Razorjack

Headlights are probably worth more than the car

The GT4 will be reilable, no question on that. 12k a year is doable, but that will require at least one service a year. Fuel economy will depend on the roads you're driving - I took mine on a few runs to Portsmouth and it was getting 30mpg. Obviously that wasn't driving like I was on fire though If you're even having to think about the cost of running one, then I'd say you're probably best to avoid. Or, do what I do and have an £800 diesel shed to commute in and keep the GT4 for weekends

You can pick them up fairly cheap - I've got a Falcon Predator which has remote start. Only problem is I disconnected some of the wiring a while back and now can't remember how to get that function working again As for electrics, you could wire in a relay to operate the heated elements too. Not sure about the holiday mode though - I was under the impression for the alternator to produce enough charge to replenish the battery properly you need to be over 2krpm? So if the car is sat there idling it would just drain the battery faster?

Just looked at a couple of laws, Road Vehicles (Display of Registration Marks) 2001 says: Its interpretation of the 'as close to the vertical as reasonably practical' that could be a stopper for those who stick them on bonnets etc. BTW, "relevant area" is an imaginary square leading out from the corner of the reg plate, diameter as specified. "Relevant date" is 01/10/38 which I'm pretty sure covers all Celicas

Good call, I usually try to avoid rolling to a complete stop or staying on brakes once stopped if they're hot too. As for failed handbrakes, its only happened to me once (in my first Nova, says it all ) on a steep hill in Brizzle. Snapped as I pulled it on in stop/start traffic. Had to ease my way up the hill on the clutch and footbrake

Depends on which car, where it is, and who's likely to be driving it next. The Cav gets parked outside facing downhill - being GM, I don't trust the handbrake so always park it in reverse. Celica never gets parked in gear unless its on a steep slope (its got remote start and my dad would probably end up activating it then moan at me when a Celica crashes through his front room ) Both cars have their wheels turned in when parking roadside. Whilst I don't give a funk about the cav, I'm always worried someone will bump into the Celica and mash the transmission if its in gear! I do always start a car with the clutch down though, something which I thought everyone did til I found out a couple of my mates (and my mrs!) don't do. So if anyone other than me is likely to be driving whatever car I'm in after me, I leave it in neutral.

I think people are getting confused between sticking plates on, and sticker plates Sitcking plates on is fine, so long as you use a decent adhesive (and of course that the plates themselves conform to requirements). Never had any problems with any of mine. As for sticker plates... hmm. I think - I could be wrong here, so await correction - they're one of those things where there is no law that directly says "sticker plates are baaad, mkay" so as long as they conform to all the regulations they would be Ok. However as its too easy for people to get their own kits and crack out whatever number plate they wanted, the authorities try and make out like they're illegal to save them hassle

AA has some info, but pretty much only says the requirement is not to 'dazzle oncoming traffic' - so as long as the beam pattern is Ok (in terms of HIDs, that depends on the headlight) and you've fitted beam benders you should be fine. In terms of whether the car is legal to French requirements (do they have an MOT over there?) I would think that doesn't apply as you're only visiting and only taking the car for a short period, not permanently bringing the car over; its still UK registered and legal. Much like all the foreign cars we see on UK roads. [edit] One other point to note in France is its a legal requirement for lamps to be in good working order at all times - this means if a bulb goes, you have to pull over and fix it. So its wise to carry a spare bulb pack.

ST205 oil level sensor? Not necessarily hard to find, but a common point of failure and stupidly expensive for some reason.

Exhibit A Exhibit B ...Yes.

Patrick Rouillard drove a red and blue Total/Igol livery similar to the Castrol style: Rouillard also drove it in this style: Esso is the other blue and red livery, as seen at the San Remo here at 3:23 Some others... Freddy Loix's Marlboro Celica: Juha Kankkunen in Marlboro livery: Jose Maria Ponce's (lol) 7UP Celica:

