December 2009
14 posts
Project Lines - 12/21/09
Onward to rest of the car stripping. Exhaust and lines. All that other stuff under the car. Now all the brake and fuel lines under the hood are in the way of a good refinishing job. And to pull them, I think it easier to just pull the full assembly.
Uh, yeah, don’t even ask what that jig thing is lying on the table. No comment.
So objective is to free up clutter in engine compartment...
Project Rear end - 12/20/09
Ok, one more gallant effort to remove the rear axle. After thinking it over it appears I need some sort of a gear puller to put some pressure on the bolt to help remove it.
So I put together a kind of custom made jig to apply serious pressure. Now mind you, much quicker to read this than it took me to come up with the idea, and search my head for what I had around to make such a thing, and then...
Project Front end - 12/19/09
Needed a minor victory after all this frustration with the rear axle removal, which is still not complete. So turned to the front suspension removal as a side distraction.
That’s the front suspension almost off. Tie rod, stabilizer and front strut have all been disconnected. It is already rotated ninety degrees, so the axle is pointed to the rear of the car. Unlike the rear this went...
Project Rear end - 12/19/09
Been trying to get the rear axle out of the car for a few days now. Very frustrated.
Five attach points for the axle, and everyone of them is a bolt through a rubber bushing. Each rubber bushing has a metal sleeve, and I have one left where the bolt is rusted to the sleeve and isn’t moving.
This is one of those things, with hours and hours of work, and nothing to show you. Every day,...
Flashback - neighbor kid
After I bought my Celica, I spent numerous hours out on my parents front lawn waxing it over and over and over again. Some tunes on the radio, nice day, and just as happy as can be waxing my car. It was one of these days that I received the mark on my car that has been there till this day.
One of the neighbor kids came over. I would guess he was 12-14 years old and he wanted to check out the...
Project Brake Drum - 12/19/09
Toyota has a better idea. Ever have a brake drum stuck on, that you cannot pull? Those of you unfamiliar, the brake shoes press up against the brake drum from the inside, and from the drum turning form a track in the drum steel for them to sit in. Unable to access the brake shoes from the outside, pulling a brake drum can be a trick.
Well Toyota has a better idea.
The right rear drum just...
Project Frame Stands - 12/13/09
Frame stands came in that I ordered. Garage is getting crowded and very little room to work. Whenever I work on the Celica, I park my truck outside and need to move the Celica over half way to make room to work on it.
These frame stands from Triplex Race Parts are really designed for a particular type of race car frame, but after I got dimensions and measured, it looked like they would work for...
Project Fuel Tank - 12/12/09
Also pulled out the fuel tank. Very nervous about what is inside this. Kept it full to avoid corrosion inside, but its been sitting for I do not recall how long.
One thing nice from Toyota. At least the fuel tank is mounted inside the trunk, and not underneath the car. As you can see the exterior of the tank is perfect. Not a spot of rust on it whatsoever. Three fuel lines connected at the...
Project Interior - 12/12/09
Finished off removal of the rest of the interior. Very cavernous in there now. Dropped the steering column, and brake and clutch assemblies.
The wire harness has to stay for now, as it loops out behind the fenders. Somewhere behind the fenders it connects to the engine harness. Wait for body shop to remove the fenders, then I can pull wire harnesses. But other than that everything is out. ...
Project Odometer - 12/9/09
Time to start cleaning some stuff. First up, the odometer.
It is truly amazing just how filthy everything gets inside of a car. Most folks just leave the entire interior in, and try to short cut things. Once you start taking it apart and see all the filth, dried up rubber and foam, its no wonder things are rattling and such.
Nice kitchen table project with a good cup of coffee. Note: If...
Flashback - the first ding
Sometime in the first year of owning my brand new 1977 Toyota Celica GT, I managed to get my first ding. And no, it wasn’t by driving into something, or any kind of car accident, it was with a bowling ball.I did the bowling thing as a kid, and in New York State, everyone bowls ten pin. That’s bowling with the big balls, not candle pin as in New England. Well the big balls weigh some...
Project Interior - 12/7/09
Two more hours on the interior today got me to this point. You can see the dash pad is missing up top now, but what you can’t see is that nearly everything has been removed from behind the dash.
This behemoth was behind the dash. This is the main heater unit. The heater core is contained inside, all the duct work attaches to it, and it has flapper doors inside that are attached to the...
Flashback - the purchase - 9/10/1977
I bought this 1977 Toyota Celica brand spanking new. I worked my butt off the old fashioned way, and Dad took me all over the globe looking at cars. Almost a Mazda RX7, almost a Datsun 280z, but fell in love with this Toyota Celica.I will always always remember my Dad when we were sitting at the dealer and the salesman turned to HIM at the end and said, “So Mr. Reber, how will we be paying...
Project Start - 12/6/2009
12 years ago, in a garage far far away….
In 1997, I started to take this 1977 Toyota Celica apart to fix a few things. Soon I was sidetracked to do a few things to the ‘66 Mustang convertible before the summer. The convertible had been driven hard for several years and needed a few items addressed. As most of you know that turned into a seven year project. Then blah happened,...