Amazingly enough, I saw another Celica in a parking lot last night. I took a look at it and it obviously was newer than mine. My stylings and year factoids are likely a little weaker compared to some of you pro's out there. SOOO... I was looking for some assistance on what I can do to "upgrade" the appearance of my '95 ST.

I love the look of the GT4 and am a little bit of a fan at how the newer 6gen Celicas look. Now, what differences are there between say a '95 and a '99? It looks like the sideskirts are bit stylish with their bends and "stripes" and what not. Can these be applied to a '95? Are there any other noticeable changes in the '99 when compared to a '95?

This leads me to my next wonder, and it may be a bit broad, but I figure I'd shoot for it anyway: what upgrades have been made on the '94 and '95 to make it look more modern and just more "cool?" I've seen the GT4 hood, which is great but is it really worth the $2000+ for just the front end? What "reasonable" bodykits/ground effects kits look great with these cars (you know, ones that allow the Celica to still look like a Celica but at the same time helps to make it a 'car of your own')?

Ground effects? Body kits? Hoods? Lighting? ...Other? ....Pictures?

Okay, I'm going to answer your question in a couple of different ways.

Firstly, the things that are actually different between 94-96 and 96-99 cars - off the top of my head and in no particular order:

* Seat fabric patterns changed frequently over the years. Some patterns look more dated than others. See below for more comments on seat fabric.
* Glass tint is a different color - blue on 94-96 and green on 96-99
* 2-post spoiler replaced with 3-post spoiler
* Different engines, 4-wheel ABS
* 96-99 got a facelifted front bumper including different fog lights
* Some countries got a hood spoiler

Now, as far as getting your car to look more modern:
* Get sports suspension (lowered)
* JDM headlights. The low beams have projectors, the high beams have clear glass. They are expensive, however.
* Consider fitting a tailgate spoiler if you don't already have one. Most people thing the 2-post looks better but the 3-post is thought to perform better
* Fit side skirts if you don't already have them
* If you have a red, cinebar or black car, consider getting hold of a set of the red and black fabric seats. They were limited edition in some countries and an option for certain coloured cars in other countries.
* Consider getting leather seat fabric made
* Consider swapping your front bumper for a facelift bumper and fog lights
* GT4 hood and front bumper is also an option for a sportier look

in other words, prepare to spend a lot of money

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BloodyStupidDavey said it perfectly. Basically about all you can do to really make the car look newer is replace your bumper with the facelift bumper, spend lots of money for new headlights, etc. What I would do before any of that though is swap out your tail lights. In my opinion, the rear end of our car looks like it's straight out of the 80's. It's the oldest looking part of the car. The JDM tail lights looks much more modern and set your car apart from most other USDM Celicas. I believe Vincent_Doggy might still have a set or two left, and his prices are really good compared to Ebay.

You forgot the JDM taillights, which I think help make the car look years newer.

let's face it, it takes A LOT of $$$$$ to buy jdm oem parts, or at least to upgrade a celica. if you have money, going for the gt-four/jdm look would look the best and depict a modern car. even doing so, you'd have to do extras like painting and buying extra parts.

+1 on the jdm taillights.

my friends always said the back of the car made it look old.

s2000 antenna helps too because the stock one is DAMN tall!

I also agree on the JDM tails. They're just a sleeker design than the USDM tails and definitely update an already pretty fine ass if you ask me.

I concur with the antenna, except personally, I really HATE the s2000 antenna. I won't say what it reminds me of, but I just really don't care for the way it looks on most cars except for the s2000. It's disproportionate on our cars in my opinion. (don't flame me!)

Furthermore (don't flame me again) I agree about the seat fabric in BSD's post; a LOT of the patterns look really dated, some more than others. I happen to personally think the red and black seats look super dated. Those red brushy stroke looking things just SCREAM early 90s to me. And not in a good way. Personally I think the more subtle patterns actually look more updated, even though they tend to be older (94-95 gray blue and black IMO look more updated than the black and red ones) although none of them really look "current".

The projector mod is a great idea too - maybe consider hitting a junk yard and pulling some headlights to do a retrofit with. It'll cost a lot less than JDM projectors, and looks good too in my opinion (when done right)

1. JDM projectors and highs
2. JDM tails
3. Wash, clay, polish, and wax your car



Nothing makes a car look newer than bringing out that original color of the paint.

if i can, i'll show you my car

'98 ST with JDM tails and fronts, stock hood spoiler, 17" rims, painted super white II with black hood and Xenon kit



This post has been edited by Tom_T20: Dec 4, 2008 - 5:36 PM

You can also go something more conservative like what I did.

- Lowered on Teins
- 18in rims
- Fogs
- Removed pin stripes
- Front splitters
- JDM Tails.

Stock to the Bones


Light Exterior Mod

@ZGear: Where did you get your front splitters and how much did they run ya? I like the look of them on your car, very clean

I actually got it from a mr2 guy who didn't care about his celica he had for a month or so....had some chips but I repaired them. You're looking at about $80 to $200 for them (depends on the person who sells them).

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oh okay thanks man. was the installation easy or would a body shop have to deal with it?

Tom_T20 = class italian styling.

Hey ZGear - very much like what you've done.
Just one thing - surprised you didn't go for/do the clear indicators?

This post has been edited by 3TST: Dec 5, 2008 - 4:35 PM

My old 94 had all wheel abs it's available on all models.

But in reference, I like the facelift with splitters or front lip kit.

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I did my installations myself. Remove the bottom bolts that are holding the front bumper and align the splitter to your liking. If they came pre-drilled like mine check the holes and where the bolts go in to see if they match. If not, like myself, you gotta mark the spot and drill it, you may have to widen the holes to where the bolts go. Once in place step back and enjoy the new look. Applies to all 94-95 and 96-99.

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I was gonna do an update too, but these were on craigslist and over many hours of contemplating I bought them.

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I have yet to decide on that.....maybe 2009

This post has been edited by ZGear: Dec 5, 2008 - 10:48 PM

It would look weird with amber turns and clear indicators. The best way to go is facelift bumper with clear turns and clear indicators.

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Sorry we call them indicators this side of the pond - they are either front or side indicators - clear all the way especially on a white car

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did you by any chance get them from major? short hmong guy who owns an awesome looking black mr2 turbo from stp?

Not sure of the name, but yeah asian guy and a black mr2.