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Thread: 1985 Toyota Celica Supra P-Type

  1. #31
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    Toyota reliability is cheating too.
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ferrer View Post
    Toyota reliability is cheating too.
    +1. Childhood friend had a '94 Celica (10 years old at the time) with 140k miles on it...still drove and looked like new. My Echo is 13 years old with 225k miles and also going strong but starting to show its age, and that only because the car was not well taken care of. Toyotas up until, what, 2005ish or so? are startlingly reliable and durable.
    Last edited by jcp123; 03-30-2013 at 01:55 PM.
    An it harm none, do as ye will

    Approximately 79% of statistics are made up.

  3. #33
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    Does anyone (MoS?) know of a good product for rejuvenating old plastic? There are a few spots, like the door handles, where the black plastic is looking a little tired. I could paint them, but that changes the finish and texture so I'd rather not.
    I think Meguiars has something like this, but I've heard mixed reviews about its longevity.

    I washed the car over the weekend at Xander's behest and now the age of the black plastic trim pieces is really starting to show.

    Without gloating, I was watching one of these old-car tragics waxing poetic about their old car on Vimeo or YouTube or something. I was jealous of some guy and his collection of Datsun Roadsters who was talking about how everything was better when cars were old and such, until I remembered that I too have an old car, which I then went out to drive.
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  4. #34
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    Yeah but if you rejuvenate the plastic then the chrome will start to show its age. Then you fix that and the milky windshield edges will look bad. It's a rabbit hole, my friend. We should just call it a day and drop in a SBC.

    (Put down the pitchforks guys, just kidding.)

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13 View Post
    Without gloating, I was watching one of these old-car tragics waxing poetic about their old car on Vimeo or YouTube or something. I was jealous of some guy and his collection of Datsun Roadsters who was talking about how everything was better when cars were old and such, until I remembered that I too have an old car, which I then went out to drive.
    Great plan.

    I love cars that you drive for no other purpose other than driving them.
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  6. #36
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    Went for a nice drive through New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont today so I can give some more-thorough feedback about what the car is like on a fun road.

    It is very forgiving in just about every driving condition, though probably not that quick (especially with me driving) in any. At the limit, the car's front weight bias shows and it plows a little bit, though judicious application of the brakes or throttle will make the car rotate as much, or as little, as you want it too. The car never makes any bones about being an out-and-out sportscar; it is a GT, but it remains fun even in the twistiest bits. Though its 3,000 lb heft sometimes (under braking) lets itself be known, for the most part, it is incredibly composed. The suspension's age has made it a little softer than optimal, but it was still quite up to its task.

    The motors is undersquare and not the type that needs to be redlining constantly to be fun. The torque from 2,500-5,500 (6,500 rpm redline) is enough to get you between corners; second or third-gear roll ons are my favorite part of this engine. The maximum speed limit in the Northeast is twelve miles in the hour and there are thousands of crossovers and Subarus who seem set on enforcing it. Dropping gears from a cruise to pass wasn't the smoothest affair, but it always got the job done.

    The steering itself is incredibly communicative, though the large diameter of the steering wheel still feels a little weird in my hands. The gas pedal is also placed too far behind the to heel and toe well, and even if it was better placed, there doesn't seem like enough rooms for my size 11s (Euro 44s?) to move around. The shifter falls nicely to hand, and as long as you shift above 3,000 rpm it is as smooth as buttery silk. The manually-adjustable side bolstering works nicely, and I never once feel out of my seat. The gauges were eminently visible, informative, and delightfully-analog.

    All in all, I'm still very much in the honeymoon phase.
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  7. #37
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    I figure I'm due for an update...

    I crossed the country again in late May with all my worldly possessions aboard (more on that later). As a graduation gift, my dad agreed to pay for my gas so that I could take a more interesting route than the pretty horrible one I took going out. I could take my time, so I would try to only drive during the day, so that I could see the entire country, and for air0dynamix, because it meant I could keep my pop-ups down. I was also able to drive slower, which although it goes against my nature resulted in a lot less stress; passes happened fewer and farther between, and they, along with my pessimistic fuel gauge, were the main sources of stress, rage, and fatigue on the way out. While at school my car had stopped starting, but I "fixed" that by removing the starter and shoving pieces of copper into it. I parked on hills as much as possible so I could bump start if the need arose, so that added a little bit of stress.

