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The Ultimate MkI Aero Thread

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#1 · (Edited)
The Ultimate MkI Aero Mods Thread

This Thread covers the following types of Aerodynamic and styling accessories for the MkI Supra.

The categories are:
Air Dams
Rear Spoilers
Body Kits (or the lack thereof)
Louvers and such
Headlight Covers
Other External Styling Items

And I've reserved a post to add categories and stuff I'm sure I've forgotten.

I bought my first MkI Supra (a 1979) in August of 1982. I was a teenager and very interested in performance upgrades for the car - both aerodynamic and hp - but a decision to go to college put most major purchases on hold. I bought an aftermarket airdam in April of 1984 (after owning the car for a little more than 1-1/2 years). I also put headers on it during the same time frame. I never bought a rear spoiler back in the day - something I regretted until very recently when I found a Kamei one which will be going on my MkI soon. I spent a lot of time in the aftermarket catalogs in the mid 80s - I looked at catalogs of everything that was available back then (the local Toyota parts guy knew me by name).

I've been collecting parts, photos, catalogs and other things. This thread is a compilation of that material - and is intended to be a complete (well, more or less) listing of all of the Aero mods that are/were available for the MkI Supra. I will also be putting what information I have about current availability of any of the items.

I picked this catalog up when I visited TRD in Los Angeles in July of 1983 (and I still have it :))



Please feel free to add information to this post - if you have a better example of item (photo, drawing or other illustration) or good information about an item, I'll move it to the first group of posts. And, please let me know of anything you come across that isn't listed - I'll add it as well.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Air Dams

I'm aware of at least four different air dams that were available for the MkI.

1) Toyota Performance Package Air Dam
In 1981 Toyota offered a Performance Package for the MkI Supra. In addition to a number of suspension upgrades it also included an air dam and a rear spoiler. While it was only offered as an option in 1981, the air dam will fit any of the MkI Supras (1979-1981). In addition to being a part of the PP package, this air dam could also be purchased from Toyota and added to a non-PP car.

Here is a front photo of Damon's PP MkI (which has been lowered)


Here is how looks with the factory PP suspension:


Here is one that has been removed from the car


Toyota also featured it on a postcard for 1981


FACTORY INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS WILL BE INSERTED HERE

Availability - This is your best bet. They turn up here on cs.com, on ebay and occasionally in junkyards. Not easy to find, but easier than any of the others.

Kamei Air Dam
Kamei was a German company that made numerous aftermarket aero accessories. They made air dams for both the MkI Supra and the 2nd Generation Celica - while similar they are different.

Brand New - Uninstalled
Still in the original packaging


The original factory label


Installed




Availability - Very Rare and Hard to Find - I've seen two NOS (new old stock) units in the last 5 years. They are fairly lightweight and don't take curbs and other stuff well - so once installed, unless you are careful how you drive (meaning stay away from curbs and parking blocks), they get broken up.

MkI Supra vs 2nd Gen Celica (how to tell them apart)
Celica is on the left, Supra is on the right - definite difference in the length of the side panel (to fit the longer Supra nose)


JDM Fiberglass Air Dam
This fiberglass air dam I found on Rinkya a few years ago - it was made for the MkI. I don't remember seeing it available in the US back in the day and don't have any other information on it.

Here it is off the car


Here is how it looks set under the nose of one of my MkI parts cars - it would fit tighter if properly installed.


Availability - I believe this piece is still being made in Japan by a reproduction outfit - they turn up on Rinkya every few months. Probably your best bet if you don't mind paying the shipping from Japan (it won't be cheap)

USDM Fiberglass Air Dam
This is a BIG air dam - it comes straight down from the front of the bumper and totally recontours the front of the car. I've got one on my '79 MkI - have had it since 1984. Will post more info once I get it dug out.

Old catalog drawing


Here is a teaser photo - still in bubble wrap


Availability - Very Rare to non-existent - I've never seen another one (I bought mine in April of 1984 for $170 - still have the receipt :)).

Dobi Air Dam Skirting
Dobi also made a heavy rubber skirting designed to go at the bottom of an air dam. I had a strip of this on the bottom of my MkI Air Dam back in the day - it was quite stiff, yet flexible enough to handle speed bumps and stuff with out getting damaged.



Availability - Dobi is still around, but hasn't had these available for a LONG time. You could probably find something similar at a specialty rubber or industrial supplier and make your own.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Rear Spoilers

Toyota Performance Package Rear Spoiler
The Performance Package Rear Spoiler will also fit on any 1979-1981 MkI - BUT, for any of them you will need either the PP hatch or a 2nd Gen Celica hatch. The spoiler is designed to fit on a plain hatch - NOT one with the trim panel the Supra has. It is a single piece unit that mounts directly to the hatch. It is wider than the hatch and extends off both sides to match the lines of the rear body.

