Rebuilding an ST165, the fun way

killemalltrac

New member
I've been around here for a while now and posted a bit. I figured since my car is under the knife it would be a good time to start a build thread and keep everything in one spot. I'll do my best to keep this updated as my car progresses but I tend to think I'm very busy so we'll see. :D

To start off I have a 1988 celica all-trac. I bought it from a member back in January. The car was down in California but I bought it based on a good description and about 20 pictures, mainly these ones.

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I was banking on the fact that the whole interior had been redone (the only thing I didn't want to tackle myself) and it had a sweet sparco wheel. I had a friend meet up and pay for the car for me and take it to his house, where it sat for a month before the shipping company picked it up. My buddy was at least kind enough to send more photos.

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Hangin out with his RX-8

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It took another week and then I finally got the call. The truck driver wanted me to meet him at the grocery store near my house.

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And here it is!!!

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Ditched the wheels and stickers and cleaned it up a bit. All while realizing that the car leaks about a quart of oil a day, and the turbo is destroyed. Thanks FELLOW MEMBER!!!

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Well all this led to a lot of research and an expensive choice.
Fix or swap?

I chose swap. I contacted my good buddy James Whitman of http://www.JWsportcars.com in Albany Oregon. He is a long time Nissan master tech and has done countless swaps. He said he can get the motor I want, which is of course the 3rd gen and he also said I will see it run before he starts the swap. If you are gunna do a swap just buy a front clip. It is so much easier if you know for sure that you have everything. I gave him all the money I had and he said he would be back in a week. This is what he brought me :)

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And then he did this!



Needless to say I was very excited to see this all coming together. More to come after I do some actual work...

Oh and here is an idea of the kind of fun stuff he has in his shop :)

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underscore

Well-known member
Nice project, that interior looks gorgeous. Personally I would have gone fix, but it looks like you got a very nice halfcut.
 

88gt4DE

Active member
Nice ... Sucks had issues you didnt know about. However those seats and interior look amazing :notworthy: Good luck with the project !
 

crymson

New member
That's pretty serious oil leak. glad you decided to save her, I'm looking forward to seeing this beauty on the road
 

killemalltrac

New member
wakkjobb":1x2vrjer said:
Wow, that interior IS damn nice! 8)

Plans for a build, or just run it stock?
Stock engine with only minor additions for this car for now. intake, exhaust, boost controller, FCD, just little stuff like that to make it a little more fun :)
 

wakkjobb

New member
Sounds familiar... and the sane way to go. What kind of shifter is that; I can't really tell from the pics. Got to replace the mile-long stock shifter and I'm looking for options.
 

killemalltrac

New member
The shifter is the stock one. It's just been cut short and welded back together. That combined with a bushing kit makes the shifter very very tight. I love it:)
On another note I got ahold of whiteline in Australia and they happened to have one set of st165 sway bars. So I bought them:) I also ordered some wheels last night. 15x8 +25. Ill post a photo if then when I get home. They are ccw classic replicas.
 

88st165

New member
soarinhigh":6jnveqsy said:
The shifter is the stock one. It's just been cut short and welded back together. That combined with a bushing kit makes the shifter very very tight. I love it:)
On another note I got ahold of whiteline in Australia and they happened to have one set of st165 sway bars. So I bought them:) I also ordered some wheels last night. 15x8 +25. Ill post a photo if then when I get home. They are ccw classic replicas.

I have those same wheels on my 165 :)
 

killemalltrac

New member
88st165":fe1jadxe said:
soarinhigh":fe1jadxe said:
The shifter is the stock one. It's just been cut short and welded back together. That combined with a bushing kit makes the shifter very very tight. I love it:)
On another note I got ahold of whiteline in Australia and they happened to have one set of st165 sway bars. So I bought them:) I also ordered some wheels last night. 15x8 +25. Ill post a photo if then when I get home. They are ccw classic replicas.

I have those same wheels on my 165 :)
I would like to see :) link?
 

killemalltrac

New member
Well a lot has happened over the past few months. The biggest thing is NOT GETTING MY CAR FINISHED! Turns out my mechanic was crap. He threw away parts I paid for, didn't know what he was doing inside the ST165, and last of all finally just said he didn't have time to put it back together yet so I had to pick it up and trailer it to someone else who I trusted to do the work. I know, I know... I should just do it myself..... Unfortunately I live in a small duplex and have a 2 year old. I have absolutely no time to be doing a swap and would rather pay for it to be done with a guarantee.

With that said, things are finally going well and the car should be back and running in a matter of weeks. I have a TON of photos to post here to share but for now I give you this.

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A few of the extra goodies I get to install once the car is being driven again.
 

88gt4DE

Active member
soarinhigh":zfspa4mb said:
Well a lot has happened over the past few months. The biggest thing is NOT GETTING MY CAR FINISHED! Turns out my mechanic was crap. He threw away parts I paid for, didn't know what he was doing inside the ST165, and last of all finally just said he didn't have time to put it back together yet so I had to pick it up and trailer it to someone else who I trusted to do the work. I know, I know... I should just do it myself..... Unfortunately I live in a small duplex and have a 2 year old. I have absolutely no time to be doing a swap and would rather pay for it to be done with a guarantee.

With that said, things are finally going well and the car should be back and running in a matter of weeks. I have a TON of photos to post here to share but for now I give you this.

2q87l95.jpg


A few of the extra goodies I get to install once the car is being driven again.

WOW .... either you want the work or you don't. Sucks you got screwed like that. I hope you didn't give him too much towards the work ... I have a personal motto I do car work for others by , If I don't finish the job ... I dont get paid :smokes:
 

Awesome-Trac

New member
soarinhigh":26d20r9e said:
Well a lot has happened over the past few months. The biggest thing is NOT GETTING MY CAR FINISHED! Turns out my mechanic was crap. He threw away parts I paid for, didn't know what he was doing inside the ST165, and last of all finally just said he didn't have time to put it back together yet so I had to pick it up and trailer it to someone else who I trusted to do the work. I know, I know... I should just do it myself..... Unfortunately I live in a small duplex and have a 2 year old. I have absolutely no time to be doing a swap and would rather pay for it to be done with a guarantee.

With that said, things are finally going well and the car should be back and running in a matter of weeks. I have a TON of photos to post here to share but for now I give you this.

2q87l95.jpg


A few of the extra goodies I get to install once the car is being driven again.


Where did u get those tail lights and corner markers?
 

Rick89GTS

New member
I know everyone loves the JDM corner lights but for me, that CS vent is the jewel in there :D
Where did you find it?
Shitty that your mechanic jerked you around like that. Hope it all comes together soon.
 

killemalltrac

New member
All of those parts came from a friend Down Under. He didn't have a lot of trouble finding the lights... The hood pieces on the other hand, this will probably be the only OEM Toyota set I will ever see. They will be an excellent addition to my car and the install will be nice and clean. I had him cut out the mounting points in the original CS hood so I will have "factory mounted" CS vents in my 165 hood.

Here are the wheels for the car. Rainbow lugnuts, cuz everyone like a little rice :)
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New aluminum Radiator
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And my wiring harness came in!!! And I'll tell you right now it looks AWESOME!!!
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Rick89GTS

New member
soarinhigh":4aeb2oe0 said:
....I had him cut out the mounting points in the original CS hood so I will have "factory mounted" CS vents in my 165 hood.....
Do you mean he cut out the hood bulge where the CS vent will sit?!
Do you have a pic of that?
 

underscore

Well-known member
As much as I love the RC/CS vent on a 165, the thought of an OEM hood being cut up makes me a sad panda.
 
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