One week ago, after much research and deliberation, I made a decision to buy a “project car” and here it is: 2003 Toyota Celica GT-S. I’m going to go into rather obnoxious detail into this experience both for fun and for introspective purposes.
This seed was implanted by my Dad. I don’t even know if he anticipated that his offhand remark of looking at project cars would initiate such a snowball effect like I have not experienced in a long time, but deep down I do think he believed it was possible. Once the idea was introduced, I was off to the races. I focused on Japanese cars as my Dad had the most experience working on those as well as the fact that Japanese cars have a good reputation for being a bit easier to work on at home. This also worked out for me because… I just have an affinity for them!
My first step is to look for potential vehicles. I came up with my own budget of $10k initially for the project because I wanted to really open things up for finding the perfect car. I opened things up mainly to within the 48 contiguous states but did branch into international imports as well. The process of researching project cars is surprisingly time intensive. I think I researched for somewhere around a month or two.
My initial list was pointed at classics–cars from around 1985 and older. The primary suspects:
- Nissan 300Z
- Nissan 300ZX
- Mazda RX-7
- Toyota Corolla
- Toyota Celica Supra
I knew that I wanted a car with little to no digital influence. The more analog it was, the better. I did find some potential cars in the above list, but they were across the country in varying condition levels. Naturally, the price and condition level tended to correlate.
The main car I was hyper focused on was the RX-7. I went into detail on them in this post: It’s Good to have Goals – The Mazda RX-7. Ultimately I decided against an RX-7 because over this research period I grew afraid of the rotary engine. It’s a high maintenance motor through and through. Also, prices versus condition simply did not pan out.
After more discussion with my Dad, I narrowed things down against just buying a car for the sake of it being a car, but more towards buying a car that I was interested in when I was younger. When I was younger, I did not want any of these cars I was initially looking at. I was a toddler when those cars were popular!
The landscape changed to cars between 1990 through 2006 as that was very much in the timeline of my youth. The new culprits became:
- Acura Integra/RSX
- Honda Prelude
- Toyota Celica
- Toyota Supra
- Mazda RX-8
- Lexus IS models
I noticeably omitted the Honda Civic because… I already have an FK8 (Honda Civic Type R) and I did not want to own two Honda Civics at the same time. Admittedly, that would have been a great model because that is one of the more popular Japanese cars in the United States which would make part availability and support plentiful.
Although initially I did pursue RX-8s due to good deals, I did turn away from them for the same reasons I turned away from RX-7s. I did find a 5th generation Honda Prelude nearby and I was in contact with the seller for about a week or so before he pulled the listing. I believe everything happens for a reason so I let it go. The Supras were simply too expensive, even for 20+ year old models and Lexus IS models were primarily automatic transmission, so I ended up leaving both behind. I also briefly looked into the prospect of importing right-hand drive vehicles direct from Japan, but they proved to be too high in cost as well.
After my experience against that Honda Prelude, I became focused on Acura RSXs, namely Type S models of 2005-2006 with their K20Z1 motor. I found a really good deal on a nearby one but the physical shape of the chassis ultimately turned me away–it would have cost too much to get it in the type of shape I wanted it to be in. Other nearby late model Type S vehicles for sale seemed to have an arbitrary mark-up similar to with brand new FK8 Honda Civic Type Rs, so I ultimately let the idea of finding that model go.
Over the time I had been looking, my budget seemed to whittle down to $5k or less, particularly as I had began to discover that any cars I found were going to require money to get into the shape I wanted them to be in. This meant that I needed to keep my bottom line low so I had funds available for repair activity. At the same time, I was looking for a car in good physical shape, but perhaps in need of mechanical TLC.
Further research brought me to this 2003 Toyota Celica. I saw there were two Celica models: GT and GT-S, and that the GT-S model was a high-revving model with variable valve timing technology and lift, similar to traditional Honda VTEC. This information combined with the virtue of being a Toyota (carrying their engineering and design heritage) intrigued me. Additionally, the sales price seemed reasonable to me.
Ultimately, I had both my Dad and my friend check out the car and both noted similar problems, namely with a minor oil leak under load and unusual clutch issues. The motor seemed to be strong, and was lower in mileage than other 18 year old models at the time. The kicker for me is that the car was in good physical shape–no dents, no cracks, no tears–everything looked good. There was some marring in paint, dog hair, and wear and tear type issues but everything I was seeing could be fixed after putting in some time and effort.
My Dad and I checked out the car for about 20-30 minutes and believed we identified the leak source prior to purchasing the vehicle. I called the dealership for a quick repair quote and tried using it for leverage to lower the sales price. I ultimately made the decision to proceed with private purchase.
My plan currently is to try to fix the leak leveraging my Dad’s experience working on cars. The majority of the quoted price from the dealership was labor costs for hours of shop time–the parts were not as costly. Once the motor is no longer leaking, I can begin to tackle the clutch as well as interior features/amenities.