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When choosing a Japanese car to work on as a project, a conundrum often results. Choose a scene favourite like the Subaru Impreza or MR2.. and the world is literally your oyster. A myriad of specialists and parts for these key cars means that when choosing a mod, it’s more a case of ‘which manufacturer?’ rather than ‘Can I get?’. The downside of this approach of course is that it’s hard to build something unique.
The polar opposite of this scenario is to tackle a project like our Celica. Here, the world is quite literally your whelk. We’re not easily phased by a technical challenge, but so far everything that the car has needed has had to be fabricated, adapted or scratch-built as a one-off. Bonus points for style and exclusivity… Zero points for ease of modding!
The addition of the superb GAZ suspension last month had sharpened up both the stance and handling by a tangible amount, but had also highlighted other vital areas for development. Lowering the car had actually caused the rear axle to move laterally in the body, due to the non-adjustable design of the panhard rod pushing it across as the geometry changed, putting the near side tyre very close to the arch.
Naturally this wasn’t a state of affairs that our MD Peter Betts was prepared to live with. Also, at the same time, he wanted to reduce the car’s propensity to roll even further, without stiffening the springs – and also add an element of adjustability to the ST’s chassis. Now at this point, you might think it would be a case of ‘Fire up the welder!’ and cue a series of ‘A-Team’ style fabrications that resulted in an impressive set of chassis upgrades, but you will be amazed to learn, it was much, much easier than that!
Whiteline, the respected Australian chassis fettlers are no strangers to most tuning enthusiasts. For years they’ve been providing the attractive ironmongery to tame many a wayward chassis on all manner of Jap machinery. Although a quick skim of their catalogue reveals a huge list of modern metal, what many enthusiasts don’t realise is that they also stock a huge back catalogue for older J-Tin, meaning that in the case of our TA40, many of the lines are still available off the shelf! Unbelievable!
A quick chat to their uber helpful UK outfit revealed mind boggling array of Celica lines – and for the bits that were missing, an even more impressive array of AE86 parts, which many enthusiasts know, can be made to fit the TA40 with minimal work, thanks to the similar chassis dimensions. Despite the parts coming directly from Oz, the entire order was turned around in less than a week, and once again we found ourselves tearing excitedly into a parcel.
Inside was a full set of top and bottom radius arms, plus an adjustable panhard rod, which would cure the axle location issue. An AE86 front ARB was complemented by a dedicated TA40 number, both with uprated drop links and bushes… and the final touch was a TA40 strut brace. To say that we were all impressed with the quality of both the service and product would be a dramatic understatement!
It was fairly clear early on, that the parts were going to fit very easily, with the sole exception of the strut brace. No fault of Whiteline’s of course, more the fact that the weedy factory lump has now been usurped by the much chunkier BEAMS unit, causing a few clearance issues. Nothing that a little metal massaging couldn’t resolve however. We also decided that now would be the perfect time to fit the new GT back axle, with all of the new parts being built onto it before being bolted up.
Not only have the new Whiteline parts added a huge degree of rigidity to the car, thanks to their superior bushing and greater torsional stiffness, the back end of the Celica in particular is now infinitely adjustable meaning that hours of spanner twirling goodness lie in wait as the many set-up options are explored. Although the road test will have to wait until our next blog, it was clearly evident that this is one mod that has been hugely worth the time and money spent. The fact that Whiteline still keep these older, slower moving lines is testament to their belief in the scene and can only be a good thing. One thing’s for sure. If the chassis drives even half as well as it looks.. we’re in for a treat next month!
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