[CJSREDPRA]

Ken,

Can you please send us your "model code" that is located on the firewall dataplate tag??? It will say something like "MA61L-BLMQEA", or something similiar. I'm mostly interested in the VERY LAST letter on the end. If it is a "A" then it is indeed a US spec car. If it is a "K" then it's a Canadian Spec car.

To properly translate your VIN#, you need to go here:

http://www.celicasupra.com/vininfo.htm

To properly translate your model code info, you need to go here, as suprasrock mentioned.

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/stepho/newcodes.htm

This much I do know at this point, since it has been discussed on the Yahoo list in the past.

Your July 1982 production date, indicates that you are near the end of the 82 production year & it's close to being one of the last ones made. There are still "some" that were made in the month of August, which tends to be the transition month for MKII's, as to when they roll over into the next model year.

It has been VERY WELL DOCUMENTED ON THE YAHOO LIST that the 130mph speedometer analog cluster was introduced for the 1984 model year, however, we did have one 83 P-Type (in East Texas) that was made in August 1984 (the VIN# did confirm that it was still a 83 car) that had the 130mph speedometer in it. The 130mph speedo was still NOT available for the 1982 or early early 1983 model year.

So depending on what the model code is telling us as to the car's "country destination", one of 2 things happened to your July 1982 dash cluster.

1. If it is INDEED a US spec car, someone DID swap in a 130mph speedometer into your dashboard. This IS a somewhat common cluster upgrade for those who want to get rid of their 85mph speedo. One of the main reasons for this, is because if you are CONSTANTLY PEGGING the 85 mph speedo all the time, then eventually it kills the speedometer sensor in the back of the cluster. When that happens, then your Cruise Control stops working.

2. If it is INDEED a Canadian spec car, then someone either did it to get rid of the 85 mph speedo, "OR" they wanted to get rid of the metric cluster that only goes up to 140 kmph (my "understanding" is that the early Canadian analog dash's were not metric??).

Let us know what the model code says on the firewall dataplate & get back to us.

BTW, it has ALSO been confirmed on the Yahoo list that NEITHER the VIN# or the model code will tell you if your car is a P-Type, or a L-Type. It will just depends on the interior code & the outside appearance.

To end this once arguement once & for all, can you post a picture somewhere??? :shock:

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Not possible,

The fender flares were NOT A OPTION!!!!! You either have the flares (P-Type), or not (L-Type).

Only other possibility, is that someone installed the P-Type flares onto a L-Type. PITA to do since the fender lips are different, but if someone wants flares on their L-Type, they will find a way.

BTW, I have BOTH the US Spec & the Canadian Spec 1982 Sales Brochures & it does not mention that the flares are a option...

As I've mentioned before, the only "closest" way that we can determine if your MKII is a P-Type, or a L-Type, is to look & see what kind of interior set up the car originally had from the factory. So...... What does your interior code say on the firewall dataplate????

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Send me pictures also.

[email protected]

Also, look at the bottom of the firewall dataplate & read off the codes that are at the BOTTOM of the plate. I'm mostly interested in the first 2 codes, which is the paint code, & the interior code. I'm not as interested in the last 2 codes (the rear diff & the tranny code).

For awhile (after I sent the last post), I also thought that this may have been a Canadian spec car as well, since the Canadian GTS's (the Canadian P-Type) also had the digital dash as a option, but the "A" at the end of the model code indicates otherwise (Canadian cars would have a "K" at the end).

Yeah, I agree, this is getting interesting.... The June 82 build date definitely indicates that it's still a 82 model.

Okay....... Was just looking at your last description again & you said that the bumpers are painted the body color also???? Sounds like a repaint... Send me pics of both ends & the interior as well.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Okay........

Things are still a little bit confusing, but now we're getting somewhere.

Can you please take another closer look at the paint code & the interior code again????

25S looks a little strange for a paint code. 99% of the time, the last digit is a number & not a letter. So if you could take a look at this again.... Thanks.

{edit} I just checked 3 of my paint color sources & 25S does not exist as a Toyota color.

