Skellington

Thanks. I wouldn't be able to any of this work without the internet and sites like these.

I assembled both struts, and I did some measuring of my car. From rough measurements, I should achieve about a 3" drop on the front of my car due to swapping the struts. I am not sure how much the springs will compress with the weight of the car on them though. Its a stock te31 and the new springs are 320#. With almost 3 inches already taken off, the spring compression might make my car lower than I really want it. I can opt for 8 or 10" springs for a little more height. As you can see my adjusters are topped out to achieve the height they are at now. With a 10" spring I can bump them up a bit more. My steering arms look as if they are interchangeable. The Cressida one has 1" longer arms than the corolla's stock, So Ill try to use the corolla ones on the Cressida struts. This is about the height I am am looking for, but a little higher:

Love the look of a nice white clean car. That thing looks like its in great shape. I Liked the old wheels.

Woa! Looks like you have some work ahead.

Here is the measurement from the cressy arm. Anyone with a corolla strut or steering arm laying around want to help me out? More work done to cressy struts. I chopped out the middle, beveled the edges for better welding. on the vice, ready for welding. That is the stock Cressida strut inside to line things up. Weld her up Then grind down the welds and check for holes: all good! Shortened vs not Cut small length of pipe for perch mount. Position so adjust-ability range is optimal. Bases fitted and welded: Add some primer and paint:

don't threaten me with a good time! On a serious note, I need to do some measuring.

No clue. I'm just winging it for now. If the corolla ones bolt up, ill use them. If not, ill use the cressy ones. If both those don't work... ill design and build some out of some thick sheet metal. anyone know if they are the same bolt pattern? or arm length?

If I am shortening my front struts, I might as well get another set, so I can build them while still using the car. I just happened to stumble upon a 1982 Cressida at the parts yard. Looks like they should work. Sweet vented brake upgrade too. I heat pressure washed them to remove all the oil and brake dust, and stripped apart the hubs and brakes. Brand new brake pads on it. Spring compressors and an impact drill makes this simple: Plasma cutter cuts like butter: And then the grinder to make them a little more manageable. That's where I'm at with them so far. I have 320# springs for the front, but they are only 7.25" tall. I might have to get some of the same rate in 10". That's all i got for now.

I like the bypass idea. please post more of this if you end up using it. independent ignition coils look sweet. Are they from a newer corolla? 2007ish?

Cool project. You building a sleeper?

The 2 defects will be easy to sort. Sad to hear about the engine. don't give up on her!

Thanks! HA HA! now that there is some drop. Love the custom MS paint rendering. Thanks for that. I'm aiming for a little tire under the gaurd. I don't want to go too low where ill high center on an ant trail. :doh:

How did I miss this thread? This is one sweet car that you made even better. I don't see a lot of silver celicas of this era. i like how you rebuilt the car and did subltle, tasteful mods to it.

That color red looks amazing. It goes well with the honda text too.

Yup 3" I figure I would rather start at 3" and possibly trim them down to whatever drop I want. I may have to get the u bolts re bent around a pipe or something. Anyway, I figured I should just dive in and get things going. I am tired of having more ground clearance than most the trucks around my neighborhood. Anyone know how to photochop for motivation?

Humm. Look what the post man has left: I have my work cut out.

Sweet. Nice little write up. I have been looking to get the same small tach for my TE31.

Thanks guys. that was what I was hoping for. I use the front one as a bench. It holds tools and parts quite nicely when under the hood.

I have completed my seat swap (about time). These seats feel like lazy-boy recliners. I had to take apart the sliding mechanism to make it work and then modified it some more to make the seat belts fit and work properly. It would of probably been easier to build my own form scratch. Fitment is perfect: I noticed my floors were wet after I arrived at work. the heater core sprang a leak and soaked my carpet on both sides with coolant. I was wondering why my coolant level was a little low. I took out the carpet and padding to avoid mold /corrosion issues. I have also bypassed the heater until I find another heater core. I also cleaned up my freeway flyer diff. It's my S374 (3.583 ratio one). I cleaned up all the gears and painted the outside. I think I will put this behind my automatic until I have the space to do my 5 speed swap. all my stuff is buried in storage, so i have to wait on that. This thing will be a gutless wonder with a stock 2tc and an auto with high gearing. I took the smog pump off my car. Now it doesn't make that whine in the engine compartment -YES! I have been enjoying driving the car, and it gets a lot of attention.

Just to clarify some things about the 2 and 3T engines. The 3t has the same bore size and very close head volume size. The part that gives it more volume is the piston shape, but more importantly is the wrist pin. It is closer to the head which brings the total height down giving more combustion chamber and lower combustion ratio. I believe the crank on the 3t's have a little more stroke to them as well. 3tc will give you a little bigger engine size that is more turbo friendly. Some people (possibly myself one day) put 3tc crank, rods, and pistons in a 2tc block to convert to 3tc to avoid engine swap / emissions. (some case clearance required to fit crank. This will essentially make your 2t a 3t inside. While doing this, you can get forged pistons and better valve springs to take advantage of the true potential of the T series engines ... but I’m getting off topic here...

Love seeing updates on this thing. I am very curious to see what numbers it runs. Hi stall + turbo seems fun.

I was bored and early for work. So I took these:

Sweet ride.

Nice work. I love the DIY stuff.

Wow. Nice car. So that is what my paint would look like if it wasnt trashed.