The 72 Celica GT project began in May 2004. After attending the 2004 TORC Meet, Joji Luz, a Toyota enthusiast and owner of #5 Celica GT, asked me and my good friend, Patrick Ng, if we will have a car to show for the following Toyota Meet. Although apprehensive in responding due to the short timeframe, the answer to that would be a resounding yes! A challenge?...Absolutely, although we both knew it we were definitely up for it! Getting the correct parts, body and paint scheme, and
the set-up proved to be futile yet fulfilling, thanks
to all of our dedicated die-hard Toyota friends,
especially to Patrick Ng who was there from day one,
we were able to get a jump on the Celica project! As
you may very well know building a nostalgic vehicle
takes a lot of hard work and preparation. |
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As luck would have it, the body of the Celica was
intact, had good lines and the paint was not a
problem. Whew! Working for an autobody shop as a
Service Writer finally paid-off as I had lots of help
from my autobody technician friends, all of whom spent
time repairing and staightening the car's shell. The
paint job was prepared and accomplished by one good
automobile painter, a former co-worker, Kevin Flynn. I
had initially thought of having the car painted moss
green but when Kevin disagreed with the color choice,
that was when I consulted the expert opinion of Joji
Luz...and so the color tangerine was decided on!
Joji's simple advice...stay on the light side, not
dark. Think Nostalgic, stay with the scheme. Ok! |
Anyway, after hauling the Celica from the autobody
shop, it sat in our RV parking for 2 months while
Patrick and I hunted for parts and completed the parts
prior to build start. Patrick and I made sure that
every part was original as possible and that we had it
on hand. The engine, stock 1600 2TG twin cam, dual 44
Mikuni carburators, connected to the T50 5 speed The interior involves TRD bucket seats, with red 4 point red seat belts. Steering wheel, it depends, sometimes Nardi or Momo (oldschool). From windshield to the rear deck lid the weatherstrips were all replaced with OEM. The entire interior was redone from the roof headliner and the door trims. The cluster panel is all stock with the clock ticking in the center console. I decided not to install a radio (maybe in the future) since I don't really drive the car that much. I truly enjoy listening to the sound of the engine and the dual Mikuni carburators. |
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We lowered the car. We just made sure the wheel well did not rub with the tires. Wheels installed, 14 x 7 Watanabe on Dunlop 195x55 series. Japanese fender mirrors were installed as well as halogen Cibie lamps. It literally took one year to complete the project as planned. Thanks to Patrick (my cheering squad and drill sergeant)he made sure that we were on schedule and so were able to complete the project on time. |
Working in the garage for an entire year was an
experience, with only standard tools, the cold
weather, jazz music in the background while chowing on
and gulping down tons and tons of pizza, beer and Throughout the build Patrick showed up at my garage at least 4 days a week with a positive attitude and yes, with car parts! Hooray! Amazing and true to his word, he acquired parts from Japan, Manila, his garage and thru friends such as Joji Luz and Eric Comia, our Southern California hook-ups. |
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I had said to myself, it would take a lot of time and
patience and not to forget, money, to get this car
going. Having all the old school Toyota experts
(fanatics) backing you up, supporting you and pushing
you every step of the way, undoubtedly made the Celica Many thanks to Joji Luz and Eric Comia for parts,
Robert Co (owner) AZN for the electrical and for fine
tuning the engine. Monty White, our electrical
specialist who did an awesome job! Oh yes, of course,
I meant to include my wife, Aisa, and Jocelyn Ng
(Patrick's wife) and to our kids ...many Thanks! |
