About 4 years ago I set out to find a compact car. About 3 weeks ago I finally took delivery of it…
The last 4 years I have been driving a Toyota Celica which you can read about right here on my blog. The car search 4 years ago was a matter of need and the focus was on compact cars, Honda Civic hatchbacks to be exact. The budget was tight, the Civics beaten up and the Celica I encountered by chance was stretching the budget, but I could not let it pass.
This how-to describes how you can change the color of the clock in your 95-99 Toyota Celica.
This is a cheap and quick modification to accomplish.
What do you need?
For this modification you need:
- a clock
- a source of colored plastic (I used TicTac boxes)
- double sided sticky tape (preferably the type you can remove later
- scissors
- phillips-head screwdrivers
Step 1: remove shifter surround
Remove the shifter surround by first lifting the lower end, and pulling the surround back. It is held in place by clips.
Step 2: remove radio surround
Remove the radio surround by first unscrewing the 2 screws at the bottom.
Then pull the surround toward you starting from the bottom. Like the shifter surround it is held in place by clips.
Step 3: remove clock from radio surround
The clock is held in place by a clip on both sides of the clock. Gently easy it out by pulling the clips out, be careful not to break them!
Disconnect the cable from the back of the clock.
Step 4: disassemble the clock
Disassemble the clock by removing the three screws on the back of the clock.
Step 5: prepare the color
Cut the colored plastic to size.
You can stack two if you find the color is to light.
Step 6: attach to clock
Stick the colored plastic to the clock as shown, be careful not to block part of the display with tape.
Now go through steps 1 to 5 in reverse order and your modification is complete!
Again a custom made part by Vincent Ma, inspired by the TRD clear fuel door available for the 7th generation Toyota Celica.
The package is quite simple; one replacement fuel door, I opted for a smoked transparent material with a black trim and one standard fuel cap with a chromed top.
The original door, it’s on the spare parts heap now.
Installation was pretty much a bolt-on deal, but it needed a bit of modification (filing) to sit flush and operate smoothly.
My regular custom parts supplier from Hong Kong, Vincent Ma, has been producing a collection of custom faux leather interior parts for the sixth generation Toyota Celica for a while now, and I’ve bought quite a few items. All in my desired color combination of black leather and red stitching, like the JDM steering wheel.
So far I got an armrest cover, shift boot (made especially for a short shifter) and some time after that a handbrake cover which concluded the set. All pretty small stuff, nothing too impressive though very good quality.
Now he went a bit more ambitious and produced entire upholstery sets for the back and front seats. Obviously it was something I’d like, and soon after I received a set. The first part I tackled was the backseat as I didn’t need it in the car. This meant I could take my time reupholstering.
This shows the standard cloth upholstery next to the new leather upholstery.
Backseat upholstered and installed in the Celica.
Next up was the passenger seat and I quickly encountered a problem. The new upholstery was meant for the front seats of a GT spec Celica, not the ST spec I have. A quick browse online located a cheap set of GT front seats on a salvage yard. From this set I used the back-supports to match the correct shape of the upholstery. The headrests are more adjusteable on the GT so I used these too. I also cleaned up and used the frame on the drivers seat as it has more settings, like height adjustment, than the ST seat.
With this project I rejuvinated most of the interior, save for a few items
The first noteable modification I made to my Toyota Celica back in ’07 was replacing the EUDM taillights with the late model JDM taillights. They really make for a more modern look when compared to the original units.
The original european spec taillights.
The JDM taillights, introduced on the Celica in Japan for the ’96-’99 models.
The modification was done in minutes as the fitment is the same and the original lightbulbs plug right into the new clusters.
