The convertible conversion was done by the Griffith Company. The Griffith Company was owned by Jack Griffith. That's the same Jack Griffith who dropped Ford V8s into TVR Granturas and created the pretty spectacular TVR Griffith in the 1960s.
The Sunchaser was created with the blessings of Toyota and sold through Toyota dealerships with a full factory warranty. Built for roughly 3 years, there were, depending on the source, somewhere between 2000 and 3000 built in total.The conversion was similar to a number of convertibles of the day (i.e Baur BMW). The roof immediately behind the windshield to the edge of the B-Pillar was removed and a removable fiberglass targa top was installed in its place. The B-Pillar and a section of the roof was left in place and a fold-down vinyl top covered the rear portion of the interior. The undercarriage was also heavily modified. When introduced, the Sunchaser was praised by testers for its structural rigidity.
This Sunchaser is in remarkable condition. The body looks great. My only complaint is the graphics going down the side, but those could be original and are definitely period correct, so I guess they should be left on. The interior is one of the nicest I've seen in any old Celica. It even appears to still have the factory AM/FM radio.
There are similar styled convertibles available; the Lancia Beta Zagato, the above mentioned grey market Baur BMWs, the Jaguar Cabriolet, etc. All, in their own way, are great cars with better "names" than Toyota. None, however, have the legendary dependability and easy, inexpensive parts availability like the Celica has. There's a lot to be said for that.The bottom line is, this is a classy, very rare, handbuilt convertible that you could drive everyday if you wanted to.
Located in Cumming, GA, click here to see the eBay listing.A big thanks to JaCG reader, Russ, for sending me the link to this car!
