| Toyota Celica ST 204 3SGTE |
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Our plan was ambitious. We had a complete Celica ST205 roll-over chassis from Japan. And we just received an almost new 9483 mile ST204 Celica GTS. We ordered new ST205 panels (hood and bumper), projector lights and GT4 high wing, taillights too. We were going to build a RHD full spec 1999 ST205. We wanted real ST205- with the big brakes and all…. Can’t be done without reflooring (reframing?) the whole back frame of the car, and the ST205 donor we had was slightly tweaked on that department.
So we ended with just an engine swap. The water intercooler was substituted for a front mount air to air – shows off great with the WRC bumper. A 3SGE transmission was used instead of the 5SFE 5 speed, for gearing considerations.
Engine brackets had to be imported from Japan (but in a bind modifying ST185 brackets will work, for those attempting this conversion. We ordered a European RHD engine harness, just to keep the car all-original. Rewiring was similar to ST180 conversions with the 3SGTE engines. We finished the conversion with a real 180 MPH speedometer – a part we did not know existed until a customer ordered one!
This conversion took almost a year and a half to finish. Since this was a Toysport vehicle, parts installed were usually resold when some customers, needed the parts for the same project “right away”. From our estimate at least 6 conversions were finished by our customers from parts imported and fitted for this project. This is why project cars are important to us. Hands on experience.
Performance was identical to a ST185 with the same mods- front intercooler and 3” exhaust. The body in this generation was more rigid- and this was noticeable compared to other ST185s or ST184 3SGTE conversions we have done. The lack of rear drive train components (weight savings) made this car an excellent performer, just like the other Front wheel drivers with the 3SGTEs. The ST205 front brakes were not a bolt-on so we kept them off this conversion.
The ST200 body is so much better than the previous generations. The chassis is more rigid and the interior a lot roomier- and the suspension so much improved over previous generations. You got to put a 3SGTE in your ST204!
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