spec camry: a build thread

so, ive been threatening to do this for a long time, and now i am.

a little back history:

my father bought this car for a company car for one of his employees off the used car lot in charlotte in 2000. had 21000 on it. three years later, he got it back, as he sold the buisness to the employee. he then used it for his job, which consisted of sales from maine to florida over to the mississippi. when he got sick of it, he gave it to my mom, who drove it. when she got sick of it, my wife and i bought it for her.

about a year and a half ago, she called me at about 9:00 at night at the school, saying that the car wouldnt stay running. it was cold and rainy. i had just bought a 2002 subaru legacy 2.5 GT Wagon for me. drove that up to the school, got in the camry, blew the carbon out of the IAC, and tried to explain to my wife that i just needed to clean it out again, and she needed to drive it more. long stpry short, she drove my subaru home, and i still havent seen my keys. so that makes the camry mine.

the reason thsi re-fit is called spec camry is actually pretty funny. we were down at CMP one weekend when our track car broke. we didnt want to lose a session, so we took the camry out for a few hot laps. made the joke of it being spec camry when we were running with a pack of spec miata guys. kinda stuck. (by the way, dont take a bone stock, high milage camry up agains spec miatas on race tires on a roadcourse. you will lose. badly.)

the car currently has about 236000 on it. doesnt smoke, use a drop of oil, make any funny noises, nothing. good, solid, dependable car.

with that being said, i cant leave anything alone. when i got my new job that will require me to drive a lot more, i got to giving the camry a good once over. needed front brakes, front control arm bushings, front sway bar bushings, alignment, tires, struts, rear sway bar and control arm bushings. just due to being worn out.

also, the seat on the drivers side is on its last legs, the stereo SUCKS, one of teh steel wheels requires an abnormal amount of weight to balance (i think its bent). again, standard high milage car stuff.

since i cant leave well enough alone, i figured id do some tweaking in the midst of the repairs and such. use what i have, buy what i need, make what i can, and make it do the best i can. ive had a hankering to build an import for a while, so im viewing thsi as my opportunity. heres a prime opportunity to throw out some of my previous and current projects.

http://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?71755-70-duster-updating-and-a-no-dough-pro-touring-makeover

http://www.pro-touring.com/showthread.php?43374-project-drivabeater

http://www.gmfullsize.com/forum/showthread.php?t=218935

if you cant tell. i like things comfortable, quick, nimble, and low. preferably subtly flashy as well. my camry is absolutely none of those.

the first stop was stereo work. i had put a sony CD player in it back when it was still my moms car, so that part was ok. all 4 speakers were shot, and it needed a bit more thump. so i spent last weekend working on adding amp wiring, replacing the rear 6X9 speakers with new pioneers (had them), adding a sony 10 inch sub in a q-logic box (had it), and an old amp i had laying around. sounds a heck of a lot better. still have to do the door speakers, though.

so when parts shopping for the camry, i was looking to do some upgrading. keep the decent ride, but make it handle better, stop better, and have a more neutral balace/ to that end, ive nought all my replacement busings from energy suspension in black polyurethane. also bought new ball joints, replaces the leaking struts under warrenty from autozone (god bless lifetime warrenty), and ordered a set of hawk HPS brake pads from pep boys.

so i was all prepared to start on the rear suspension this morning. got my cup of cofee, went to the garage, put the camry on stands, and instantly startted fighting rust from where this car had been in the salt intermittantly. lower control arm to spindle bolts were siezed in the liner.

so instead, i spent the day at pull-a-part getting new to me control arms and bolts. when i got home, i cut the drivers side off, and removed the bushing from the spindle.

also started working on removing what was left of the bushing and bearing shell on the new control arms.

hopefully tomorrow ill be able to make some good progress. at least get the control arm and sway bar bushings done.

michael

I approve!

Treat it like a 4 door Celica. You can absolutely make these things handle!

I love builds like this! Keep up the good work!

yes! a friend of mine from school drag raced his camry back in michigan all the time. He loved that thing.
definitely keep this thread updated, and if it turns out even 1/4 as cool as the duster, it'll blow minds

Watching intentely, these are on my radar as of late.

I can't believe I'm saying this about a Beige Camry, but what the hell. Nice project! Keep us updated.

its not really beige. more of a medium silver. just a crappy pic of it in my garage. been working on it since church. currently taking a break due to being pisssed. snapped the sway bar mounting bolts off on the passengers side. gonna have to drill em. i hate drilling bolts.

i think id rather get kicked in the nads than drill out broken bolts under a car.

michael

Needs more turbo and manual trans.

boost and 236k probably wont mix well. that being said, i wonder what it would do to my mpg?

i am planning the simple route of intake, header, high flow cat, and exhaust. as well as trying to find a shift kit for the autotragic. its my ~500 mile a week daily. thats why the auto stays.

but 225/50/16 on 16X7 wheels are in the very near future.

michael

you can skip to the end with this sentence: the rear suspension is done. did it in half a day of killing myself.

after church this morning, went into the shop to finish putting in the poly bushings. with these bushings, you need to remove the old outer shell. therefore, you cant just burn the rubber out and slap in the new poly.

to do this, i first grab all my assorted tools. an old makita drill with the biggest bit i think i can fit between the sleeve and outer shell, a hacksaw, a hammer, and an assortment of chisels. carry them over to my bench vice.

then, take the drill and punch it through whatever rubber is left in the bushings. walk it and work it around to cut out what's there. you should be left with something like this afterwards.

now, take the hacksaw and assemble it with the blade inside the bushing shell. cut a pair of parallel lines about 1/8-1/4 inch apart. try your best to cut the whole way through the bushing shell. after you cut and remove the hacksaw, grab the hammer and chisels. knock your 1/4 inch section out. the bearing shell should them be able to be tapped out with a minimum of hassle. sometimes, it will pop while removing the 1/4 like mine did today.

