ST185 CS restoration and full rebuild

CMS-GT4

Active member
Thanks for the tip on the steering column. Now that you are going to remove a lot of the stuff from the bottom are you considering a flat bottom panel or a front rear diffuser?
 

Meurz

New member
Next up, I made a start hacking into the wiring looms. Since a lot of electrical stuff will be deleted, relocated or modified, a lot of wiring can go as well. Less is more. I thought about building a new loom myself, but Toyota did a great job and I think a neatly insulated OEM loom looks great as well. What you see below is the main interior wiring loom on the attic floor, the way it sits in the car. The large blue plastic part on the left lives behind the dashboard. The branch towards the centre of the picture (along the pliers) is the centre console (HVAC, radio, up to hand brake). In front of the home trainer you see the ABS ECU. That entire branch is ABS related and crosses the floor pan just before the rear seats. The stuff in front of the ATL fuel cell container is for rear lights, antenna, fuel pump, etc. Next to the ATL container you can see the FRP hatch, btw:

mainloom.jpg


If you check out the Toyota wiring diagrams, it looks like this:

interiorconnectors.jpg


I have removed the following wiring, connectors and components:

A37 ABS ECU (L/B)
A38 ABS ECU (L/B)
A39 ABS Speed Sensor Rear LH (L/B)
A40 ABS Speed Sensor Rear RH (L/B)
A41 Auto Antenna Control Relay and Motor
A43 ABS Deceleration Sensor (All–Trac/4WD)
B7 Back Door Courtesy SW (L/B)
D8 Door Courtesy Light LH
D9 Door Courtesy Light RH
D10 Door Courtesy SW LH
D11 Door Courtesy SW RH
D16 Door Speaker LH
D17 Door Speaker RH
F14 Front Tweeter (Speaker) LH
F15 Front Tweeter (Speaker) RH
I13 Interior Light
L4 Luggage Compartment Light (L/B)
P4 Power Seat SW
R14 Rear Speaker LH
R15 Rear Speaker LH
R16 Rear Speaker RH
R17 Rear Speaker RH
R18 Rear Tweeter (Speaker) LH
R19 Rear Tweeter (Speaker) RH
R24 Rear Wiper Motor and Relay (L/B)
R25 Remote Control Mirror LH
R26 Remote Control Mirror RH
S11 Sun Roof Control Relay
S12 Sun Roof Control SW and Personal Light
S13 Sun Roof Limit SW
S14 Sun Roof Motor
And the remaining 'combination meter' stuff left behind after installation of the STACK dash display.

The following will be relocated (shortened):

F 18 Fuel Pump (All–Trac/4WD)
F 19 Fuel Sender (All–Trac/4WD)

Instead of just cutting wires and creating a ghetto short circuit fire hazard, I've use lock picks to depin the connectors for an ultra clean result. It also was the only straightforward way to splice all surplus wiring out imo - just follow the loom from the actual component back to the control button, power source, ECU, etc:

connectorpins.jpg


ABS wiring gone:

abswiring.jpg


Some of the interior wiring is connected to the main engine, or engine bay loom (for instance: AFM to ECU) as well. There are 3 main looms in the car. In order not to get confused later on, I decided to take the related stuff out the other looms right away. It may look like chaos, but with wiring diagrams on the computer screen, some music and a drink I actually enjoyed doing this job! Welcome to the jungle:

wiringfun.jpg


I will make a complete list of everything I have removed later on, but here's the mandatory OCD overview of what I've taken out so far. Top/right block is from the interior loom, left column is from the engine bay loom and the lower row all comes from the engine harness itself:

surpluswiring.jpg


What you see in the photo above is over 11 kg of wiring and components with (a little bit) more to come. Weight removal overview from the start of this thread:

Sound deadening from interior: 10+ kg
Underseal from bottom (more to come): 6 kg
Carbon bonnet (difference from stock): 10 kg
Carbon doors: TBD
Carbon mirrors (difference from stock): 2+ kg
Double plating: 9 kg
Electrical wiring: 11+ kg

Total removal so far (ex doors): 48+ kg.

Oh, add another 15+ kg for the sunroof assy! That's well enough to compensate for the roll cage already! Rene happy. :)

sunroofgone.jpg
 

Meurz

New member
underscore":3hwe4o7r said:
Wow, that video makes a very good point about moving the cell forward when it's inside the cabin.
That's what I thought as well.. If it's going to be mandatory for professional circuit racing, it won't hurt for my build either.

CMS-GT4":3hwe4o7r said:
Thanks for the tip on the steering column. Now that you are going to remove a lot of the stuff from the bottom are you considering a flat bottom panel or a front rear diffuser?
You're welcome mate. I have been thinking about that actually, but my main (psychological) objection is running the hot exhaust and carbon propshaft in a confined space together. I'll have to investigate further before I decide on that.. I really want to keep the stock body looks and am not going to design heavy aero.
 

