Hey!



I know, it’s not a Corvette engine. But it’s been the subject of my focus for a few weeks now. Toyota 3S-FE, oftentimes considered to be one of the most robust Toyota engines to ever leave the island. Giving me a terrible misfire…

I can’t get deep into another Corvette item until this thing is resolved. If you guys were hoping for more progress, sorry for the delays. But hopefully I’ll leave this Celica endeavor with a few more tools and weapons under my belt. I know you guys will understand.

Wish me luck in the world of front-drivers!

 

From Bronze to Malaise Era Brown



All I’ve learned?

I really need to dye up these carpets… badly.

What do you guys think of the seats? Would you all be interested in a detailed write up?

 

Happy to see another progress report. The seats look great!

 

Ditto. I'm glad to see you're sticking with it.

I'm sure a write-up about the seats would be appreciated by many. The carpets? Maybe if they're in good shape otherwise, but UV damage is usually more than just pigment. Possibly consider replacing.

 

what type are those seat covers?

 

Can't believe I've just now found this thread. Great read and great project!

 

I think the seat covers and door panels match very well!! Very nicely done on the interior!!

 

Appreciate it! Unfortunately I messed up some of my spray distance with the passengers seat cushion. It has a small bit of striping. I may have to even it over with a few light dustings.

I'll investigate the carpets closer, as dyeing them may come close to the cost of new ones (depending on the route I take). I could get some of that Rit dye from a craft store and mix it into a large spray bottle and go over the carpets a few times. After all, that's what I did for my door panel carpeting. SEM would be more consistent but boy it would be costly. I'll weigh my options.

I got and dyed them with SEM Bluebird Brown.

Welcome aboard! I used to post a lot more when this car had pressing, obvious issues. I can now balance driving it and working on it fairly consistently, but I always have enough on my hands to continue posting.

Always appreciate it. The interior is nowhere near done, but man do seats and panels alone make a world of difference.

 

Alright a bit overdue but this is what I did on February 1st. Basic maintenance!

STP for the LSD

Differentials are probably the single most neglected maintenance item on any car. They're the most basic gearset inside of a car, and they can last up to 200k miles on original oil without breaking. But once they break.. good luck. So let me try to avoid that. I have a tiny little Dana 36 (standard on all 84s), but I'd like to avoid replacing it for a D44 when I can. Who needs such a strong rear end for such a weak engine, right?



For this service, I didn't overthink it. 80W-90 as recommended per the manual, GM LSD additive as recommended per the manual. Legitimately the only difficult part was getting that fill plug out. Get creative... Or just use a 10mm wrench on the hex bit. Once the fill plug is open, stick the straw of your pump as deep in as possible and get pumping. The stuff is thick, so be careful and be patient to avoid breaking your pump. I managed to extract about 1.5qt from the rear end. This is nearly the entire capacity, so chances are I may have missed a puddle somewhere in there. I proceeded to pump the contents of the additive bottle in the diff, then the gear oil until it came weeping from the fill plug. Closed it back up and it's all done. Easy!

Before we take it for some figure-8s, lets change the oil too!


Oh God...




I'm sure you guys saw my post about this. Oil change went about as normal as possible until startup, where my engine proceeded to vomit 3 quarts of oil out of the filter on startup. I shut it down after a few seconds of zero pressure, so I'm hoping I avoided the bulk of any potential damage. Evidently the ACDelco filter had some threads which slipped through the cracks of QC. Replaced it with a PERFECTLY snug-fitting STP equivalent, then everything went back to normal. Nothing like a casual heart attack...

In conclusion, figure 8s went well and the car stood up nicely for a cruise around the wine country in my area. Diff is nice and smooth, engine seems happy, and all seems pretty good with this car mechanically. I even took her to work (100 mile round trip!) and she didn't give me any issues at all.

The concept of getting it painted grows more and more realistic. Do it myself, or Maaco it? Decisions decisions........

 

Her First Show





Your eyes do not deceive you, this is indeed an image of my Corvette at an actual Corvette show. Was she the prettiest girl at the prom? No. But, it didn’t stop people from coming by and admiring the lines, the story, and the beautiful Crossfire engine.

I understand why people love these events. I talked to at least a dozen people about this car, and exchanged information regarding maintenance and little oddities like the transmission. The E-Ray owner next to me is also new to the Corvette community and was an event first-timer like me. Cool company!


Not So Simple (Green)




I went out with my wheel wells looking like this. How dare I. These things have never seen more than a car wash brush and some suds. I figure I can give them a little more attention now if this car is expected to be seen in public more often.

The plan? Rinse, triple scrubs with some simple green and a soft plastic brush, and going over it with some 303 UV protectant. People on the forum swear by the 303 stuff. Figured I’d give it a try.




For an hour of work, this ain’t so bad at all. The wells right next to the wheel are very badly stained up though. I reckon they may need to be removed and sanded down for me to finish them properly. Here’s a photo below:



Yes, this is AFTER my scrub and 303 treatment. Gross. We’ll see if I can remove these to try and sand them down with high grit and try again. Let me know your suggestions.

I’m feeling motivated!

 

i wonder what a little etching cleaner like eagle 1 mag cleaner would do to those stains