Sorry to see your floor pans are so far gone. I believe KF Vintage JDM is working on new reproduction floor pans (and maybe side sills as well) for 1st gen Celicas, might be worth shooting them a message on Instagram or via e-mail. Gerson the owner is an awesome guy, true hardcore car enthusiast, I'm sure he will get back to you if you message him about floor pan availability.
Back in 1989, my 74 Celica (vermont native) had almost the same amount of rust where the passenger floor meets the door sill. I could see daylight through it, but being on a college student budget, and with limited skills, I patched it up with roofing flashing and construction adhesive, after first trying flattened out beer cans… and I just pop riveted new rocker panels over the existing ones. A couple years later a front shock came through the rusted out inner fender. There was not enough construction spray foam to hold it all together. What made these cars lightweight and cheap was their eventual downfall, as they quickly succumbed to the elements. Beautiful and fun, but not designed to last… or maybe we have just gotten spoiled by all of our modern improvements. I would never undertake restoring a Celica now, despite how much I love them. I see junk yard rust buckets selling for the price of a decent roadworthy Miata.
Yeah, this chassis ended up being much worse off than anticipated. Has put a damper on progress for sure. Not sure whether I'll continue with this chassis or pay some crazy amount for something cleaner, but I haven't given up on the 1st Gen Celica.
The lower chassis rust is definitely repairable and that's the plan. There are some areas around the glass that are concerning as they will be very difficult to rebuild if needed, but I won't know how bad it really is until I get the body stripped down.
It could of been worse. A few years ago I worked at a body shop and we had an old Pontiac that was so bad with rust the rear quarter panels had to be cut down to just small strips of metal above the wheel wells. The floor pans in the front had to be completely replaced. So you could of had a lot worse of a candidate. I love that our generation is saving these cars. Twenty years ago most people would argue and say these aren’t classics and only the muscle cars and American classics were worth saving.
These cars are definitely worth saving! The more I get into this one the more rust I'm finding, unfortunately. It's going to need new floor pans and inner/outer rockers, along with major work on the roof, window sills, cowling, quarter panels, and more. Savable, but a long road to get there.
@@UntappedGarage Yeah they definitely are! When I was a automotive student in California my instructor was driving his wife Selikoff that was an 80 model and even with it being newer and not the typical muscle car look it had that early 80s front end but it was still rear wheel drive and technically it was the end of the notchback it was the carryover right before they became the left backs that Çelikezer typically associated with. Even as beat up is it wise many students wanted it and even after his daughter who was learning to drive stick head hit a tree in the school parking lot and cracked the grill it was still a sought after car with over 400,000 miles on it! Have you thought about what type of motor that you want to put in it I know that’s way down the road but have you given any thought? I know what’s real popular is a lot of people put the S 2000 Honda motor in it. In fact I had a friend years ago give me a poster of a early 70s Celica that had been restored and he said you’re not gonna like this and I said what’s that Nick goes I actually know the guy that owns that car and it’s got a Honda motor in it so it’s not a complete Toyota and I was a little taken back I understand everybody has their preferences but I’ve always said if I ever was going to restore a Celica I would keep the motor and the Toyota family. After all there’s a lot of room for the gearheads to make fun of a Ford having Chevy parts and vice versa but I love keeping a classic Japanese car true to its foundings. One motor I actually wanted to put into a vintage Celica was the 22 TRE which was a factory turbo charged motor they’re not very common and they were primarily imported to the states for a few years for the truck line and a few in the forerunners.
And sorry for posting multiple replies to your video but I also wanted to add at least you’re doing the work yourself which in the long run will pay off. I knew somebody that bought a semi restored early 70s Oldsmobile cutlass that have been repainted pearl white had the interior redone and put on fancy aftermarket rims and they didn’t even bother converting the brakes to disc from drum and a friend of mine went to do the conversion for the owner and when he was up underneath the car he noted that the floor pan on the driver side was so weak that one good kick and you would would’ve put your feet through the floor pan. It was really poorly executed with the restoration to say the least the doors didn’t even lineup with the quarter panels with it seems and I couldn’t believe that somebody granted that was their dream car would buy something that poorly restored.
