My Toyota Celica Vvti 140

[david1987]

Im going to make a sort of build thread for my celica. Partly for my own record but also for anyone who is interested in reading it....

This is how i bought the car about 3 weeks ago

Its a 2001 vvti 140 6 speed. The bodywork is very good and the interior is near immaculate. The engine, gearbox and clutch are also sweet.

When i bought the car it had a few bad points. The rear brakes were shot. The discs and pads were way past it. The wheels were badly cooroded and had barely legal ditchfinder tyres all round. Also the number plates were very tatty.

[david1987]

The first thing i did with the car car was booked it in to have a service and new discs and pads fitted on the rear. Much better!

Then i bought a set of wheels with nearly new tyres on to replace the corroded wheels and almost dead tyres. Gave them a good pressure wash and they came up well

Then i set about fitting them

These made the world of difference to the car and it was looking good...except for the massive arch gap lol 😂😂

[david1987]

So next up was to sort the suspension out...

I managed to find some used spax springs and shocks going for a good price so i snapped them up. They made a massive difference to the look and feel of the car.

Also fitted my new number plates at the same time.

So this is how the car is sitting at the moment.

[david1987]

Im realy chuffed the car at the moment and think ive made decent progress in the 3 weeks ive owned it. I have loads of plans for the car. Short term plans for now are:

Debadge and dewiper the rear

Headlight restoration as there a touch cloudy

Wheel spacers. Im think 5/10mm front and 20/25mm rear but need more research first

Im sure there will be more but i will keep updating as i do bits 😎😎

[Scarlett Arrow]

Keep up the good work, David.

I'm just going to offer two bits of advice.

Get rid of those ultra cheap tyres for some "premium" rubber, and keep a few hundred quid to one side for a face lift engine, just in case your engine decides it likes drinking oil.

[RUToyota]

Welcome, David...and good luck with all your mods.!

Shot discs and pads on a Celica is not uncommon...but at least they are easy and relatively cheap to replace.

Agree with Scarlett Arrow....the Celica needs premium tyres.!..crap budget tyres on a sports car is plain wrong and could take you places you just don't wanna go.!

With a pre-facelift Celica you must always keep an eye on the dipstick.!!..and change the oil/filter every 5/6k miles preferably.

They can be prone to drinking oil but it isn't a given..a lot depends on how it's been treated in the past.?

Keep an eye on your coolant level too...Celica rads are a known "weak" point (bottom left as you look at the car)..again cheap to replace but a bit of a ball ache getting the system properly bled to rid it of all the air locks. The instructions on a label you'll find underneath your bonnet should be followed when replacing a rad.

Headlights can be made much better simply by using a mild cut or good wax polish (e.g. AutoGlym etc)..or even toothpaste.!

I've been thinking about spacers on mine...but would choose 17/18mm front and 22mm rear.

All in all a great car...a driver's car.!!..I love mine.

Enjoy it.!

Neil

[david1987]

Hi and thanks for the replies.

After reading up on spacers, ive decided i might go 15mm hubcentric rear and 5mm shims up front.

Im now thinking...

Wheel spacers as above

4x toyo proxes

Front and rear strut braces

Tooth paste the headlights (does this actualy work lol)

Decat exhaust

Leave it looking as it is

[JoeCool]

If you actually want to sort the headlights properly, you need to wet and dry sand them with 400 grit, then 600, then 2000. Then Clear coat them with laquer suitable for plastics. Probably best to remove the lights from the car to do that. They will come back like new after a few thin coats of clear coat.

[scotlad_19]

Hey guys!

I'm hoping someone here has replaced the standard stereo for a newer type stereo as i plan to do this!

Reason being i want to use bluetooth for my phone and I'm possibly getting a touchscreen one.

Before i go ahead and take things apart i was wanting to know what kind of adapters would i require (if i do require them' just so when the new stereo comes I'm not having to wait on odering adapters etc. I would rather everything came roughly the same time so i can put it all together straight away :)

Thanks!

(Ps.)

I just bought my celica 1.8 vvti 140 2000 2 weeks ago and i love it already! Only had 80,000 miles on it! Wee bit of rust on the rear wheel arch however but hopefully i can fix that.

I would like to get a slightly bigger exhaust though and if anyone could recommend a decent cheap one that'd be great :)

[scotlad_19]

This is my car btw!

[Scarlett Arrow]

Hi, Stephen & welcome to T.O.C.

You should really have started your own thread, rather than hi-jacking David's.

For the H/U, you'll probably need a PC2-17-4 from eBay, and the "fillers" from either side of the standard Sony H/U.

With your car being a pre face lift 140 with the oil burning issue, the revised dipstick from Toyota would be advisable.

From the pic., it looks like you have the optional Sport and Dynamic pack on your car, both of which should be declared to your Ins. Co.

HTH, and enjoy your Celica :)

[RUToyota]

That's a Celica "neck ache" model... .lol

I know nowt about yer bluetooth/double DIN's and the like...I'm still mourning the passing of cassettes.

As for the exhaust..well "decent" and "cheap" don't usually go together......you could get a Scorpion/Cobra off the shelf as it were...or look at getting a bespoke S/S system made to your liking ( no more expensive)...either way you are looking at around £200/300 for a decent system I guess.

You can get them cheaper (eg eBay)...but...?????

Glad you are enjoying it...it's a great car.

Neil

[scotlad_19]

Thanks guys :)

I got a great pumpkin double sin stereo for my celica which fits well.

however in relation to the exhaust, a hole has now developed haha but thanks for the recommendation!

[JVS74]

Lol I just saw this post. I had googled my old car - K15 JVS, the s2000 shown in one of the pix. I sold her back in 2010 ish. Good to see she was still on the road in 2015. I hope the new owner looked after her! 

[furtula]

2 hours ago, JVS74 said:

Lol I just saw this post. I had googled my old car - K15 JVS, the s2000 shown in one of the pix. I sold her back in 2010 ish. Good to see she was still on the road in 2015. I hope the new owner looked after her! 

That's actually a bit scary, how much details search engine gets from a single pic.