    I took country roads across New York, which was a lot of fun save a few aggravating stretches behind tractors, then went through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and into Indiana, where I spent the first night. From that point in the trip until the final day, it rained. I wouldn't have minded because it kept things cool, but my wipers aren't the greatest.

    Having gotten the boring states that I'd been to out of the way, except for half of Indiana, I proceeded west to Chicago, where I hit morning rush hour. Once in Chicago, I turned right and headed up the shores of Lake Michigan through Wisconsin. Wisconsin was pretty, but unasuming. I took a detour to go see the Wisconsin Dells, which were very pretty and I highly recommend. From there, I headed north-northwest into Minnesota and the Twin Cities. Two things stood out: the Scandinavians who live there certainly live up to their ancestry and keep everything very clean and it is a very tall state, I had no idea I would spend as much time driving through it as I did. Downstate, save the cities, was pretty boring but as you head up it begins to live up to its "Land of 10,000 Lakes" moniker. The rolling hills and minilakes are like if someone had designed Ohio without ****ing up. Through Minnesota, and into North Dakota, I enjoyed what seemed like a five-hour sunset, which was enhanced by the big-sky nature of that part of the country. After being pelted by tens-of thousands (no hyperbole!) of bugs during this permadusk, I decided to call it a night about 50 miles into North Dakota.

    The next day was by far the best leg of the trip; I woke up to a beautiful prairie sunrise and headed west. While the sun was rising, I crossed the Missouri River just west of Bismarck, which was the unofficial halfway point. After the sunrise, as I headed farther into the plains, North Dakota began to bore me, so I decided to set some personal speed records (110ish mph average between stops) and a top speed somewhere north of 125mph (where the 5%-optimistic 130 mph speedo ended). I was rewarded for doing this with poor Ms to the G. Even though I wasn't paying for gas, I felt bad about that kind of wanton waste, so I slowed down in time to enjoy the red-clay hills and mesas that were starting to appear. It was at this point that things began looking decidedly-Western, about which I was very happy. From there I went into the prettiest part of the trip: Montana. Though initially very similar to and as interesting as central North Dakota, Montana soon began living up to its mountainous name. Crossing the Continental Divide was particularly pretty, though it was one of two times that my car actually broke a sweat. At a mile and a half (if not more) high with steep grades I couldn't maintain a speed of fewer than 85mph in fifth gear. Due to the twisty mountain nature of the roads, I couldn't feasibly travel much faster than sixty without try to escape the mountain through the guard rails. So, I was forced to stay in fourth, with the engine screaming its head off at the crisp thin air. On the way back down, it was again screaming its head off, because I threw it into third and let it rev to five-and-some grand with my foot off the pedal. The rest of the state continued in the same vein, but none of it could match the CD, which was definitely the climax of the trip. The scenery in Montana was among the most beautiful I had ever seen despite the rain. I will return to Montana at some point because that state needs to be explored further, especially around Livingston. Throughout Montana, questionable roadwork with even more-questionable traffic rerouting was common and this continued into Idaho. I drove through the strongest rain I've ever driven through with my car halfway in the mud because the two lanes of the highway were coned off (for no workers, surprise, surprise!), so that half of my car was on the 2'-wide paved hard shoulder, and the other part was on the dirt soft shoulder. This was incredibly nerve wracking, and jolting end to an otherwise pleasant day. I continued on into Idaho through another beautiful and long sunset, almost hit a cow that was on the highway, and decided to call it a night.

    Having done the trip in fifty-something hours the previous time 'round, I was not ready for the trials that came on the fourth and final day. It all started well enough; I'd stopped in a rest stop with a nice view of the hills and a lake/swamp with a little bench like in a Zen garden. The weather was perfect in the early morning, 55°F/13°C, and I sat there and then hiked up into the hills, just absorbing the scenery and listening to the loons. This was a welcome respite from the 23 hours I spent in the car for each day of this journey. From their I head south; the weather and scenery holding up until Salt Lake City, where the temperature shot up to and stayed in the 100°s/40°C for the remainder of the day. Though Utah is one of the prettiest states, I couldn't really enjoy it because of the heat and my own soreness; staying on the road was work enough without rubbernecking at the scenery. The dry heat meant that I had to continually stop and unload the gallons-upon-gallons of water and juice that I endlessly poured down my throat to stay hydrated. This all got wearisome quite quickly, so I took a detour off to Zion National Park for some sightseeing and not being in a jetblack car in the middle of the desert. It was quite beautiful there, but I didn't take too long to appreciate it because I knew I had to get going if I wanted to make it home that night.

