Even though Circuit Wizardry is primarily a blog about my robotics and 3D printing projects, I also have a real passion for cars, and I’ve taken on a new automotive project that I’m excited to share here. Similar to my model rocketry endeavors, my project car is a complex undertaking that requires careful planning and smart decisions.
A couple of months ago, I purchased a 2002 Toyota Camry off of one of my coworkers with the express purpose of restoring and turning the car from an economy sedan to a luxury cruiser that I can feel proud driving. When it comes to restoring cars and modding them, I’ve found that there’s a fine line between classy mods and cheesy mods. For this car, I’m going for a more classy, luxury look. I don’t want to turn the car into a piece of content for r/Shitty_Car_Mods.
How do you even begin restoring a car?
I received this car in a… less than ideal state. The paint was chipping, the clear coat was almost completely gone, and there was a massive dent in the driver’s side door due to a collision on the driver’s side. This collision had bent the door frame so badly, it no longer made a watertight seal. Due to this, the carpet was incredibly moldy and the entire driver’s side frame was completely rusted out. To make it even worse, the quarter panel was damaged. This part of the body wraps around the ENTIRE car. I couldn’t even find a replacement part online for this piece.
On top of these body issues, the car had some striking mechanical issues as well:
- The car had a flashing “check engine” light
- The steering wheel does not turn without becoming stiff at times, almost as if there is a clog in the power steering rack itself
- The windshield had a massive crack on it
- The exhaust had been sawed off
I say “had”, as I’ve already solved some of these issues. However, I think it’s important to go over them regardless and explain my thought process and solutions.
Fixing basic issues
I decided to start simple with the car – diagnosing the check engine light. After plugging in an OBD2 diagnosing tool, it told me that cylinder 3 was misfiring. This particular Camry is a 4-cylinder 2.4L, with the 2AZ-FE engine. Due to the car having nearly 250k miles, the engine was in rough shape. However, replacing the ignition coil for cylinder 3 got rid of the check engine light!
Next came the windshield – in Massachusetts, the car could not pass inspection without a fully intact windshield. Because of this, fixing the windshield was a top priority.
I went to a local junkyard and picked out a door of the same color and type as my Camry.
As for the exhaust and power steering, I have not fixed them just yet – I’m still working towards getting these done.
Time for mods!
Coilovers
The very first thing I wanted to do to this Camry is get it on aftermarket coilovers. The rear suspension was the complete wrong spec, and had the car much higher in the back than in the front. This made driving it really unpleasant. I purchased some cheap aftermarket coilovers and installed them into the car with help from my coworkers. This lowered the car and significantly improved the driving experience.
Unfortunately, I had to cut the sway bar links as they were completely rusted. I plan to get adjustable sway bar links for the car soon.
Sound deadening
The next issue I wanted to fix was the incredibly loud interior. The car sounded terrible from the inside. In order to solve this issue, I decided to purchase sound deadening material to lay over the interior of the car to help reduce resonance and make the car quieter, while also making the stereo sound much better.
This is still a work in progress, since its surprisingly difficult to find dry ice suppliers to get rid of the old sound deadening. The process of getting rid of old sound deadening requires ultra-freezing the old sound deadening and chipping it off with a hammer.
Reupholstering
Reupholstering the interior is a MUST for me. The plastic was cracking, peeling, fading, and overall looked terrible. This part of the build is tough. I’m in the process of reupholstering the interior with black vinyl and lamb hide. However, it looks great so far and I am incredibly excited to see how the interior looks when it is put back together!
Current progress
Admittedly, the car is currently sitting with the interior completely taken apart and a lawn chair as a driver’s seat. I’ve been incredibly busy with finals and Christmas traveling recently, so finding time to work on my hobbies has been difficult. However, I plan to work significantly more on this car over the next few months, and I hope to have the whole build done by late spring or early summer.
I’m excited about the various automotive elements I’m able to work on with this project car. I have enjoyed working on a plan, spec’ing out replacement parts, and envisioning a whole new car. I’m learning a ton and can’t wait to report back when I’m further along on the Camry.
Until then, Happy 2025!
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