@@nickadams2451 don't apologize for replying, I appreciate it! I love hearing about other's experiences with cars, we all have our stories and reasons why particular models stand out to us. The 2nd gen Celica is going to be a hot commodity in the coming years. So few people want them now but they can look good when done right and 1st gens aren't getting any easier to find. 400k+ miles is crazy but I believe it! I've got a few engines in mind, mainly a BEAMS 3SGE or K24. The 22 TRE is intriguing, I wasn't familiar with it but looked it up. Would be a unique setup for sure! I had turbo Subarus before this project and am planning to stay NA this time around. And yeah, I'll be taking my time and doing everything right. There will be as much attention, if not more, to the unseen parts of the build as there will be to the exterior appearance. Thanks for the ideas and stories, I really do appreciate it!
Rust R Us.... Just attack it. There is some real work on that pan to rail/rocker section but it will be good fab and welding practice. Good news is much of that is out of sight when the build is complete. Good work.... keep on going
Thanks for the encouragement! It's definitely going to be a lot of work but that's a good point that most of it is hidden. As long as it's structurally sound, those areas will be good practice for the body panel repair that will follow.
Thanks, that's the plan! KF Vintage JDM has started reproducing floor pans and inner/outer rockers since this was recorded which will be a huge help, but a lot of custom fab is going to be required as well.
Sorry to see your floor pans are so far gone. I believe KF Vintage JDM is working on new reproduction floor pans (and maybe side sills as well) for 1st gen Celicas, might be worth shooting them a message on Instagram or via e-mail. Gerson the owner is an awesome guy, true hardcore car enthusiast, I'm sure he will get back to you if you message him about floor pan availability.
Thanks Dave, it's worse than I had hoped for but KF Vintage's repro floor pans will be clutch!
Back in 1989, my 74 Celica (vermont native) had almost the same amount of rust where the passenger floor meets the door sill. I could see daylight through it, but being on a college student budget, and with limited skills, I patched it up with roofing flashing and construction adhesive, after first trying flattened out beer cans… and I just pop riveted new rocker panels over the existing ones. A couple years later a front shock came through the rusted out inner fender. There was not enough construction spray foam to hold it all together. What made these cars lightweight and cheap was their eventual downfall, as they quickly succumbed to the elements. Beautiful and fun, but not designed to last… or maybe we have just gotten spoiled by all of our modern improvements. I would never undertake restoring a Celica now, despite how much I love them. I see junk yard rust buckets selling for the price of a decent roadworthy Miata.
Yeah, this chassis ended up being much worse off than anticipated. Has put a damper on progress for sure. Not sure whether I'll continue with this chassis or pay some crazy amount for something cleaner, but I haven't given up on the 1st Gen Celica.
that's not bad, I'm working on a 79 that was not nearly that solid. still a very repairable car. Live and Learn
The lower chassis rust is definitely repairable and that's the plan. There are some areas around the glass that are concerning as they will be very difficult to rebuild if needed, but I won't know how bad it really is until I get the body stripped down.
It could of been worse. A few years ago I worked at a body shop and we had an old Pontiac that was so bad with rust the rear quarter panels had to be cut down to just small strips of metal above the wheel wells. The floor pans in the front had to be completely replaced. So you could of had a lot worse of a candidate. I love that our generation is saving these cars. Twenty years ago most people would argue and say these aren’t classics and only the muscle cars and American classics were worth saving.
These cars are definitely worth saving! The more I get into this one the more rust I'm finding, unfortunately. It's going to need new floor pans and inner/outer rockers, along with major work on the roof, window sills, cowling, quarter panels, and more. Savable, but a long road to get there.
