Convertibles- Are they really reinforced? Options

[creis]

my chiltons repair manual seems to tell a diff. story, and shows that they have a diff rear suspention, shocks are the same but all the suspention support etc is much diff.

[jgreening]

The valving is different in the struts - probably to accomodate the extra weight. Thats it.

[blu94gt]

[quote=nitemare,Mar 11, 2005 - 4:38 PM]
Do you have a 95-97 nightmare or 98-99? The reason I ask is that I have read that they replaced the top motors in 98 and I have yet to find someone with a 98-99 that have had any problems. There are several 95-97 owners that have had problems though.
[right][snapback]256137[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]

95 is the year I got..So I guess toyota noticed alot of problems with the motors...More than normal..
And yes, One owner owned the car before me. And no parts were changed/modified. The top was the original. What actually made me replace the top was we had a snow storm. The weight of the snow (about 8 inches) broke the back window off the top and fell into my back seat. The reason why this happened was because the seams of the top were all worn and torn. So the snow was the breaking straw. My new top has a 3-yr warranty with it so thats good. So I can attribute that to old age..

But the motors..ohh the motors..If I knew before hand these cars were chopped up like they were, I would have not have bought a convertible celica.
[right][snapback]256215[/snapback][/right]
[/quote]


Convertible tops on any car are doing good to last about 5-7 years. I mean come on, it's cloth, it sits in the sun, deals with the elements, it needs replaced. Especially if you put the top up and down a lot, puts more wear and tear on it at the creases. Motors are the same story, just cheap electric motors, they burn up. My Mustang had it all replaced before I bought it.

As said, most convertible cars are chopped by an aftermarket company. The company beefs up the suspension and chassis and designs and installs the convertible mechanisms. If they were unsafe to chop then they wouldn't be doing it. Some cars ahve been done better than others too. The Solara I think has a bad chop quality, but the Celica was done very well. I mean come on, if it was a bad idea they really would have stopped by now.

For you guys with the welds underneath I can think of a few possibilities. Either a different company did the job, someone wanted additional strengthening, or the cars have been wrecked and those welded bars are actually what's holding the car together, like when they piece a good front end to a good back end. Scary what some of these small shops and dealerships do.

[droptopGT]

droptops RULE

[juBz86]

yea!! but they suck in snow

[jgreening]

yea!! but they suck in snow
[right][snapback]266665[/snapback][/right]

Mine is great in the snow and I have a little more torque than you. Maybe you need some new tires?

[juBz86]

no i meant that its colder in the snow!! and that i hate having a convertible in the snow where its worthless(bad choice of words but i dont know wat other word to use)! can wait for summer

[jgreening]

no i meant that its colder in the snow!! and that i hate having a convertible in the snow where its worthless(bad choice of words but i dont know wat other word to use)! can wait for summer
[right][snapback]266689[/snapback][/right]

Maybe you could say "they suck in the cold" if thats what you mean. However, my experience is the car stays nice and toasty on even the coldest days. Perhaps you need a new heater?