Those calling it a placebo are usually ones with N/A engines, who won't see a benefit from these fuels anyway. My experiences with my UK ST205 (I've kept fuel/mileage records for 5 years now): 95 Unleaded: No chance even though its a UK model, it really doesn't seem to run well on this. MPG sat around 22-23mpg. Power delivery felt lumpy across the rev range so I didn't use it for too long! Primarily purchased this from supermarkets or Esso. 97 Super unleaded: Better, ran this as the daily fuel for a good few years and was fine. MPG was about 28, but dropped to 25 as the car got older (currently 180k) - even servicing didn't raise the economy back up. Haven't used it for about 2 years regularly though, as I've been using either Momentum or VPower. Primarily purchased this from Sainsburys or Tesco, sometimes Esso. 99 Momentum: MPG is about 25-27. I've noticed though since fitting the boost controller that on high boost (1.0-1.1) it can feel a touch lumpy, but for standard boost its fine. All purchased from Tesco. VPower: Previously performed the same as Momentum, although on high boost its smooth. I've have noticed though on motorway/long runs it can reach 30mpg. All purchased from Shell of course. I used to run 97 SUL mixed with periods of VPower, but now run a mix of either Momentum or VPower. I can't really give SUL another go, as the local Tesco has now switched to 99, and the Esso prices are ridiculous lately! Keeping the car well serviced, tyres correctly inflated, ditching excess weight, changing driving style etc is all probably going to make more of a difference though. And to really notice a difference, you need to run a fuel for a long period of time (and, as said, reset ECU each time) to cater for differences in roads, traffic, weather/seasons, etc. [edit] I've certainly seen things like Esso tankers filling up Sainsbury stations etc. Depends who they (supermarchéts) buy their fuel from I suppose, but it'll probably be whoever is cheapest I'm sure I read somewhere that Tesco simply add ethanol to attain 99RON? No idea how true that is though.

White has grown on me a lot in the past few years, was even the first choice of colour for the cav. Kinda think its a good job the Celica is black though otherwise I'd probably want to make it a Castrol rep

Check the linkage bushes on the gearbox end, they can wear and turn oval. You can replace them with brass bushes to tighten things up. When was the clutch last done?

There's all sorts of regulations governing DRLs, sidelights, foglights etc. DRLs are listed in the Lighting regs as being between 200-800 candelas; however sidelights don't have an intensity requirement aside from being "visible from a reasonable distance"! So the differentiation is do the lights come on when the engine is on (or ignition, I forget which its supposed to be now)? If not, they're sidelights; if so, they're DRLs and the 200-800 candelas intensity rule applies. Wikipedia says the DRL thing is indeed being enforced by EU regs for all new cars, and they've got to be in their own separate lamp units.

Mine... most of them probably I would guess even with the mods (filter, decat, EBC @ 1.1bar, well serviced) its probably around standard'ish, at least somewhere on the good side of 200. High mileage (180k) and original turbo won't help. Remember when they had that Renault (?) people carrier thing on Top Gear a while back, trying to make it faster than the Evo? The best thing they did, power-wise, was for May to give it a service

Power is nothing without control! A less powerful car with good handling could outrun a more powerful car with crap handling if the latter spends its time having to tiptoe round corners. ...But thats boring. From experience, having a car that handles like sh!t but with good power is far more fun [edit] Having said all that, my 210-ish bhp Nova kept up well with a 150-ish bhp Nova at Combe a few weekends back. The other one was stripped, track prepared etc and all mine had was shonky cheap road tyres, full interior, cheap Spax coilovers and a massive engine hanging ahead of the front wheels. Generally things worked out pretty similar, with him having the edge on corners and us pounding down the straights.

And here is Nibbly's thread

Those black ones look pretty cool. Is it hard to separate the glass from the body? I'm used to having to bake Vauxhall headlights in an oven to soften the sealant...

I would SORN it - the new owner can re-tax it at the post office using the new keeper supplement (plus MOT and insurance - the PO will give them a V10 form to complete). I'd be cautious about re-taxing it then the insurance running out, as that falls foul of the new rules about taxed cars requiring insurance. You would be liable to a fine/seizure/prosecution etc (thats assuming the DVLA were on the ball, which is unlikely! But its still not a risk I'd want to take!)

Insurance first, then MOT, then tax. Insurance has no prerequisites; you need insurance to drive to the MOT station but don't need tax; you need MOT & insurance to buy tax You could hassle the insurance company into updating the MID, but even then it sometimes takes them a while to do it. Or, as said, have them email you the certificates (press the urgency its for tax so they do it asap) as the post office will (should!) accept printouts of emailed insurance certificates now.

Does kinda work, I think the front grill being the right shape makes it

I find the EBC Yellows to be pretty good tbh. Better than OEM pads and the TRD ones I had for a while.

GT4s, yes; other Celicas, no. The latter are too common generally, and as said usually driven by people who aren't enthusiasts as such.