Celica Expo rig, first trip

[Jrally]

I finally got the pictures from my first all day trip in my very different Expo rig, '84 Toyota Celica, being built up with a cross between a Class 6 off-road car, a Group B rally car and an expedition adventure car. In late March, the trip was 240 miles out and back, about 120 miles of it on desert trails running through the mountains to the east of Phoenix.
The off road part of the trip started off the BeeLine Hwy, Four Peak trail. We took the trail over the top down to Roosevelt Lake. From there we wondered south on the highway into Globe for lunch, then back to the trails, west of Globe. Eventually after climbing up and down several mountain sides, traversing several stream crossings and diving through some amazing higher speed twisty sections, we ended up between Florence Junction and Apachy Junction.
Enjoy the pics... Jon

 

[desertrover]

Cool rig! I had a couple MK2 Celica Supras before I had any 4x4's, and I've toyed with the idea of a build like that before. What spring rates and shocks are you running?

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Oh man, I like it.

 

[stolenheron]

thats awesome.

 

[upcruiser]

Very cool! I had an 85 GTS that I did a two month trip travelling around the western US solo in after graduating from highschool. It is my mist memorable trip I may ever have done. I even managed to sleep in the back of it often. I would assume the GT's solid axle out back makes ut a better contender than the IRS on the GTS though. Good luck on the trip, I will be following!

 

[Overland Hadley]

That Celica looks like a fun car. Nice build!

 

[Jrally]

The rear suspension has been redesigned slightly, to correct for longer travel than the factory could. The backseat area limited the placement of the upper link arms. With the back seat not needed, I "fixed" the geometry. When I started the build, it was to be a low buck build, so the rear springs are out of a Ford Aerostar van. A bit too soft when it's loaded with gear and a spare, so I'll have to get different springs soon. The front end is a custom build 3" drop subframe, which also pull the arm pivots in 3", then custom a-arms with heim joints and full sized Chevy ball joints. The strut top has a 2" spacer for lift, then the struts have been converted to coilovers with dual rate springs, something like 500 over 400lbs.
Yes, the solid rear axle is the stronger solution, the GT-S would have been difficult to make work in stock form. I've kicked around the idea of changing the rear suspension to IRS with custom dual a-arms and a custom subframe. But, the car handles so well the way it is, I probably won't bother.

-Jon

 

[adventureduo]

Awesome! So out of the box! I love it. Keep the photos coming.

 

[J-man]

nice skills bro - now show us a pic of that thing flying over a hill in mid air!!!

 

[Jrally]

You mean something like this little accident, on my first actual test drive in the dirt...

-Jon

 

[jeffy]

Very cool. I always liked the old Group B Toyota Celica's. Looks like you've copied the front brushguard design. Have any more pictures of the build-up?

 

[nbleak21]

Love this build! I've wanted to do something similar to this with my miata!

 

[corax]

Sweet build, man. Do you still have the 5MGE or upgraded another engine yet?

And I agree with some of the others, we need more pics and bulid specs

 

[Toyotero]

Sweet build, man. Do you still have the 5MGE or upgraded another engine yet?

And I agree with some of the others, we need more pics and bulid specs

If that's the stock engine, it's the 22R or 22R-E, just like the Hiluxes/4Runners have (and the Corona).


Very cool car. I had an 82 Celica GT that was nearly the exactly like what you started with. It's cool to see that they are still getting built into cool rides.

- Toyotero

 

[PHXtaco]

Nice! It is good to see some rally cars out there! You can use that empty rear seat for your camping gear
:camping:
As a former `89 GTS owner, and a big Carlos Sainz fan, I am disappointed Toyota no longer participates in the WRC—though sometimes I like to pretend my Tacoma is a rally car
:rally_guys: