Pair of RA29s in NC
Pair of RA29s in NC
Greetings everyone!
I've had the 1st-gen Liftback Celica on my mental list of cars I'd love to own for awhile, and recently purely by happenstance I stumbled across two of them near by (coincidentally both white RA29s). Scooped up one almost immediately for a steal, and got a pretty decent deal on the other.
My hope is that between the two I'll be able to restore one to a nice looking and running condition. What's left of the other one could become a 24 Hours of LeMons contender. This will be my first attempt at any serious body restoration work, but it's a skill me and a friend have wanted to start developing for a while. Hopefully by going slow and planning carefully we'll be able to produce a nice result eventually!
The first RA29 has a body in pretty rough shape. There's advanced rust in several places, and while it's probably restorable by someone with some serious skills, me and my restoration partner have more or less deemed it a parts and bodywork practice car. Most of the chassis and suspension bits are actually in pretty good shape, however, and it actually runs and drives with some serious convincing (the carburetion is messed up, especially the idle circuit, but the motor seems pretty solid). It has the original 20R motor and an automatic (A40?) transmission. While it does drive, it also leaks about a gallon of coolant per mile due to a busted radiator and a leaking high pressure hose, so it will be towed to its destination. There's a decent amount of parts worth using on this car, and for the little I paid for it I have no complaints.
The second RA29 has a much better body, and its chassis and suspension look in even better shape. There's definitely rust to be dealt with, but much of it is surface or inner wheel well rust (hopefully! we'll see when the paint starts coming off). The worst part from a repair standpoint is probably the hatchback, which has some bad rust on its inner reenforcement metal. I have a few ideas for dealing with this, but I won't be certain what might work until I start stripping things down. This one doesn't run, however. The previous owner pulled a 22R-TE from a 4Runner and swapped it in, mated with some 5 speed Celica transmission (not sure which one as yet... maybe the W50?). He hit a wall with the wiring (not his forte, apparently) and hasn't touched it since. It would be nice to get the 22R-TE motor wired up and running, but that's a concern for later. I think I'd like to stick with an R motor of some sort to keep the expense in the realm of sanity, so it would be nice to have the stout 22R-TE if possible. The car comes with an extra hood in good shape, another 5 speed transmission (presumably the same type that's currently in it), louvers, and some other odds and ends. This one will most likely be the car that gets restored.
I'm really excited about this project, since the RA29 is such a cool looking car and is so unique (it's just too cliche to pick 60s American muscle for restoration...). Hopefully we won't bash our brains out too badly as we learn body and rust repair (at the very least our welding skills should improve!). I'll definitely be asking a lot of questions and hunting for parts on here as we get into it. Sorry for the lack of photos in this post, but I'll update tomorrow after I've taken a bunch of pictures.
One question for now: is there anything useful that can be gleaned from the VINs on these cars? I googled around but couldn't find much in the way of a decoder. Or is everything after the RA29 simply a serial number? Here are the two numbers:
RA29139640
RA29088200
I've had the 1st-gen Liftback Celica on my mental list of cars I'd love to own for awhile, and recently purely by happenstance I stumbled across two of them near by (coincidentally both white RA29s). Scooped up one almost immediately for a steal, and got a pretty decent deal on the other.
My hope is that between the two I'll be able to restore one to a nice looking and running condition. What's left of the other one could become a 24 Hours of LeMons contender. This will be my first attempt at any serious body restoration work, but it's a skill me and a friend have wanted to start developing for a while. Hopefully by going slow and planning carefully we'll be able to produce a nice result eventually!
The first RA29 has a body in pretty rough shape. There's advanced rust in several places, and while it's probably restorable by someone with some serious skills, me and my restoration partner have more or less deemed it a parts and bodywork practice car. Most of the chassis and suspension bits are actually in pretty good shape, however, and it actually runs and drives with some serious convincing (the carburetion is messed up, especially the idle circuit, but the motor seems pretty solid). It has the original 20R motor and an automatic (A40?) transmission. While it does drive, it also leaks about a gallon of coolant per mile due to a busted radiator and a leaking high pressure hose, so it will be towed to its destination. There's a decent amount of parts worth using on this car, and for the little I paid for it I have no complaints.
The second RA29 has a much better body, and its chassis and suspension look in even better shape. There's definitely rust to be dealt with, but much of it is surface or inner wheel well rust (hopefully! we'll see when the paint starts coming off). The worst part from a repair standpoint is probably the hatchback, which has some bad rust on its inner reenforcement metal. I have a few ideas for dealing with this, but I won't be certain what might work until I start stripping things down. This one doesn't run, however. The previous owner pulled a 22R-TE from a 4Runner and swapped it in, mated with some 5 speed Celica transmission (not sure which one as yet... maybe the W50?). He hit a wall with the wiring (not his forte, apparently) and hasn't touched it since. It would be nice to get the 22R-TE motor wired up and running, but that's a concern for later. I think I'd like to stick with an R motor of some sort to keep the expense in the realm of sanity, so it would be nice to have the stout 22R-TE if possible. The car comes with an extra hood in good shape, another 5 speed transmission (presumably the same type that's currently in it), louvers, and some other odds and ends. This one will most likely be the car that gets restored.
I'm really excited about this project, since the RA29 is such a cool looking car and is so unique (it's just too cliche to pick 60s American muscle for restoration...). Hopefully we won't bash our brains out too badly as we learn body and rust repair (at the very least our welding skills should improve!). I'll definitely be asking a lot of questions and hunting for parts on here as we get into it. Sorry for the lack of photos in this post, but I'll update tomorrow after I've taken a bunch of pictures.
