GT4

[TONKA]

Hey,
New on this site but had Yotas my whole driving life (Got 2 at the mo)
Been thinking of getting me a GT4 celica for a couple of months now
Couple of question about st185
Any known areas to look for rust?
Any engine/gearbox issues to look for?
Helpful advice appreciated

[strx7]

steer clear of anything with boy racer mods or bank on rebuilding the motor.

[Boosted_162]

Hey,
New on this site but had Yotas my whole driving life (Got 2 at the mo)
Been thinking of getting me a GT4 celica for a couple of months now
Couple of question about st185
Any known areas to look for rust?
Any engine/gearbox issues to look for?
Helpful advice appreciated

ST185s dont really rust, unless smashed and not repaired properly. Gearboxes are relatively strong, but let down by synchros (almost all have worn synchros unless rebuilt). But Shane/strx7 has given best advice above, many are poorly modified and become timebombs so a stock one (if you can find one!) is your best bet.

[deaf_rattle]

its the same as any other performance car, or any car for that matter.
Unless you buy it brand new, you dont know the history of it.
Even then, a car that has been driven by an old lady all its life might break the minute its pushed hard.

If you accept the fact that anything you buy might need a replacement engine in the next 12 months, you will be fine. If you cant afford to fix it straight away be prepared for it to turn into a project, resulting in the need for a daily driver.

[TONKA]

steer clear of anything with boy racer mods or bank on rebuilding the motor.

Ok,the one i know of is a standard 1990 with 130,000ks on the clock.
Ive got a general idea what to look for just wandering if st185s have any bad omens as i will be holding on to it for a while.
Its 3 hours drive away so just want to know what to look for before i go and have a look this weekend.

[Prymal]

Having owned both 185 and 205 , id still say put your money into a 205 instead .. Everythign is a better base for long term goodness ..

The only letdown , is the front end is unique , and can be expensive to find bits for , otherwise that - I wouldnt look back. 185's are getting long in the tooth , and they are severely limited by a number iof things if you plan to play about with them a bit

Stock standard 205 has : - better brakes , better turbo , better engine , better aero , better interior , better handling , and just overall a better buy

have a look at this one for a cheap - but VERY good example of the breed .. Its owned by a toyspeeder here , and ab absolute steal for the price ( and its still tough as nails )

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-ca ... 255773.htm

Ive seen this car close up , been in it , and its already upgraded in the RIGHT places ..

[TONKA]

^Thanks for the advice but personally prefer st185s not gana be a daily just something to clean and drive in the weekends.

[DeeCee]

+1 on Prymals advice.
Everything on the ST205 is better than a 185. Then toyota went 215 and the platform went back down in terms of performance and extras.

[loudstealthGT-Four]

Hey,
New on this site but had Yotas my whole driving life (Got 2 at the mo)
Been thinking of getting me a GT4 celica for a couple of months now
Couple of question about st185
Any known areas to look for rust?
Any engine/gearbox issues to look for?
Helpful advice appreciated

Shouldn't have any issues with rust, unless it has been extremely neglected.
As for engine problems, GT-Fours are quite high maintenance cars, things id look for now if i was to buy another are;

*Clutch (check if and when it has been replaced, as it is an engine out job and can be $$$$)
*Cooling system (check if it is green and not brown and rusty)
*Gearbox (just take it for a drive and test out all the gears

Ill add things as i think of them

Tyler

[Dell'Orto]

Diff bushes flog out and clunk too. Every one I've driven has been quite lack lustre too, ST205 is a much better option.

[deaf_rattle]

Diff bushes flog out and clunk too. Every one I've driven has been quite lack lustre too, ST205 is a much better option.

st185 rcs look so much nicer than st205s though.
although id probably go rc bumper and fmic and gtr bonnet.

[Dell'Orto]

Yeah a genuine RC would be cool, but they are still let down mechanically.

[TONKA]

Yeah a genuine RC would be cool, but they are still let down mechanically.

What do you mean by this?
Im not buying one to race around the streets and do helis with the gate screaming its nuts off,Just after a nice condition st185 leave it standard and look after it

[dnalunchie]

As long as you don't intend on dailying the thing and you have a decent income to fix it then I don't see TOO many issues coming up. Try and find one as stock as possible. Also despite the fact that they won WRC and are turbo don't expect to be dragging off wrx's or evo's, or even hondas for that matter as in stock form they are SLOW....

Look cool tho, I'd have one just to look at. but like the others said, RC version, num nums

[FST4RD]

If I was going to buy a GT4 i would buy this one
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-ca ... 383564.htm

[Dell'Orto]

Yeah a genuine RC would be cool, but they are still let down mechanically.

What do you mean by this?
Im not buying one to race around the streets and do helis with the gate screaming its nuts off,Just after a nice condition st185 leave it standard and look after it

They just purely arent as good as a ST205. No real inherent weaknesses (bar the CT26 )

[loudstealthGT-Four]

If I was going to buy a GT4 i would buy this one
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-ca ... 383564.htm

if i was looking at paying that much, id definatly go for a ST205

But would also love to own that RC

[deaf_rattle]

Yeah a genuine RC would be cool, but they are still let down mechanically.

What do you mean by this?
Im not buying one to race around the streets and do helis with the gate screaming its nuts off,Just after a nice condition st185 leave it standard and look after it

They just purely arent as good as a ST205. No real inherent weaknesses (bar the CT26 )

pfft ct26 is awesome!!! as a paper weight

[dnalunchie]

Yeah a genuine RC would be cool, but they are still let down mechanically.

What do you mean by this?
Im not buying one to race around the streets and do helis with the gate screaming its nuts off,Just after a nice condition st185 leave it standard and look after it

They just purely arent as good as a ST205. No real inherent weaknesses (bar the CT26 )

pfft ct26 is awesome!!! as a paper weight

Guys I just read a bunch of old threads, what are you talking about STOP


STOP


STOP


Ct26's can flow 450hp.....





SO there!

[RunningRich]

If I was going to buy a GT4 i would buy this one
http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-ca ... 383564.htm

Would like to know what the $7500 engine spend covered, especially given it looks 100% bone stock under the hood.

Maybe that was similar to the "reconditioned" engine my first car had listed in the advert. Their view of reconditioning was changing the oil at least every 20,000kms...