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Mike's 1992 ST185 AllTrac

[Car Info | Mods: Current & Future | Photos | Project Plans ]

Car Info

BODY/EXTERIOR

1992 Toyota Celica AllTrac Turbo 4WD (full-time 50/50 F/R torque split) (Chassis Code ST185), Power Sunroof, Teal Metallic (Color Code 749) exterior paint, Grey Leather interior, System 10 Stereo System (Headunit has combined tape/CD/radio with EQ, 220W Amp w/10 speakers total), Power Windows, Power Locks, Cruise Control, Driver Side Electronic Lumbar Controls, Fog Lights, A/C, Automatic Climate Control, ABS Brakes

ENGINE/TRANSMISSION

Turbocharged 2.0L 16-valve 4-cylinder with CT26 Turbo (Twin-Entry, Stock boost = ?psi) (Engine: 3S-GTE (rev2) -- iron block with aluminum head), 5-speed manual transmission (E150F)

Other Info

Mileage as purchased: 70,098
Current Mileage: 70,190
Date purchased: July 1, 2005
VIN: JT2ST88P3N0018928

Production Info / Background

ST185s (1990-93), like the ST165 (1998-89) and ST205 (1994-99), were WRC (World Rally Championship) Homologation Special vehicles. Due to WRC/FIA rules that required teams to race production-based vehicles, Toyota had to produce a required number of street-going versions of their turbocharged 4WD rally cars. (If you want to get *really* technical, the ST185 Rally Car (Japan) (aka "ST185RC") / Carlos Sainz Special Edition (Europe) (aka "ST185CS") / Groupe A Rallye (Australia/New Zealand) trims were the "true" homologation versions that TTE/Toyota used to build their WRC car off of. These cars are serialized (have serial numbers showing # of ###) and arguably considered more collectible. The version that came to the USA/North America was a bit more toned down version (air-to-air intercooler (North America) versus water-to-air intercooler (CS/RC/GroupeA), different engine lid cover (no scoop on CS/RC/GroupeA since they don't use a A2A IC) and front bumper; those being the major visible differences). This is why so few were produced (and sold: due to their high prices).
Backround on the (WRC) rally history of the ST185: TTE (Toyota Team Europe): Group A ST185
An awesome tribute video to the ST185RC on YouTube, courtesy of Andrea185
- Here it is embedded into this webpage:
...and one more video (mostly still photos, but some awesome rally videos too), from "Joey".
- Embedded version:
Production Info: A total of 2500 ST185s were imported into North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) from 1990 to 1993.
In 1992, 241 of them were sold in the USA (retail). This car is one of 241, a rare car indeed.
(FYI, 1993 models (the last year of the Celica AllTrac in the USA) are even more rare, with a mere 64 retail sales!!)
Link: Production Numbers for USA, and worldwide (also with basic specs). And summarized below:
```
All vehicles (Includes Retail (see below) + wholesale, rental agencies, private companies, donations, etc.)
Model Year--Total 
1990---------806 
1991---------589 
1992---------265 
1993---------83 
Total---------1743


Retail vehicles (Sold to US Toyota Dealers for sale to the public)
Model Year --Total 
1990---------750 
1991---------550 
1992---------241 
1993---------64 
Total---------1605
```

Current Mods

BODY/EXTERIOR

~~17x7" +40mm offset Axis Wheelsite Mesh II Wheels with 215/45/17 Kumho Supra 712 Tires~~ (SOLD Spring 2007)
H4 Diamond Cut Headlight Housing Conversion w/Sylvania SilverStar 9003 Bulbs (9003 = H4 (9003 is DOT approved H4 bulb for automotive use in the USA. H4s are European designations for "offroad/motorcycle use only". They are the exact same bulb, 60/55W, 3-tabs on the base, etc.))
Sylvania H3 55W Foglight bulb replacements
JDM Front Clear Corners (Signal Lights)
JDM Front Faux-CF Garish Trim (doesn't look any different than USA ones, but mine had a crack and I bought everything as a package, so replaced it)