@@UntappedGarage Yeah they definitely are! When I was a automotive student in California my instructor was driving his wife Selikoff that was an 80 model and even with it being newer and not the typical muscle car look it had that early 80s front end but it was still rear wheel drive and technically it was the end of the notchback it was the carryover right before they became the left backs that Çelikezer typically associated with. Even as beat up is it wise many students wanted it and even after his daughter who was learning to drive stick head hit a tree in the school parking lot and cracked the grill it was still a sought after car with over 400,000 miles on it! Have you thought about what type of motor that you want to put in it I know that’s way down the road but have you given any thought? I know what’s real popular is a lot of people put the S 2000 Honda motor in it. In fact I had a friend years ago give me a poster of a early 70s Celica that had been restored and he said you’re not gonna like this and I said what’s that Nick goes I actually know the guy that owns that car and it’s got a Honda motor in it so it’s not a complete Toyota and I was a little taken back I understand everybody has their preferences but I’ve always said if I ever was going to restore a Celica I would keep the motor and the Toyota family. After all there’s a lot of room for the gearheads to make fun of a Ford having Chevy parts and vice versa but I love keeping a classic Japanese car true to its foundings. One motor I actually wanted to put into a vintage Celica was the 22 TRE which was a factory turbo charged motor they’re not very common and they were primarily imported to the states for a few years for the truck line and a few in the forerunners.
And sorry for posting multiple replies to your video but I also wanted to add at least you’re doing the work yourself which in the long run will pay off. I knew somebody that bought a semi restored early 70s Oldsmobile cutlass that have been repainted pearl white had the interior redone and put on fancy aftermarket rims and they didn’t even bother converting the brakes to disc from drum and a friend of mine went to do the conversion for the owner and when he was up underneath the car he noted that the floor pan on the driver side was so weak that one good kick and you would would’ve put your feet through the floor pan. It was really poorly executed with the restoration to say the least the doors didn’t even lineup with the quarter panels with it seems and I couldn’t believe that somebody granted that was their dream car would buy something that poorly restored.
@@nickadams2451 don't apologize for replying, I appreciate it! I love hearing about other's experiences with cars, we all have our stories and reasons why particular models stand out to us. The 2nd gen Celica is going to be a hot commodity in the coming years. So few people want them now but they can look good when done right and 1st gens aren't getting any easier to find. 400k+ miles is crazy but I believe it!
I've got a few engines in mind, mainly a BEAMS 3SGE or K24. The 22 TRE is intriguing, I wasn't familiar with it but looked it up. Would be a unique setup for sure! I had turbo Subarus before this project and am planning to stay NA this time around. And yeah, I'll be taking my time and doing everything right. There will be as much attention, if not more, to the unseen parts of the build as there will be to the exterior appearance.
Thanks for the ideas and stories, I really do appreciate it!
Rust R Us.... Just attack it. There is some real work on that pan to rail/rocker section but it will be good fab and welding practice. Good news is much of that is out of sight when the build is complete. Good work.... keep on going
Thanks for the encouragement! It's definitely going to be a lot of work but that's a good point that most of it is hidden. As long as it's structurally sound, those areas will be good practice for the body panel repair that will follow.
Hey it wasn't that much worse than my 86 was! I know you already know about kfvintage but ya definitely looking forward to the process
Thanks! It will be a slow process but looking forward to it.
Hey man, I dig the videos (I have a RA29 also).
3:10 Oh man, I'm sorry about the rust, that's pretty terrible to have to work with.
Thanks! Hopefully yours is in better shape? It's fixable, just need to work on my welding skills and get some metal working tools!
Keep going💪 Will be a good learning process to try and fix that rust... can't make it any worse😉
That's a really great way to look at it!
you can save it it's not that bad cut out the floors fix the rocker and put a new floor in it don't have to be just like the factory
Thanks, that's the plan! KF Vintage JDM has started reproducing floor pans and inner/outer rockers since this was recorded which will be a huge help, but a lot of custom fab is going to be required as well.
Worth fixing, seen much worse.
Definitely! Going to be a lot of work and learning along the way but looking forward to it.