally got my power steering leak licked. The o ring at the base of the reservoir ended up being worse than i thought so i tackled as fast as possible due to it being 27 degrees outside. I never earned a polar bear badge before i quit scouts, but this is close enough for me.

The o-ring in question is listed as toyota oem part # 96711-19013 and was a special order to the tune of almost 5 bucks, so i found metric o-ring kit locally at o'reilly's and the one that fits best is 10mm ID x 15mm OD x 2.5mm W from DORMAN metric o-ring value pack 799-450 for like 7 bucks.

from http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Library/TSRM/MK2/manual.aspx?S=SR&P=19

The easiest way is to use a mighty vac or similar to suck all the fluid out of the reservoir that you can reach, there will still be some under the screen so it will still leak a bit when you take it off. If you pull the hose off the side you can get a little more out, but not much so why bother. There are 2 14mm bolts on the front and 2 12mm bolts on the sides, then wiggle it a bit as you pull it out and it should come free. If you put an empty container like an old oil quart between the radiator and the area you are working on you can pull the reservoir off quick, then move the bottom over the container and not spill much. Pull the old ring off, put the new one on, put some petroleum jelly on that to help it slide on easier if you have some handy, slide her back on, tighten her up, fill her up, good to go.

Best 25 bucks you'll spend if you ever plan on bleeding brakes, and you can use it to suck old fluids out.


My old o-ring was so bad it cracked apart when i pulled it off.

10mm ID x 15mm OD x 2.5mm W seemed to be the best fit, the next step up wouldn't go on, so this one is as tight a fit as you'll get.


If old man winter would go away i could more comfortably spend some time cleaning up my new wheels. I got them apart and cleaned up a little, but i need to get to work polishing the hoops and painting the centers. It is too cold to polish really since the compound gets brittle, and paint doesn't stick well either, so at best maybe i'll get the hoops sanded this weekend so i can polish them when it warms up a bit... Looks like they used to be some funky red color judging by the color under the bolts. Gross. Costco has a deal on 70 off a set of michelins, so i'm looking real hard at the 225/50/16 pilot sport a/s 3's. 45k mile warranty ona tire i can use year round. Should come in at just under 600 for the set. A little spendy, but why spend 1/2 or 2/3's as much on shitty tires that won't last as long anyways i figure. If you've got 45 minutes to blow and want to learn how to redo 3 piece wheels, this is a decent set of videos made by some guy on youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXqWTXvsWJ8&list=PLC49A298A62E0FA42&feature=c4-overview-vl

 
#12 ·
Finally got around to installing a working driver side mirror, but it is from an 85-86 so i had to rewire it. I went ahead and pulled the passenger side and gloss blacked them at the same time. To get the 5 wire heated mirror to work on the 84 style body harness with 3 wires, you disregard the outer two wires(red one and black one), wire the one that is the center of the 5 pin to the one that is center in the 3 pin, then by trial and error found out where the other 2 wires go. One is for vertical and the other is horizontal so you have a 50/50 shot of getting it right. If you get it wrong just switch those two around or deal with the driver side moving horizontally when you push the switch for up and down movement and vice versa :p
 
#13 · (Edited)
I ordered and installed some truck lite 5x7 LED lights to the tune of $370 shipped from ebay. They are a direct plug in swap with the stock bulbs, but the fog lights and flash to pass does not work, nor does the high beam indicator. All lighting features worked before btw. It is weird because now when i flip the fog light switch the high beams come on now, and no fogs. I have not done the fog light mod or anything. If i hold flash to pass they actually seem to be wanting to flicker almost. Lights on low are awesome and the highs are so bright i am ok without the little blue indicator to remind me because if i forget about them i will probably get flipped off which will remind me. I drove with my brother to San Fransisco and back in his new Mustang GT with HID's and that was the last straw, had to do something about the lights on this thing.
http://www.truck-lite.com/webapp/wc...10001&storeId=10001&productId=92027&langId=-1
ebay seller drivetrain_america has the best price i could find, shipped fast, no complaints with them.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Truck-Lite-...Parts_Accessories&hash=item5405b23b46&vxp=mtr

I gotta say the new housings are substantially heavier than stock(listed as 3.2lbs shipping weight), but our motors are so strong that i am not worried about it.

