[what have you done to your celica today...]

3 hours ago, G.Lewarne said:

 

for a laugh, I would paint those bits some awful lurid colour (like neon pink)  just because the only person who will ever see it is MOT / Mechanic guy

 

Pink may carry a risk of falling foul of MOT tester advisories - 'suspension parts in shockingly bad taste colour choice'

 

I wouldn't want to risk any bureaucratic stray inking of my blotter.

 

However, GOLD on the other hand is rather classy, and would coordinate with my brake callipers  

[Castrol Edge vs Magnatec]

Thanks for the heads-up, Kev

 

Put a 4L botte in the shopping trolley on the way round Tesco yesterday.

That's my oil sorted and ready for next change due November  

 

[what have you done to your celica today...]

 

 Thanks to AMS for supplying a few suspension bits, now have all the parts for front and rear  

 

Spent a very noisy hour with angle grinder wire brush some surface rust away plus a good pre-paint clean-up,

and then a far more quiet hour applying two coats of primer paint.

Will apply a top coat sometime over the weekend....

 

Right now i'm enjoying a more relaxful hour with a glass of that Cantele 

[What came in the Post Today?]

 

Today i picked up a brand new rubber boot seal from Mr.T, and a couple of pads for me bunions  

[What came in the Post Today?]

 

Gen 7  - rear shock absorber boots & bump stops suppled by ICP 

i nearly have all the bits to complete my OEM suspension jig-saw puzzle  

 

If any Gen 7 owner needs brand new shock strut boots & bump stops - ICP presently has them in stock 

 

Front lower coil spring rubber seats: £9.90

Front dust boot & bump stop: £31.50

Rear dust boot & bump stop: £27.50 

Priced as pairs, and inclusive of VAT - (fit 140 & Tsport)

 

Import Car Parts:

https://www.importcarparts.co.uk/parts?cat=89&sub=1353&sec=1555&var=38&dc=y

 

[Number plate choices]

 

Never mind V6, how about jet propelled?  

[What came in the Post Today?]

 

Camber bolts for front hubs - an option that may prove very useful at four wheel alignment time 

 

Debs

[Number plate choices]

Lots of [ V _ _ GTO ] number plate choices?

[What came in the Post Today?]

Should come in handy when we change the radiator sometime later this year  

 

[What came in the Post Today?]

 

Soon be springtime 

 

A few other bits are still on their way, delayed due to snow, should be all here sometime very soon.

 

Debs

[Michelin Cross Climate]

1 hour ago, hoopsontoast said:

Thanks, thinking about it, my T-Sport has 205/40/17s on the front (no idea why) and the correct 205/45/17 on the back. The difference between the standard 205/45/17 and 205/55/16 is around the same as that, at ~2.5%.

 

If your T-Sport still has the Fondmetal 8 spoke wheels in good order, and you like 'em, and want to keep 'em nice... then consider getting a nice but cheapo set of Gen 7 16 inch 5 spoke wheels to use for winters. You can always prepare and paint them yourself if need be.

[Michelin Cross Climate]

14 minutes ago, hoopsontoast said:

 

How do you find the extra size over the standard 205/50/R16, with speedo error in reality?

 

Any speedo error  is so minor it's not a problem 

[Michelin Cross Climate]

I use Michelin Cross Climate 205/55R16 on standard 5 spoke Gen 7 wheels during the winter months.

These tyres are actually a 'summer tyre' but adapted to accept a wide temperature range.

 

I really like 'em. They give a reassuring feel on cold wet roads, my limited snow driving experience with them [last week] proved to be okay, i'm still alive! 

 

Generally i find them an excellent choice for most typical British winters which tend to include a wide mix of conditions but what seems to be mainly milder 0 to 8 degree celsius where IMO the Michelin cross climate tyres excel.

 

Proper winter tyres are more suited for snow and freezing temperatures, and these tyres tend to be road roar noisy, less mpg, and may wear quick if used in milder conditions. My cross climates are fairly smooth and low road noise and i particularly like the extra height profile which helps to cushion the impact on those winter pot holes that are difficult to avoid.

 

Personally, i would highly recommend them for a winter wheel set, but there are many far more suitable tyres around for the summer.