    Despite my sweaty unbathed self, the car didn't break into a sweat until the more mountainous parts of southern Utah and Arizona. The Celica Supra was designed in the double-nickel days, so at "high" speeds like 85 or 90 mph, the car started getting hot, especially when climbing mountains with the A/C on. Still wanting to get home in a timely manner, I decided that I could do without the A/C, which wasn't fun. Through Arizona and through the vacuum of Nevada and Las Vegas I tried to focus through the sweat before getting smart and fashioning a sweatband from a t-shirt. Into California (huzzah!) and the San Bernardinos immediately loom large; steep climbs and divebomb descents continued t tax both the Supra Dupra and myself. In a rest stop a few thousand feet up, I met a British guy on his Triumph Tiger (on UK plates) doing an eastbound cross-country run. He seemed to like the fact that I was more interested in the bike and his route than in the fact that he was English. From there I headed downward into civilization, being greeted by a pretty sunset through a polluted sky as I entered the Los Angeles basin. About an hour and a weird race with a 4Runner later, I exited the freeway and drove home.

    This was another fantastic trip that the Cupra completed with very few stumbles. Unfortunately, it didn't escape unscathed: between the insects and the stones, she now has a number of paint chips (good remedies, anyone?), the fog, parking, and low-beam lights all failed, and my windshield wiper reservoir stopped holding fluid.

    Since having been home, I've troubleshot, reconnected grounds, and replaced bulbs until all of the aforementioned lights worked, including the vanity lights, which never worked. I have also cycled and bled out the brake fluid which was pretty disgusting.

    At the cost of the use of the headlight washers (which I don't think work, anyways) the washer system is now watertight, though at some point I would like to fix the headlight washers and rear-window washers (which I didn't know I had, so I didn't know were broken). Additionally, I would like to fix the courtesy light,because only some of them come on when the switch is set to "Door". I still cannot get the headlights to retract automatically, despite a few attempts to fix that circuitry. I would also like to get a radio that works from someone on CelicaSupra.com, because the original radio looks great and all aftermarket ones look like shit.

    Continued below, I've hit the per-post limit

    Pictures:
    1: Parking lot in Ohio, rain, Celica Supra
    2: Rush hour in Chi-town (don't worry, I'm stopped)
    3: Wisconsin
    Sadly, few good pictures of Minnesota and Wisconsin. My telephonic device/camera was low on juice
    4: Unending sunset, North Dakota
    5: Bugs, North Dakota (there were even more when I stopped the previous night, but it rained, washing some away.)
    6: Western North Dakota starting to look western
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  8. #38
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    Continuing on...

    Last weekend I went into the transmission and replaced the old worn metal-rubber sandwich shifter bushing for a pretty new brass one. Previously, I could move the shifter about a centimeter right or left when I was in gear, now I cant. It feels a lot more natural and snickety-snick. The only downside is I have to be obsessively-Cartesian with my shifts; I can no long cut corners from second to third and so on.

    Once I get all the electronic stuff sorted out and replace my ghetto-rigged starter, I will re-evalute the car and my financial situation to see if I would still like to modify it. Current possibilities are a slightly more sporty suspension, because though the car is very comfortable and has 10x the ground clearance of my parents Civics, it is a bit flaccid in the corners. I would also consider upgrading the brakes because the fronts especially have a lot of mass to retard and they are adequate at best. That being said, I have no money so none of this, save the starter, might happen.

    Pictures:
    1: Montana sign, Montana-ND border
    2: Miles City, MT (My name is Miles, so I had to visit)
    3 & 4: Old cars relaxing in Miles City, MT. I sat in the green Poncho and made burbly engine noises, there is just something so great about being at the helm in those old cars. I know this is a Euro-biased forum, but ride in a '50s slice of Americana and try not to smile.
    5: Panorama, Montana
    6: After crossing the continental divide, I figured I should let the car and myself stop and enjoy the veritable post-coital cigarette, Montana
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  9. #39
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    Pictures:
    1 & 2: Skies weaving bad medicine, Montana
    3: Welcome to Idaho, Idaho-Montana border
    4: Idaho sunset
    5 & 6: R&R with the loons, Idaho

    I forgot to mention above that I was considering continuing west into Oregon and then down PCH, but I didn't feel up for it.

