Found this trolling Craigslist. Seems cheap for a gull wing Toyota.
Those doors are amazing.
Automatic though
I think most Seras were automatic.
Seller sounds like he's trying to cut his losses, yet the ad says "not in hurry to sell."
It was purchased in 2020 but hasn't been driven much. I think he was sold on the looks but the Paseo underpinnings were a let down.
eastsideTim said:I think most Seras were automatic.
I believe all were automatic.
I rode in one of these once, it felt like driving in a fishbowl (in a good way), and the doors made me feel like a rock star every time I opened them. It was definitely not fast though.
I wonder how much it would take to swap something manual and exciting into one of these.
Manual probably wouldn't be too tough. Exciting, maybe a bit more effort.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:I wonder how much it would take to swap something manual and exciting into one of these.
Anything that would come close to bolting in would be a now-costly JDM rarity with not a whole lot more power, maybe better to go with something more difficult for more gains? A modern Fiesta 3cyl turbo powertrain maybe?
That car needs to have the FWD LS V8 drivetrain from a Impala SS stuffed in the middle. And it's nearly cheap enough to do that.
EvanB said:eastsideTim said:I think most Seras were automatic.
I believe all were automatic.
I had forgotten that. I know Mighty Car Mods had one but I believe it was manual swapped.
Honestly something like that would be one of the few projects I might consider when I get some of my current projects further along. A cool JDM car to cruise to cars and coffee/ car meets and just generally drive around town. Something unique but with mechanical parts that don't have to get shipped all the way from Japan since it is a Paeso underneath.
EvanB said:eastsideTim said:I think most Seras were automatic.
I believe all were automatic.
There were in fact manuals but they were something like 10-15% of production, so very uncommon.
RARE Toyota Sera with 5 speed manual transmission. JDM RHD Washington title!
I have heard that regardless of transmission, they are extremely bland to drive, really just a fancy looking Paseo.
If you thought finding unicorn pedal boxes was fun, wait until you have to find one that never existed on your continent.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
That glass is awesome, but probably not the easiest to source if one breaks.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
I don't know for certain, but I wonder if a Paseo/Tercel pedal box would be close since they all share a platform.
I can think of no more attention getting vehicle for $5500 these days.
Fancy Paseo...and wasn't the Paseo just the fancy Tercel.
Right now, a near 40 mpg Paseo or its kind sounds very nice!
I couldn't resist looking. Here's a reasonable price on our fancy Paseo. A sunny day commuter and ice cream runs car.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1200619170689634/?ref=facebook_story_share
In reply to John Welsh :
Not just a fancy Tercel, but a fancy Tercel available as a convertible.
GameboyRMH said:¯\_(ツ)_/¯ said:I wonder how much it would take to swap something manual and exciting into one of these.
Anything that would come close to bolting in would be a now-costly JDM rarity with not a whole lot more power, maybe better to go with something more difficult for more gains? A modern Fiesta 3cyl turbo powertrain maybe?
Probably not a cost-effective or easy-to-find option at this point, but back in the late 90's/early 2000's the most common Paseo swaps were JDM 1.3 4E-FTE turbo from a FWD Starlet, or "5E-FTE" using the 1.5-liter bottom end with everything else from the Starlet, or else 4A-GE, either 16V or 20V. All of the above involved wiring/sensors/ECU/light plumbing, IIRC, but could be bolted together with the right mix n' match from the Toyota parts bins.
wow a whole thread about an EL platform Toyota, exciting!
manual swapping this would be trivial. I have a 4 speed tercel trans sitting under my workbench (4 on the floor Sera anyone?) but the paseo trans would be the best candidate it has the best ratios thats what I have in my tercel, a c5x series trans is also possible just a tiny bit more work.
except for the plastic stuff anything that fits a tercel/paseo will fit this.
In reply to echoechoecho :
Do left hand drive pedal boxes fit right hand drive cars?
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
If it doesn't, it probably provides a decent template for fabbing anything needing a mirror image and some parts you can reuse.
Edit: looking at the Toyota parts fiche, there are some same and some different part numbers involved. It looks like the pivot for the throttle swaps sides, the tab for the brake light switch swaps sides, the shape of the firewall-side of the mounting brackets for clutch and brake are probably a slightly different shape...and the RHD clutch pedal arm is more S-shaped versus the straighter LHD equivalent.
The glass above you in the front seats makes it very hot. There are sun shades that can be installed that block the sun to make it more bearable. There's a Turbo Tercel which makes 113 hp up from the 80 or so NA. There are people who have done that swap.
Scott_H said:The glass above you in the front seats makes it very hot. There are sun shades that can be installed that block the sun to make it more bearable. There's a Turbo Tercel which makes 113 hp up from the 80 or so NA. There are people who have done that swap.
A guy in my local autocross club runs a 2 door Paseo with Taiwanese coilovers and said turbo engine swapped in (1.1 liter? 1.3 liter?). He runs that thing on wide 13" low offset wheels, with wide hoosier A7's, and destroys all manner of "infinitely more capable" cars at autocross. It's wonderful to see.
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