fixing up a celica

my friends mom has an old 88 celica sitting in her yard. she said if i can fix it up its mine. the cars been sitting there for 10 years. i knwo it needs a new water pump and battery, but since its been sitting with the fluids for so long, do you think i can fix it? what else will i definatley have to change on the car, just because of the time? i looked at the engine, and its not rusted, neither is the underside of the car since it was kept covered. money isnt really an obstacle, me and my friend are really doign this for fun. any suggestiosn on what i will definatley need to change and what i shoudl look for?

Well definately drain ALL the fluids in it. The only way to check is to replace the fluids, if you see a leak then there you go...if something doesnt start there may be a clog.

do you think that the fluids istting over time may have corroded the engine? what parts f the engine would have been corroded? i have had any time latley to go in depth and see if i can fix up this car, so i dont know too much detail yet. woudl you say definatley change the hoses too? i head that the breaks coudl be corroded also, but am not sure what that means. what woudl i need to change if they are?

As far as the motor goes it just depends on the conditions it's been in. The hoses should be checked mostly by squeezing them if the break,crack, or are stiff they should be replaced. If the breaks are bad they could have corroded themselves to the rotor. If thats the case then new ones or used ones from the junk yard, but if the rotors are just rusted on you dont think there safe the have them turned at auto zone or local break shop.

And since you dont know the condition add SEA FOAM cleaner the the tank, and LUCAS injecter cleaner, and engine restore. All of these should help a lot w/the build up.

so this car shoudl eb fixable? i was hoping it might be, but some people were saying theres a chance engine components themselves mgiht be corroded, and id have to change thsoe pars to get the car to work properly. but thats for the advice, you guys have given me mroe hope

Sure theres a chance that the job might be harder that thought, but it depends on how much its worth to you. For the things I added your looking at 100-200 dollars plus the fluids you want. So its gonna cost some money just to see if it will work.

If the car has been sat there for ten years and never had the engine turned over I dont like your chances of this being an easy job at all, obviously, as you mentioned, the battery is going to be a gonner, go through all the checks and changes that "firestarter" mentioned. Theres a 99.9% chance that the spark plugs are going to be dead, as well as the rotor arm and dizzy cap. The fuel tank will probably have coroded so I`d drain that out and inspect it for leaks etc, clean out the fuel lines and replace the fuel filter which will probably have degraded inside.
Take the rockercover off and see what condition the internals are like, this will give you a good clue as the what the rest of the engine is like, worst case, the pistons will have rusted to the cylinder liners (disimilar metal corosion). Remove the sump and clean out the sludge that will have gathered from when you flush out the oil system, you dont want it boing sucked up into you oil filter and blocking it, next job will be transmition, 10 years of no movement isnt going to have helped the situation, replace the transmition fluid (if its seperate from the engine oil, some use the engines lubricating oil to lubricate the transmition aswell) give a good squirt of WD40 to all the links/joints & cables.
You`ll also wanna check things like CV joints and wheel bearings as they have probably gone dry in all that time and could sieze up.
Brake lines will need replacing from the pedal onwards, master and slave cylinder seals will have perished and could have siezed internally. There willbe more to check but that should be enough to get you started, If it does start I wouldnt take it anywhere without doing all that i have mentioned, If your lucky and the engine has been periodicaly turned over, things might not be so bad, fingers crossed.
Also check all the intake pipework and inlet manifold, you dont wanna suck anything bad into your engine like debris, rust or field mice that have made it their home :lol2: :lol2: :lol2: Good luck....

i know for a fact the engine hasnt been turned over. with the engine worst case scenario, id just ave to replace the pistons? the breaks, bearings and joints i dont mind working on after i know the engine runs. im going to college right now, so im not gonan start workign on thsi with my friend util spring break, but im just getting some information on what i shoudl do for the initial start. before i was planning n putting in 2 gallosn or fresh gas, and trying to give ti a jump start from my car. but now i think that before i even try to start it i should check to see is the pistons rusted, i shoudl change the spark plugs before i do anything, and make sure to clean ot the intake, then i can try to see if the engine will get going. should i make sure to flush and clean the oil before i attempt to start the engine? anythign else just for an initial start?

fuel filter, real easy to change that should do it, whatever you do, dont run it for long until you are 100% satisfied that evrything is OK. If you get a chance, some work in progress pics would be nice, just to see what your dealing with.

If the pistons are rusted, you might not have to replace them, just the rings but you would have to check the condition first. With a bit of luck they might be servicable.

well im not gonna start this project until around mid march, but not that i knwo what ill need im gonna start looking around for parts. id like to thank everyoen for your advice, and ill be sure to get some work in porgress pictures up . thanx

hehe he said check the intake manifold and the airbox...that reminds me when i got my celica, i had a squirrel living in my airbox :) ....scared the fuck out of me when i opened it and its nest was under the intake.

ok, so right now here is my lst of things to do before i start it.
change spark plugs.
check it pistons are rusted.
check intake.
change oil.
drain and replace fuel

the battery wont work but im gonan jump start it from my car. right now i jstu wanna see if i can get teh engine up. is there anything i forgot? also, does anyone knwo how many lbs the engine bolts are torqued down?

Presuming your not going to drive it anywhere -

change spark plugs.
check if pistons are rusted.
check intake.
change oil.
drain and replace fuel + filter
+
Check rubber pipework
replace coolant
remove and clean sump (not essential but i`d do it anyway)
check to see if thermostat still works (just remove it for now but dont forget to put it, or a new one back)
check rotor arm and dizzy cap

that should just about do it, but whatever you do, if it starts up, dont be tempted to take it for a spin. would hate to hear that you crashed it for whatever reason.

yea, this is project car so before i put money into changing break lines and tires and other stuff, i want to make sure it runs. i know the car needs a new water pump(which is why it wa parked 10 years ago), but do i have to replace it just to see if the car runs? i figured if the car runs for 2 minutes the engine wont seize because of over heating.
for the rotor arm and dizzy cap, what am i looking for?

You should be ok without a waterpump for a few mins, as for the rotor arm and dizzy cap, price wise I couldnt help you out there, I know it costs me abot $90 to replace them on my car. but its probably alot cheaper for you over the pond.
To check the dizzy cap and rotor arm out for condition is pretty easy, just look out for heavy carbon build up (black stuff on the contacts) you can file it off but be carefull not to take off any of the underlying metal. check for damp inside the cap also.