Punknoodle

New member
Lol I really should have looked here before asking the exact same question as CMS did here on your build thread on another forum regarding aero...

Regardless, just to reiterate - amazing work mate.
 

darthripley

Moderator
Seeing all the ABS related wiring makes me want to take it out of Vadar as well.
I think I'll have to do that when we take out the rear seats, so thanks for the inspiration. :twisted:
The wire weight won't make up for a half cage, but I'll know it's really all gone then :p

Super clean work ftmfw! 8)
 

toayoztan

Moderator
Awesome work. I won't be removing the wiring where the ABS harness joins up at the junction block to go to the dash (I am running out of time!) but will also be removing the wiring from the engine bay.

After studying the diagrams the past few days, I am probably going to relocate my fuse box near the battery. I have deleted the A/C and cruise control, and am going with an aftermarket EMS, so that will clean things up in the engine bay.

The next big task will be to locate all the wiring for the AC that I don't need, along with any sensor, boxes, etc.

So the only wires up front should be for the horn, lights, etc...I'm looking forward to the cleanliness of it. Just wondering where I should relocate the fuse boxes.

Great build so far, keep it up!

Bryan
 

Meurz

New member
WarTowels":11qz6vkf said:
This picture is epic!

-Towels
Painting the red lines on the carpet was the hardest! :p

darthripley":11qz6vkf said:
Seeing all the ABS related wiring makes me want to take it out of Vadar as well.
I think I'll have to do that when we take out the rear seats, so thanks for the inspiration. :twisted:
The wire weight won't make up for a half cage, but I'll know it's really all gone then :p

Super clean work ftmfw! 8)
You're welcome Keri. Peace of mind and a clean result are as important as performance, imo!

Sneaky184":11qz6vkf said:
Inspiring build you take the do it once do it right mentality to a new level. I'm dreading the day I rewire my gt4
Thanks mate, I do the best I can (afford) and hope the background info on my choices and plans are helpful for others. :)

toayoztan":11qz6vkf said:
Awesome work. I won't be removing the wiring where the ABS harness joins up at the junction block to go to the dash (I am running out of time!) but will also be removing the wiring from the engine bay.

After studying the diagrams the past few days, I am probably going to relocate my fuse box near the battery. I have deleted the A/C and cruise control, and am going with an aftermarket EMS, so that will clean things up in the engine bay.

The next big task will be to locate all the wiring for the AC that I don't need, along with any sensor, boxes, etc.

So the only wires up front should be for the horn, lights, etc...I'm looking forward to the cleanliness of it. Just wondering where I should relocate the fuse boxes.

Great build so far, keep it up!

Bryan
Thanks man, I appreciate your words. I totally understand how one thing ends up in 10 more other things and when you're working with a deadline, you have to draw a line somewhere.
AC is also a big chunk with several redundant lines. Just follow the wiring from the connector end and you'll see what I mean, lol.
Good luck finishing your build! I'm keeping a close eye on it, to see if I can borrow some ideas for mine. :wink:
 

Meurz

New member
Might as well fabricate another update now I'm on a roll!

For several years now, I have been investigating sequential gearboxes and shifters. Shifting an I-pattern is faster, reduces the chance of misshifts and is easier in hot track action as you have to concentrate less on what gear you're in. This is often helped by a big ass gear indicator in your face. None of them are available off the shelf for the ST185 though. Having a custom sequential gearbox developed turned out a little expensive, so I contacted Ikeya Formula in my best Japanese (thanks Google Tlanslate), to ask if they would be interested in developing a Cerica GT-Four specific Sequen shifter as next best option.

Dear Mr. van Meurs:

Thank you for recent email.

At this time, we do not have plans to develop a sequential shifter for Toyota Celica GT-Four ST185 (RC).
The development process can take up to 3~5 years and the development costs can be over 3,000,000 Japanese yen.

Nevertheless, we appreciate your interest in our products.

Best regards.

*************************************************
IKEYA FORMULA Co., Ltd.
Keiko Ikeya
ikeya-f@ikeya-f.co.jp
formula@ikeya-f.co.jp
http://www.ikeya-f.co.jp
*************************************************
However, a few people have modified Ikeya shifters (for an Evo) to fit Celica GT-Fours. One of them being Adrian Smith of Fensport (UK). You might have seen his blue eleventy thousand hp 4wd gen 7 Celica on the net. He actually uses an Ikeya Sequen shifter in his Time Attack monster and when he came over to race it in the Netherlands I talked to him about pros and cons of the Ikeya shifter. Long story short: He confirmed what I later read on several forums as well: It's a bit of a hit and miss. Besides required adjustment now and then (according to Adrian) I've found out that a lot of people experience misshifts (ending up in neutral), or hitting 3rd instead of 5th. Not exactly what I'm after.