ENGINE/DRIVETRAIN

Magnecor KV85 Competition 85mm Silicone Spark Plug Wire Set (Ignition Cable)
Bosch Platinum+4 Spark Plugs

BRAKES/SUSPENSION

Toyota OEM Brake Pads F/R

INTERIOR/SAFETY

Replaced stock 3-in-1 Toyota stereo with another unit from a '93 MR2 Turbo.
HKS Turbo Timer Type 1, custom mounted in radio console area where 1/2 DIN Cupholder below stereo was (modified cupholder housing).
Custom hardwired RJ-11 Power wire for Escort Passport 8500 Radar Detector
Car alarm with remote door locks (not sure if aftermarket or Toyota-installed)

OTHER

Optima Redtop 34/78 Battery

Future Mods

BODY/EXTERIOR

16x7.5 or 16x8" wheels with low (~10-15 offset), custom. Since that's gonna cost me, I'll probably go with a 16" Kosei K1 wheel or a 16" mesh-type wheel.

ENGINE/DRIVETRAIN

Most likely not going to do anything here and keep everything stock, but some thoughts for "light" mods are:
Custom Intercooler Sprayer (Maybe not as complex as Bill Evia's...)
Intercooler Fan (SPAL 9" Push Fan, 590CFM, Electric)
Silicone Vacuum Hoses
JDM ARC (Abbey Road Company) Blow-Off Valve (BOV) [Actual Photos]
TurboXS Manual Boost Controller
Rebuild and/or upgrade CT26 Turbo, or replace with Ceramic JDM CT26
Polyurethane Rear Diff Cushion Mount (Part #7 in this illustration)

BRAKES/SUSPENSION

OEM Brake Rotors F/R [planned install 2007]
Goodridge Stainless Steel Brake Lines [planned install 2007]
Complete Whiteline "The Works" Kit: [ordered, planned install 2007]
- Koni Sport (Yellow) Adjustable Shocks F/R
- Whiteline Springs F/R
- Whiteline Camber Bolts F/R
- Whiteline Adjustable Rear Sway Bar
- FelPro complete polyurethane bushing kit for all suspension components
Replace Rear Differential Mount with stock Toyota ones. Or maybe fill with polyurethane. (It's still in good condition and doesn't clunk (very common issue with all AllTrac Celicas), but I figure this will need to be replaced some time, since 15-year old rubber is not as good as new rubber...)

INTERIOR/SAFETY

Recondition or buy replacement carpeting, steering wheel, seats
Replace rear leather seat cover with good one.
Replace cracked rear hatch plastic
~~Look into System10 Headunit "soft CD" issue - fix or replace.~~
~~Replace 1/2 DIN cupholder~~ --> modified to fit turbo timer

OTHER

Replace door dome-light triggers
Fix battery tie down (remove broken stud or buy a battery mount for Optima)
Recharge the A/C System. It's still Freon-based, so maybe swtich it over to the new system if $$$ permits.

Photos

First Photo Shoot (7/4/2005)
First Autocross & Additional Photo Shoot (7/16/2005)
First Round of Mods/Maintenance Work (8/14 to 8/15/2005)

AllTrac-Related Links

AllTrac.net: The one and only... AllTrac.net Forums here.
GTFours.co.uk: Great How-To articles and maintenance articles (with photos).
Toyota Part Numbers (for AllTracs)
ST185 Wheel Offset/Size Data (from AllTrac.net)

The Story

A little over a year after I sold my ST165, I realized that I really miss the Celica. I have no NEED for this car, but I really WANTed one again. I really wanted a black one just like the one I had. There is something about black AllTracs that I like... Anyways, so I found a few potential ST165s and ST185s (there was one out in Cali, a 1993, that was nicely modified, but he sold it someone else local). But turns out that Ivan was selling off two of his Toyotas, his low-mileage ST185 included. I know the guy, and it was closeby, so I ended up buying it from him.

