Picked up some more parts from Toyota at the weekend. I decided after all the money being spent on replacing all the front subframes and suspension it would be a shame to use rusty bolts so I picked up some new ones. I also have decided to take the opportunity to rebuild the brake master cylinder whilst the engine is out so got a rebuild kit for that.

Amongst other bits I also bought some original Toyota vacuum hose, this stuff is much more robust that the samco et al silicon stuff, so all the lines will be going back to that (regret having changed them but you live and learn).

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GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK

Looks like Christmas

I think we are really fortunate that Toyota still maintains a good stock of spares and can get hold of them really quite quickly, even from Japan. My Nissan Patrol has a leaking power steering system which was diagnosed today as split hoses (its only four years old). Hoses are not kept in stock in the UK but are available from the main Nissan Europe distribution centre in Amsterdam. The only problem is they quote five days and they don't seem to have a VOR system to expedite delivery despite me asking them and comparing them to Toyota. Maybe I need to get a copy of the Nissan equivalent of the EPC and walk into the parts dept in person and ask for a more personal service?

So a vote from me for Toyota!

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Don
GT4DC Chairman
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205WRC JDM 269bhp @ 0.9bar
1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four Special GT 590bhp @ 1.8bar
1989 Van Diemen RF88/89 Formula Ford 1600
2008 Nissan Patrol GU 3.0L ZD30DDTi 154bhp

Yep I forgot to order two nuts with the lot above, went in on Saturday morning, collecting them tomorrow, most things can be got in 2 days from Toyota I find, 4 days for the more unusual bits.

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GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK

yea, I agree. Ive ordered loads from my local toyota whilst trying to get my car into a respectable condition, only ever had to wait a few days

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FN2 Civic Type R w/Mugen Parts
Toyota Celica GT4 ST205
Toyota Celica GT4 ST185

Hmmmmm new bolts .

You could have had the old ones treated and zinc plated for not alot of cash.

£60 for all these to get done

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ST205

Hi Nial,

Yeah I remember that from before, my plan is to keep all the old bolts and get this done to them.

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GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK

I must admit the draw of new bolts is great, and if I had the cash I would have purchased brand new ones too, but in the effort to save cash this seemed like the better option, although time and longevity of the coating may dictate otherwise.

Just envious really as I couldnt afford new bolts

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ST205

I'm not convinced about the plating, I would have just cleaned them back to original.

What I would have definately not done is use new, non-Toyota bolts. My 205 had a fair bit of work done before my ownership, and I can tell 'new' bolts long before I find the head sizes are different as they are rusty. More often than not, I end up cutting / drilling them out.

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If at first you don't suck seed, try drier grain.

theres no way your not going to have a few left over at the end! Hope you remeber where they all go, I know I wouldnt

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FN2 Civic Type R w/Mugen Parts
Toyota Celica GT4 ST205
Toyota Celica GT4 ST185

I hear you there - Its new or original Toyota on my car so far.

The only ones I have changed for non OEM are a few of the non-load bearing bolts I have swapped them for stainless - usually M6 size.

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GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK

What good would that do? cleaning original rusty bolts back leaves them with zero protection. I cleaned every single nut and bolt by hand, within an hour or two they were showing signs of going rusty again, they need something, I asked the platers who offer several coatings which would be the best to go for and they said zinc plating every time. Any bolts I do replace with non toyota will be stainless steel as I agree that non toyota bolts in mild steel very quickly show themselves up as being inferior, in quite a dramatic fashion.

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ST205

I generally find the original toyota bolts have either zero, or slight surface rust after 20 years use. If you're finding them going rusty within hours then either your cleaning method has affected the surface, or the cleaning fluid is corrosive and still has traces present.

My worry about plating is twofold. Firstly, it is extra thickness which will make them a tighter fit - this may affect how easily they come undone again. Secondly, some platings have a chemical effect on the steel underneath and can lead to cracking, breakage etc. I remember chrome plating being banned from structual parts of our karts because it made them brittle - the banning was a result of a number of accidents caused by stub axle breakages.

I don't normally 'de-rust' bolts to shiny. I chuck them in the degreasing bath to get them clean, then re-use with a smother of grease over them. Functional, but probably not the required effect for a shiny, 'restored' car.

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If at first you don't suck seed, try drier grain.

I had similar queries about the plating, but was assured that it would not effect the dimensions hardly at all, The threads I have put back together all seem fine so far with no gauling or problems fitting back together and zinc plating is a globally recognised method of helping to rust proof nuts and bolts. I cant quite figure out what Toyota use to coat their nuts and bolts with, sometime it looks like paint but I doubt it is

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ST205

I think Toyota use the same elektrof...electrofo..... ekletrophor........electric paint process

As seen on the chassis too I believe, Toyota holds a couple of patents on electrophoretic coatings from about the right timeframe

Time for the next update.

I spent Friday and Saturday of last week up with the car working on things with Martin.

The assembly of the last bits of the engine was completed - power steering pump, starter motor etc.

Whilst the engine was out I decided to refurb the brake master cylinder as it is a real pain of a job with the engine in the car:



Access is much better with the engine out of the way



Some of the sensors for my new datalogger / dash display have been installed as well:

Oil Temperature - measured from the sump using the UK oil level switch port


Oil Pressure measured from the OEM position and Water Temperature tapped into the water elbow


Fuel pressure - tapped into the rail feed line


Exhaust Gas Temp - tapped into the manifold on runners 2 and 3



We had a goal of getting the engine into the car by the end of the two days, we started by lifting the front of the car high into the air:



The engine and gearbox was then wheeled underneath using a dolly:



The car lowered down back onto its axle stands and the engine then lifted into position:



The left and right engine mounts were installed so the engine was then self supported in the car and the newly powdercoated north/south crossmember with the front and rear mounts installed:



I also took the time while I was there to apply some helicopter tape to the mounting locations for the front anti-roll bar - bit of an experiment suggested by Steve, lets see if it helps keep the corrosion away:



I also took the opertunity to continue with some preventative rust works - suspension turrets:



The weekend concluded with the car looking like this:



The main jobs left to do are plumb the engine in and fit the remainder of the suspension, then there are lots of little jobs like front brakes and bleeding the brakes, fitting a new ABS sensor, replacing a front wheel bearing.

My next trip up o the car is going to be in a couple of weeks time when I hope we will be able to nail down a lot of these bits, so hopefully we won't then be too far from turning the key!

Cheers

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GT4DC Events Co-ordinator
1996 ST205 UK