One of less than 4,500 convertibles produced for the 3rd generation Celica - this nice example is currently offered on Ebay USA with a buy-it-now price of $7,900 (USD). This was the final series of Celica built in the rear wheel drive format, but the first offered as factory-backed convertible, with Toyota contracting American Specialty Cars of California to undertake conversions to the Coupes. The bodies were pre-strengthened in the Toyota factory in Japan, before being shipped to the US for the ASC conversion process.

The conversions were very comprehensive and reportedly of high quality, with the top having a full headliner available in either white vinyl or black cambria, and a heated rear windscreen. This all came at a significant extra cost when new, with the convertible having a $17,699 price tag (against $11,199 for the coupe). Other than the alterations made for the provision of a soft-top, the cars remained otherwise mechanically identical to the GT-S coupe. The GT-S was fitted with a 2.3l single overhead cam 4-cylinder engine producing 116hp, mated to a 5-speed manual transmission and featured 4-wheel disc brakes.

In our opinion, these convertibles are quite well proportioned, and we're confident that the 80s styling will continue to increase in appeal over the next decade, and particularly so for these rare early Celica convertibles. The asking price of $7,900 might be a bit steep considering several have recently exchanged around the $5,000 mark in good condition, however, the present example has had a reasonable amount of work done in the last few years (including new paint), much of which is evidenced by the seller's receipts.

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