6G Celicas Forums

Like the title says, I have done a couple of things to my car to update the exterior. Just simple things that cost next to nothing, to kinda give my car an updated look and make me feel like I've actually accomplished something, even though I've done absolutely nothing at all. Both are easily reversible, and one of them will be unless almost every person on 6gc says they love it. The odds of that happening are slim to nil though, so I'll probably change it back next week.

Anyway, the first little tweak I did (this is the one I will change back) is the spoiler. I have the 3 post spoiler, and I got bored the other day and took it off to see how my car would look. The wingless look kinda sucked something awful since I have absolutely no other mods like JDM tails to set it off. So while it was off, I got the idea of taking the middle post off and seeing what that looked like. So I currently have a 3 post spoiler modified to be a 2 post. Like I said, I'm changing it back, I just want to hear everyone's opinion.







The other thing I did isn't as easy to reverse, but I kinda like it. I've looked high and low for a set of rims that I actually like on our cars, but I never seem to find anything that seems perfect to me. I know I'll probably catch a lot of flak for this, but I kinda like the factory wheels. However, mine are just a little beat up... I guess the guy who owned the car before me can't tell where the curbs are. And the center caps have almost no paint left on them. I was gonna repaint the Toyota emblem in the middle of the center caps to be the same chrome that they came out of the factory with, but I decided I'd be original. I bought the chrome spray paint, but I also bought a can of Dupli-Color black spray paint, matched to my car. So I taped off the rest of the center caps and sanded the emblems down and repainted them black to match the car. Granted, up close, they look like s**t because the caps themselves are really faded and the black paint is new, so the contrast looks bad. Plus when you just look at the cap, you can tell that the black paint just doesn't belong there. But I think they look alright on the car. So in the pictures I took, I tried my best to hide the fading on the center caps and get at least some black paint on the car in the picture so you guys can see it all together. This can be reversed too, and I can still make them chrome just like they came. Let me know what you guys think.

















Oh yeah, I forgot to say this about the center caps. I messed the tape up on a couple of them and didn't realize it until after I had already painted them, so I have to take them off and redo them anyway, so if you guys would rather see them back with the original chrome, I can do that just as easy.

great mods!!the 2 post looks good to me!!the rims look cool to!

good job

Haha thanks. I kinda like the wheels, but I need to redo them. I'm thinking right now I'll keep the black, but I'm trying to figure out if I can repaint the rest of the center cap. I wouldn't think it would be a problem, bur for the little grooves in it. I can't sand those down to repaint. Any suggestions, anyone?

you my friend are really good at masking off small lines! they look really good in my opinion!
go gun-metal Grey, keep the black Toyota sign. black is overplayed.

i like the 2 post idea

it looks very nice!!.. i mean your spoiler!!.. do you have a close up of your spoiler and your hatch??

This post has been edited by shegarhuney: Nov 7, 2008 - 9:55 AM

Thanks! It really wasn't all that hard. I just taped off the entire center cap then used a tiny razor knife to cut around the emblem. I didn't do a perfect job though, I cut a little wide in some places and some paint got under the tape. So I'm repainting them again next week.




I kinda like it too, but I'm not sure how much more I like it than the 3 post. I'm probably putting the post back in later. The spoiler itself is too flexible in the middle now. If something heavy fell on it (heaven forbid...) it would probably snap the spoiler in half. Then again, it'd probably do some damage even with the post in there.




I can get some pictures of it for you. I tried not to get too close because you can see where I plugged the hole in my hatch and there is a gray post-shaped hole in my spoiler that you can see if you look at it from the front of the car or if you look in the reflection in the paint. I could have used my black spray paint to blend the hole, but I didn't think about it at the time. I'll be sure to get some more pictures for you, and some pictures where I WASN'T using my cell phone.

The spoiler looks good!

It does look good...I would try this, but I don't want to go through the hassle of taking the spoiler off and having to plug the holes again.

They sell plugs at AutoZone or O'Reilly's or whatever is closest to you. But that's only a temp fix. I'm putting my middle post back in before it rains just so I don't have to find out whether it leaks or not.

I'm surprised the spoiler is going over this well... I thought you guys would all rip into me almost immediately and tell me to put the post back on.

