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Elvis - Matt's 1988 SX auto

Discussion in 'Your 4th Gen beauty' started by MattC, Mar 8, 2013.

  1. MattC

    MattC Well-Known Member Donated!

    Like a lost puppy, this one kind of followed me home yesterday...

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    I spotted it hiding in the corner of the carpark at the workshop where the gearbox for the other car is being looked at. I asked whether it was a customer car or if one of the mechanics owned it, and I found out that someone had taken it there to get some work done, and then changed their mind and told the mechanic he could just have the car for free. Long story short, I ended up going home with it for $200 :D

    It's pretty rough, big ding in the drivers side door

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    Passenger side guard stoved in

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    Big ding in one of the rear wheels (shame really, they're pretty nice rims...)

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    Various other scrapes and bumps, hence the name - it's had more hits than.....

    Inside it's pretty scruffy too -

    Torn seats

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    Broken armrest

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    The dash, however, is near perfect

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    The sunroof is rust city as usual, and there is a little bubble of rust at the top of the rear windscreen, but otherwise it's remarkably rust free, and I found out why - among the flotsam in the boot I found the original owners manual and warranty book which included the original delivery paperwork, and it turns out the car was ordered with the dealer-option rust protection and paint protection. Also included in the paperwork was this interesting document:

    [​IMG]


    So I'm not actually sure what I'm going to do with this car, I was originally just going to part it out, but other than a couple of replacement panels the body really isn't that bad, and it drives well and has relatively low kms (about 217000) so it would seem a shame to destroy it.... I might just clean it up to the point where it's roadworthy and then onsell it.
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2013
  2. invinciblejets

    invinciblejets Well-Known Member Donated!

    looks awsome love the color!

    what a cool find too i wouldn't be able to leave it behind either and for 200$!
    cant wait to see your plans even though you dont know yet lol.

    how did the wife/girlfriend take it i know id be in trouble.
     
  3. MattC

    MattC Well-Known Member Donated!

    She's a very patient woman, lol....
     
  4. CelicaSteve

    CelicaSteve Well-Known Member Staff Member Super Moderator Donated!

    Definitely worth saving this one.
     
  5. invinciblejets

    invinciblejets Well-Known Member Donated!

    engine pics? :naughty
     
  6. MattC

    MattC Well-Known Member Donated!

    Yep, it's a 3S-GE, just like all the others :p

    [​IMG]
     
  7. MattC

    MattC Well-Known Member Donated!

    ... and an update - my wife has flagged interest in having the car if I get it roadworthy... We could be a two-Celica household :D
     
  8. goingfinn

    goingfinn Well-Known Member

    Looks like allot of the issues can be repaired with just unbolting and changing bits. Could be a lovely car when your done. Well saved!
     
  9. oem257

    oem257 Active Member

    PS: do it, you and wife are your own car club, when you both drive out at the same time.. it's a cruise lol.


    Reading your sig.. :rolleyes:
    another quick tidy up for rego. lol

    The paperwork? Was it a one owner?
    This could be a quick one.
    Borrow the seats from overtime :)
    You will need some panel beating hammers for the door, the front guard is no good, lucky you know that guy who has a few spare guards)
    This will be a quicker fix up than the overtime car. :)
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2013
  10. Spiderman

    Spiderman Well-Known Member

    How you going fella ?, good score and definitely a keeper for the misses, it's nice to see she's interested in a classic of her own.

    Clean engine bay with a 'newish' alternator ?

    How's the PS hose/boots etc ?

    Has it got ABS ?, if so, the actuator should be under the back seat ?

    They are good rims and I don't know much about dinged rims but can it be fixed by some carefull manipulation without splitting it.
    Take it to a tyre place (or your mechanic :ewink) to remove the tyre and see how you two go beating it out but it might be too far gone............. Yeah I know, manipulation versus a beating is as subtle as a grenade but hey :mrgreen


    Oh yeah, I nearly forgot............. I see a SPLITTER........ huh! huh!, care to comment :lol
     
  11. oem257

    oem257 Active Member

    Matt, l wouldnt bother with that damaged wheel.Looks like a big hit.It can have a new life as an outdoor umbrella base in the yard.This is your chance to get a couple of wheels with less offset to fill out the rears (any plain 6 spoker will do)Polish them up or paint them to match. I have seen slightly different wheels on front/back go unnoticed for years, just because the colour matched and a common logo was used to decorate all four wheels. :)
     
  12. Spiderman

    Spiderman Well-Known Member

    I forgot to ask about that piece of paper, I'v never seen anything like it.