    From here image quality and frequency take a nosedive; these are states I've been to many times and I was tired and hot.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  10. #40
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    Pictures:
    1 & 2: Further tranquility, Idaho
    3: Utah!
    4: SLC clouds and train, Utah
    5 & 6: The Holy Land, Zion Nat'l Park
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  11. #41
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    Finally!
    1: Eretz Tzion, Cont.
    2: For some reason this warranted a picture? High desert, California
    3 & 4: Descending into LA County and its lovely polluted sunsets
    5: Tired car having its foglights worked on.
    6: A neat Miata I saw today. Every time I see one done like this, I think about what might have been (it was either hardtopped original Miata or CelSup). I was just driving back from some canyon carving so the wallowy behavior was fresh on my mind. The handling isn't helped by the fact that I'm still running overly-high tire pressure for economy on the cross country run. Still, a Mazda couldn't have held all my stuff and I couldn't have slept in it. The CelSup is a GT par excellence and was very well suited to eating up those middle-American miles.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  12. #42
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    Great trip! Reminds me that I've just come from 4.600km across Europe for the past six days.

    Basically, the French banned me from driving, the Belgian motorways have potholes the size of lunar craters, the Dutch have decided to have a traffic jam every 500 yards, the Luxemburgers (or however they are called) have cheap petrol and Italy is not country, it is a race track (I think I may have annoyed slightly a pair of Carabinieri in a Delta because I was going too slow).
    Quote Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13 View Post
    This was another fantastic trip that the Cupra completed with very few stumbles.
    I didn't know they were selling Seats in the States...
    Quote Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13 View Post
    Current possibilities are a slightly more sporty suspension, because though the car is very comfortable and has 10x the ground clearance of my parents Civics, it is a bit flaccid in the corners.
    Must be a Japanese thing, this.
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

  13. #43
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    Pssssh. I've seen better countries.

    I love the drugged up look your Surpa has with one of its eyes partly open.

    Nice work!

  14. #44
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ferrer View Post
    Basically, the French banned me from driving, the Belgian motorways have potholes the size of lunar craters, the Dutch have decided to have a traffic jam every 500 yards, the Luxemburgers (or however they are called) have cheap petrol...
    Yes, but aren't the Belgian potholes impeccably well-lit?
    ...and Italy is not country, it is a race track (I think I may have annoyed slightly a pair of Carabinieri in a Delta because I was going too slow).
    Did they express their annoyance by wearing sunglasses and waving their arms around?
    I didn't know they were selling Seats in the States...
    They are; my car has four.

    Must be a Japanese thing, this.
    What I don't understand is that the Civics' front bumper seem to have an interference fit with the ground, yet most every other Japanese cars I've driven has the approach angle of a Humvee.
    "Kimi, can you improve on your [race] finish?"
    "No. My Finnish is fine; I am from Finland. Do you have any water?"

  15. #45
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    Quote Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13 View Post
    Yes, but aren't the Belgian potholes impeccably well-lit?
    The greatest irony is when they have those signs where it says "Chausée Degradée" and they leave it that. Chasing a bright red Giulietta through the backbone of Belgium is certainly an interesting experience...
    Quote Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13 View Post
    Did they express their annoyance by wearing sunglasses and waving their arms around?
    Actually the situation went like this.

    I was doing about 90mph on my way to Piacenza when I encountered a blue Alfa Romeo 156 estate, the sort of blue that is similar to the Polizia cars and just when I went past it I saw what I thought was a blue light (when it was probably just a reflection of the sun) so I decided to slow right down. Then along came the grey Delta doing about the same 90mph I was doing. The Alfa Romeo estate undertook me and the carabinieri in the Lancia flashed the lights at me. I moved quickly to the right they passed me, looked despisedly down at me and then I realised that the police was speeding and that the Alfa Romeo was nothing.

    You just have to love Italy.
    Quote Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13 View Post
    They are; my car has four.
    Well played, sir.
    Quote Originally Posted by f6fhellcat13 View Post
    What I don't understand is that the Civics' front bumper seem to have an interference fit with the ground, yet most every other Japanese cars I've driven has the approach angle of a Humvee.
    I have never ever scratched the front bumper of the Mazda in any speed bump. It is indeed a bit like an off roader.

    On the other hand the Lancia was one of the easiest cars to scratch the front bumper on ramps or bumps.
    Lack of charisma can be fatal.
    Visca Catalunya!

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