 

IMO it makes a huge amount of sense to have a winter wheel set, and a summer wheel set. The summer wheel set can be preserved in the safety of the garage. Plus the twice a year change overs can give one the opportunity to clean them up, and clean & check over the brakes & suspension parts while the wheels are off.

 

Debs

 

 

 

 

[Accident damage.]

I guess once the insurers have written off the vehicle;

a buy back and re-build will be subject to a category N (formerly category D) which may lower it's resell value (?)

 

Assuming the VW twit admits fault and you are blameless i think it depends upon how much the insurance company give you to cover the loss of the vehicle. It would be interesting to know this. May be better [or an option] to take the opportunity to find and buy another?

 

[oil]

8 hours ago, G.Lewarne said:

 

What I find interesting is that whenever I do an oil chance on my facelift 140 I always have to put in about 4.5 litres to get it to the max mark which is also whats specified in the book.  I do however drain it cold and let it drain for an our at least so I assume that all the dregs, apart from whats trapped in the galleries, has drained to the sump at this point

 

Gav, have you swopped your OEM sump for a larger size type?

[oil]

Yesterday the oil change went ahead on my 140 engine.

The old oil came out looking only slightly darker than the new oil that when in.

We used a new 'Ace' oil filter [Made in Japan] which had a look of excellent engineered quality about it considering they only cost £2.44 each.

 

All went to plan but my mechanic mate kindly used some of his bargain priced 5w30 c2 supply [ 4 x 1L bottles for 14 quid total ]

He said the C2 or C3 is oaky to use but what i bought was too expensive so take the 3 x 2L bottles back for a £36 refund 

 

Also; the 1ZZ-FE engine only needs around 3.7 litres give or take 0.2 which includes filter change so more than 4 litres is unnecessary anyway. 

 

Debs

 

 

[oil]

Yesterday my mechanic mate at the garage told me to try Tesco asap:

they had [note past tense] 1L bottles of Castrol GTX MAGNATEC 5W-30 [ usually £10 ] sale price £2.50

5 x 1L bottles would be needed, but which would only cost £12.50 so very much a bargain! [Probably a Tesco sale pricing mistake too]

 

Anyway, by the time i got to the big nearby town branch of Tesco in question it was priced back up to 10 quid, so i was too late.

Today at my local smaller branch Tesco the 10 quid 1L size is on sale price for £6.50

However, the 2L size bottles are presently on sale from £18 to £12 

 

I suppose one has to check Tesco oil prices often and be quick to pounce at the right time.

 

I purchased 3 x 2L size bottles at 12 quid each for £36  

 

May have purchased the wrong type, i have is GTX Magnatec 5w-30 C3, ...how does this differ from the C2 type, or A5 ??

 

 

 

 

Oil + filter change tomorrow 

 

Debs

[what have you done to your celica today...]

Happy dance after todays MOT PASS!  

 

[what have you done to your celica today...]

On 4/14/2017 at 12:20, Crazy Cat Lady said:

Yesterday:

The biannual ritual of the changing of the wheels; it's that time of year to get the winters off and put the summers on! 

 

Also had a quartet of brand new Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric 3 fitted to the summer wheels yesterday so didn't even need to flex my own muscles this time, lucky it wasn't raining as the 'dry' winter wheels were taken home in the back of car. The young lads who did the fitting were very impressed with the Celi, they like interesting cars and appreciate vehicle cleanliness.

 

 

Back at home i thoroughly washed and wax polished the winter wheels, before storing them safely away in the garage;

all ready for action come late next autumn.

 

 

Crikey, can't believe 6 months has flashed past already!

 

Did we get a summer this year? 

 

I put my winter wheel set back on last week, and today i thoroughly washed clean the 10 spoke summer set and left them to drip dry in the garage.

I'll wax polish them up and put them into proper hibernation another day when i get the urge.

 

Debs

[oil]

3 hours ago, slybunda said:

1zzfe was back specced by toyota to use 5w20

 

Yes this is true, but i believe it was ecological reasoning from Government departmental pressure on car manufacturers to promote as many miles per galleon, and whereas using 5w20 most probably will increase MPG, it's doubtful the vehicle manufacture nor Government will be the least bit interested in long term engine longevity, or premature demise of engines due to using an engine oil that maybe just a bit too thin. Do you feel lucky? 