Since the car is in nice, stock condition with great quality original paint, no rust, and low mileage, my plan is to restore it back to clean, stock condition with minimal modifications. The interior needs some reconditioning-- if I'm serious about it, I would replace the entire carpet and reupholster the leather seats. These are basically collector cars and I believe that nice, clean, stock examples are getting to be few and far between, so I'd like to preserve this piece of automotive history.

Speaking of collector cars, did you know that this car qualifies as a "special interest/exotic" vehicle, therefore eligible for collector car insurance? I have the car insured with Hagerty and I'm paying SOOOO little for agreed-value (very important aspect of insuring a rare car like this) full coverage with low deductibles. -Mike 7/8/2005

First (and only) Autocross, July 2005
I took the car to autocross yesterday. It's initiation for all my cars, so I know how the car REALLY behaves. In general, the car is pretty heavy, and I feel that it's underpowered compared to a WRX STi (which I got a ride in-- wow that thing has balls-- and the owner told me that the WRXs have a 35-65 F/R torque split so that they behave more like a RWD than my car (50/50)-- that was new info that I didn't know before). As expected, the car feels like a FWD car at turn-in and mid-corner, but it's pretty neutral at track-out (although it's much more difficult to get the rear end to come out compared to a RWD car like my BMW or MR2). I don't know if the tires suck, but the Kumho Supra 712s in the front were squealing for mercy about 75% of the entire run. It was quite annoying. I was probabaly overdriving it a bit, trying to toss it around, but still!

What surprised me was how sucky the brakes were. I recently put in new pads (didn't change rotors, though, which I should have in hindsight), and you have to brake SO EARLY. On my first run, I punched the brakes after the chicago box going into a tight left-hander leading into the back sweeper, and the ABS immediately kicked in as I applied more pressure since the car wouldn't stop as expected! I adjusted immediately and broke WAY early. Same with the steering. It's numb and slow. I have to steer WAY AHEAD of time. In a slalom, I am literally turning the other direction mid-way through the current section. Understeer was awful. Power delivery, I thought, was nice. Turbo kicks in nicely when the car is pointed straight coming out of a corner. In general, AWD definitely behaves very strange to a driver that is used to RWD.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun and learned a lot about the car. All the Evo VIII and STi there made me think, here we have 4-four sedans, AWD, turbo, and new and nicely setup and they do well. And here I am with my 2-door hatchback, AWD, turbo, 13-year old car with almost all original parts and stock setup, and if this were my only car, I'd go replace/upgrade things like mad right now to get up to their levels. Good thing I have other cars! BUT I am going to address a few things that are easily changed. For sure, I'm putting in stainless steel brake lines. I can't live with bad brakes and bad brake pedal feel. I'm putting power mods lower on the list now. I need better tires and suspsension (springs, shocks). Get an alignment, and I'll come back with that setup for one more autocross, and I will call it a day with this car as far as modifications go.

I do have to add that a lot of people were checking out the car and asking about it. Some people knew exactly what the car was ("You don't see many of these things around..."), some people didn't realize it was AWD but knew it was turbo (and vice-versa), and a lot of people just commented on how nice and clean the car was. I like the car overall (it's not an autocross car, for sure), I really do, and I'm gonna keep it around this time... -Mike 7/17/2005

Major plans for change, May 2007
With my life rapidly changing, I reviewed my current "fleet" of cars and decided there were some cars I had to get rid of due to lack of time and space. I sold my 1994 Previa LE S/C AllTrac and my 1991 SW20 MR2. I was going to sell this Celica, but 1) no one was serious enough to entertain my $11,000 offer (expected response, everyone wants to pick up some $1000 AllTrac bargain, which may or may not exist, but is going to take a shitload of time and money to get it up to par-- even my pretty-much-stock and low mileage example needs maintenance work and that's not cheap and takes time too!)) 2) people were telling me not to sell it because I would regret it just like I did with my ST165. It's easier to find another MR2, they said for example, than to find another AllTrac in the condition mine is in... Very true... Well, so this week I decided that I'm going to keep this car. But if I were to keep it, I want to enjoy driving it more. Enjoying the drive means this car needs to be stiffened up a little and give me more feedback. In its current stock configuration it is too isolated from the road.

