Interesting Toyota thread on Retro Rides forum

[toopy]

https://forum.retro-rides.org/threa...ca-frankenstein-build?page=1&scrollTo=2736318

As the title, a thread i found earlier that many will find well worth a read, the guys fab skills and attention to detail is incredible, he's pretty young as well.

 

[SeanDezart]

Another TA butchered.....

 

[richiep]

Another TA butchered..

On the plus side, its only a US market TA. As with S30s, "the lesser of the breed" so to speak!

His skills and detail work is good. Just aesthetically, its another over-modded, scenester build. Those wheels and tyres make it look like a 4x4 in the earlier pictures. And going 17" with those modern positive offset things in the later posts? Ugh. The 1st gen Celica does not need big wheels. Anything bigger than 14" looks wrong IMO, and tyre choice is key if going wide. I have seen some nice looking ones with fender flares on, but those have had "sympathetic" choice of wheels and tyres.

Example: IMO, these wheels are still too big (15" rather than 14") but the tyre choice and the lowering makes it work.



Clearly I'm getting old - but there's a certain way of doing things if modding these 70s Jap cars tastefully and stylishly. And unfortunately taste is often lacking...

 

[SeanDezart]

On the plus side, its only a US market TA. As with S30s, "the lesser of the breed" so to speak!

Clearly I'm getting old - but there's a certain way of doing things if modding these 70s Jap cars tastefully and stylishly. And unfortunately taste is often lacking...

A North American S30 can be a Cinderalla too and it would appear that the early Celicas before 1978 and especially the TAs are more rare than our S30s ?
My issue with modding the early Celicas is that the youth effectively go 'too far' and lose the period-ness of them. The over-fenders in your photo are period, they look great but I'm +90% sure I won't be fitting the set I bought 'just in case'. I will be lowering it (but not slamming) and I have already the set of wheels and yes, they are 14s ! The body of the TA22/23 is (imho) too slim to wear shirts, bit spoilers and wheels - looks like a butch Russian female athelete from the late '60s ! That car is a showpiece of their panels available to buy I believe ?

There was even a moment I looked at a black vinyl roof.....but ultimately - if a stock but lowered body worked well for Spike and Win - it's good enough for me