One question for now: is there anything useful that can be gleaned from the VINs on these cars? I googled around but couldn't find much in the way of a decoder. Or is everything after the RA29 simply a serial number? Here are the two numbers:
RA29139640
RA29088200
- toyocelica
- Posts: 208
- Joined: March 25th, 2008, 2:24 am
- Location: MA
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
Welcome man, the first thing you should do is take this opportunity gets rid of those ton weight ugly bumpers. You have two options for that fiberglass or original chrome steel. You can get the fiberglass from here member in reasonable price. As for the chrome you could find them in Europe or Asia but prepare to pay more than both RA29 you just bought… good luck on the project~
Pete
Pete
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
I definitely would like to get ahold of some reproduction smiley bumpers eventually, but I have to sort out all the body and mechanical work before I worry about trim. Here are some photos I took yesterday when we were towing the Celicas.
Interior of the cheaper one.
This one has the better body and all the extra parts.
22R-TE motor
Both of them at my friend's place.
Interior of the cheaper one.
This one has the better body and all the extra parts.
22R-TE motor
Both of them at my friend's place.
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
Matt, the transmission in the nicer one is definitely a W58. I was under it on Friday. I also bolted the hood back onto that one and affixed some magnets to the bags on the window-less drivers door. I think I already told you I put the drive shaft back on... I think we may have left the key in the ACC position because I had to jump it off the E320. I was in Raleigh all weekend, but I'll check out our idle issues this week. I WILL photo-document any work I do.
Everyone else, I'm Ryan, the mysterious man in the green shirt. The Celicas live at my house right now as Matt's property management company is NOT keen on rusting cars sitting in his apartment complex.
Everyone else, I'm Ryan, the mysterious man in the green shirt. The Celicas live at my house right now as Matt's property management company is NOT keen on rusting cars sitting in his apartment complex.
fairon | "The first step to failure is trying." -Homer J. Simpson
'77 Mercedes 240D - "Faulheit"
'77 Celica GT 20R - "Julius"
'77 Celica GT 22R-TE - "Janus"
'77 Mercedes 240D - "Faulheit"
'77 Celica GT 20R - "Julius"
'77 Celica GT 22R-TE - "Janus"
-
- Posts: 8
- Joined: August 3rd, 2009, 11:48 am
- Location: Dublin, GA
- Contact:
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
I am in Georgia. Contact me if your interested in any shows or meets to show off your celica's.
brian_lindsey1997@yahoo.com
brian_lindsey1997@yahoo.com
"Be young, be foolish, be happy"
- modernrockbro
- Posts: 760
- Joined: June 25th, 2009, 10:26 pm
- Location: Charlotte, NC
- Contact:
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
Hey, here in Charlotte. Good luck on your builds.
Not everyone believes in "community". Some consistently hate & are negative. Some are self-preserving egomaniacs. The elitist clique ignores anyone outside their bubble. Lastly, innocent spectators, & then those who believe in community.
-
- Posts: 18
- Joined: March 10th, 2010, 3:22 am
- Location: Mile High, CO
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
Lucky you You have two Motor Trend (Classic) Import cars of the year.
Last edited by kingsherow on March 27th, 2010, 9:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- 75CelicaGT
- Posts: 984
- Joined: March 24th, 2008, 5:36 am
- Location: Surrey, BC, CANADA
- Contact:
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
Looks like you have a good starting point for a great RA29.
Can't wait to see it coming along.
Pete
Can't wait to see it coming along.
Pete
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
To those who replied:
Matt (mattb) passed away last October after a serious motorcycle accident. The Celicas are still at my house and, I'll admit, I lost some interest in them after his passing. But, I'm back on the horse and ready to get Janus and Julius back on the road.
Matt (mattb) passed away last October after a serious motorcycle accident. The Celicas are still at my house and, I'll admit, I lost some interest in them after his passing. But, I'm back on the horse and ready to get Janus and Julius back on the road.
fairon | "The first step to failure is trying." -Homer J. Simpson
'77 Mercedes 240D - "Faulheit"
'77 Celica GT 20R - "Julius"
'77 Celica GT 22R-TE - "Janus"
'77 Mercedes 240D - "Faulheit"
'77 Celica GT 20R - "Julius"
'77 Celica GT 22R-TE - "Janus"
-
- Posts: 1266
- Joined: August 17th, 2009, 11:02 am
- Location: North of Boston
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
Aw man that's terrible! My condolences for Matt's friends and family.
-
- Posts: 827
- Joined: April 1st, 2008, 10:59 pm
- Location: bay area, Ca
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
HOLY CRAP!!! MY CONDOLENCES! I JUST READ THIS NOW...
wish the best to his family... and i think your doing him a great honor in continuing the work on these celicas.
wish the best to his family... and i think your doing him a great honor in continuing the work on these celicas.
add us on myspace... myspace.com/backindadayz408
Blogspot: Ithinkitsmiles.Blogspot.com
Re: Pair of RA29s in NC
best way to honor those who have passed is to keep going! (well said Miles)
my condolences.
my condolences.
Ray
"who wants to own a car you can't drive 12 feet away from a trailer! those cars belong in a museum!" -anonymous
"who wants to own a car you can't drive 12 feet away from a trailer! those cars belong in a museum!" -anonymous