My 1990 Celica GT Four (RC Conversion)

Redswan

New member
So, after 6 long years I couldn't fight the urge any more. The perfect deal on a great Alltrac came up and I jumped on it. I picked up this beautifully maintained car with only 122k miles on it. I set out with completing the restoration where the previous owner let off and decided to do another RC conversion while trying to maintain it as a reliable mostly stock daily driver. Since then I have swapped in a JDM RC Engine and Tranny. I bought a ViS RC/CS hood, JDM corner lights. I still had a RC badge set and some other HKS parts lying around all these years. I also picked up an RC intercooler here on the board and paired it with a bosch cobra water pump and a front mount W2A heat exchanger. I purchased a Momo 4 spoke steering wheel like the ones in the RC and a Momo Anatomic leather shift knob. The car runs almost perfect and looks pretty good.

VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JHX5BDlpoQ

1990 Celica GT Four (RC Conversion)

MODS:

Engine:
Swapped Genuine ST185 RC Engine
RC Water to Air Intercooler with Front Mount Heat Exchanger
**ST205 Apexi Power FC ECU (Ditched, ST205 ECU: 89661-2B840)
**Greddy TD06
540 cc MR2 Rev3 Injectors
HKS EVC EZ II (10PSI/14PSI)
HKS SQV
HKS Hi Power Exhaust (w/120mm silencer)

Drivetrain:
Swapped Genuine E151F Transmission (ST185 RC)
Swapped ST205 Torsen Rear Differential
**OS Giken Twin Disc STR Clutch
17x7.5 ET48 OZ Superturismo GT Wheels
50mm Rear Spacers
35mm Front Spacers

Suspension:
Cusco Lower Type II Lower Brace
Tein HA Coiloves
Tein EDFC (Silver)
ST205 Front Calipers
IS300 Front Rotors
ST205 Rear Calipers
ST205 Rear Rotors
Whiteline Rear Sway Bar (BTR29Z)

Exterior:
VIS RC Hood
JDM Front Corner lights
JDM Rear Vented lights
Rebadged "GT Four" and "RC"
Supra Gunmetal Gray Emblem (75314-14010)
OEM 4Runner (4th Gen) Fog Lights

Interior:
MOMO 4 spoke Steering wheel
MOMO Anatomic Leather Shift Knob
Sparco Carlos Sainz Aluminium Pedals
ZZT231 Black 'Celica' Floor Mats
ZZT231 Black 'Celica' Trunk Mat
Carlos Sainz Plaque (Genuine #361)
Black Cloth Interior

*Installation pending

Current Ride:

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SnD1siw7LWKm6FzaUbfyPiJdxg2IJUVVo6zfd4o0FZ4SNi-U9DBqJG_wwTJ7qAK9_CT_S6c4ld0nBxEdcka1BQtoy1tVCFHw01Zz2-AmSzCBLm7peUuAFgDN89YHGKlg9SLIQAXiWfEUZFRbA6wWkziF0aqwnLH5eyZlvzokv_A0cfbiEsM_J22_KjslR0fEcfxgSptblgBpYhdlCqn72ROQZtosPfliiTMNtQlVK-2SUaQ9_1e4d7iDPIRY650o9a98Pg6TOZAb1GhEtaxEpuyKBBXMYq_RWK0a56fMPXTei-bVoal2UHQKpFpE0FvVGnCP1llPFhFU5iXkKZhU5AnrfdC2TnO50T7hqNPDVBsn8XLlP7PFehEdS3pvYzOZfMfMELO9niH6tfdZuStGm6j5HDPqNz28OfXJOFpN-_Gi1gtAWo69c0Pkfqp7qIg7iSI1cRfXoVYWzahDPnAJ1X3ipobxgPZcrALacEA-1DAj1UPd4nGdrJS-qir1Ci-lQs6d_8fqm5CBg-Pi4EKlDabG688mnMcekr2t9hH60JvUiu8weXpN735UIb_Syp6BUfAS=w907-h510-no


The day I bought it.
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spacetrancex

New member
I think this is the Celica I was looking to buy before somebody snatched it up before me. :cry:
Nonetheless, beautiful looking ST185!!
 