Stock sealed beams(low):


Stock passenger side, new driver side(low):


Stock passenger side, new driver side(high):


Unadjusted new lights(low):


Quickly adjusted new lows:


Quickly adjusted new highs:


From some angles they look black while off, not that i drive with them up and off ever...



DOT approved, unlike HID setups that can be done for cheaper:


Lows and highs:



Back of the box:


4 phillips head screws to pull the black plastic headlight surround off, 4 more to pull the metal ring holding the bulb in place, unplug the old bulb and plug the new ones harness in(the extra length makes it even easier than sealed beams), replace the metal ring and the 4 screws, use the 2 larger screws to adjust the lights to your pleasure, replace the 4 screws on the plastic surround and you are good to go.

Here is a guide on aiming the lights yourself: http://www.danielsternlighting.com/images/Aim.pdf
Basically park 25' from a wall, mark the center line of your car and the centers/tops of your lights on the car itself(make sure your tires are inflated properly and you've got a full tank) and play around with it until you are a centered horizontally and a couple inches or so under the crosses. Mine were actually pretty close before aligning, and i might not have even been flashed...


These use way less power than stock sealed beams, but i'm wondering if putting a relay harness in would solve the high beam indicator and fog light issue. I might go ahead and do the fog light rewire mod first and see if that fixes that issue at least. While googling to see if anyone else had a fix for the high beam indicator i found a mkIII guy who did an install and couldn't get through a single side without chugging a monster energy drink, but the basic procedure is the same on ours. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXWddPs2Qik
The tsrm doesn't really go into detail on how the high beam indicator works, but i assume it is just looking for the extra current draw.
http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Library/TSRM/MK2/manual.aspx?S=E&P=16
Fog section: http://www.cygnusx1.net/Supra/Library/TSRM/MK2/manual.aspx?S=E&P=7

I drive a lot and night and will report back later on, but so far i am happy for the price. 3 year warranty, milspec durability, 30+k hour bulb life vs 400 of silverstars or ~1000 for low power sealed beams. They also use way less power so wiring is not an issue, ~25/50w vs 55/65w of the silverstars people use with stock wiring. Buy once and forget about it. I'm thinking about finding a protective film for it possibly, but we'll see since they are protected all day already.
 
#14 ·
#16 · (Edited)
Oh man yeah that is a problem, picking up where you left off can be a pain if you wait too long.

So from everything i've been reading people who have upgraded to brighter h4 conversion housings and bulbs and used a relay harness to get power for those directly from the battery they have had no issues with the high beam indicator or flash to pass. That leads me to believe that the continuity of a relay is enough for that to work, so a resistor should work as well. Worst case i blow a fuse right?
edit: I've done some more research and looked at the wiring diagram and now it makes sense to me. The bulb for the indicator gets ground through the high beam bulb itself which explains why it does not work as expected through this LED setup. 1k ohm 1/4 watt seems to be an ok value that is working for other folks, will give that a shot.
 
#17 ·
I did some more tinkering with my headlights and still no go. I went ahead and unplugged my foglight switch, same result with the flash to pass and lack of high beam indicator. Tried the resistor trick from the fj cruiser forum and same results. Here is what it looks like when i hold the flash to pass down, the bulbs just blink rapidly like so: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc4mxgflIH4
If i put the sealed beams back in everything works fine... Truck lite support suggested putting an incandescent bulb in line somewhere, which to me kind of defeats the purpose of installing LED lights. The relay harness option is looking more and more like what i will have to do.

I had to take the door panel off to fix the passenger side window track(not came loose, quick fix), went ahead and redid the elastic on the map pockets while i was in there. I went the lazy way and tied the elastic to itself instead of digging around for the staple gun who's whereabouts were unknown. Slid the rat king of a knot into the slot so it had no chance of interfering with the panel sitting flush. The $5 harbor freight plastic trim pulling kit was my friend for getting things off cleanly


As clean as my interior is and as much of it's life was spent in a garage, there is still a little bit of fading. Completely acceptable for a 30 year old car though.


Had some fun on some back roads after meeting up with a couple local mkII guys, good times.



