She sings

Picked up the new wheels today. Went down to summit and all they had were three (arrrgghhhh) but seeing that the tires won't be here for a while the three days to ship the other from Ohio is moot. Anyway, I'll get two of them up to a place where they will be widened. Don't know if I'll do one inch in the front and one in the back or just widen them to 10's and leave it alone. You would think since these are a popular wheel that they'd come in wider sizes. Oh well.

The spoiler looks good as do the wheels! Are you keeping the wheels black?

Thanks. Not sure on the wheel color yet. I've seen a few colors that might look pretty cool but I don't want to go too wild.

Nice Job, Cragar wheels would of looked awesome with that body color,,

that sure is a nice clean car to start with, awesome! had some of those heavy wheels on my laguna when I bought it a few years ago.

No real news to report other than some parts rolling in, LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have tires. I was ready to hit the button on the Nitto tires but instead went with the Mickey Thompson's. To good of a deal to pass up although I bought the rears off Ebay for $307 shipped and then went to Summit at lunch and found out I had $40 in coupons and summit bucks so the fronts were $269. Can't shake a stick at that for $576 for 275/40/17 and 315/35/17. I had the rears widened and it looks like he did a good job. He is not one for paint so I had to sand them and will redo them when I get back working on the car. I bought a 9C1 rear sway bar from a member here and that is still in the parts pile. I do notice the car leaning to the right front now so the next purchase will be some springs. I'll probably just go with the eibach set up for the Impala SS or look into the DSE stuff although I'm not jumping for joy about spending DSE money.

I've been tied up getting my sons car ready for his big show. He is excited as for years he has seen me working on my stuff getting ready to show it off. It is not going to be 100% but he wants to get a feel for it before he starts trying to autocross and road coarse it. The car is a '76 Celica GT Coupe. It is in the home stretch now as I have to haul it up tomorrow to get the cage put in. After that it is refinishing the steel wheels he bought and getting tires put on and adjusting the suspension. These old Japanese cars are really no different than the domestic stuff, just harder to get parts. We paid $200 for front and rear window seals and it took 3 weeks to get them from Japan. No one in the US had them for less than $375. Crazy.



His car at the shop getting a new exhaust. The PO had flex pipe run out the back. I can only imagine what that cost in time and money instead of having it done right. Oh well, that is why we get them and work on them. BTW, he is not planning on painting the car.

Had some spare time so I had the front tires mounted to the new wheels. Boy, this car needs to come down another inch or two. The new set up in the front is about a inch shorter than the old 255/60/15's and the rears will be even shorter than that. The width is there but overall I'm happy. I want QA1's but thats a grand. Eyeing the eibach set up and another brand but it looks like the belltech set up is the only one dedicated for our cars but when you put in 1996 Impala SS there are a bunch of choices and I know that those springs fit so that is next along with some drop shocks.

Nice! Those sure do to fill up the wheel wells nicely as far as width goes huh? I'm still interested in your springs if you want to get rid of them sir.

Jeff.....

As soon as I get the replacements they are yours. I'm going to sell the 5 Vette wheels with tires and when those sell I'll get the springs.

Looking good with those wide wheels and tires

Finally got the the time to get the new tread on. Everything fits just fine. Now contemplating QA-1's or drop springs. But these are 17x10 with 315/35 out back. And I could have gone 17x11 and a 335. It would have been close but there is a good amount of room on the inside of the rear wheel well. Its coming along. Now to find a place to get aluminum and get it cut and bent for the rear spoiler. Oh, and I got the 9C1 sway bar on as well.
255/60/15 vs 315/35/17


Gotta drop a couple inches out back and roll the quarter.


On the ground, you can barely see the bar and how wide the footprint is.

Listed these in the classifieds.

I'm looking for Wheel Well Trim and Vinyl Top Trim if your going to sell it.

John brown wrote:I'm looking for Wheel Well Trim and Vinyl Top Trim if your going to sell it.

Gotcha covered on the wheel well trim. They are all boxed and ready to go due to a buyer backing out. You can see pics in the for sale section in the thread I started.

So, rear 9C1 sway bar installed and the new rear springs are in place (2 in drop from OPGI, now sits 25 1/4 from ground to top of wheel well). It is getting there. Gotta get front springs ordered here and then get that big front sway bar to match the rear. It is slowly coming along. Tomorrow i'll install the rearview mirror that a friend sent me. It is out of a Tahoe with the compass and temp gauge. I got the probe as well. I will also do the surgery to the rear wheel opening to clear the tires. It is so close but I don't want to chew up the tires.



Oh and I even installed the hood pins. Not to nerve racking of a job. I figured it would be alright if I messed it up cause the car is going to get painted anyway.

I'll take them I have ups account but can't get the number until monday

Alright. Let me know Monday.

That sure is coming along nicely Damon. Looks mighty nice down and with the wheels and tires.
I'm liking it.

Looks nice! I like the Celica too! My uncle had one when I was a kid. It got all rusty though.

Got the springs in. I'm thinking the advertised drops are a little more. 2 in the rear and 1.5 up front. The rear is sitting nice, the fronts came down more than I thought. Should have got the spindles but too late now. I for sure need the drop shocks as the car bounces off the bumps stops now. The factory exhaust for sure has to go as it will scrub the ground as I pull into my garage. In all fairness their is a dip and high spot so it is to be expected. I guess now it's save up for the shocks and bigger front sway bar.

WOW! Now that's low Damon. Looking good and did it, or can you tell if it handles any different?

I have the W-6 Trans Am 1 1/4 front bar on mine and it is BIG. lol

Keep up the great work there sir.

Jeff.....

P.S.  Still want to part with your old springs?

Yep, they are in the boxes the new ones came in and they have your name on them. The front sway bar is on the list. I have to see how it settles, I may have to do what Kenny Kee on FB did and put those spacers in. I for sure did not expect 1.5 inches to drop so much.

ant7377 wrote:Looks nice! I like the Celica too! My uncle had one when I was a kid. It got all rusty though.

My son really enjoys that car. It has a cage, racing seat and harness. It has aluminum door, rear, rear divider and package tray panels, coil overs and lowering springs out back, header and upgraded weber carb conversion. He wants to autocross/road course/drift it.

Did you compare the new springs to the old before installation? If they sent the specs on the spring rate, I would be curious to know that. Looks like a three inch drop compared to the old ride height.

The car sat on the drivers side 26 inches before. Now it sits at 23.5 so after that I think I should have got the big block drop springs for the proper drop. But, since I've already installed them I'll just make them work. My son digs the look and it is growing on me. With that much drop I wonder if I need the belltech 8000 shocks or just get the belltech street shocks and be done.

I was just curious as to where the manufacture measures the drop. A 1.5" drop at the spring would be about 3" at the wheel.

You are right. They are the same height as the impala ss springs I pulled out which were a little shorter than the worn stick ones I pulled out to begin with. It's all a learning thing for me. I'm going to get the shocks this week and then see how it rides.