Body Panel Creation

N8wrx

New member
Hello everyone,

Some of you might have been following me in another thread that has recently been discussing replacement rocker panels. As many of you already know we currently are out of Toyota replacement panels for pretty much any section of any Celica (ST, GT, GTS, Alltrac). Its also coming that time where all these limited/rare cars are becoming junk yard queens and crusher material for cans. Ive been looking for years to find cars in junk yards i can salvage good panels from but even that is starting to get slim and All-trac panels (floor pans, rear quarters) are harder to come by as with the pans you need to find an All-trac and rear fenders either an All-Trac or GTS.

This is all well and good Nate but what in the world are you getting at???!!!

There is a company in Canada that I have been discussing the possibility of forming us panels so that we may always have ready access to replacement metal. They have agreed to give this a shot and the only requirement is that we send him panels to get measurements (I also have to send him ALOT more images of the car before we send anything to make sure the section can be formed). At this point I dont think we need perfect panels but the less rot the better im sure. I will be attempting to use the Panels from my All-Trac but some sections are barely together (my drivers floor pan for example might as well not be there).

So the purpose of this thread is to get a listing of people who need panels and what they are plus a list of people with panels they would be willing to send to help us develop the panels. Let me know all your thoughts, concerns, etc etc and I hope we can get something going for us all!

EDIT: In no means am i benefiting (other than having access to buy new sheet metal panels from another source) or profiting out of this, the sole purpose of this is to get panels to restore my personal Celica All-Trac as well as helping our community preserve these cars for future use.
 

RedCelicaTRD

Moderator
I would love to see a complete rear quarter panel made for 165s and 185s. This seems to be the panel that gets the worst damage and leads people to total out good running cars. A complete quarter could save quite a few from the junkyard. However, I'm sure it would be a pain to fine a good panel to copy. Other then that rocker panels would be a good choice. I'm sure fenders are going to be in short supply soon, so it might be worth getting some copies made.
 

N8wrx

New member
When i spoke with him last he said we dont need perfect panels to recreate them so I think as long as we have the general curves and the rot areas are minimal they would work. I know front fenders are pretty easy to get importing from JDM land but when discussing anything non-bolt on with them no one wanted to have anything to do with shipping those panel sections.

Here are the sections i mentioned to him we would like to look at, let me know if there anything I can add from here.

(These would all be ST185 panels, Im sure he would do ST165 as well if we have enough interest)
Rocker panel left
Rocker panel right
Right rear outer quarter panel
Left rear outer quarter panel
Drivers floor pan (including sway bar mount location in front)
Passenger floor pan (including sway bar mount location in front)
Rear/Rear subframe body mounts
Right rear bumper mount location
Left rear bumper mount location

and here is Robins contact information and website for anyone who is curious...


Robin Wilkinson
Wolf Steel
1 Ballerina, Frelighsburg, QC
J0J 1C0
CANADA
T: (450) 298-5078
robin@alfaparts.net
http://alfaparts.net/
 

ascribe

New member
Wow, thanks for doing the leg work on this. This could be huge. Any word on the rockers from those cars in Vermont?
 

Tecker185

Member
As I said in the other thread I'd be down for rockers for sure. I currently do not have a good set but if I did find some I'd be installing them on my car. I will on the other hand after getting a set for my car donate either the old ones or another set if I come across some. Are best bet would be having someone in Arizona or equivalent source some off a gt-s. I'm sure they can be found via car-part.com.
 

ALLensTRAC

New member
As I said in the other thread I'll buy whatever they make! I'll keep what I don't use for spares. As for finding usable panels to recreate I keep a close eye on all the Tampa Bay Area junkyards so if a gts shows up I'll let you guys know. I have a cordless sawsall too so I can get whatever.
 

N8wrx

New member
I think rockers will most likely be the first thing to be done. I dont want to hack out too much at one time from my car but mine are in decent shape for using as the base and id only be sending 1 at a time. Its going to take some time to get them off and send them but i think this is really the only way to start getting a panel selection.

Anyone with panels ready to go or cars in local junk yards that might have panels (thank you guys that have mentioned they will keep a eye out) please PM me. If we can get even just 1 panel to start we can start to see the quality and fitment we will get from the rest of the panels. Now ive never used any of his panels and ive only seen what he has on his website which they look very nice so im not sure how perfect they will be (im sure some trimming is going to be needed etc) Im sure the first couple wont be perfect either and might need some changes made for future batches but im willing to test fit for him. Also if you are thinking about sending a panel, i think the best way to do it would be drilling out the spot welds and taking it off all as one whole section so when the panels are made we are getting as close to a OEM replacement panel as possible.