Got some new tires on the way for my 16" wheels, and a decent pile of suspension goodies awaiting install once a few more come in. Trying to figure out what to go with for speakers and head unit also, as my crusty old stuff is getting on my nerves. One piece at a time...
 
#18 · (Edited)
Another month, another meet and some more stuff done. Got a few parts in and most installed, not pictured is the cf hood that is still in the box, waiting on quik latches to come in before installing it.


EDIT: Here is a post breaking down what i actually installed here http://www.celicasupra.com/forums/s...and-basic-mods&p=884193&viewfull=1#post884193

I was in a rush to get the car done before this last meetup, so i did not have time to figure out why the strut brace wasn't fitting well for me, bother with the hitch since i don't have a bike rack for that yet anyway, or swap out the rear studs so i can use the spacers. Got the front struts shortened in advance for the short stroke struts and ground control stuff in at a friend's shop who is a welder by trade, so day of all i did was paint them and install. Only "fab" work needed was to trim the stock front upper hat per Wes's guide, who is the man btw. I used a grinder instead of a drill press, but that was just preference. As for the rear i had kyb gas adjusts so their shock eye bushings do not fit as well as the stock ones are supposed to, so i've got new ones coming to swap out when they come in, but it is ok for now. By the way if you have not got speed bleeders yet, next time you break into your system slap em on. Raptor has em now, and they make bleeding solo go so fast it'll make your head spin. To do the fronts the way i did by swapping out the strut assembly, you will need to break the front brake line in half to put it on the new one, meaning bleeding the brakes.
http://www.tscperformance.com/supra_coilcover.htm
http://www.tscperformance.com/supra_rearagx.html



Saw a bunch of great old cars at a cruise in with aerojock, they were very accepting of us being the only things from Japan much less newer than 1975 or so. 20+ cars in a home depot parking lot with a bunch of old timers in folding chairs, my kind of time.



Took a few pics on my way home from work the other day in front of a mural i spotted, the height is growing on me but we'll see if i change my story with the slightly taller 16's. Just eyeballed the alignment for now, will get it set when the new wheels/tires are on as the numbers will be different. I will try some cheap coil spring spacers in the rear to see if that brings my camber to a better angle with a closer to stock height and still looks good, and then level the front out a bit, then decide which height to get it aligned at.




Finally decided on wheel color, going with the dupli color graphite for the centers, satin black for the inner hoops out of laziness, and polishing the outer hoops. Did some googling and it looks decent on white cars i think and did a quickie piss poor photoshop, looks good to me :p


 
#19 · (Edited)
I finally got around to installing longer rear wheel studs and hardware for running a spacer. I couldn't find anyone saying for sure that the is300 studs(ARP 100-7715) would fit in the rear without pulling the stub axles and doing crazy stuff, at first i was thinking i would go ahead and change the wheel bearings at the same time to give you an idea of how bad i thought this was going to be. I figured out a pretty easy way to do it luckily. I took a quick video, but basically you pull the entire brake assembly including the ebrake drums, as well as the cable, then you can wiggle it in through the cable recess.

Stud in the ebrake cable recess:




Video: http://youtu.be/s3QT_GYpeNU


20mm spacer is from novustech(60.1mm bore), who at the time of purchase made them in house from what i found, so no chinese stuff. I cannot find any current info saying where they are made though. Lifetime warranty and i've had nothing but luck with them, nice fit, look good, and decent company to deal with via email.
http://novustech.ca/shop/20mm-4x114-3-5x114-3-cb60-1mm/

I also removed a ton of old school non working alarm crap:


Headed to a car show this weekend, will post more pics of the rears looking decent with spacers from that ;)
 
#21 ·
I always get a little nervous when other people touch my car, but costco did a decent job with my out of the ordinary car. New tires from them, new wheels going on that i brought in, hub rings and lugs from me, and the 20mm spacers in the rear. They tossed my stockers in bags for me and they fit fine in the hatch with room to spare. They did manage to break one of the shock top covers, but nobody is perfect. :p
For some reason they had trouble getting my front left center cap on, but i haven't played with it to see what the deal is, just happy to have new shoes right now.