A side shot of the PP Spoiler (with a very nice paint accent around the TOYOTA lettering - that is custom touch - the originals were plain black)




A shot straight on from the rear




Availability - again, like the Air Dams, this is your best bet if you want to add something to your MkI. They show up occasionally here, on ebay and in junk yards - hard to find, but not impossible. I've seen a number for sale over the years - they typically show up every 6 months or so.


Kamei Rear Spoiler
Kamei also made a rear spoiler for the Supra. It was a three piece unit - with a center spoiler that fit on the hatch and two small end caps that mounted on the body on either side of the hatch.

It was available in two different versions. The visible difference is in the side pieces/end caps. One version has a short side/end cap. It's pretty much just a continuation of the hatch spoiler out onto the body on either side. The other version has a much longer end cap with a fairing that comes part way down the side of the car below the rear window. The difference is easily seen in the photos. I don't know if the center spoiler panel is the same on both versions or if they have different heights.

The Legato targa conversion of the Supra used the style with the longer side/end caps.

On a Legato with the longer style side pieces




On a Supra with the shorter style side pieces




A straight-on from the rear shot (with the shorter side/end caps)




This drawing showing both styles. The upper drawing shows the short end cap option, lower has the longer side pieces.




This photo shows a car with one of the end caps missing and gives a good shot of the side of the center piece




And a different spoiler style, with a lowered center section (uses the same end caps).




Availability - Very hard to find - other than a couple that are installed on existing cars, they almost never turn up. Your best bet is to stumble across one on a car being parted out.


TRD Rear Spoiler
TRD made a rear spoiler for the 2nd Generation Celica. It was listed, but not pictured in the TRD catalog (at least in the 1982 copy I have). The spoiler was used on the factory sponsored IMSA GTU Celica Liftback - and I've never seen it anywhere else. This should fit the MkI Supra - although it would probably need a Celica hatch like the PP spoiler.





Availability- non-existent - no longer available from TRD, none known to still exist.

Other Rear Spoilers
I also recall a whale-tail type rear spoiler in catalogs back in the day, but never saw one installed on a car.

I'm still searching for photos or info on it.

Kamei also made a "universal" style rear spoiler. It wasn't specifically designed for the Supra, but could be cut to fit. If trimmed properly it fit well on the rear hatch.

 
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#4 · (Edited)
Body Kits (or the lack thereof)

Body kits for the MkI are all but non-existent.

TRD made two potential items back in the day.

Fender Flares
TRD made a rally fender flare for the 2nd Generation Celica. These should fit the MkI Supra, but that is not confirmed.





Availability - reproduction flares are being made by a gentleman that restored a Rally Celica in Germany.

Wide Body Kit
TRD also made a wide-body kit for the factory sponsored IMSA GTU Celica team (they ran both the Liftback and the Coupe versions of the Celica in the series). These were listed in the TRD Catalog in the early 1980s. The rear quarter pieces should be a direct fit on the MkI. The front fender pieces would probably take some work/modification to make fit. The Supra is front fenders are longer.

The Liftback IMSA GTU Celica





The Coupe IMSA GTU Celica





Closeup of the front fender



Closeup of the rear quarter



Availability - non-existent. No longer available from TRD. One of the IMSA GTU Celica's still exists - it would be possible, with a LOT of ingenuity, to make repro pieces based on photos or measurements from it.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Louvers and such

Both metal and plastic rear and side window louvers have been made by a number of suppliers.

Chastain Shadow Louvers
These were available as an aftermarket item and as a Toyota Dealer installed option. They are identical, with the exception of the sticker on the left rear. The units supplied through the dealers say "Toyota" on them, the aftermarket ones only say "Shadow"

This is the aftermarket one:


This is the Toyota Dealer installed option label:


Installation Instructions for the Shadow Louvers:
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6


Chastain Shadow Side Louvers
Photos to be added later

Custom Contour Shade
This is an aftermarket shade with a lower profile than the Chastain Shadow Louvers



Installation Instructions:
Page 1
Page 1

More photos to be added.

Plastic Louvers
The Shadow and Contour louvers are both metal. Cheaper plastic louvers were also available.

Photos to be added.
 
#6 · (Edited)
Headlight Covers

Headlight covers were a fairly common item for 2nd gen Celicas, but I don't know that I ever saw a kit for a set for the MkI - however, I know of at least two MkIs that had them installed. One was mine - and I don't have any good photos - and the other is a member on here from Texas.

