All-right guys.
8)
I know it's later than I said, but here we go.
It was a long day. I planned on seeing a couple of cars.
An IS300 I found on Craigslist listed as a manual.... only when I got there, it wasn't.
The S14 I planned to look at had an owner who was super flaky, almost like he didn't want to sell it.
The S14 was in the same city as the IS300 so I waited around to see if he wanted to give me his address and get paid for his car.
Turns out the answer was no. Mr.S14 ended up telling me that something came up after the Celica owner called.
But as soon as I got the call I was on my way out to Hayward.
I was going to see which car was the best of the three. If there was something major that basically stopped me from being able to drive the celica home, I would take one of the other two cars as a consolation prize.
Thankfully, the Celica owner was straightforward, and not flaky. It made my decision easy.
This was my view after I parked when first pulling up.
Looks about ready to show miatas what's really going on.
The owner let me know that he needed to jumpstart it as it had been sitting a while. I'll keep an eye on the battery and alternator health. If she doesn't want to start up one day, and those are good, I'll check for parasitic loss.
She started right up, no smoke or anything from a coldstart.
There is some hesitation at idle, and if it's idling for 5 mins or so, it will slowly, progressively stall out.
The owner let me know that there is a CEL occasionally present, going away after being driven.
Not a huge problem as with any new to me car, it will receive a full tune up. So this is my first order of business, amplified by the present (intermittent) CEL, and the need to smog and register the car.
If the code returns, I will have a clean baseline to start from, and will have eliminated a number of possible contributing causes.
What the pictures don't show is the consistent horrible throttle response off idle. This prompts a tuneup even more.
Additionally, from cold, there is a ticking noise which I am assuming is from a valve needing adjustment, or something (lifter)? sticking until it warms up.
The pics will also not show the off throttle clunk that is present within the drivetrain. I'll take a look underneath but I suspect the xmember bushings are gone. I'll have that on order with some poly engine mounts as well.
Otherwise, things are looking great. It was an easy decision.
Let's take a closer look:
I had to downsize the resolution and quality for the forum requirements, but if you look relatively closely, you can see some aftermarket hoses, a valve cover gasket leak, a very old oil catch can, and offscreen to the right is a very dirty aftermarket air filter.
I plan to order the valvecover gasket within the next day. Maybe I will just ride to the local Toyota Dealership for one after work tomorrow if they have it in stock. There is upgraded hardware on the valvecover, but I will start again with refreshed bolts and washers and a proper torque sequence and see what's up from there. Hopefully the leak will be eliminated.
The car had been sitting for quite some time, only moved here and there for parking / street sweeping. In other words, it was very dirty. It's got a new paint job under there - 3 years old, but it still looks amazing. I can see it under the dirt. I've got some practice bring back old toyota black and super red paint so this job should yield some great results. The windows and engine bay, lights and exhaust will also get some love at this stage, but I have my work cut out for me as you will read below. But speaking of the exhaust:
Mmmmmm.
Ideally, I'd like to end up with a factory Super Red respray, but also, this looks pretty close. It was hit in the right rear and upon initial inspection, the only indication is the slightly tweaked gas door. I'm going to try to hunt down the factory decals if I can. But part of me also wants to keep it clean and mostly de-badged.
If anyone has any leads on finding those original decals, that would be amazing.
The power steering is out. The owner cited the return line. I'll take a look at that handy DIY at work this week.
I gave the owner his asking price and drove away. (I came back later to pick my bike up).
I went to the gas station to clean the windows. It was really good to take in that old Toyota smell and spend some time on the road.
Turbos are so fun! I'm so used to prioritizing high revving NA machines. Now I get to worry/think about cooling and making cool noises haha. And fun stuff later like antilag and BW turbos. Water Injection, etc. Mmm.
But it's a little premature for that. I've got a lot of maintenance to do!
The brake rotors are rusted, and will need a refresh. At - least - having the rotors turned. At best, a refresh all around, incl. fluid and adjusting the ebrake. Tires and alignment of course. I'll document as I go in a build thread.
She made it home okay, but was burning oil - that valve cover leak is strong. I've parked her until I can address these issues. Gotta pay to play. I am collecting parts at the moment. Hopefully by my birthday (end of June), I'll be able to take a shakedown run in the hills out here. Someday, I'll get a hood either without that scoop or with more appropriate venting, but most importantly, I'll get rid of that black stripe.
I will also need rear suspension soon. I've looked around quite a bit and it sounds like I've got some decisions to make. What setups are folks running here in the states?
I'll probably go back to factory hoses where I can, while refreshing older units.
I was so ready to get a short shifter, but there is one installed already. I am not sold on the quality of whatever it is - because it is -too- notchy. I'll end up with a TWM or a C's.
Also, I really miss my C-One Steering wheel so I've gotta find another one. It left with the 85 MR2.
Overall, I know I've got my work cut out for me, but hopefully I can make her happy, and give her a better life than moving from parking space to parking space.
Once I am happy where I am with the running condition, I will take her to autox and scare all of my friends. Who decided to drive a fleet of miatas for some reason. They are quick and have nice setups but I have 4 seats, factory turbo, toyota pedigree, and awd. :notworthy:
Anyway, thanks for reading and for having me!