I went with XXR 532's, 16x8 +0 all around with a 20mm spacer out back using arp is300 studs, with Bridgestone POTENZA RE970AS 225/50R16 all around as well. I should be able to rotate front to back with ease. 40k mile warranty on these tires so i should be a happy camper for awhile.







Clearance is a little tight in the rear and i'm not liking the camber, so i think i might raise it up 1/2-3/4" with coil spring spacers before i get it aligned


up front there is plenty of room, and will be even more when i raise it to match rears. i did hear it bottom out up front on a big bump, not sure where i hit the inner fender yet but after a slight raise i'll see if it does it again.


Another thing i'm fighting is loose connections and things thanks to the now much stiffer suspension. I charged my AC on saturday morning before heading to a car show and a few blocks away the ac cut out, so i was thinking i had a massive leak. Just discovered today that it turns out the connector for the sensor just under the connection under the header panel came off, i put it back on today and it is blowing ice cold again, gonna secure it with zip ties. Hopefully this charge lasts long enough to get me to a meet with a local member with a leak detector, but if it lasts me all summer i'll be ecstatic.

Got my quik latch hood pins in finally, hoping to get my cf hood on this weekend. I've got some louvers for the rear to paint and put on but i'm still undecided so no rush, as well as wanting to repaint the sunshade while i'm at it. I'm also waiting on spacers for the strut tower bar and then i can put that on, but all in all she is ready for some cruisin.
 
#22 ·
Lol I've always been a stiff on letting anyone in my car.. even if it was a piece of crap.. when it had a built motor in it, to the point that I almost wanted to take my rims in my truck to tire shops for them to install the tires... People are such tools sometimes. Since I moved I had to find a new shop were I like the techs and owners that I can just drop the car off at.. hard to find great shops.

Will spring spacers add camber to the rear like your wanting? doesn't look like it needs much so it shouldnt be too bad.
 
#41 ·
YES! It will just bee enough.
Even 1/2" will make the rear camber go positive,just a little. 'Sides,the stock "pad" under the rear springs go away,after a while.
I slid a foot of 1/2" heaterhose on my rear coils(I cheated).:wtf:
I did use some spring spacers on the left front and right rear to load the R.R. a little more to reduce that "Corvette in the rain" bull$hit,where the ass swings to the right.:duh:
WAY safer in the snow,if you drive in the snow(Bad word).:censored:
 
#23 ·
I'm running the 1" drop dobinson rear springs, between those and my worn out rubber spring bushings i'm not too much lower than stock, so raising it back up another 1/2" should get me close enough to stock to have the camber adjusted pretty well i think. I'm also interested in a little more clearance all around between the tires and fenders, and ground clearance would be nice too. The front plate scrapes most parking blocks now just barely, so with it up a little i bet it would clear. I know i know, stop parking so close, i just don't want the ass hanging out if i don't have to.

Still researching alignment settings, found these threads so far:
http://www.celicasupra.com/forums/sh...821#post769821
http://www.celicasupra.com/forums/sh...eels-tires-ETC
http://www.celicasupra.com/forums/sh...Adj-Suspension

I've got ddd228 saying to go with factory settings with a little added toe in and to max out caster, i'll take it under advisement while i research my tookus off as usual.
 
#24 ·
Yea, I spend everynight about researching.. Every setup differs normally on how the alignments should be.. I usually like +1 rear camber and everything factory.. and suspension slighty modified for performance yet comfortable not pounding.
I never really thought of rubber spring spacers as Lifters.. yet I guess thats what I seen them advertised as.. I only planned to use them as Weight shift control for fast traction less squatting. :)

I love my front tires to be able to touch "Curbs", "bumpstops" hate when the front scraps .. or if my bumper touches..
I enjoy Whipping in and Parking the damn car.. not begging a NASA 12 Part procedure for Dent/Scratch Avoidance. :) haha
Good luck. I have spacers for my rear aswell but wont have tires I can rotate sadly. Aiming for 700 :-D
 
#25 ·
Heh well i'm not shooting for anywhere near 700 you nutty bastid, i wish you the best though. I decided to leave it low for now and went ahead and got it aligned and will enjoy it as is, if i get annoyed with the height or stiffness i'll source something softer and redo it then, but for now it is time to enjoy the ride. The rear camber is pretty gnarly IMO, but we'll see what tire wear is like... Drives well so far.


