Advice and/or Feedback please.

Dave91alltrac

New member
Hello all,
Firstly, thank you...thank you! I've learned so much on this forum and now my car is so clean and almost perfect! I've kept it mostly stock but had to add BC coilovers as my shocks/struts were toast and I couldn't find replacements anywhere. I also replaced my head unit and speakers. Now, it's time for paint.

My wife is REALLY encouraging me to keep the color. It is original aquamarine pearl. It looks nice, but I am really wanting to paint it a beautiful charcoal grey (a bit darker even) so that it is almost black, but in the sun you could see the metallic flake. I love that color and think the car would look awesome.

If you don't mind, give me some feedback. What would you do? It has 67K original miles and is almost perfect except for the paint and minor imperfections on the drivers seat where it rubs when you sit in it. That's it!

I'm imagining it's worth more money if I keep it original, but that dark grey.... HELP!
~Dave

Celica Side view sun.jpgCelica Info on door.jpg
 

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underscore

Well-known member
A colour change when you're starting with a car that already has a colour (ie not black/white/silver) is a lot more involved since you've got to do the engine bay, door jambs, etc to make it look right. I'd weigh the costs and how long you plan to keep the car but personally I'd have it vinyl wrapped the different colour and that way it can just be peeled off and be back to the green.
 

Dave91alltrac

New member
Thank you. I'm pretty fortunate that I found a guy that wants to make this car a showcase for his painting services. Doing the whole thing is only $500 more. He loves the car and we don't have another one in our area. I do agree that a wrap would be cool, but when I checked in our town, the price for a wrap (keep in mind I'm getting one helluva deal on paint) was only about a grand less than paint. Maybe when this Green color is new and perfect, I'd like it more. Do you think changing the color would decrease it's value much? I plan on keeping it for at least then next ten years into my retirement.
 

underscore

Well-known member
Done right I don't think a colour change would hurt the value much, these cars are getting rarer and rarer so in another decade I don't think the people buying these cars will have the luxury to get picky about the originality of the colour. If you decide to keep the aquamarine but want a splash of the deep charcoal I think having another set of wheels painted that colour would look really sharp. I'm a bit of a sucker for charcoal/gunmetal grey though, my Jeep is a metallic gunmetal and I love it.
 

Dave91alltrac

New member
Thank you both. Still debating, but I like the idea of different wheels. I also learned that the aquamarine pearl was only available in the 91'. That might make me stay original as there just won't be many of them out there. Thanks again!
 
+1 for keeping the original color. Personally, I feel like even a properly-done full color change still hurts the value of a car since you can easily check the paint code on the VIN sticker and find out that it's not original. That's just my 2¢, but I'd much rather buy a car with terrible (but original) paint than a mint condition color-changed one...at least in the case of somewhat rare cars such as All-Tracs.
 

Dave91alltrac

New member
Thank you. Your feedback has made my decision. Original Aquamarine Pearl and some nice rims when I can afford it. I do have to say, I get so many turned heads and "what is that" type of questions with the Celica. There just aren't many around. Even the FWD cars aren't around. Now that I have mine, I really watch for others and in the six weeks I've had this, I've only seen one other Celica (in this style) on the road. The mechanic that does the work on mine has worked on two others in his career and is enjoying the opportunity to work on mine. I'm LOVING having this car. I hope you all have similar stories.

Take care!

~Dave
 

Rick89GTS

New member
You should post up a pic of the repainted car :D
PS - I love gun metal grey/silver but I think you made the right choice
 

Dave91alltrac

New member
Thank you for reminding me to post pics! Here it is. This is my baby. The only issue I have with this car is that it's now so nice, I don't drive it at all in the winter months. It's in my shop sitting and I occasionally drive it to make sure all the seals etc...etc, are doing what they need to do. Still just under 70K miles on it. :)
Celica finished 2.jpg
All Trac with new wheels.jpg
 

Rick89GTS

New member
Looking back at the old paint i found that faded patina pattern quite interesting but the new paint of course looks stellar!!
 
Looks great - on your cloudy-day pictures. I'd be very interested in seeing it on a nice sunny day. That color pops when the sun is out. I think you did the right thing returning the car to it's original color, and I think you car does look fantastic and pristine. Take it out on good days for some good runs. These cars were made to be driven - and as long as you don't run it in the mud/water/winter salty roads, it will pretty much hold it's look almost as long as keeping it under the soft covers in a garage.
 

Dave91alltrac

New member
Thank you. I just noticed that I don't have any full sun pictures. I guess I am more struck by it's beauty when it's a bit darker. Here are a couple more. There is one in a bit more light and one in the barn. Thanks again!
Side view in shade.jpg
Celica dusk1.jpg
Barn side view.jpg
 
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