Many of you know me as long time member Suprafanatic on the forums. As proprietor of Adrenaline Motorsports, I've done group buys on Addco sway bars, Ground Control coilovers, Griffin rads, and my own design fan shroud kits plus other parts for our cars. For many years, I've been silently working on a solution to the rotting body side moldings for the A chassis Celica/Supra, and I am nearly ready to go ointo production.
Recently, I discussed the project with another member and decided to join forces. We are using a set of new second gen solid rubber moldings that I've had in storage as masters.
These will be molded using materials with the same resilience of the OEM trim in order to stay rigid in southern heat but still absorb door impacts as they were designed to do (as opposed to other hard surface materials) and will adhere with 3M VHB/UHB tape.
There will be 4 different sets available, which will cater to both P and L Type Supras, as well as GT/ST Celicas, as 82/83 #1 trims were cut out for the marker plus Celicas have a shorter #2 trim, and the coupes have a different #5 trim.
For those who don't know, sometime in the 90s, Toyota replaced the metal core clip-on moldings (Zenki) with solids (Kouki) and now, they are also unobtanium.
Looking at the offerings on eBay, these are going for $30-100 a pc, and that's for the older metalized versions, and none of them are mint. In fact, I've thrown out countless trims in better shape than what's out there currently. If you can find a complete set by piecing it together on eBay, you're going to be in the $600-700 range for (let's be honest) shit trim. These will never deteriorate. Ever.
At this time, we don't know final production costs, and when this goes ahead, it will be based on order by deposit basis. We expect to keep this in the sub $950USD/set price range, which is substantially less than what a new OEM set would be if they were still available. The question is this:
If we can commit to that number as the final price, who is in? This will be a costly endeavour, just to produce the 18 different molds needed, and that needs to be amortized out over the production run. The more sets presold, the better the price will be for everyone, and that price will be permanently set, barring increases in raw materials.
Things just cost what they cost, and it's your call what it is worth to you to maintain the OEM look on these fine cars. If that number doesn't work for you, tell us what does, and we will try to achieve it, but ultimately, it's going to be based on how many buyers are in. These are for both MA Supra and RA Celica owners, so feel free to propogate this on other forums and groups if I haven't already.
Expect to put your money where your mouth is soon. Feedback and questions are welcome. If you want to push this forward, I am taking deposits of $100, (which will be refundable only if this goes off the rails, not if you just change your mind) to secure a set. The more committed buyers up front, the better idea we will have of a final price, and ETA on production. If you are interested, and ready to commit, email me at celicasupramoldings at gto dot net.
This is an early pic of the MA60 master set I started with, and these have been painstakingly refinished to ensure the highest level of finish quality coming out of the molds, so even though these look pretty good here (as they should be since I've had them in storage for about 20 years) all the surface imperfections (even on the new ones) have been removed. I have been acquiring or recreating the Celica specific trims that you don't see there as well.
Now, I actually need your help to finish this project. I currently have 12 masters ready to cast, as the A60 liftbacks are identical from the fender back on both the Celica and the Supra but the Celica coupe uses a different rearmost trim than any other version of this chassis, as shown below.
This is what I've found so far, and there is also a marker light cutout on most cars, but not on all. So 2 versions need to be made. That's 4 molds right there.
The front fender is similar, one with and one without the marker light (although I'm not clear on which year or variants they came as) so there are 4 molds there as well. I suspect the European market trims used were slightly different to ours, so every version needs to be made.
These can't be cut after the fact from an extrusion, at least not without a LOT of trimming and sanding to achieve the tapers and angles, plus radiused edges. Toyota put a TON of time into designing these (both Zenki and Kouki versions) and I'm trying to replicate them down to the mm.
What I need is detailed dimensioning on this part, as I've made some prelim measurements on a pc I found pictured online, (using 78mm as the hole to hole reference measurement) but I'd prefer more accurate dims before making the mold.
So if you have a moment to take some high res pics of the rear coupe trim with a ruler alongside it, or even make accurate measurements of all the details, I will reward that person with a discount on a set if they need, or the undying gratitude of all who benefit. Or, if you happen to have a pair of MINT rear trims, and would be willing to assist with the project, that would be preferred. If you live in the GTA Ontario area, I'm happy to come to you to take those dimensions as well, and share some great stories.
Please reach out to me directly at celicasupramoldings at gto dot net or text me at 519 five 9 zero 6 five 4 eight
Topic: NEW SOLID BODY SIDE MOLDINGS ARE COMING! (Read 656 times)
