6G Celicas Forums

Hi all,

The short sad story of my '96 Celica convertible: The passenger side rail assembly (the metal part that holds up the soft top) is completely broken in two places.

Do you guys think this is worth fixing, or is it time to throw in the towel? It looks like the total repair cost will run over $2000 (just the rail part is $800+ if I can find one), and the Blue Book value of the car is only about $4500 -- it's in decent shape, well-worn and needs some minor body work on the front bumper, but only has 110K miles, I've kept up with maintenance, and everything works (knock wood).

And if I get it fixed, can anyone recommend a good shop in the DC/MD/VA area who'd do a good job of this?

Thanks for any good advice ...
Aaron

Thanks, ajlee. That was exactly it. I got to the base of the seat belt mechanism through the back seat instead of the side panel, but it was the same work from there.

Hi everyone,

The driver's side rear seat belt on my '96 Celica convertible has suddenly stopped working. It won't retract and won't pull out any farther either; it's just completely stuck where it is (plus or minus a quarter-inch or so of "give").

Has anyone had this trouble before? Any idea how to go about fixing it? I searched the forums and was surprised not to see it mentioned before.

Thanks ...
Aaron

Thanks dgbldr (again). The advice is much appreciated.

I've been to one local upholstery guy; he's careful but doesn't seem to know a lot about Celicas, and he doesn't appear to shop around (e.g., quoted me $950 on an OEM rail; I've found a few places that sell it for $700-$750).

I'll poke around and see if anyone else is nearby.

Hi all,

Does anyone here have a trusted rec for someone who repairs convertible 6GCs in the DC/Maryland area? I just got my '96 a couple months ago and I love the car, but one of the top motors failed and the opposite side's frame rail broke right in half from the extra/unbalanced weight.

Thanks in advance for any recs ...

Thanks dgbldr.

I know this is getting OT, but how can you tell when one motor stops working? My top seemed to be going up and down just fine and then ... snap. I can't tell by the sound unless I stand outside the car while someone else operates the up/down button.

Sounds like maybe there'd be a good market for a simple LED hookup to warn when one motor gives out, or better still, a relay to stop both motors when either one doesn't work.

Do you still have the passenger side rail of the convertible frame? (See below for pic of where mine is broken; that's the part I need to replace.) Thx.

Hi - I'm also looking for part of the passenger side rail. Below I've included picture of the part that's broken. The rail has literally broken into two pieces; it's worse than it looks in the picture.

Do you still have this part? If so I'd like to buy it.

(I think may have happened when the driver side convertible motor failed. Have other folks had this problem -- one motor fails, and the frame on the opposite side snaps from the extra/uneven weight?)

Thanks ...