Bart's first car was a 1989 Toyota Celica 1.6 ST, the T16 model you see on the left. It was totally stock when he bought it. Once bought, he made the following modifications to it:
- colorcoded mirrors and bumper lip
- 3-piece rear spoiler from 2.0 GT
- US-spec cornerlights
- 15" rims and lowering springs
- Subaru air intake on hood
Bart carried out an engine swap as well, going from a 4A (1.6 8V carburettor) to a 4A-GE (1.6 16V EFI).

After a few years, Bart decided to get radical with the car. He had already acquired a 3S-GTE engine with the intention of putting it into this car. It would be painted and get a bodykit as well. However during stripping, the car revealed much more rust than anticipated, and Bart decided to cancel this project. His freshly rebuilt 3S-GTE engine would find a place in another car.

That car became this 1991 Toyota Celica 2.0 GT Wide Body, the newer T18 model with more aftermarket support. It was completely stock when bought, but that wouldn't last long. After driving it for a few months, this T18 went into our barn to become a long-term project as well.

This is Bart with his J-spec 3S-GTE, the gearbox visible in the foreground. After the internal rebuild it's been built using OEM parts, some aluminium-made parts like the valve cover and coolant inlet were polished, the wiring loom was modified, brackets were powder coated and other parts spray painted. Additionally, he bought an ARC intercooler with GReddy Type-S BOV, Samco coolant hose kit, Unorthodox underdrive crank pulley and a rebuilt CT26 turbo. The gearbox was painted and brackets powder coated. Clutch and pressure plate came from a low-mileage GenIII 3S-GTE.

During winter 2003, this car was garaged after flawlessly passing all RDW and APK tests. From next spring on Corine was finally able to fully enjoy open driving, but unfortunately not for long. Late summer a car bumped into her on a parking lot, causing nasty damage to the right hand door and fender.

Needing a paintjob after all, plans were soon made for the Convertible. This front lip from Hiro was directly imported from Japan, as was a JIC-Magic SA-1 full coilover setup (not installed yet). Both front fenders were replaced by US-spec ones, eliminating the side repeaters and giving a smoother look. The right hand fender had to be replaced anyway, the left hand fender already had a small dent, so these were easy fixes.

With some modification, the side skirts of a Celica T20 fit a Celica T18. During our holiday in Cyprus we saw Celica's driving around with these on, and Corine wanted them on the Convertible badly. Once home, she ordered a set of fibreglass copies from the UK. They are currently being modified: they're about 35mm too long, and the cut-out for the door doesn't match up.

This is the mint engine bay, which will remain mostly stock for now. The engine modifications will consist of a cat replacement pipe, and a full cat-back Kakimoto R 60mm exhaust, again directly imported from Japan.

This 1987 Celica was Edwin's first project car. It was badly damaged when bought, then repaired, given a wide body kit, painted and received a 3S-GTE engine. On Edwin's site (in Dutch) there's the whole story, along with an extensive photo report. Might be fun to check out.

On the right there's the 3S-GTE engine from an MR2 sitting in the Celica. Unfortunately, it was in bad shape. Low compression on two cylinders, caused by piston rings being stuck, made the engine burn about 1 litre of oil per tank of fuel. At first, Edwin planned to swap the engine for a GenIII 3S-GTE engine with 245ps stock. Ultimately, he decided not to continue with this car and sell it. A stock 2.0 engine (3S-GE) was swapped back in, so that the car could be sold in running condition.

Right after the Celica had been sold, we took off to the UK to have a look at Edwin's car of choice: a 1994 MR2 Turbo. It was located in a place called Ludlow, Wales, and being quite a long trip from Holland via the Calais-Dover ferry connection, we took a long weekend for the trip. This MR2 is a true JDM car and therefore right-hand drive. On the photo on the left we have arrived in sunny Newtown, and are giving the car a thorough inspection.

After payment and the necessary paperwork, Edwin drove the car home to Holland himself. During the journey back I made some shots of his new car. The MR2 came with RacingHart CP-035 forged rims and a fat HKS Hi-Power exhaust.

Once the MR2 was fully registered and plated in Holland, we took it to a dyno meeting for a run. The results: 241ps and over 300Nm of torque on the rear wheels..

Fred owns an MR2 Turbo as well. His car originates from Texas, USA and was built in 1991. Fred bought the car for a fair price and in need of some minor fixes, most of which were solved right away. Even so, Fred decided to do a complete strip-down and rebuild before driving it.

After driving up and down the yard a few times, it's time for a final wash before driving it into the barn

Rust has found its way to Fred's MR2 through weather conditions and high-mileage. This is to be fixed in much the same fashion as Bart's project: a complete strip-down, grinding away the rust, and ultimately repainting the whole car. As you can see, he's done a fair job on that already. The suspension has suffered as much as the rest of the car, so some parts will be replaced and some will be powder coated.

The engine itself was rusty and not aesthetically pleasing, but that's about to change. Fred has already polished several aluminium-made parts, metal clamps and brackets will be sandblasted and powder coated, and the engine shortblock is being cleaned and painted.