!!!!!!!!!!

I currently am doing the same thing for a three post spoiler for my coupe. All i really have to do is attatch the pieces i made to fill up the holes on the spoiler(for the post and the light) then paint it...

It looks good:)

This post has been edited by Legit94GT: Nov 8, 2008 - 4:07 PM

The key word there was "again," I've done it already but I was forced to put it back on. Thanks for the help anyway though.

Hey, guess I'm not the only one! I'm indifferent on this look. I think I'm going to put my post back in just to keep from leaking, but it sounds like you're way ahead of me on that. I didn't think to paint the spot on the spoiler where the post goes, as this was just a spur of the moment thing. Be sure to post some pics whenever you get your spoiler done




You've already taken your middle post out or the spoiler completely off? Man, I looked at your car a little while ago... Very nice! You have no idea how bad I want to repaint mine in silver. It's my favorite color on our cars. And yours is just so clean.. My paint is alight, except for the roof, I guess. But it's the wheels on my car that make it look aged. The car has been curbed countless times, there is a LOT of residue from wheel weights, and the center caps are faded pretty bad (except my emblems )

I took the spoiler off and loved it. Problem is, I still live with my mom and she disapproved, so I got a little emo...she made me put it back on.

But anyways, thanks for the compliment. Paint is definitely in good shape, it needs a dent or two taken out however. Otherwise, I'm seriously happy with her.

Ahahahaha I hear you. I'm 19 and the car is in my parents' name. This is the second one they've had to buy for me and the third car I've owned overall. Until I graduated last May, I couldn't do anything with it but wash it (which I have to do frequently... Living WAYYYY out in the country with a black car sucks.) but now they just don't care anymore. Since then, I've bought another Celica (I guess I was wrong, I've owned 4 cars now) and parted it out, painted the center caps on this one, took the spoiler off but put it back on without the middle post, lowered it but didn't buy new struts so I took the springs back off and sold them, did some sound insulation... The list goes on. THe only thing they actually let me do was put the TRD rear skirts on it. But I had to take those back off and sell them because of where I live. Faust, if you read this, I need to see some pics of them on your car!!!!

4 cars is a lot for 19...she's my first and I'm 18.

no joke---why so many?

Hahahah long story. I'll give you guys the quick and dirty version though. My first car was a truck, a '99 Dodge Ram with the 5.9 liter. Single cab short bed. It was pretty BA. But 12 mpg sucked. So after 8 months we sold that and we bought my first Celica, a '96 ST hatch from one of my stepmom's coworkers. That thing was slow but freakin' sweet! It was immaculate. Plus, since I have basically the only 6th gen within a 100 mile radius, and everybody thought I had an '07 Celica. Get it??? There was no 2007 model so everybody thought I had a new Celica that they had never seen before! Ah, I loved that car and the ignorance of everyone around here... Anyway, I had that car 5 months to the day and totalled when I hit a deer. So I searched high and low and found my GT hatch that I have now. I had to drive 4 hours to get it... -_- I suppose it's worth it though, even though this car doesn't even have floormats. I can't find tan Celica floormats. Guess they never made them... Back on topic. A couple of months ago, I left work and made it 300 feet from the parking lot and another deer jumped out and took out the driver's side of my car right in the middle of town.. So my cousins in Nashville told me about their friend who had a wrecked '96 ST coupe that he was selling for $400. Still ran, had everything but the front bumper, headlights, and hood. And it came with all that stuff, but it was all unusable. So that was my fourth car (and my third Celica, conveniently enough, wrecked. I'm too good to own unwrecked Celicas ). Sorry that story was so long, but that's a lot shorter than I make it when I'm telling the story in person lol.

Back on topic... What does everything think of the wheels??? Should I paint them black again or go back to chrome when I redo them?

I don't have floor mats either...only in the back, oddly enough. Why make floor mats for the passengers I barely have, but not one for me?

Hmm... That's strange. Im guessing you got your car used, unless you bought it a REALLY long time ago just waiting to get your license. I'd say whoever owned the car got them really dirty and decided to throw them away. What color carpet do you have? Black or tan?