The purpose of this project is to learn more about the mechanics of my car and learn more about gradually driving a performance machine.
Why would you want to do that?
- I'm into cars.
- I would like to learn more about how cars perform under different conditions and configurations.
- Mechanics will no longer be able to fool me over rediculously priced repair bills.
- It would be a long, labor intensive but very fun and satisfying experience.
- I really like the GT-Four/Alltrac (a production car that won a couple of World Rally Championship titles before the likes of Subaru's WRX).
So what does ST2GT4 mean?
ST is the trim level of my particular Celica. What does this mean? When I bought it back in 1993. I was given 4 different choices:
- ST - 4AFE 1.6 Liter 109 HP (no ABS)
- GT - 5SFE 2.2 Liter 130? HP (ABS)
- GTS - 5SFE 2.2 Liter 150? HP (ABS)
- Alltrac - 3SGTE 2.0 Turbocharged /w Air2Air Intercooler. 200+ HP. In addition, it was All Wheel Drive.
- All of these were 4-cylinder twin-cam 16-valve with EFI
- Of course you had different options after that...which meant turning the car into a coupe, a convertible, or plain liftback. I ended up with the coupe (which is suprisingly lighter).
- All of the trims except the Alltrac had all those options. The Alltrac simply came only in a liftback option which is what the japanese toyota engineers insisted to US; they should keep intact. Whew.
So how did I end up with an ST? I'll let you take a guess on that. Nevertheless, I didn't know crap about Celicas and I was happy that I had a car in the first place. Back in the days. The Americans thought it would be cool to come out with several trim levels to cover as much of the market as possible. Much to their surprise, people were modifying their cars. They didn't realize the amount of support mayhem they would have to go through in satisfying the aftermarket companies with all the available trims they had in the US. In Japan they simply had the GT-Four (Alltrac in US) which came only in liftback, with two different engine configurations:
- 3SGTE (turbocharged inline-4) 225 bps (HP?)
- 3SGE (naturally aspirated inline-4) 170 bps (HP?)
Simple yet effective. Definitely a difference in culture. In Japan, business and marketing strategists aim towards capitalizing in quality and reputation of worksmanship. In America, business and marketing strategists aim towards capitalizing. Period.
Anyway, before I start going more off topic...the ST2GT4 is my feeble attempt at trying to convert the ST into a GT4 hybrid. Of course, I will never have the 4 Wheel drive component...hence the hybrid part. This will include, in the future, overhauling the engine, converting the body, and any additional modifications to increase the handling and overall performance of the car.
Other questions:
- Since the GT4 is a liftback and yours is a coupe, how can you expect to do a true conversion?
Who said I was limited to only doing true conversions? At least I'm not trying to turn my celica into something completely different. The GT4 is after all...a celica. Again, this is a hobby, if you're one of those Celica enthusiasts who cringe over these things, well...sorry. Most enthusiasts forget that people are entitled to do what they want to their car.
- Why do you think you will never have the 4 Wheel Drive on your car?
Rather than say, "it's too expensive...I'd rather not", I actually went through the trouble of actually finding some reputable all wheel drive shops that have actually done it and asked how much it would be to fabricate custom transaxles and center differentials to turn my car into a 4WD machine. Under the three shops I visited, I got $17,000 > $18,500 > $22,000. This doesn't even include unexpected labor charges. Expect to spend at least $20,000. Possible to do? Yes. Practical? No.
- Why don't you call it ST2GT2 since you'll be stuck with Front Wheel Drive?
That's ok. I like the way the current project name sounds.
So there you have it. The introduction of the project. Go through some of the articles here. You might just gain a different perspective of this hobby of mine. 
Some of the great messageboards and resources I recommend to learn some car fundamentals and meet very helpful individuals:
http://www.alltrac.net (A very good and resourceful site. Their community is very helpful)
http://www.nsxprime.com (Very good community/site in helping you setup for serious autox or roadracing as well as some fundamentals)
http://www.board.mr2faq.com/ (For those serious about tuning their 3S-GTE for reliable power. Very good site.)
Sites to avoid:
http://www.celica.net (used to be a good messageboard).