Tuesday, 09 June 2020 / Published in Restoration, Toyota

Toyota GT-Four ST205 Restoration

Toyota Celica GT-Four (ST205) 1995 Tour de Corse winner - wikipedia- Mytho88 — Toyota Celica GT-Four (ST205) 1995 Tour de Corse winner
Mytho88 – 6th **Toyota_Celica** GT-Four WRC (ST205) taken in Showroom of Toyota

If you don’t know the Celica GT-Four ST205 you probably either are too young, or not interested in WRC. This famous car was so quick the competition couldn’t keep up. It was all going well for Toyota, until a cursory inspection of the mandatory restrictor, showed up a hairline crack. Upon closer inspection the restrictor which had successfully passed all the scrutineering up until now, was found to be an ingenious method of allowing more air to bypass the restrictor. Max Mosley the president of the FIA at the time said “It’s the most ingenious thing I have seen inla 30 years of motorsport.”

Still cheating is cheating, and Toyota were banned for the 1995 season, which the silver lining was enabling the legendary Colin McRae to win in spectacular style.

Values of the Celica GT-Four are rising steadily now, and whilst it’s unlikely to ever top the Lancia Delta Integrale, it will always hold a unique place in Motor Sport history.

Roll forward to the present day, and Balance Motor Works are carrying out a restoration on a 1995 Celica GT Four – this is one of the WRC homologation versions with all the trick bits (some not activated like Anti-Lag and Water Injection).

Celica GT Four under bonnet — Underbonet shot as the strip down progresses

This is the “easy” way to remove the Engine and Gearbox complete on the subframe, by raising the body off the assembly.

The slow and painful process of stripping the underseal off the car begins. Although it is in fairly good condition, this process reveals areas of corrosion that would have remained hidden. Note the rear subframe which has been shot blasted and powder coated

Well nearly 2 years has passed since the last update to this project…here we rejoin the restoration as what looked like a slight amount of corrosion on the sill turned out to require a LOT more work than first envisaged.

celica gt4 resto - rust repair 1 — So you might be thinking this just looks like it needs a plate on the outside to fix..appearances can be deceptive..

celica gt4 resto - rust repair 2 - inner sill rotten — this is what it looks like behind the outer sill – not good.

celica gt4 resto - rust repair 3 — Cut away all the rot and you can see why doing chassis restoration properly is so time consuming – there is a lot to rebuild here

Celica Rust repair 4 - rebuilding the inner sill — Celica Rust repair – rebuilding the inner sill

celica gt4 resto - rust repair 5 — Inner sill repair progressing

celica gt4 resto - rust repair 6 — Inner sill complete – note the use of Copper Weld Through and reassuringly expensive Primer “Metaflux 70-44”

celica gt4 resto - rust repair 7 — Outer sill almost completed

Update 13/9/22

Welcome back to the update on the Celica GT4 restoration. This time a lot of updates from a lot of hard work. Removing all the factory underseal, treating corrosion, applying rust resistant primer and seam sealer, Gravitex paint used to complete. Let’s see how we get on…

Celica GT4 showing the underneath with seam sealer applied

More seam sealer this time near the spare wheel well

and yet more seam sealer! — and yet more seam sealer – this is a time consuming job and shows how many seams there are on a monocoque car!

Gravitex applied to the underbody of the Celica GT4

What is Gravitex Plus Stone Chip Protector?

A hard, durable underbody coating that can be used to reproduce the manufacturers orginal stone chip protective finish. Sound and vibration damping makes it ideal for use inside compartments and panels.

Ready to use 1K formula
High build formula covers weld marks and seams
Protects against stone chips, salt, damp and rust

Another picture of the GT4 resplendent in its new Gravitex underbody coating

engine bay done with Gravitex — St205 Engine bay done with, yep you guessed it – Gravitex. If we get anymore excited with the Gravitex she’s going to look like an SR71 Blackbird!

Front Subframe in Gravitex — Front Subframe in a product beginning with G

gt4 fuel tank parts — GT4 fuel tank parts

Rear GT4 Subframe powder coated — Rear GT4 Subframe – this was powder coated at the beginning of the project, fuel tank in place again.

Latest Update 24/4/23

With the engine and gearbox back in the car it was time to start the paint job. As you probably know, when it comes to bodywork prepartion is the key to a great finish. I’ve personally tried doing minor repairs a few times and the results have always been poor. It’s testament to the great skill of a body work specialist who can create a finish substantially better than the car came out the factory with.

Thanks to our good neighbours Golding Barn Garage for doing the paint work preparation and painting.