My 77 Celica GT Liftback *Hatsumi*

[Zane]

Picked up a 1977 Celica today, this is what she looked like when i got her.










After I got her, I took her my friends lot and we cleaned her up a little. We started with a degreaser solution on the bottom of the car and the wheels and tires. Then we gave the wheels an acid bath to eat of grime and some dingy metal. Than hosed her off, washed the outside, and processed to do the degreaser and acid under the hood. Then we used a Stripping Compound to bring the faced/oxidized paint back to life a little. We then found out as we started the compounding that she had absolutely no remaining clear cloat on her, so we had to be very careful with this process. Here's a few pictures of the process.





Before on the Left, and After on the Right


And this was the finished product of day 1

[slowmo]

Nice find. Where are you located? Was this like Kentucky or Tennessee? I remember seeing it and thinking it was a good deal! Great job on the clean up.

[Zane]

Yep, just picked it up. And your correct Im located in Tennessee. Thanks I still have more to do to it to clean it up all the way but I think thats enough til next weekend lol

I plan on buying smiley bumpers, fiberglass of course, because those are a whole hell of alot more affordable then the real deal ones, fender mirrors, and a headlamp converserion and painting it daytona blue(factory Nissan 350z blue) by the end of January. Then February and March I plan on getting all Black interior.

[slowmo]

Wow! Sounds like a great plan! How does it run? Are you keeping the engine the way it is?

[Zane]

It runs great, and yeah im going to keep it the way it is while I concentrate on the exterior and interior or the car. I will conquer the motor or motor swap whenever this one craps out on me, but until then i see no reason in messing with it.

[Hmph]

Wow, the results of then and now are incredible.
I have to ask what type of "acid bath" and "stripping compound" did you use on wheels & paint?

Awesome pickup

[Zane]

Thanks man, Yeah it turned out real nice, compared to what it was. But the chemicals are simple. The acid bath is just acid and water solution in a squirt bottle, now you have to be careful when using this on metals, one of two things will happen. One: you spray it on the wheels it will look like any other cleaning solution, it will have a couple bubbles in it but remain clear as water, this means that it is polishing the wheel without eating through any of the metal. Or Two: you spray it onto the metal surface and it remains clear for maybe 5-10 seconds then it starts to turn into a white foam, kinda like a tire foam, now this means that it IS eating through layers of metal but it also does polish them but in a more harmful way, so as soon as you see it foam up wash it off as quickly as possible, But you will see a big difference. You can use the acid/water solution on any metal( wheels, bumpers, engine components, anything that should be shiny lol). One good thing about the solution is its not harmful to you paint.

And as far as the stripping compound goes, Its the best stripping compound in the world, we get our's through a company that deals with dealerships or professional detail shops, and all I can tell you is... its the best and its like a pinkish red color lol. and we get it in gallon jugs lol

[Foxau2]

Are you just using muriatic acid on the alu wheels? That's what I've done before it acts the same as you describe it. It works very nicely but you need to be sure to watch it so it doesn't foam, an be sure to rinse everything really well after cleaning it, otherwise it will form white powder all over it.


Looking good!

Nate