Review: First Week of Ownership '91 Celica Convertible

"reydelaplaya" (reydelaplaya)
07/18/2014 at 22:14 • Filed to: None

Well, the first week of ownership of the '91 Celica I bought last Sunday has been a blast! Due to summertime rain and working 8 to 5, I haven't put the top down as much as I would have liked to, but that's ok. We've got a couple long holiday weekends rounding out July starting this weekend here in PR, so I suspect that will be remedied.

As a daily driver for my 30 mile round trip commute, it's been everything I'd hoped for - no problems, and light on gas. I put just over 150 miles, and used less than half of its little 15 gallon tank. Once I fill it up again, I'll start crunching the numbers to be a little more accurate, but it looks like I'm probably getting in the low to mid twenties - a number I'm cool with for the moment since I haven't had the opportunity to do a nice home-tune-up. That's tomorrow's job - along with changing the brake pads and bleeding out the lines with fresh fluid. Regardless, the first week's performance tells me that this is gonna be a strong little runner and eventually work out to be a great economical alternative to using my '96 Grand Cherokee 4x4 as a daily. Not that I don't love my Jeep, but it drinks dinosaur juice like we never left the Clinton era. LOL

Jokingly, I had asked you all in a previous post to tell my parents that I wanted the top cover boot for my birthday, but since I found an original off a '93 on eBay for a decent price, I went ahead and bought it. At 23 years old and only three years in production, the odds only keep getting slimmer that I'll find one of those again anytime soon, so for less than $300 shipped, worth it for originality's sake.

I eventually want the original wheels. But those should be a little easier to find since they were on more than just the convertible model. And besides, I'm sure with the current trend of big shiny aftermarket wheels, I should be able to find a nice set in a junkyard somewhere around here sometime in the future for pretty cheap. Oh, and I've now realized that it's missing the front mudguards too - there's another thing I need to poke around some pick-a-parts for.

After 15 years of driving the two Jeeps I've owned since I've been here, I'd forgotten what it was like to sit so low to the ground - oh, and the handling! WOW! It took some getting used to. But then, for a larf, I took the ZJ out for a drive last night. I felt like I was driving that tank from yesterday's NPoCP - loose, cumbersome, and even kinda scary! LOL

So yeah, there's the first week. And what a good week it was. Hopefully this old beater will continue being a good DD and get me well beyond graduation next year. Then, once I'm settled into a stable career and have a couple extra bucks to throw at it, do it the justice of a restorative repaint, and get this sexy little classic looking like it just rolled off the showroom floor.

Again, I thank you all for helping me make the decision to go ahead and get it. You guys are awesome! ;)

Be careful out there, and keep your shiny sides up!

DISCUSSION (15)

daender > reydelaplaya
07/18/2014 at 22:16

You're in PR? Maybe let RCR review it?

jkm7680 > reydelaplaya
07/18/2014 at 22:20

Looks great! Stock wheels are a must though. Those American Racing ones just aren't cutting it for me.

reydelaplaya > daender
07/18/2014 at 22:21

Please forgive me for not understanding, but who/what is RCR?

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > reydelaplaya
07/18/2014 at 22:26

wow. That convertible top looks to be in great condition!

daender > reydelaplaya
07/18/2014 at 22:26

Regular Car Reviews , very random yet amusing reviews about ordinary cars. Many vehicles are donated to them for a day of filming.

reydelaplaya > jkm7680
07/18/2014 at 22:30

Thanks dude!
Yeah, I'm with you there. For the moment, they work - being round and all, but I'd rather have the originals, as my eventual goal is to have the whole car as close to original as possible. Luckily for me, the 'Racing' stopped at the wheels. Under the hood and the interior are unaltered - so no aftermarket 'performance' crap to deal with.

reydelaplaya > CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist)
07/18/2014 at 22:36

It's wet from the rain, so it looks kinda stained, but its pretty new actually and in really nice shape. The guy I bought the car from had it replaced when he shipped the car here a few years back. One thing's for sure, that back window's a lot clearer than on the one I had when I lived in the states. LOL

reydelaplaya > daender
07/18/2014 at 22:38

Ok, I'll have to check it out then.

Thanks for the tip.

midengineer > reydelaplaya
07/19/2014 at 00:52

Great choice! I'm sure its a blast. I'd love to pick up an all-trac one day to complement my MR2.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > reydelaplaya
07/19/2014 at 10:26

Great! Welcome to the Celica club!

reydelaplaya > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
07/19/2014 at 18:59

Thanks dude. I have been a member before. LOL I had a white 92 convertible about 15 years ago. Loved it, that's why I really wanted this one. I just wasn't sure how well they stood the test of time. For 23 years old, this one seems to be doing alright - mechanically, at least. It's a little weathered and battle scarred, but I'm cool with that.

Is there a good forum on the internet?

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > reydelaplaya
07/20/2014 at 05:46

There are probably pretty active forums for those newer Celicas, but I am having a difficult time finding anything on my Celica (86' ST Coupe) All the forums are inactive, but my only hope is the national Celica owners club, but they do not have a forum.

I just found this though: Celica Forums , looks promising!

reydelaplaya > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
07/20/2014 at 11:58

yeah, I saw that one. The last post for the 5th gen was back in May, so it doesn't look to active. LOL If I find one that looks active I'll let you know.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > reydelaplaya
07/20/2014 at 16:21

Please do! 4th gen forums are rare, and posts about the ST Coupe model are almost non-existent..

reydelaplaya > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder
07/24/2014 at 08:33

It's in the UK, but I just found this, and it looks to at least be current. I'm registering now under my same username.

http://www.celica-club.co.uk/forum