Redswan

New member
So, I replaced the oil pump because of a leak and after 4 tries the oil pan is still leaking. :(
The tranny syncros are toast in 1st, 2nd and 3rd. So i decided to break down and cough up $1800 for a RC 3sgte and tranny which should be delivered next week.

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I picked up a used HKS muffler and plan on having the exhaust redone after I get the engine and tranny sorted out.

HKS.JPG


I also found a sweet deal on a 4 peice set of SPARCO pedals with the engraved Carlos Sainz signature on them!
 

Redswan

New member
celica_gtx":3emlads6 said:
Lemme get that intercooler? Help out ur battle!! :D
I don't wanna hassle w my 205 intercooler

Will do. I won't need two of them at any point. I'll send you a PM once I get my stuff together. I would like to get $200 plus actual shipping for the I/C.
 

celica_gtx

New member
Redswan":cjxco2vc said:
celica_gtx":cjxco2vc said:
Lemme get that intercooler? Help out ur battle!! :D
I don't wanna hassle w my 205 intercooler

Will do. I won't need two of them at any point. I'll send you a PM once I get my stuff together. I would like to get $200 plus actual shipping for the I/C.


:smokes:
sounds good when u expecting it?
and will yah send all the extra bits w it im not sure if the couplers are the same?
Wanna bolt her in then wire her up.
 

Redswan

New member
celica_gtx":1ue1n101 said:
Redswan":1ue1n101 said:
celica_gtx":1ue1n101 said:
Lemme get that intercooler? Help out ur battle!! :D
I don't wanna hassle w my 205 intercooler

Will do. I won't need two of them at any point. I'll send you a PM once I get my stuff together. I would like to get $200 plus actual shipping for the I/C.


:smokes:
sounds good when u expecting it?
and will yah send all the extra bits w it im not sure if the couplers are the same?
Wanna bolt her in then wire her up.

I fit it up to the stock rubber throttle inlet, it took a little stretching, but it was pretty easy.

It should be here next week.
 

alltracman78

Active member
Nice looking car. :) I love these in black. And I love the cloth that came in them in 90.

The RC IC is a decent bit bigger than the regular 185 TB inlet.
But the 165 inlet is the same as the RC inlet. No sense in wrestling with the smaller one. :)
 

Lamont

New member
alltracman78":uynht68g said:
Nice looking car. :) I love these in black. And I love the cloth that came in them in 90.

The RC IC is a decent bit bigger than the regular 185 TB inlet.
But the 165 inlet is the same as the RC inlet. No sense in wrestling with the smaller one. :)

^This...and the mounting bracket/engine hanger is a must to get the intercooler to mount properly, everything else is pretty easy from there 8)
 

Redswan

New member
so, i got the new(er) engine today. Any ideas why the RC ecu would not fire up when I plug it in to the USDM harness? no spark, no fuel, no engine light at start up. EDIT: I did some reading and the ECU needs its harness and AFM.

swap.jpg
 

celica_gtx

New member
i didnt have any problems plugging in my jdm ecu to my US harness.. did u check all the basics?

check ur pm too :D

EDIT*
so i was bored and i search looks like u need to use an rc maf with the ecu swap and water intercooler module to check from throwing codes
 

Redswan

New member
Ok, so a couple of updates. I got the RC engine and transmission in the car and everything is running smooth. I will note for the sake of discussion here that the throttle bodies on both engines were the same part number and look identical in size. The rubber adapter looks to be the same for both as well.

The engine was a ilttle difficult to get in with 2 floor jacks as I do not have a cherry picker and could not rent one.


swap.jpg


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Got it running with a jump from its big brother.
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Redswan

New member
I also got it tinted and the HKS muffler and exhaust done this week. I will say there must have been something wrong with the old system, because this feels like a new car now.

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