1988 Toyota Celica Convertible

[gurnersimps1963]

Myself the wife and Adam my 10 year old had a road trip last weekend to save a Toyota Celica from being broken up for spares,I wrote out a full page write up with many pic's but for some reason RR keeps freezing my computer so this is the shortened version
'Bull' on this forum had a celica convertible advertised for a few weeks,I kept an eye on the add and thought what a bargain it was at the price,after no interest was shown Bull said that he was going to break the car for spares,thinking this would be a sad end for the old girl I gave Bull a call and bought the car unseen over the phone!!!!
We travelled the 140 miles to Barnstaple in Devon in our trusty transit and I drove the car home,Bull(Mike) had taxed the car at my expense the day before and I had put the celica on my classic policy so we were all legal,when I got there I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the car,it has no rust what so ever just needs a good clean and a repair to drivers seat and 2 repairs to the roof.
Myself and Adam drove it the 140 miles home and it drives as sweet as a nut,quite a quick cat too
My plan was too keep the celica locked away in my garage until the summer then sell it on but needs must and it has to go a.s.a.p. so it will be up for sale shortly, keep an eye on the for sale section.

[gurnersimps1963]

Moved the imp down to my lock up so that I can do a bit to the Celica,going to get roof repaired then the seat part recovered then see where we go from there....

[gurnersimps1963]

I managed to get home early from work today so stripped everything out of the Celica to dry it out and check for any rot,solid as a rock it is,also ordered a fabric roof repair kit.

[gurnersimps1963]

Hi Mods,looks like I'm hanging on to this for a while so could you put this in Readers Rides thread please?

[gurnersimps1963]

I am taking the seat over to see if it can be repaired later on today,I have been told that the cloth to recover it is hard to get hold of,if that's the case I will look at fitting gen7 celica seats instead.

I have bought a roof repair kit but I thing I will ask upholsterer to have a go at it with his industrial sewing machine first,

[gurnersimps1963]

I took the Celica out around the block today,I had to fit the passenger seat in the drivers side as all the interior has been stripped out,it was great to be out in the sun in a convertible! when I got back I washed the car and jetwashed under the arches to remove all the mud from Mikes farm!Again pleasantly surprised at the lack of rust,I have a set of 16" alloys in the garage,they are the wrong pcd for the Toyota but they do look good resting up against the original wheels,I think 16's are the way to go,what do you guys reckon?

[bazzateer]

Looking good Neil, tell Adam I dare him to wear that hat to National!

Wheels could work but I'd concentrate on the roof and interior first.
Now I've got the Beemer I keep looking at stuff on eBay which I can't afford or justify!

[gurnersimps1963]

Hi Baz,yes the roof and interior are top of my list,big wheels are up there though..
Adam laughed at your quip about his hat mate.(won't be at National bud,having a Year out from Imps)

[markgenesis]

Great save, looks good after a clean, not sure about the 16's, they'd maybe work with lower profile tyres, what size are on them at the moment ?

[gurnersimps1963]

Feb 23, 2014 9:40:29 GMT markgenesis said:

Great save, looks good after a clean, not sure about the 16's, they'd maybe work with lower profile tyres, what size are on them at the moment ?

Cheers Mark, they are 205/55x16 and are a bit too tall but big wheels seem to suit the celica,this is the look I am going for

[gurnersimps1963]

I had a good 6 hours on the Celica yesterday,I cleaned all the interior and refitted it all except the drivers seat which is off being repaired,the clips that fit into the sill holes for the trim screws to bite on were all missing so I used some plastic numberplate nuts squeezed up with a pliers and tapped into the holes,it worked a treat.

The interior looking much better now,I fitted grommets to the holes until I get the trim form a guy on Celica club forum


I need to paint the wheels,refit the drivers seat then wait for the sun to come out!


I also used brasso on the back bumper to remove what I thought was a deep scratch,it turned out to be not a scratch butsome kind of rubber stuff,all good though as I don't need to paint the bumper now.

[bulldog]

The car looked great cleaning up really nice I am glad you have found no rust I could not find any when I looked. And yes the back bumper was rubber from the quad tyres the kids did it. Not Sure how with all the room we have but they did lol,

[gurnersimps1963]

Hi Mike,yes its coming together now,can't wait to get the seat back from the trimmers and get it out in the sun!

[gurnersimps1963]

Adam and myself did a bit more to the Celica,we repaired the roof,reattached the front 'spat' on bottom of front wing and gave it another 'MER' polish,took a few pic's along the way,let me know what you think guys...


It's a solid old thing just need's a good tidy up


It's waterproof and usable now,



The driver's seat should be back from trimmers Monday,we have to do something with the wheels then use it in the Sun!
Wife reckon's she won't get in it because she hates it and want's her Imp back!!

[gurnersimps1963]

Well,the seat has been re trimmed and is back in the car,I have been using the car quite a bit over the last few weeks,it certainly get you noticed! not a car for the shy retiring type,I still need to respray the wheels but apart from that it's ready for the summer.

Good old MER polish has really brought the shine back to the paintwork

[jellygut231]

Nice car mate I got 2 of these a red one like your (nowhere near as clean) and a white one. For some reason they don't seem to be too popular. Might just inspire me to do something with mine! Lol

[goingfinn]

Nice work so far, its coming up well. Lucky find what with it being so rust free.

Looked at a few of these myself but ended up with the coupe version due to tree's dropping endless sap and ruining hood's on other convertibles I've had in the past...

[gurnersimps1963]

We sprayed the wheels and gave it a wash and as the Sun was shining took it for a spin stopping for a few pic's,let us know what you think guys











I have been pestered/cajouled into selling the Celica because the Mrs and Adam want the Imp back on the road,it will be in for sale section soon.