 

Debs

[Rear quarter window misty and can't see out of it]

My Gen 7 windows can suddenly mist up on the insides very inconveniently fast in the damp-cold or humid weather.

 

It's dry as a bone everywhere inside my passion wagon, and the misting up would appear to be caused by condensation due to 'exhaled breathing'.

And no, there is no hanky-panky going on  

 

The only cures i know is to either hold your breath for the entire journey,

wear a face mask with snorkel pipe though window to outside [ flippers optional ]

or put the air conditioning on to clear it; which fortunately mine does and fairly quickly.

 

I find my Gen 7 is dependent on having a good working order A/C system all year around to include the cold damp conditions.

 

I've also noticed that in a summer heat-wave the inside can get unbearably hot if the A/C is not operational.

 

Debs

[what have you done to your celica today...]

On 10/8/2017 at 20:19, G.Lewarne said:

Bean can and bailing wire and good as new!

 

Warning: Using old bean-cans to fix exhaust pipes may cause muffled flatulent reverberations and back-firing!     

[Selling a car... Test drives?]

On 9/30/2017 at 14:26, Spaff said:

I've just put my Celica up for sale, and once the car is MOT'd etc will start to allow viewings 

 

Is it wrong in this day and age to only allow test drives driven by myself, unless proof of fully comp insurance is shown? 

 

Very skeptical about allowing a potential nutter to get behind the wheel, but at the same time don't want to put people off. What do you guys think, reasonable or not? 

 

Don't sell it.

In fifteen years from now it will be a desirable old classic worth £20k+ and you'll be kicking yourself up your own backside saying how you used to own one and regret having sold it   

 

Debs

[No MoT for 40 Year Old Cars]

I hope any upcoming development of legalised MOT evasion won't be the cause of more RTAs, crashes, injuries, and deaths.

With the prospect of up to half a million smoky old vehicles on the road with no MOT we can certainly expect more pollution - which strangely contradicts the modern [albeit farcical] trend of imposed alignment between VED and how environmentally friendly said newer vehicle is supposed to be.

VED has become a very easy money grab for HM Gov, and a very useful stick for the powerful new-car sales lobby to beat us with so we may conform to their business model having us continually scraping our cars when only a decade old [or less] and rushing out to buy a brand new one.

 

There is plenty of TAX already on fuel, which in a way is fairer in that the more one drives the more one pays but i'd like to see a blanket lowering of VED charge to at least a quarter of what it presently charged for any given vehicle, and instead have far more cost enthuses placed upon MOTs even if this involves more expense at the garage with more routine servicing checks and generally far a more extensive and thorough check-over. This would help lower pollution, promote safety, and provide useful business for local garages 

 

Debs

 

 

[Avensis brake pads]

5 hours ago, teamdoa said:

That's good to hear.

 

I am going to replace my Wilwood BBK with them then. I need something that will allow me to swap in and out my GT Tech 5s. Is there a guide to buying these in terms of where to order them from and how much etc?

 

Thanks for your reply.

 

There is a sticky thread called Avensis 295mm front brake upgrade on the Generation 7 topic  

 

 

 

 

There is a need to get hold of the correct type Avensis carrier brackets which locate perfectly onto the Gen 7 enabling the Avensis callipers to be fitted.

 

The way i went about it was simply to buy a front set pair of Avensis T25 callipers complete with carrier brackets from a breakers. I then wire-brush cleaned up the old donor carrier brackets, but put the old crappy donor Avensis callipers in for trade-in allowance for reconditioned good as new from Euro Car Parts.

The 295mm discs need to have the correct 5 hole alignment so i bought from CCUK trade member 'Freaky Parts' who sends the correct type - also purchased a Hel braided hose kit from Freaky too.

 

If you do go about changing the hoses, be aware that a part of the hard copper brake pipeline is exposed to the elements under the wheel arches so this may pose the usual problems with seizure and undoing the fixings. But imo it is worth upgrading the hoses too; less flexing of the hose wall will help with firmer brake feel.

 

Debs