Citroen XM Forum

So... after 7 months of silent secrecy

... I think I am ready to reveal my latest acquisition... and my new daily driver!

Meet my 2000 Toyota Caldina GT-T!




I imagine that car might look familiar to you all in the UK as the first iteration of the Toyota Avensis. Same basic chassis, but you all never got the 3S-GTE 2.0L turbocharged engine in your Avensises (Avenses?).

Having sold my 2017 Ford Mustang EcoBoost 6MT Performance Package on October 15th, the day before I picked up the Caldina from port, I have officially been 100% reliant on 25+ year old grey-market cars that were never sold in the USA for my basic transportation ever since.





The Caldina needed a little more work than I expected, but I persevered, and it is now running and driving again!

I did:
- timing belt
- water pump
- cam and crank seals
- resealed oil pan
- valve cover gasket
- fuel filter
- brakes all the way around (new calipers, pads, and rotors, and rebuilt the parking brake)
- all fresh fluids throughout the whole car
- all four wheel bearings
- ball joints
- tie rod ends



Neither the Caldina nor the 3S-GTE are mechanic-friendly

The OEM Toyota front pads and calipers are obsolete, even in Japan, and the OEM Toyota rear pads, calipers, and rotors are obsolete, even in Japan.

I had to get aftermarket brake pads and rear rotors, but everything else I replaced is OEM Toyota.

I had to use brand-new OEM SW20 MR2 Turbo front calipers (and I had to flip sides because the the MR2 mounts their calipers on the back of the hub and the Caldina mounts them on the front of the hub).

I think they may be one of the last sets of OEM front SW20 Turbo calipers left in the world... the left caliper came from a Toyota dealer here in the USA, the right caliper I had to order straight from Japan.



I had to use brand-new OEM ST185 Celica All-Trac rear calipers.



And the calipers only worked if I transposed them from the original brackets they came with onto the original Caldina caliper brackets.

But now with all that finally done, the car is once again on the ground and running great! My Ford Spectron van in the background is my current daily driver.



Don't worry, I'm not staying with the steelies I am only running the steelies with the old (and WAY out of date) tires the car came with for now because the car drastically needs an alignment and I do not want to tear up my new tires with a misaligned car. I have an appointment for an alignment scheduled next week.

Anyway, by and large, it's finally done, and I am excited to start using the car as my daily driver probably starting June 1st!

How many miles has this one done and how are you finding driving on the correct/wrong side. It makes sense to me to use your right hand to steer and left for gears.
I'm surprised the wheel bearings were worn out.

For a daily use car, you can't beat steelies and hubcaps.

Oh I've been driving RHD Japanese cars in the USA for almost 20 years at this point

I had this 2000 Subaru Legacy B4 RSK here in the USA for almost 14 years and put almost 100k kms on it. I sold it in 2024.



I drove it from Orlando, Florida to Detroit, Michigan and back in 2019



So this is not my first rodeo

This Caldina has 31,100 kms on it, so less than 20k miles!

As far as the wheel bearings, I viewed them as preventive maintenance. The car had been used in the snow a bit in Japan, and while the body is perfectly solid (aside from a few spots of surface rust here and there which I will address) the brakes and hubs were not in great shape, hence the need to replace all the brakes, including the calipers.

I was concerned (probably unnecessarily so) that corrosion had found its way into the wheel bearings and I insisted on replacing them before it became a problem.

I was also glad to break through all the corrosion while doing all the work so that future maintenance will be far easier to perform.

And don't worry, the alloy wheels I have lined up for it after I get it aligned are nothing spectacular. They are OEM 16" alloys from another Toyota. I'm not the type to spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on fancy aftermarket wheels. I typically keep my cars as close to factory as I can.

Looking at your Detroit image makes me think it's a good job your Legacy had 4WD... it reminds me of Range Rovers crushing leaves.

I can't see rust making it's way into wheel bearings, they contain grease.

There are still a few niggles to sort out, but the Caldina has officially taken its intended place as the daily driver in my fleet!

I mounted Hankook Ventus summer tires on my alloy wheels and they are now installed:



The wheels are off of cars that I know were never offered in the UK or even mainland Europe, cars that resulted from the very strange (and tumultuous) relationship between GM and Toyota called NUMMI (where Teslas are built now)...

.. the Pontiac Vibe...



... which was peculiarly also sold in Japan as the Toyota Voltz.



Unfortunately, because I have chosen those wheels, I have backed myself into a truly bewildering corner with regard to center caps, but I have a plan for them. So I am running sans center caps for another couple weeks or so.

Either way, once I feel I have this car fully sorted, I can get back to working on the project cars, like the XM

A Pontiac sold in Japan. I suspect that was any eye opener for any unsuspecting Japanese that bought one, expecting Japanese build quality and reliability.

Dieselman wrote: ↑

Sun May 31, 2026 7:02 am

A Pontiac sold in Japan. I suspect that was any eye opener for any unsuspecting Japanese that bought one, expecting Japanese build quality and reliability.

Absolutely valid concern

But as I understand, Toyota ran a decently tight ship at the NUMMI plant, and so even the cars that left there with GM badging were generally considered to come close to, if not match, Toyota's domestic build quality.

The Vibe was all Toyota mechanically anyway, with Toyota drivetrains and electronics.

And for that reason, the Vibe was definitely among the most reliable Pontiacs built around that time, and, frankly, are the only "Pontiacs" I see on a regular basis anymore in 2026. The Grand Prixs and Bonnevilles and so on are virtually gone, and the only Firebirds I see anymore are the collectible ones that are kept in impeccable shape and are only recreationally driven on Sunday.

On a related note, the fact that the wheels I chose were only used on Pontiacs in the USA (but are Toyota-manufactured wheels) has backed me into a very bewildering corner when it comes to center caps.




I essentially had to make (sorta) custom ones, by taking Pontiac center caps and having them painted the same silver as the car. I then attempted to put custom-made GT-T decals on them and subsequently clear-coat them, but the clear coat came out absolutely terrible, and I will have to make another set.

Paint/body work is not my bailiwick

This is also the second set of tires to be mounted on these wheels! The shop I took it to for tire balancing and alignment said (after a very extensive road-force balancing) that the first tires were unacceptably bad. And they were name-brand too (Hankook)!

The lack of quality in post-COVID industrial production staggers me.

But generally speaking, it is mechanically sorted and is driving wonderfully.

I hope to get some work done on the XM after the sweltering heat of Florida summers dies down, so be patient with me!