I sent Robin the thread so I think he is monitoring it and he said he might even hop on the forums to discuss this with us but until then ill try to be the best inbetween guy i can. That said the more interest we can get and the more posts with people saying they want stuff the faster and more determined he will be to help us. Everyone has to keep in mind he does run the company for making a profit like any other so the more panels he can sell the more he will want to make them for us. Ive also discussed international with him because we all know the GT4 is identical body panel wise to the All-trac so if your international and looking for panels feel free to post because we might be able to help you guys out too.

Let me know if you have any questions/ comments/ concerns/ etc and I can bring it up to Robin.
 

N8wrx

New member
On a side note I have not bothered my friend in Vermont yet about those Celicas in the junk yard, he literally just had a baby boy so hes a little occupied :)
 

athousandleaves

New member
I was told a little while ago that the rear quarter panels were still available new from Toyota at about $800/side.

I will be parting out a GTS in the next few months so I will have plenty of metal to donate to this once it's been chopped up.
 

N8wrx

New member
Unfortunitly there are currently no panels left (i welcome you to prove me wrong and will buy them if you find anything). Many websites say you can order them, then once the order goes in you get a email saying that part is no longer in stock and is discontinued by Toyota. Ive talked with multiple Toyota reps on this as well and all with the same conclusion. I had one guy tell me they might find some in 10 years stuffed away someplace but it would most likely be the last set if it was ever the case (equal to finding that super rare 1963 split window corvette in a barn with 20k miles on it).

If you can prove me wrong and have someone I can contact that does indeed have them i will buy them and have Robin use those to reproduce but I dont think you will truely find any. I know as recent as maybe 1 year ago there was 1 set of rockers out west and 1 brand new gas tank at the same dealer (they wanted close to $800 for the gas tank shell alone) but they refused to ship the panel (Toyota rufeses to ship any sheet metal per there policies) So i was unable to purchase them (i was even considering flying out to get them or paying a shipping company extra to buy them for me and then ship them) they were gone shortly afterwards and were the only set I have found after calling just about every Toyota dealer in the US.
 

dkdmonk

New member
Interested in drivers (left side) floor panel.


Cut one (and several other pieces) out of a rust free GTS only to find the floor panel is not close to the Alltrac.

I knew the hump and several other areas would be different but the GTS one is completely flat with no strengthening ribs, it doesn't have the lowered spot just in front of the seat rail, and the seat rail seems different as well.

Would have been great if I could've used it, I would've left the seat rail and sway bar strengthening rail in place and plug welded the panel back into original spot.

Guess I'll be Fred Flintstone for a little longer :)
 

N8wrx

New member
Still working on getting this going. Its not a easy process as I will have to remove panels 1 section at a time and send them to Canada. Anyone willing to donate slightly rusted panels would be greatly appreciated. Once they have the design we will be able to have these made to order. Don't loose hope, its just not a quick process! The more help we can get the better off we will be.
 

athousandleaves

New member
I have an entire alltrac chassis that I'm scrapping now due to the rust along with the GTS... gonna have a big pile of spare parts sitting around. :roll:

Rockers are pretty 100% much gone now, floor has some holes but its still there. Too much work for me to save it.

Would you guys be willing to pitch in on shipping it to him or should I just let it go to the wreckers?
 

N8wrx

New member
If you want to ship what you can to me I can get them to him if you want. I think this would make the original shipping cheaper for you as it wouldn't be international. Im sure he wouldnt mind taking them direct also but whatever works best for you. Would pretty much need the whole floor pan and if you have any rockers left (maybe you can post some pics? I can send them to him to see if theirs enough to guesstimate accurately) I know some people are interested in rear quarters as well. I'm willing to foot some shipping expenses as i need to get replacement panels somehow so i consider it all for the greater good of my car as well as others. i dont think the floor needs to be in 1 section either but i can confirm with him, can probably cut it into like 4 smaller sections and ship them in a flatish box? Let me know what you think but anything you can provide will help everyone.
 

N8wrx

New member
Just emailed him. If you can get me some pics i will send them his way. I asked if he might want the full car too, is it a roller easy to move? Maybe we can just ship up the full car to him or something?
 

athousandleaves

New member
Might have a connection from Vancouver BC that is willing to pluck some rockerpanels etc from clean 18x's at their local Junkyard.

Anyone out there willing to pick them up and ship them to Quebec???
 
(N8WRX): Pretty much that's all what were waiting on is panels to make the new ones from. Im still working on getting to the point I can remove some from my car. Just pulled the engine this last labor day weekend so that was a huge step. Shouldn't be long now as the whole body is bare its time to start fixing my rust. Anyone else who is willing to find/ ship / anything for any panel is greatly appreciated. I don't have much time left in the garage as its coming winter and my garage is not heated (im hoping I can buy a space heater this winter so I can at least be down there doing something.)
 
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