St185 full rebuild

chriss402

Member
Hi guys,
I decided I wanted to start a project vehicle but wanted something a little odd. We only have maybe three or four of these cars left on island and I managed to find a 1992 tucked away in someones shed. After a few visits I finally agreed on a price with the owner and the car was mine.
 

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  • Celica on wrecker #2.jpeg
    Celica on wrecker #2.jpeg
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  • Celica on wrecker #2.jpeg
    Celica on wrecker #2.jpeg
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  • Right strut previous damage.jpeg
    Right strut previous damage.jpeg
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chriss402

Member
The more parts I removed the more accident damage and amateur body work repairs I found. It looks like the right wheel was hit so hard it pushed up the floor and buckled the firewall and the tunnel .
 

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  • Buckled firewall.jpeg
    Buckled firewall.jpeg
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chriss402

Member
When the carpet was removed it then revealed everything .
 

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  • Buckled flooring.jpeg
    Buckled flooring.jpeg
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  • Buckled tunnel.jpeg
    Buckled tunnel.jpeg
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chriss402

Member
The wiring was a real piece of work, someone used house connectors to repair where it must have been cut in the accident .
 

Attachments

  • Butchered wiring.jpeg
    Butchered wiring.jpeg
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chriss402

Member
I stripped the interior completely to view any other hidden gems and then went to work on repairing the harness .
 

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  • Stripped interior.jpeg
    Stripped interior.jpeg
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  • Wiring harness removed.jpeg
    Wiring harness removed.jpeg
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  • Wiring harness soldered and taped.jpeg
    Wiring harness soldered and taped.jpeg
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chriss402

Member
Now it was time to remove the engine and decide what I was going to do with the front end . It was out of square and someone had damaged it by gas torch welding it back together.
 

Attachments

  • Engine removed.jpeg
    Engine removed.jpeg
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chriss402

Member
Fortunately I was able to source a front clip locally from someone who shipped in an engine from Japan in it . I was lucky enough to get it for free too !
 

Attachments

  • Nose cut.jpeg
    Nose cut.jpeg
    705.9 KB · Views: 3,201

chriss402

Member
Now was time to start drilling off the bad parts and preparing the shell to receive the nose clip.
 

Attachments

  • Firewall cut out.jpeg
    Firewall cut out.jpeg
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  • Aprons cut off.jpeg
    Aprons cut off.jpeg
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  • Aprons cut off 2.jpeg
    Aprons cut off 2.jpeg
    572.1 KB · Views: 3,201

chriss402

Member
Once most of the heavy parts were cut off I could start to concentrate on drilling out the balance of the spot welds and do some hammer and dolly work on the flanges .
 

Attachments

  • Preparing the flange to recieve the nose cut.jpeg
    Preparing the flange to recieve the nose cut.jpeg
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  • Preparing the flange to receive the nose cut 2.jpeg
    Preparing the flange to receive the nose cut 2.jpeg
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  • Flooring flange prepare and sprayed with weld through primer.jpeg
    Flooring flange prepare and sprayed with weld through primer.jpeg
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chriss402

Member
After drilling off the original firewall the corresponding spot welds were drilled off the donor nose cut
 

Attachments

  • Nose drilled and prepared.jpeg
    Nose drilled and prepared.jpeg
    530 KB · Views: 3,201

chriss402

Member
Once everything was drilled off the new nose cut was offered up and held in place with screws to check fitting of parts and gaps
 

Attachments

  • Trial fit of the nose cut before welding.jpeg
    Trial fit of the nose cut before welding.jpeg
    420.9 KB · Views: 3,200

chriss402

Member
Once I was happy with the door gaps and the fit everything was welded up .
 

Attachments

  • Nose cut welded in place.jpeg
    Nose cut welded in place.jpeg
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  • Nose cut welded in place 2.jpeg
    Nose cut welded in place 2.jpeg
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  • Nose cut welded in place 3.jpeg
    Nose cut welded in place 3.jpeg
    491.1 KB · Views: 3,200

chriss402

Member
After spending so much time on the chassis I was ready to move on to something else . So I left the chassis alone for a while and went on to suspension and undercarriage parts . I tried to remove items as an assemble so they could be cleaned up before tearing them down. Once removed they were pressure washed clean.
 

Attachments

  • Lower Control arms removed.jpeg
    Lower Control arms removed.jpeg
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  • Lower control arms removed 2.jpeg
    Lower control arms removed 2.jpeg
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  • Rear suspension removed.jpeg
    Rear suspension removed.jpeg
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chriss402

Member
Suspension parts pressure washed clean
 

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  • Rear suspension pressure washed clean.jpeg
    Rear suspension pressure washed clean.jpeg
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  • Rear suspension pressure washed clean 2.jpeg
    Rear suspension pressure washed clean 2.jpeg
    682.2 KB · Views: 3,199

chriss402

Member
It was a nice change to get away from the chassis and start on some other parts of the car. The suspension parts were fully disassembled and sand blasted. All parts were painted using a wet on wet method. The sand blasted parts were epoxy primed and then 20 minutes later after the primer had flashed the top coat was applied. This method I've found to give the best results. The paint and primer chemically bond together rather than a mechanical bond between coats from sanding.
 

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  • Trailing arms painted.jpeg
    Trailing arms painted.jpeg
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  • Lower control arms painted.jpeg
    Lower control arms painted.jpeg
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  • Sway bars and hubs painted.jpeg
    Sway bars and hubs painted.jpeg
    417.8 KB · Views: 1,662

chriss402

Member
Brake calipers were torn down and sand blasted, painted .
 

Attachments

  • Brake calipers painted 1.jpeg
    Brake calipers painted 1.jpeg
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  • Brake calipers painted 2.jpeg
    Brake calipers painted 2.jpeg
    388 KB · Views: 1,661
  • Brake calipers painted 3.jpeg
    Brake calipers painted 3.jpeg
    512.2 KB · Views: 1,661

chriss402

Member
New seals and installed on calipers. These will get shelved until towards the end of the build .
 

Attachments

  • Brake calipers ready for assemble.jpeg
    Brake calipers ready for assemble.jpeg
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  • Brake calipers assembled.jpeg
    Brake calipers assembled.jpeg
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chriss402

Member
Now the chassis was square and sound I wanted to be able to work on the underside as well as the top. Seeing as I was going to be doing a color change I needed a rotisserie. So I decided I would build one using some donor hubs from a parts car as my pivot point .
 

Attachments

  • Donor hub installed as a pivot point.jpeg
    Donor hub installed as a pivot point.jpeg
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  • A frames welded up.jpeg
    A frames welded up.jpeg
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  • Car raised up to receive A frames.jpeg
    Car raised up to receive A frames.jpeg
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