Upon further research I came across KAPS Transmissions (Czech Republic/Australia). They make serious WRC hardware and also offer the SSS drive sequential shifting system which in theory looks a lot like the Ikeya shifter, but is equipped with an electromagnetic shift booster that apparently increases shifting precision and smoothness. But more important: They do custom setups as well, as long as the transmission/shift layout is similar to the later Mitsubishi Evo series. Which happens to be the case. :D I contacted them and a lot of e-mails later I sent them money and measurements of the shifter, cable travel and bowden movement, etc of my specific car. A few weeks later I received this custom specced shifter with which I chose their medium sized gear indicator (with dimmer) and optional (unpainted) carbon dildo lever:

sequentialshifter.jpg


The little aluminium lever is the lockout which you have to press in order to shift to neutral or reverse. This way an enthusiastic downshift session doesn't end in tears when you hammer it out of a corner. I might shorten it later, it looks like you might grab it when you don't plan to. Maybe not, I'll have to look into it later. The gear indicator should ideally be placed in plain sight to get the most of it. I know the TTE works Corolla WRCs have it like this:

3.jpg


So I took my Dremel and carefully cut out a new opening in my SARD carbon STACK panel which turned out like this (indicator is held on with tape here, I will mount it level):

gearindicator.jpg


And then it was time to fire it up and play, I mean test it! 8)

http://youtu.be/QG7Lu-n8q8E

I officially can't wait to drive my car again now. It will be so different and intense! I actually found out a Dutch Time Attack Evo is running the same SSS drive kit as well, check it out:

http://youtu.be/mi-mEbYXG9g
 

aus jd 2703

New member
Meurz":3gz01u58 said:
Upon further research I came across KAPS Transmissions (Czech Republic/Australia). They make serious WRC hardware and also offer the SSS drive sequential shifting system which in theory looks a lot like the Ikeya shifter, but is equipped with an electromagnetic shift booster that apparently increases shifting precision and smoothness. But more important: They do custom setups as well, as long as the transmission/shift layout is similar to the later Mitsubishi Evo series. Which happens to be the case. :D I contacted them and a lot of e-mails later I sent them money and measurements of the shifter, cable travel and bowden movement, etc of my specific car. A few weeks later I received this custom specced shifter with which I chose their medium sized gear indicator (with dimmer) and optional (unpainted) carbon dildo lever:
Shut up and take my money now!!!!
how much? im so interested!!!
EDIT: also Meurz are u planning on changing out the stock gears at all? say straight cut dog engagement? if so what brand?
i only know of PPG and their about $11,000 AUD....
 

CMS-GT4

Active member
Now that is a awesome gearbox solution. BTW: Are you planning on doing a short rack like the ae92 option or something similar?
 

Meurz

New member
aus jd 2703":1a0d71br said:
Shut up and take my money now!!!!
how much? im so interested!!!
EDIT: also Meurz are u planning on changing out the stock gears at all? say straight cut dog engagement? if so what brand?
i only know of PPG and their about $11,000 AUD....
Special price for you is only 5k euro. It might be cheaper to contact KAPS to see what the price in your currency shipped to your door is though. :p
I'm investigating straight cut gears (1-4) and dog engagement, but nothing has been decided yet.

CMS-GT4":1a0d71br said:
Now that is a awesome gearbox solution. BTW: Are you planning on doing a short rack like the ae92 option or something similar?
Yeah I spotted that info as well. Will look into it, as it sounds like a great OEM upgrade. :)
 
I have a 6 speed dog box with straight cut final drive.

My ratios are:
Final drive 4.23
1st 3.46
2nd 2.56
3rd 1.88
4th 1.54
5th 1.26
6th 1.06

I would like to do this shifter with Flat Shift program in my Motec ECU. I have original shifter and is is terrible. My dog box is very strong and adequate for 34mm restrictor.

I had experience with SQS dog kit for VW. Great price and quality. They also have somethin like that shifter. Can't wait to try one for next year here in US.
 

ALLensTRAC

New member
First let me say that this build is truly epic!!!! All kinds of unique, rediculiously expensive, and purpose built parts with amazing attention to detail. All I can say is :notworthy:

On the straight cut gears have you looked into the set Pat had made for his car by Franavehicles. I bet they will still make it. Here's the link: http://www.franavehicles.com/dogTC.html
 

athousandleaves

New member
For everyone that talked about it on the last page here is the auto tilt away defeat button:

DSCF1081.jpg


Awesome work with the SSS I-shifter and wiring Rene!
 
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