    Could you maybe gently iron (with a towel over and no steam) and/or flatten it out in a large book and take a large pic so the whole lot can be read clearly....... Thanks.
     
  13. MattC

    MattC Well-Known Member Donated!

    It's had three owners in the last week :lachtot

    I can only tell a little of it's history based on what I got with it. It was ordered as a company or fleet car, it was dealer serviced until 60,000km which is probably about when it was sold or traded. Fast forward to late 2010 and the previous owner to the mechanic purchased it privately, unregistered, for $2000 . For that sort of money it must have been absolutely pristine at the time. Over the next two and a bit years they've spent at least that much again on getting it registered and having repairs and service done, but for some reason have also treated it like shit and allowed the body to get to it's current state. The remnants of the P-plate stuck to the bonnet probably go a long way to explaining it. I already have a hammer and dolly kit for bodywork, but I'll get one of the slide-hammer dent removal kits too.


    Haven't seen any paperwork on the alternator, but the PS high-pressure hose was replaced about two years ago - win. No ABS. It does need a new sump though, someone has driver over something at warp speed and stoved it in at the front. The rim could probably be fixed, but it'd be cheaper to just throw a set of 7th-gen rims on it.
     
  14. oem257

    oem257 Active Member

    If that car was pristine and no visible signs of rust in 2010, l think it would have been a bargain.
    I have had my celica since 88 and it is a year older than Elvis.
    Mine has no sunroof (so no rust), manual windows, l had to spend 2K on it in 2010 so l looked around and decided it was worth doing.
    If l could have picked up a pristine 1988 with sunroof, back in 2010
    l would have bought it.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2013
  15. oem257

    oem257 Active Member

    Or a stupid kid at the discount tyre place tried to jack the front of the car
     
  16. fernandocelica

    fernandocelica Well-Known Member Donated!

    Nice find Matt your wife will be very happy after you done with it mate dent's are not so major most of them will just pop out by pushing from the inside best of luck.
     
  17. MattC

    MattC Well-Known Member Donated!

    Nah, the scraping on it says they attempted to drive over something they shouldn't have. Replacing it will be easier than I thought - according to ToyoDIY, the SV21 Camry uses the same sump so I'll head down to the wrecker and pull one off a Camry next day off.

    Thanks Fernando, it'll be a nice little daily runaround for both of us. I pulled the drivers side door trim off to see if I can get that dent out from the inside, but the inner door skin is in the way and there is no way to get a hammer and dolly in there. I've already found another door for $50, it's the wrong colour but I've got to repaint one of my spare front guards and the roof anyway, so I'll just spray them all at the same time.


    In other updates, I've replaced the passenger side door handle and window switch with the one from the burnt red car I had last year, it was supposed to be for Overtime, but since that one won't be on the road for a while yet I figured I may as well make use of it, and I'll keep an eye out for another good trim or handle. I also fixed the shifter mechanism because it had about an inch of side-to-side play in it, so I pulled it apart and shimmed it up with some washers. Unfortunately I lost one of the tiny little springs in the overdrive button switch when I pulled it apart so I could get the shift handle off, so I'll have to figure out how to fix that now. Can't have anything being too easy and all that..

    I've also got a set of 15" 7th-gen wheels on the way, I couldn't be bothered getting the bent rim repaired and the 15" 7th-gen rims are near giveaways anyway, I picked them up for $150 (from forum member just_ace actually). When they arrive I'll get the tyres swapped over. And then the car should be roadworthy.. watch this space...
     
  18. Mafix

    Mafix Owner Staff Member Administrator Donated!

    it looks like a worthy save. and if the wife is interested that is always a plus. thanks BTW! well appreciated!
     
  19. eNtraxGT88

    eNtraxGT88 Well-Known Member Donated!

    by the way, late reply, but the ABS brick is only in the back seat area for alltracs/gt4's

    gt-s ABS bricks are in the engine bay near the alternator (check fernando's tems car and rickstar's square one threads)
     
  20. fernandocelica

    fernandocelica Well-Known Member Donated!

    Yes Marc ABS does sit exactly like you mentioned in the front I also don't see why by the rear seat.
     

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