I went through all of the threads I've started on this forum but couldn't find one for my longest long-term project, the RA23 Celica I bought circa 1995 for the explicit purpose of engine conversion shenanigans and other irresponsible modifications. I guess there wasn't much point starting a thread because the reality is I've done SFA on this project, largely thanks to the Supra I bought in 1999 which quickly became the focus of my attention. And it still is! 
Anyway, I originally bought this particular RA23 because it had a good straight body with little to no rust (rare even back then), but was cheap because the mechanicals were completely shot. That didn't bother me because my intention was to throw everything in the bin immediately - 18R-C, 3-speed auto, rickety suspension, glass diff, all gone. The plan was to purchase a twin cam 18R-G ex-Japan, throw your standard Celica 5-speed behind it ($100 at any wreckers back then), "do something" about the suspension, then go and rip mad skids with and maybe get on the cover of Hot 4's magazine.
I did get the engine + transmission conversion done pretty quickly, it is after all about as easy as engine conversions go even for a complete novice like I was. Here's what the filthy lump looked like with its fully sik dual Solex sidedraughts:
Oh you remember that part about "little to no rust"? I heard all you first-gen Celica aficionados laughing at me. Yes, it was actually a rust bucket, of course it was. So I set about learning how to repair rust and kinda sorta did a passable job. Here's what it looked like after some very bad sheetmetal welding hidden by some strategically placed body filler:
Then after a quick and dirty rattle-can paint job which was meant to be very temporary:
Of course fixing the bad paint job immediately took a back seat to mods, like upgrading to MA61 Supra brakes:
I also got the shits with the carbies and got hold of an EFI setup from a later model 18R-GEU. After lots of fucking around with the ancient analog injection system I actually managed to get it running. Just check out that ace wiring job:
I also upgraded to some awesome 14x7 alloy wheels and some sort of lowered suspension happened at some point:
That's pretty much the whole story up until now. The last time I actually drove the car was when I moved it to my new house a bit over 10 years ago, and it's been sitting neglected in the shed ever since.
Anyway, I originally bought this particular RA23 because it had a good straight body with little to no rust (rare even back then), but was cheap because the mechanicals were completely shot. That didn't bother me because my intention was to throw everything in the bin immediately - 18R-C, 3-speed auto, rickety suspension, glass diff, all gone. The plan was to purchase a twin cam 18R-G ex-Japan, throw your standard Celica 5-speed behind it ($100 at any wreckers back then), "do something" about the suspension, then go and rip mad skids with and maybe get on the cover of Hot 4's magazine.
I did get the engine + transmission conversion done pretty quickly, it is after all about as easy as engine conversions go even for a complete novice like I was. Here's what the filthy lump looked like with its fully sik dual Solex sidedraughts:
Oh you remember that part about "little to no rust"? I heard all you first-gen Celica aficionados laughing at me. Yes, it was actually a rust bucket, of course it was. So I set about learning how to repair rust and kinda sorta did a passable job. Here's what it looked like after some very bad sheetmetal welding hidden by some strategically placed body filler:
Then after a quick and dirty rattle-can paint job which was meant to be very temporary:
Of course fixing the bad paint job immediately took a back seat to mods, like upgrading to MA61 Supra brakes:
I also got the shits with the carbies and got hold of an EFI setup from a later model 18R-GEU. After lots of fucking around with the ancient analog injection system I actually managed to get it running. Just check out that ace wiring job:
I also upgraded to some awesome 14x7 alloy wheels and some sort of lowered suspension happened at some point:
That's pretty much the whole story up until now. The last time I actually drove the car was when I moved it to my new house a bit over 10 years ago, and it's been sitting neglected in the shed ever since.
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