Sherv

Back in the late 80's you could buy a gen4 ST162 with the 2.0 fuel injected DOHC engine developing 147BHP,disc brakes all round,PAS, ABS,electric mirrors,electric tilt and slide metal sunroof,Air conditioning,alloy wheels,radio cassette,armrest with two cupholders,oil pressure gauge,rev counter and battery volt gauge on the dash, for....just over 16 grand.(In 1988 Toyota made aircon and ABS an option.) So you could say the prices were the same but 16 grand was a bit more cash in the Eighties (but then this was the Eighties and cash was king).Celica was very well equipped,good performance,good looks,bulletproof engine....but it did cost you. Compare the spec to the cheaper but inferior Ford Sierra of the day,GL spec you got different wheeltrims for your steel wheels,90BHP,one drivers electric mirror,drum brakes on the back and thats about it.When they introduced the 2.0i model they squeezed 115BHP out of it,gave it a Ghia badge,alloys,electric mirrors,velour seats and a rev counter.And a fag lighter. Get what you pay for i suppose

Super Live Sound system was available for them,the JDM versions especially the older gens had some nice kit.Example,the gen5 GT-R i had for a while had 4 wheel steering (i know it was particular for that car although they did a GTR without it), it had climate control,electric foldy mirrors,the electrically adjustable seat you speak of with the lumbar and adjustable side bolsters to really 'hug' you in,you also had the option of cruise control on the JDM car as well.When Wayne had his JDM vert gen4 from 1987,that had the power roof,and it also had the cruise and other buttons mounted on the actual steering wheel exactly like a modern car.That was nearly 30 years ago!Remember the Japs did keep a lot of the good stuff for their own market,also factor in costs as the years went by,the Celica was a pretty pricey car in its day,aimed at a certain market and Toyota did start cutting costs anyway,theres no doubt,especially for the UK market.The technologies with the VVTi system etc etc mechanically were improved over the 3sge days (you can argue about the longevity of the later engines against the modern ones though) but there were definitely cost cutting exercises in materials like plastics for interiors etc.The older gens may look a little dated on the insides etc but they were arguably put together better as well....but again,car manufacturing processes have changed over the years.They dont need to use as much material to fit things together.Try taking off a front bumper from a gen5,ridiculous amount of screws and stuff,Celicas from that era were definitely over engineered.Nowadays you really do have to pay for your toys,but conversely the loaded Celicas werent cheap! I think since the Celica marque went fromn the scene Toyota have slipped behind Honda and the like personally.Honda for example,still make the small car,the family car,'urban' vehicle,like Toyota do but they and others still recognise their sporting side...they still improve on their 'Type R' cars,theres a new Civic again out now thats a a right beast,there is still a market for these cars.Toyota havent done anything like this for years,probably not since the last of the Supras/GT4s/Fast MR2s were about. You cant put the GT86 in that bracket,we've had countless discussions on this so i wont go too far over all that again,but yes,its a great chassis,and its power to driveability is much like that of say an MX5,neither are very powerful cars but theyre a good package.But since when has a good package been enough?Where's the development?All this TRD history,the rally heritage,all this stuff is what Toyota were famous for,and when it comes to performance cars ,for me theyve done nothing compared to the other manufacturers for years.

Been really happy with mine,factor in lots of time for them to make it up and fit etc,took quite a few hours

Rainsoaked Billing meet today,two ends of the gen4 spectrum.. On the right Steve C's original factory spec ST162,totally as Toyota intended in the showrooms in the late Eighties.On the left,my car which is very far from original and very modified

they built my exhaust too I believe Edwardio and Nthnmunky had theirs built there as well.

By the way,i got the parts from Georgie last night.

Interesting though,I should contact Toyota and try and nail down exactly how many gen4 verts were produced for the UK market,the figure of 250 has been bandied around for years but no one has actually substantiated that amount officially

I think the gen7 wheels work even better on the 4 than the 5 because the 4 is a more angular car,the 5 is a rounder softer look so the thinner spiky look of the 7 alloys doesnt look quite as good IMO,but they do look ok on the 5.

Im not a huge fan of the 3 spokes myself,but i have seen them put on a variety of gens with differing success

A lot of people use the 3 spokes as a track option,due to the lightness and at times the ease of availability,but conversely due to this i reckon they will be getting harder to get hold of..

if youre going to JAE theres a guy who goes round the stands who does a corking job for very good prices if you can live with it for a bit.mind you its a new venue this year but must be a good earner for him so I would guess he'll be there mate

Fidanza lightened flywheel arrived this week,and today an S54 gearbox with LSD was dropped off at Beks lab for me as well to go onto my Beams gen4

just been watching some stuff on SkySportsNews,including the World record on two wheels stunt in the Nismo nissan Juke.The mentalist

you can see the evolution from gen3 to the gen4 in those pics.More so than the difference between gen4+5.

As this is in the General area,i've edited your swearies,i still think we get the idea of your anger/frustration though. Ive sworn a blue streak at my cars over the years thats for damn sure.They can be a real pig at times cant they.Have a beer or two,take a step back and then come back to it to see if its still worth your time to get the car how you want it,or indeed move it on. Hope you dont,but its not my money..

Did you go for the cheap cylinder or the genuine one

For what its worth,I had a nearly newish rad in my gen 4,when we fitted the Beams we retained it..,we were doing away with the A/C to be fair,meaning there was now nothing in front of the rad so that increased air flow to the rad itself anyway.I also have a lower temp opening thermostat fitted.ive driven the car pretty damn hard at times and also spent time in traffic on way to JAE etc etc and the temp has barely moved from normal,somewhere just under halfway on my gauge.

Sounds nice.Need to ensure the 4ws works as it should,the red 4ws light should stay off on the dash.There is a selector also so that when the car is put in reverse the rear wheels automatically realign themselves straight for ease of reversing.you can stay in 4ws going backwards but the first time you do it the neighbours think youre drunk :lol:its a bit weird.at low speeds the front and rears turn opposite so itll turn like a london taxi.at higher speeds the wheels 'crab' instead.

Popped this General Discussion Paul,you might get more views/info on this ECU than in the sale bit,so you can decide if its worth keeping hold of or put it back up for sale fella.

As it says S54 on the plate,i assume its still the same box that came with LSD on the other SS cars ,but without the LSD

big box containing a bag of 48 microfibre towels from Amazon,should keep me going.they're not bad quality really

Someone's mentioned a 165,hallelujah! the car that started it all off.Mind you,you've got to find one first.A good one.First 4wd rally derived Celica in the UK...first UK car to have a catalytic converter.Although most people now spend their time getting rid of it How about one like Steve G's (GT4-play) 'Betsy'.. we've mentioned a lot about the 185 v 205,how about the 205 taking on Steve's 165? the 165 might be tuned a little bit....

A visit to Bek's lab,upgraded front brakes to ST182 calipers,MTEC discs,Ferodo DS2500 pads and HEL lines then came home, gave it a good wash and tucked it under its snug cover as its going to piddle down