I'm seriously looking now at Celis in the area and found one (an 86) in my price range with 82k original on it. Is this a wonderful thing? Or is it a red flag (like some subies)? It's too far away for me just to pop in and see it so I'm going off of their word and the pics. It sounds/looks pretty well maintained. What do ya'll think? Thanks!
was it stored in a garage, or outside? Is it used periodically or has it been sitting for a few years with no use? from past experiances with other cars underuse can have just as many probelms as overuse. one of the best things you can do in Canada, is have CAA (Canadian Auto Asotioation) come and give the car an inspection, however this its costs about $100. I forgot to mention this before, but do you plan to just restore the car, or did you have bigger dreams like an engine swap? Because If i am not mistaken a GT is an ideal setup for the 3SGTE engine swap due to the transmission location, and the transmission itself
Personally, I'd never buy a car unless I can see/hear it and drive it. I suppose my questions and others to the owner would be: why are you selling? Is it registered? is it inspected? Accidents? Does it pass smog? On 80k or so miles, timing belt/retiming needs to be done on the motor - has it been done? etc. Lastly, carfax it if you can, the more info the better. Hope this isn't to basic of a reply and is helpful.
Definitely agree...I have no intention on buying sight unseen... It's a tough call to drive over 300 miles to look at a questionable car... It sounds like it's a weekend warrior. It's got minor front end damage and is a winker... I haven't actually contacted them yet to find out more... My hubby's trying to talk me out of it... He's really pushing for me to get a GTS or All Trac...and I'm not going to call and then have him tell me no way I can post the link if ya'll want to see it...it's one of two that're super low miles for the year. The other is uber $$ (to me anyways...I'd only spend that on an all trac LOL)
Doesn't the GTS have a bigger motor anyway? Or is it a better bet to go GT with the All trac engine? I still have alot to mull over and am weighing the pros and cons too I know that however I go I'll want the GTS/All Trac interior (that's what I was doing with my last GT before I sold her). I'm enjoying reading the responses and advice from you guys! Oh and....LINK: http://detroit.craigslist.org/wyn/cto/1412051758.html and...the other link: http://springfield.craigslist.org/cto/1403766215.html Just so ya'll know, I'm not good at this link thing LOL!
I know there are some minor interior changes in the 88-89 celica interiors compared to the 86-87 ones. (center consol changes, interior door handles had minor modifications, Steering wheel) however the only differences between a GTS and GT in the interior is the seats (and options like PWR windows locks etc) the North American GTS engine (3SGE) puts out about 15hp more then the GT engine (3SFE), the 3SGTE engine puts out about 40 hp more the the 3SGE as well as runs a turbo. the 3SGTE engine is a little higher maintenance and parts are harder to come by. The reason a GT frame is easier to do an Engine swap with a Alltrac engine (3SGTE) is because the transmission and starter are located in the same place. also some members have managed to successfully mate the transmission form the 3SFE to the 3SGTE engine. My suggestion is to think over what you want to do before you pick one up. read about what some of the other member on this board have done with their Celica's then decide.
I wasn't aware of that...learn something new everyday eh? I didn't know they'd changed the motors that much in one generation. And I was so used to the 2SE that I wondered why everyone elses GTs were different than mine! Yeah, it's those seats that I like sooo much. Not a big fan of the low square ones I think I'm going to try to get the scrapyard car...it'll be a great learning tool as I've never delved further into an engine than the valve covers, timing and oil sump... and if I screw something up badly, well...at least it wasn't a mint/driveable car to begin with LOL! I have high hopes of having a couple though so at the least I'd have my very own donor car for interior and body parts. Besides this all started out just because I wanted a winter project to tinker with this year!
Here's the hard numbers: 86 ST/GT: 2SE 96 hp 87-89 ST/GT: 3SFE 115 hp All 86-89 GTS: 3SGE 135 hp 88-89 All-Trac: 3SGTE 190 hp
You can't beat those GTS / All-Trac seats. Id hold out for a GTS. The problem with a GTS is you can't swap in an All Trac engine without swapping to a GT tranny. The GTS tranny has the starter on the wrong side and is in the same place as the All Trac turbo. The advantages of the GTS over the GT is stronger axles, 4 wheel disk brakes (GT has drums in the rear), bigger engine, rear spoiler, 5 lug wheels, power window & door lock options. I'd avoid an All Trac if you need it as a daily driver. I love my All Trac but .... there is absolutely no spare room in the engine bay. The simplest jobs require you to remove half the engine (slight exageration). No spare parts....I paid almost $1000 just to get my gas tank vulcanized because Toyota is sold out of them and theres no aftermarket option. Toyota is also sold out of springs so your only option there is aftermarket lowering springs. Even used parts are rare. The nice thing abount the All Trac is that you can swap in a ST185 or ST205 engine/tranny with the ST205 setup giving you a 70hp gain from 190hp to 260hp. Thats like a 40% increase in power with a pretty simple swap.
The seats even got very high ratings in this article. The full sized scan of that article http://www.st165-all-trac.net/forum/toyotamag1.jpg Other scans I have posted 87-89 Scanned Celica Literature for FREE
i love the seats in my gts, its a shame they weigh so much! every friend that sits in my car is like daaamn, i could sit in these forever!
