Updates

2010-11-01 MR2 SW20 Turbo

When the ST185 lost its bearings and probably everything else, I was looking for a new engine. So I was offered a 94 3SGTE with a car - 1990US spec MR2 with '94 JDM spec engine. It needed a rebuild, so I did it. Wanted to finish it before summer, but as it usually happens, it took more time. But now the car is finished right before winter. It drives great, much faster than the ST185 (of course).

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2010-06-04 CelicaClub.lv calendar

elica st185 featured in celicaclub.lv calendar, July 2010My celica st185 featured in celicaclub.lv calendar, July 2010. This picture is from photoshoot at Toyota dealers last winter, a few days before the engine blew. you can see this pic at celicaclub.lv frontpage! meanwhile some progress..

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2010-05-17 Celica waiting, MR2 enters the scene

The ST185 makes me sad everytime I go to garage and pop the hood. The head is off, cylinders are taking some rust. I have not decided what to do with the engine - build it to stock, build it for power, or swap in something with low miles (rev2 or rev3 3sgte from st205?). Original engine has almost 300k km on the dial, Cylinders need to be rebored, so does the crankshaft. If cylinders are on original 86mm, I could try to do 86.5 which is the sice of pistons that come with the s2.2L stroker kit. It would include new crank and all the stuff that is screwed up. But the 300k kms scare me.

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2010-01-15 project on hold

After all, it seems I had a worn out bearing after the radiator blowup. piston of #1 cylinder  was hitting the head and that blew the head gasket completely. Anyway, the head gasket was in terrible condition. A specialist took a look at the head and said that I would probably have to change the pistons as well and do a full rebuild. I dont have time and money for that now. My only options for now - change bearings and head gasket and valve cover gasket and hope that the engine lives.

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2009-12-30 Blown
Did some stuff, installed HKS radiator cap on the new radiator, changed engine bay hoses to silicone colored. Put on some new R16 rims and Michelin X-Ice tires for winter. But disaster striked
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2009-12-20 Recovering..
Toyota center Latvia, Celica st185 snow Today we (Celica club Latvia) were doing a photoshoot at the Toyota dealers "WESS Bergi" in Riga. So here is also a teaser pic from my iphone :D Lovely pic.
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2009-12-17 A lot of troubles, radiator, doors..

up in smoke celicaIt`s been a month. And not a bright one. We went a few nights out to the warehouse to practice drift. I got too adventurous and demanded too much from the car.

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2009-11-17 Warehouse drift practice, photoshoots
celica st185 drift awd angar warehouse
  While still without exhaust and with ARC TMIC, I do drive out on occasion for fun. Like this event - some motorbike stunt drivers are renting a warehouse in Riga for practice. Soon after car drifters found out and got a chance to try it out :) So on Friday evenings this is where we meet, cause its cold outside already :D So I have some pics and a video. enjoy :)
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2009-09-29 waiting, planning FMIC route..

No big updates.. Tinted the front turning lights. nothing special, simply used a cheap rear light tint spray in a can. Very simple to do! Take the turning lights off, clean, spray 3 layers with 10-15min intervals and done! Not sure how legal it is, but I have my next MOT after 10months, so I can live with that. It`s not that hard to borrow the lights for MOT from other celica owner. Or just buy another set from ebay.
Deciding the FMIC upgrade:

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2009-09-10 Welcome to my country
broken window glass Some burglars broke my car`s window during night, while it was parked outside. I had hidden my jacket behind the driver`s seat, but still it was a bit visible. In my jacket was my passport and in center console was car registration and digital camera. That`s basically all the bastards got.
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