1988 Toyota Celica Convertible JDM RHD

VIN ST1627212811

I’ve this Celica for 4 years. It’s been a great car. Incredibly reliable. I’ve put way more money into in that I’ll ever get back, but a life takes you in different directions and it’s time to pass it on for someone else to enjoy.

The 4th gen Celica convertibles (ST-162) in this country were base models, and had few features other than power windows. Not so on the JDM model. They do share the same 3S-FE engine. The JDM model featured climate control, cruise control (still works), power folding power mirrors, 5 lug hubs (instead of 4 lug, however still rear drum brakes), rear trunk wing & mud flaps(like the GT-Four), and smoked front turn signals with separate parking bulbs.

I’ve never had a problem, other than the AC going out. The car has never not cranked or driven. I dailyed it for the better part of 3 years. This last year was only on nice days with the top down, as I was working on and driving another JDM car I bought. With few exceptions listed below, everything works on the car. It’s an utter joy to drive, and gets a lot of attention with the top down. The interior is incredibly nice with original matching 5 piece floor mats, and a new top.

The Good:

Plugs, wires, distributor done about 2 years ago.

Nexen N5000 tires with better than 50% tread.

New struts 2 years ago (and due to shipping error, I have a spare front cartridge).

Regular oil changes every 5000km

Transmission fluid changed and radiator flushed 2 years ago.

New front brake pads, rotors weren’t very worn so just turned.

New rear brake shoes, drums and replaced all worn drum parts. (JDM Celicas are all 5 lug, not 4 like USDM. Interesting search for drums. It’s 86 Camry for future reference).

AC compressor went out in the first year, as I mentioned. All new and converted to R134

New top from Convertibletopguys. It’s an ASC spec replacement. Looks Factory fresh.

New hydraulic pistons for the top

Rebuilt hydraulic pump for the top

The climate controls in the generation are notorious for being faulty due to brittle solder. This unit has been resoldered and all functions work perfectly.

USDM Kenwood radio with USB/Aux/BT. 5 channel amp with sub in the trunk, however I am keeping the sub as it is part of a matched set.

Rebadged front and rear (more below)

5000K HID hi/lo bulbs.

Covercraft Noah fitted car cover

Has original Toyota branded tool kit with folding tire wedge.

The Bad:

Small Oil leak. It’s been there since I got it. Inquired about getting it fixed, and was advised to wait until it gets worse which it never has. A drop or 2 after running, but not more than that if i don’t drive it for a few weeks. Never been enough to need to add oil between oil changes.

The Car was repainted in Japan and all blacked out/debadged. The paint job was quite good for the most part, except for slight evidence of a run on the front driver fender. I didn’t even notice until the 2nd year I had to car. It’s pretty well hidden in most light. Driving it daily, it has some chips and scratches. Some touchup paint was applied by a local shop, mostly to prevent any rust issues. I’m super picky, but I’d say it’s a decent 10 footer currently. If I were keeping it, I would wrap it. I did source reproduction decals for the tail.

The driver mirror was hit before I got it. The outer housing isn’t screwed on and can rattle a little. You can get it to settle into its grooves and stop until someone touches it again. The electric tilt (up and down) doesn’t work, left to right still does. Since I haven’t ever needed to adjust the mirrors after I got them set, so it hasn’t been a problem. The problem is inside the mirror motor, likely disconnected, but I didn’t want to take apart since I wasn’t sure I could get it back together.

The power fold mirror feature doesn’t work. This generation is know for this issue as well. The material used for the gearing deteriorates over time. The motors still function.

There was a dent on the rear passenger corner when I got it. It was PDRed and you can barely tell. However, the tail light corner was broken off, and glued back on. It’s very small.

If you’ve looked at JDM cars, many have TV or Nav installed on the dash. It was removed before it left Japan, and they tore the dash. I have covered it with a no slip cell phone pad, and it does a fairly nice job of concealing the damage. The only other interior damage is a short section of piping on the driver’s seat trim.

High beam indicator bulb burned out. Haven’t wanted to take dash apart just to fix that one thing.

After I installed the radio, I cut the power wire to the antenna. I could never get it to retract consistently, and I don’t use the tuner on the radio. Easily fixed if you are a radio user.

There is a chip on the front window that was filled right after it happened. I wanted to keep the original glass, as it has various inspection stickers from Japan.

Spares:

88 was a facelift year for the Celica with changes to tail lights and grill.

2 Sets of 88 tail lights, if you want to change them out. They aren’t perfect, but they are getting hard to find.

USDM gauge cluster (had toyed with swapping in MPH speedo)

The original grill trim and headlight trim that was painted same color as the car.

The car currently has a set of 87 grill trim and headlight trim that was modified to fit the 88 grill.

I recently found correct 88 grill trim and headlight trim, but haven’t installed yet.

I found a set of OEM aluminum wheels from an 87 GT-S model. The need to be refinished, but are in overall good shape. While I prefer most of the 88 model changes, I like the 86-87 wheels better.