that's how i do bushings. figured that might help someone else out.

so, pictures of them installed.

so, while i was removing the other frame bushing after the control arms were done, i broke one of the bolts off. had to drill it out, insert a longer bolt, and back it up with a nut on the other side due to not drilling right in the center of the bolt. That was a PITA.

when that was done, i moved onto the struts. they were blown, badly.

once i removed the rear seats, rear seat belts, package tray, amp, third brake light, and package tray insulation to get to the top strut mount bolts. i got to break a socket on the rusty strut bolts.

while i was in there, i also cut 1/4 coil off the bottom of the spring. previous fender to floor height was 26 inches rear, 27 front. goal is 24.5-25 on all 4 corners. not a serious drop, just closing up the fender to tire gap. not worried about the ride so much, as the coils are progressive. in theory, this should get me about an inch. don't know yet, going to drive it tomorrow and see if it settles some.

pic of it all back together with the new parts.

also, while on smoke breaks (i don't smoke in the house, and my garage is in my basement), i cleaned and painted my new 16X7 wheels. still have to order my 225/50/16 tires and get them mounted, but only after the suspension is done and i align it.

lastly, i shot a picture of my rear 6X9s, and my fog lights. also a pic of the hawk pads i got for the front. fog lights need to come forward about 3 inches and get aligned. not a top priority right now.

so plan is that tomorrow i'm going to put a few miles on it and see if it settles. if it doesn't, ill cut another 1/4 coil. if it does, ill move onto the front after putting the back of the interior back together.

on backing it out of the shop, it definitely feels a lot better with the new struts, bushings, etc. no more rattles from the suspension, either.

michael

"While you're at it," doing a timing belt on the 5SFE, BE SURE to replace the O ring behind the oil pump. It takes an extra 10 minutes (if you're not in a hurry) and maybe $5. Not blowing the motor: Priceless.

(We have a 97.)

I love cars like this. I'd rather read a hundred of these and six dozen Saturn builds than one "performance car" build. I'm sure it's just me though. '

I loath beige/silver/any color Camry but I like your build and thread. Probably the only website where I'd actually read a Camry build thread.

well, i do a lot of performance cars, too.

i enjoy the threads of the underappreciated cars, as well as stuff that is just plain odd.

i also enjoy fun to drive, comfy daily drivers...... (see the GMC thread)

michael

Dusterbd13 wrote: boost and 236k probably wont mix well. that being said, i wonder what it would do to my mpg? i am planning the simple route of intake, header, high flow cat, and exhaust. as well as trying to find a shift kit for the autotragic. its my ~500 mile a week daily. thats why the auto stays. but 225/50/16 on 16X7 wheels are in the very near future. michael

Motor would be fine, transmission would probably not be pleased.

bluesideup wrote: I loath beige/silver/any color Camry but I like your build and thread. Probably the only website where I'd actually read a Camry build thread.

thanks!!

and this forum makes us do odd things. like find this thread: http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/103-3rd-4th-generation-1992-1996-1997-2001/236305-updated-how-turbo-your-5sfe-camry-info.html

and then read it while thinking of what you saw in pull-a-part yesterday.

took it for a brief spin to get some miles on the rear today before going any further. unfortunately, it dodnt settle, and its actually HIGHER with the cut coils. my only guess is that its a spring perch change in the struts for the two, as there is a lot more tire to spring perch clearance than there used to be. by like an inch. will say that it definately rides firmer with the poly bushings and operable struts in the back. a good firmer. lot of road noise now, but i dont know if thats due to bushing compliance or that i didnt have a back seat in it dureing the 10 miles i put on it today. pulled it back in the shop yp start on the front.

Must

Resist

Urge

To

Look

At

Camry's

On

CL...........

nicksta43 wrote: Must Resist Urge To Look At Camry's On CL...........

I said the same thing after seeing that crazy turbo 600+ hp camry.

BoostedBrandon wrote:

nicksta43 wrote: Must Resist Urge To Look At Camry's On CL...........

I said the same thing after seeing that crazy turbo 600+ hp camry.

This one? http://youtu.be/XN7xIEb3nFU

It's only 728whp.

nicksta43 wrote: Must Resist Urge To Look At Camry's On CL...........

Must

Resist

Urge

To

Modify

Mine

...

this is kind of like the time i thought buying a grand marquis would keep me from modifying it.

carry on.

I normally have a pathological dislike of Camry’s. I’ve been telling my friends for years that once I’m the benevolent dictator of the universe Turdbota will be allowed to keep building Camry’s, but only to satisfy the purchasing needs of registered sex offendors who as part of their punishment will be to drive a Camry for the rest of their lives (once released from a very very long prison sentence). But I have to say I really admire what the OP is doing here. Take what you have and make it more user friendly for yourself as an under the radar DD, and let’s face it what’s more under the radar than a Camry?

I don’t see any side by side pics of the struts, but do you still have the old ones to check the height from the lower mount to the spring seat to see if the new ones are different? If not with the cut coils are your upper and lower seats misaligned so one pig tail isn’t sitting in its mount correctly? If so can you clock the upper mount to make it work?

Also to while I don’t know anything about Camry’s, in general I’ve found one of the best ways to sharpen up the responsiveness of DD’s is to improve the sway bar end links and bushings, there is a massive improvement in transitional responsive ness to be gained in many cars from this. Another point down the same path is look for poly steering rack mounts/bushings. Both of these help with no increase in roll resistance so don’t degrade comfort, but really help feel.

Oh, and I love the painted steelies for the ultimate stealth look. Keep it up.

And there aren't many pics of the second one left i don't think.... But this car was awesome.