I also went ahead and hammered in the dust caps just a tad to get the center caps to fit nicely. You can see that before smashing them in a bit the domed out portion barely interferes:


With a little persuasion the center caps fit well now, i might end up flattening them a little more later but we'll see. There is a little stsicker emblem essentially that fits in the middle that says XXR, maybe some day i'll make something cooler to put in but for now at least they match all around.
 
#28 · (Edited)
I've been busy the last few months, though I have not updated this thread out of pure laziness. I took home a goofy looking trophy at a local car show, and have been to a few meets here and there.



My brother found the original plate and gave it to me, did some research and it appears to be the correct year plate for it. Pretty cool design.


I installed a stock style cf hood from advan, along with some quik latch hood pins thanks to Tanya's guide. http://www.celicasupra.com/forums/showthread.php?73376-Mini-quiklatch-Hood-Pin-Install
I ended up having to take the stock hood struts out as they were making the sides bow up a bit due to how flexy the new hood is. It is very flexy at highway speeds, and since i live near a road with a an 80mph limit hood pins were not optional. I plan discharging some dead struts and using hairpin cotters in new holes drilled to hold the hood up but for now i've been using a board. I'm too much of a hoarder to drill out my working oem struts...




Edit: Make sure you get some springs for the quik latches, i talked to their customer service about why mine come halfway undone from time to time and they sent me some for free. Great company to deal with.



I finally got around to upgrading the stereo system, which was way easier with the steering wheel off thanks to the quick release i've got.
quick list:
Head unit: Pioneer deh-80prs
Front speakers: alpine sps-410 in custom brackets, i'd recommend smaller stock size unless you feel like fabbing a little
Rear speakers: Polk DXi525

As for head units, i tried a huge double din eclipse unit i got from a friend in trade for doing some work on his car, and it was too deep to fit. I ended up going with a pioneer deh-80prs after doing a ton of research, and ended up switching it to the lower half of the opening since it was too deep to fit properly in the upper half. I am still considering adding a smallish sub to fill out the low end, as well as switching the system to network mode so i can use the fancy built in crossovers, but for now i am happy with it. Way more settings than i know what to do with... I already had a stereo adapter bracket and pocket with the sweet 90's kenwood tape deck, as well as the metra wiring harness adapter with it that i just modified to work with the new pioneer harness. I recommend leaving it out and dangling until you have all new speaker wires run.
Before:

After:


Up front i went with 4" alpine sps-410's hoping to get a little more bass out of them than the stock size, though in hindsight it would have been way easier to just put a stock size speaker on the stock brackets. I ended up making my own brackets out of old license plates with some tin snips and a drill, nothin fancy to it. I ran new wires to these, no guide needed on that just tuck it up under the panels and hang it out the radio hole for when you wire it up. I would recommend leaving the panels off until you finish running new wires to the rear speakers to make things easier.





In the back i went with Polk DXi525's because they were on sale and had decent reviews, they fit about perfectly in the stock brackets and i don't think you can go any bigger and fit under the stock grills. Once you remove the stock speaker, you can remove the screws on the back half of the rear interior portion you can get to all the screws to take the speaker brackets out, don't forget the 2x10mm's holding the seat back latches or the hidden phillips head in the carpet. There is no way to drill the holes needed in those without taking the brackets out. Once you drill the holes and test fit the speaker you have to take it back out to bolt the bracket back in, then bolt the new speaker in place and you are in business. I ran new wires to these as well, in the laziest way possible. If you remove the rear arm rests you can fish the wire through that panel, then take the door sills off and snake it under the carpet, and up the same panels you should already have off for the front speakers.





Here is a link to the pdf crutchfield sent me with a decent guide on where all the screws and such are:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B3s7hmpDuhJKYVBxUmJJWWM5Q2pvUEl4WU5jWmtVT2dFTVlN/edit?usp=sharing

If anyone has any advice on subs let me know, now that things sound pretty good why not finish it up and fill out the lower end. I still have a hatch leak somewhere so no spare tire well enclosure for me.
 
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