And so begins my quest to make a decently handling street car. I just ordered the complete Whiteline The Works kit (springs, shocks, rear sway bar, some bushings) and a complete polyurethane bushing kit (FelPro) for the car. I plan on putting in stainless steel lines, completely fushing the brake fluid once more, replacing the rotors (with stock Toyota units that I've ordered 2 years ago and haven't installed yet!), and taking care of the minor issues such as: 1) the little ding on the body panel-- going to a paintless ding removal session for that this weekend, 2) the minor oil leak in the engine bay: Already have the distributor out and going to replace all the seals on it right now, 3) replacing the rear leather seat covers: I sourced a very nice leather seat covering from a fellow AllTrac.net member, etc. I want to make the car look new and drive like new.

I still want to keep the "stockness" of the car intact, meaning no crazy engine mods and things of that nature. I feel this sense of responsibility to keep a fairly stock-like ST185 example around for historical reasons (in 10, 20 years, not many of these cars will be around in stock form, so I feel some sort of responsiblity to keep mine as close to stock as possible), and leaving it for the others to create more monsterous versions for racing/track/show use. Plus that will reign in my spending on this car. I've been very good about not modifying my BMW at all since I bought it new. I acknowledged that it is a compromised car, but a great one at that, and so kept it that way. Same with this Celica: I acknowledge that it's a heavy car that will never handle like my MR2 (or the coming Lotus Exige S), or have the power and technology of "peer" cars like the Subaru WRX/STi and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution. So all I want now is a car that is enjoyable to drive with light suspension modifications.

And wheels, oh boy, the wheels. What a pain. Gives me headache thinking about wheels for this car. Nothing non-custom looks good on this car due to the offset being so high. I need a really low offset, b/c I don't like using spacers, so it can fill the wheel wells nicely and give me some better track front and back. So I will most likely go the custom route, which is expensive as hell, so I have to save up money, which means it will come later. For now, I put my ugly stock wheels back on. I might go with an interim solution like wheels off a 2ZZ Celica GT-S (but those are too narrow at 6.5" width) if I can find a set for really cheap. -Mike 5/16/2007

Restoration & Suspension Upgrade 2008-2009
Having since moved to Manhattan and not driving much or putting much time into work on my cars these days, everything has been slowed down. This includes work on my cars. Actually, this is the only car that I need to "work" on as my other two cars I bought new and only required simple maintenance work.

I ended up buying a set of used Bronze Volk CE28N wheels in 17x7.5" for my celica and I am very happy with the look and of course the weight and high quality forged nature of the wheels! I put Kumho ECSTA MX tires in 225/45/17 size on them, and drove it around on an autocross track but they seem to be chucking off and not that great for a front-heavy and heavy car like this Celica. I will probably have to keep looking for the right tire for this car, but for now, this is better than the crappy ECSTA 712s that were on there before.

After the annual MR2OC Bear Mountain meet in November 2007, I put this car back in the garage for suspension upgrades and continued restoration work, and it is only this weekend (October 24th, 2009) that I think I will complete this phase of the project. It's been almost 2 years on jackstands in the garage, I'm ashamed to admit, lol...

-Mike 10/19/2009

My Other Cars

1988 Celica AllTrac Turbo: my first AllTrac, I really miss it...
1986 MR2: my first MR2: really really fun autocross car.
1991 MR2 Turbo: my second MR2: project car to be built as a track (road race) car. -- SOLD 4/2007 ---
2001 BMW 325Ci: this is my first new car. I use it for stock-class (GS) autocross and weekend/night drives. Used to be used in winter in snow/ice, but now retired as this AllTrac will replace it for winter duties. Garaged during the week.
2007 Lotus Exige S: My newest toy, coming summer of 2007...

1992 BGB

Mike Choi / alltrac ^at^ 325ci.com