Toyota Celica

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FEELING EXHAUSTED

Sourcing replacement parts for classic cars can be diffi cult if your chosen set of wheels is not one the mainstream models such as Jaguar, Triumph or MG where a number of suppliers offer a complete range of parts from nuts and bolts to whole body shells.

I have always struggled fi nding parts for my 1977 Toyota Celica Liftback and have many times wandered around autojumbles at classic car events and asking stallholders whether they have any parts for my Japanese car to be met the standard reply of: ‘’No, sorry mate, can’t help you there.’’

Auction internet sites can be helpful, but not always with the part you want, and I have in the past bought parts just to bank them away for the future.

JUST EXHAUSTED…

I recently returned with the Celica from a classic car show and my ears detected that ominous ‘’phut-phut’’ sound indicating an exhaust leak somewhere in the system. I found a small hole on the front silencer and plugged the gap with exhaust putty and hoped for the best. Two weeks later on the return from another show, the noise has returned but this time louder.

Removing the silencer and digging around with a screwdriver revealed the extent of the rust and soon realised it was way beyond acceptable repair.

So here I was, back to the familiar theme thinking where can I get this exhaust part replaced.

Happily on this occasion, such is depth of businesses catering for the large classic market in this country, help was readily at hand.

Trawling on the internet I found a number of specialist exhaust companies in the south east, two based near my home in Essex and set off with exhaust in hand to see if they could help. The fi rst I visited (Viper Exhausts 01268 534471) only made exhaust systems in stainless steel, and as the rest of my system was mild steel and in fi ne fettle, suggested I tried Pipecraft in Basildon.

Pipecraft (01268 285535) specialises in making exhaust system for American and custom cars in both mild and stainless steel, but can cater for all types of classic cars and also offer repair and fi tting service.

STRAIGHT UP!

Dean from Pipecraft took one look at my Celica silencer and said that it was actually an expansion box and contained no silencing baffl es and could be replaced with a straight section of pipe, welding the end bracket from the old expansion box onto to it to attach to the rest of my exhaust system.

Dean warned me the exhaust note might be a bit noiser, but as the Celica has always been ultra-quiet I was happy to accept a more vocal car which is always a plus point and part of the classic car experience. Cost was only going to be £30, and I collected said part the following morning and fi tted it back on the Celica the same day. As the other end of the pipe ended at the exhaust manifold, the manifold gasket came away in three parts, but visiting my local car accessory shop they came up trumps with a Ford exhaust gasket that was almost identical, with just widening of one of three bolts hole to make it a perfect fi t.

Next planned job is the repair of the rusted bottom of the driver’s door, which is a major task, but more on that next time.