Project Celsior from Nam
 

Hi, I'm new to the forum and have recently purchased a Toyota Celsior. The car sat in the hot Namibian sun for ages and thus the paint is faded and some of the chrome trim no longer has any shine left. One of the factory air bags leaks terribly so the car is sagging like crazy. I plan to replace the suspension and would love to get suggestions on air suspension kits.

I was very excited to get my hands on this car and even more so to join CL. I am having trouble identifying the exact year model of this car but will post up photos soon with the hope that CL members will assist me.

I have been reading this forum for a couple of months now gathering any and all information I could on this car. I finally took the plunge and joined up so I can document my very slow build and get valuable information and also to be part of this privileged community.

Teaser pic (Please excuse the cell phone photos as it is all I have)

It's difficult to tell from one photograph but it's pre October 1997, If the shift is gated it's a 95-97 model, if it's straight back and forward movement it is 1990-1994 and if the mileometer is mechanical digits it's a 1990-1992 model.
Airbags are very expensive to replace so another option is to convert to coilovers and kits are available.

Your car looks very clean, what are the wheels it has fitted?
I'm running a 1994 Celsior B spec non Air suspension.

Welcome to Club Lexus.

You have a UCF21 that was produced for the 95-97 model year. The air suspension will be quite costly for OEM parts. The least costly approach would be to do a traditional coil spring suspension swap and disable the air suspension. Those wheels look nice on it.

Is this an imported Japan model or one that had been an export model for your country?
The door sill plate on the driver's side will contain the production date, body color, etc info.

Now I see it every time. Thanks Mike... ;) All ls400's need spacers in the back... Looks good Tuha. Those are 18's with 40 sidewall?

Nice car you have there. I whould have a good look at the front brakes first...

Photo of the shifter and the odometer is digital. It shows only about 9000km (about 5500 miles) which is obviously not correct for a car of this age.

Looks clean because of the *****ty cell phone photo but it has quite a number of body and molding issues that i will have to take care of. The wheels are TSW Spa size, 225/40/18 (about 8.9" wide but I'm not sure of the offset) and in desperate need of spacers front and back. Once funds permit i want to go for a similar wheel but 19" and wider.

Thanks for the info and props guys. I am interested in the Ksport Airtech Basic air suspension kit but I need to save up some bucks first. I like the idea of being able to ride really low then adjust as road conditions dictate. Our roads are some of the best in Africa but still a bit dodgy in areas.

This car is a JDM Toyota Celsior which was imported into our country. The only plate I found on the door sill:

Just another shot from a different angle. Spacers are desperately needed. The wheels also need to be wider.

The car leans to one side.

looks good and looking forward to the mods!

Nice !!! Is that the original navigation system?

The car seems to need a lot of love... How much did you pay for it if i may ask ?

Here some pics of my celsior as you requested.

Greets from Netherlands.

http://imageshack.us/a/img708/8200/img0760ka.th.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img547/7739/img0744e.th.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img201/764/img0762o.th.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img211/5935/img0761l.th.jpg

Hey Dutchy, sweet ride man. It's the twin of mine but mint. Tell me, what are your paint codes? My VIN plate is missing but I think my paint is Diamond Pearl White and Moonstone Pearl.

Thanks 1sWt2GS, I can't wait too. Need some funds!!

I paid N$40,000 which is about U$4500 at current rates. Was steep but the car was calling out to me. It really does need a LOT of love.

This is my vin plate.

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/9281/p1330281.jpg

Color code 051 is the Diamond White Pearl. I'm gonna need to redo my cars paint as it was cracked and faded by the sun.

It has the original JDM navigation system yes. I will keep it and do the hack for an aux port for now. If I have to put in an aftermarket system then I have to get the separate climate controls as they are incorporated into this one. The sound is alright though.

I took apart the instrument cluster today as my dash needles were acting like disco lights. I will try the fix with elctrically conductive paint or tape. My fuel needle shows just over a quarter tank when the tank is empty.

Why does the jdm speedometer only go to 180 km/h?
Isnt that just over 110 mph? Which we can do without getting out of 3rd gear...
Shouldnt it go up to like 260kmh to be equivelent to our 160 mph speedometers?

I had not noticed this before but I guess it's ok because I don't really go faster than our country's speed limit of 120kph.