It’s no big deal to find a derelict husk of some long-dead hunk 60s or 70s of steel lying in a junkyard somewhere. We’ve almost been conditioned as petrolheads to praise the virtues of pulling vintage clap-traps from the grasp of a crusher and making them like new. But for mid-90s cars to be like that? Sheesh, way to make everyone feel like an old curmudgeon. Sadly, that’s the state of this once-proud 1995 Toyota Celica Convertible. Seriously, it looks 30 years older than it is.
The thing about it that makes this Celica truly special is that all-important convertible drop-top. Because no sixth-gen Celicas destined for the North American market ever rolled off Toyota’s production facility in Tahara, Aichi, Japan, with a soft-top. Starting in February 1994, North American T200-series Celicas that wound up stateside ordered as a convertible were shipped partially assembled to a facility in Rancho Dominguez, California, run by American Specialty Cars.
Once safely at the ASC facility, their team of craftsmen and technicians removed the stock metal roof and meticulously replaced it with a triple-layer, heavily insulated convertible top that was just as good at keeping water and weather out of the interior as the stock Celica coupe. The conversion also extended the ’95 Celica coupe’s wheelbase by around ten millimeters.
Safe to say, this was no aftermarket botch job; quite the opposite. Only a touch over 6,000 Celica convertibles were modified at ASC for the 1995 model year. By all ostensible measures, that makes this seemingly worthless pile of plastic and metal sitting before us here genuinely rare. Sure, it’s pretty hard to imagine a car in this sorry state holding any value. In the condition this Celica sits today, it’s barely worth above its value in scrap. But because we’re genuinely intrigued by this new-age barn find for the millennial and zoomer generations, we’re inclined to dig a little further.
This ’95 Celica sported a 2.2-liter, FS-FE inline four-cylinder engine, making around 130 horsepower before it became just a rolling chassis. Its engine has long since been cannibalized, perhaps to replace the engine in old Camrys and older gen-five Celicas that this engine also found its way under the hoods of. Combing through the remains of the ransacked interior, we can see an interior that was, at one time, probably a pretty nice place to sit. The back seats even look reasonably comfy.
But it’s hard not to ignore the 800-lb gorilla in the room that this rare Celica might be beyond saving unless someone exceptionally talented comes along and saves it. But then again, how often do we see cars two or three decades old crawl out of what looks like a crypt before someone drops $50 grand or more to shove an LS or 2JZ motor under its gullet and $20 Gs more in the interior and suspension? By the same logic, this rare Celica can sure as heck be saved.
That’s why we’re so glad that Dan’s Garage, a wrecking yard out of Kennewick, Washington, decided to put it up for sale for a measly $800. So please, someone out there, do your sacred gearhead duties and 2JZ-swap this rare Celica before it’s too late!