New Member - searching for ST205

Se7enred7

New member
Hi. New member here. When I was a kid, I had a 94 Celica gt, and always wanted a gt4...now they're no longer forbidden fruit in the states and Ive saved up enough cash, I'm looking for a clean largely stock ST205 as my daily driver. I've been looking on japanese auction sites, bringatrailer, and here. I look forward to getting to know y'all.
 

simple

Member
Welcome and good luck! They are still a good deal right now. Importers want too much for them but a savy buyer can get a Japanese contact to get one for less.
 

Se7enred7

New member
simple":24uhvf6e said:
a savy buyer can get a Japanese contact to get one for less.
I guess I'm not in that group of savvy buyers yet, bit am willing to put in some leg work. Are there any resources on finding the right japanese contacts?
 

simple

Member
Check out usstokyo.com and watch the auctions. Then find a broker and importer. You'll save over a used JDM car dealer but you need to understand your risks. You could end up with a major project. The JDM car dealers usually sell cars that are good to go.
 

Roreri

Active member
Welcome from another new guy here! I did the same sort of thing you're looking to do. I replaced the brand new 91 Celica ST I bought when I was twenty with a 92 GT-Four.

My experience purchasing a GT-Four that I'd even gotten to test drive and have inspected has been $3000 in labor and $1500 in parts and $500 in tools to do my inspection and to do work on it after I got my hands on it. You'll probably never have the ability to do the full due diligence that you would want to. And $1500 or so hundred on other stuff--tow truck fee, big green books, spiff keychains, WeatherTech floor mats and sunshade, Graham Robinson's book on the GT-Four, an Auto Meter dual temp gauge, an AEM fuel/air gauge, an AutoExtrude gauge cluster mount, a second key blank, an Arsvita bluetooth cassette adapter so I can avoid the expense and trouble of a head unit exchange, and a stock of parts to have on hand for future processes.

Admittedly some of this was wholly taken on voluntarily, but I went into it knowing that setting up a 30 year old vehicle that sat idle for ten to fifteen years was going to require considerable effort.

Things I have had done over the first three weeks of ownership:

Oil change
Transmission fluid change
Brake fluid change
Power steering fluid change
Coolant change
Diff fluid change
Replace failed/failing driver's side steering rack boot
Timing belt kit (with HKS Fine Tune Belt--overkill I know)
Serpentine belt
Water pump
Tires and alignment
Battery
Alternator
Shocks and struts (KYBs on hand, deciding whether or not they need to be installed now or they can wait)

...

Things I will have to do or have done, sooner or later:

AC leak check
AC compressor flush and fill with oil
AC refrigerant recharge (as a matter of fact I'm taking it in to have these first three done in a couple of days)
Brake overhaul (lines, pads, rotors, calipers, (master and slave cylinders?))
Wiper blades
Distributor
Spark plugs
Spark plug wires
Fuel pump
Fuel lines
Turbo hoses (the Hose From Hell and Hose From Hell On Earth)

Any or all of these and more will be suspect.

And sometime--preferably soon--I have to get those gauges installed so I can monitor engine conditions--can I trust the in cluster OEM temp gauge? Is my oil temp too hot? Am I running too lean? Paranoia sets in.

You would like a stock example, but these were enthusiast cars, and many of them have seen some light molestation. You can expect aftermarket gauges, a boost controller, an air flow controller, a boost timer, camber plates, coilovers, sway bar, rear tower bars, aftermarket shift knobs, aftermarket steering wheels, aftermarket wheels, a big fart can, and so forth. Weird shit will happen, like you'll get a car with some weird JDM lug nuts that need a key and guess what, there'll be no key.

Look up how to get information on a chassis number through an information broker. Learn how to read an auction sheet.

Best of luck! Would I do it all again? Yes. Would I knock a couple of thousand off the asking price on general principle? Hell yes.
 
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