SupraMetzger's setup looks like this:


For comparison, I'm also including some 2nd gen Celica images:

Here is a nice 80/81 Celica setup:


Here are photos of a few more Celica styles.

The first one is formed - fits the 78/79 style with the round headlights - it's taller than the MkI headlight opening. It's got a neat attachment method - a single rod goes through the hole in the center, then attaches between the headlights. I believe this is the same configuration as the 80-81 style pictured above - and, for those that are curious, as near as i can tell the 80/81 Celica dimensions are different than the MkI Supra. i don't believe a contoured Celica headlight cover will fit a Supra, although a flat sheet one might.



A pair of flat sheet variants - also for the 78-79 Celicas.



Mounting instructions:



The flat style are fairly easy to make for a MkI. A flat piece of lexan or plexiglas cut to fit the headlight openings, combined with a few L-shaped tabs to attach them. I used channels to mount mine. With the hood up, you could lift them out.
 
#26 ·
Headlight Covers

Headlight covers were a fairly common item for 2nd gen Celicas, but I don't know that I ever saw a kit for a set for the MkI - however, I know of at least two MkIs that had them installed. One was mine - and I don't have any good photos - and the other is a member on here from Texas.

SupraMetzger's setup looks like this:
Black plexi glass.... And the owners name is krednjen
 
#7 · (Edited)
Other External Styling Items

Yes, these aren't truly "aero" items, but they are the kinds of external styling items seen on modded cars, so I'm including a few in this thread.

Rear Sunshade
This little goodie I found on Rinkya a few years ago. It is a sunshade similar to the 85 MkII style, but designed to fit on the hatch of a MkI.






Targa Band
This is basically a stainless trim panel that sets across the top of the roof at the B-pillar location. Strictly a cosmetic item. The stainless was made to match the standard Celica B-pillar covers, but it also looks good with the chrome/black Supra B-pillars.

I've seen them show up on eBay from time to time - but relative hard to find.

Here is one setting on top of a black MkI. It's not glued down, so one it's not real tight to the roof like it would be if attached with the double sided tape.



Here is the bottom, showing the double sided tape:



Here is one on a Celica - shows how it matches the B-pillar look.



And here is a black one a MkI Supra. I've never seen this style for sale, so I'm not sure if it was a Supra specific version or if someone took the stainless model and painted/powercoated it. With the custom paint, I suspect it was the standard Celica model painted.




Rear License Plate Panels
These are mounted where the license plate normally goes. They usually include a bracket to relocate the license plate to the bumper.
These come in both lighted and un-lighted versions. The lighted versions are the more popular.

MkI Supra Rear Panel
As far as I've been able to determine, most of the panels are the same whether "lighted" or not. It appears that the difference was whether a lighting kit was included. These had lights that were mounted behind the panel and were normally connected to the license plate circuit, so that the panel was illuminated whenever the running lights were turned on.

Here are a few I've seen:


The same one, brand new:


And a different style:


I believe a few different companies made these as aftermarket add-ons, so there may be others I don't have pictured.

And, for those interested in JDM:
MkI Celica XX


Here is the page from Dobi's catalog listing the MkI and MkII Supra panels in both lighted and unlighted versions:
 
#8 ·
Reserved for future info
 
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#9 ·
cool thread!
 
#11 ·
Nice job Karl!!
 
#13 · (Edited)
The last email I have (it's a few years old) is "alteisengott (at) web.de"

update: I emailed him last night - they are still available - I'm trying to current pricing and shipping to the US.

- I may be buying a set - if you want to go together and save on shipping, I'd be very open to that :)
 
#15 ·
Karl, the Kamei spoiler is on eBay currently...







 
#21 ·
Post some photos.

I'd like to see what you've got. All of the factory PP rear spoilers say Toyota on them.
 
#22 ·
I sold the car before I got pics of the spoiler... I told the new owner about this site, hopefully he'll join and document his build. his plan is to restore the MK1. He currently has a MKIV and he wanted to have the first and last Supra body styles.
 
#24 · (Edited)
Thanks!

I've added a few more items this week:
Headlight covers
License Plate Panels
Targa Band

I'll be adding info on a few more cosmetic items as I get a chance.
 
#25 ·
Headlight Covers

Headlight covers were a fairly common item for 2nd gen Celicas, but I don't know that I ever saw a kit for a set for the MkI - however, I know of at least two MkIs that had them installed. One was mine - and I don't have any good photos - and the other is a member on here from Texas.

SupraMetzger's setup looks like this:


This is my dads car and his user name is Krednjen but yes the covers are dark plexi glass
 
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