On the interior code, can you take another look at the 2nd digit & make sure it's the correct one????? I'm wondering if that digit is actually a "F" rather than a "P". Depending on how dirty the plate is, or the weird angle you may be looking at it, it's easy to get it wrong.

In regards to the interior, this much I know..... FX21 is the Black Cloth P-Type seats for 82 - 83. LF21 is the Black Leather L-Type seats for a 83 & possibly a 82. So I need to know for sure if that 2nd digit is a F or a P.

THIS MUCH I'm able to figure out at the moment!!!! It looks like you were correct the first time & this car might actually be a L-Type car. The fact that you have: 1. A US spec vehicle. 2. The Digital Dash cluster. 3. A Non-LSD rear diff. All of these clues are pointing towards this being a L-Type car. None of the US Spec P-Type's had digital dash's or Non LSD rear diff's, they all had analog dash's & LSD rear's.

Me thinks someone went through alot of trouble to turn their MKII into a P-Type CLONE :shock: . So yes, your MKII is somewhat unique, but it didn't come this way from the factory!!!!

And yes, please still send me pictures.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rob & Aaron !!!!! I FIGURED IT OUT!!!!! 8) :shock:

Was talking to Brian (82Ltype) outside the forums via email & I was finally able to get everything translated !!!! Here's the scoop.

Paint Code: 2B8. According to my paint sources, he has the 2-Tone Silver Metallic/Gray Metallic Clear Coat on his MKII. He also sent me some more pictures of his Supra & the rear bumper & the hatch have been repainted the body color. The entire car is now some other strange looking silver color & it no longer has the 2-tone paint scheme.

Interior Code: LF21. With the above mentioned paint scheme, I'm now 100% sure that he has the LF21 Black Leather L-Type seats.

At some point in it's past, the car was repainted & the P-Type flares were added on. :? :shock: The 2B8 2-tone paint scheme was only available on the L-Type's, so this is indeed a real L-Type MKII that someone cloned into a P-Type.

Heh.... I guess now you can say Brian's MKII is confused???? :lol: 8)

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Bonerdude,

What year is your MKII??? 82 - 84????

3D1 I believe is the code for Super Red (not Super deep Red, which is 3F2).

YS4??? You're missing 1 more number at the end. Interior codes should be 4 digits. Either way, I'll have to get back to you on this one. From what I can remember, the YS code at least indicates a Cloth interior.

F283 I believe is the 4.30 LSD rear, since you have the W58 5-speed.

Production date can be found on the drivers door build plate, unless the door has been swapped out.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Grrrrrrr.....

Not sure what YS24 is. Esp on a 83. Most Super Red 83 P-Type's had the Black Cloth, which is a different interior code. Got me on this one.

Super Red is a Bright Red, while Super Deep Red is more of a Dark Red.

Aaron. Maroon interiors first came on the MKII's in the 84 model year, not 85.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Oh boy.... More confusion.......

MK2Racer.... You have a White 82 P-Type???? I believe the White P-Type's had the Terra Cotta interiors, or possibly Black. Send me a picture of your interior. What's your interior code????

Supraa_luva.... Is that your Rose Gray/Mahogany L-Type in your avatar??? This should ALSO be a Terra Cotta interior as well!!! (Kris Kanten in Colorado also has a RG/M L-Type & he does have a Terra Cotta leather interior). Send me a picture... What's your interior code???

Remember folks, let's not try to get Burgandy or Maroon mixed up w/ Terra Cotta on the earlier model MKII's!!!!! This CAN get very confusing!!!

Bonerdude: TRUST US!!!! Your MKII is indeed a 84!!!! My 85 Redpra has a November 84 production date, but I know for sure that it's in the 85 model year I don't consider my car to be a 84. Josh Rapier's Silver 85 6M has a August 84 production date, but we know for sure that it's still a 85!!!!!

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Oh jeez....

FV1??? Well.... Something is STILL off, because the interior codes are usually 4 digits... Still missing 1 number at the end...

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Supraa_luva,

2K7 is definitely the 2-Tone Rose Gray/Mahogany.

LF31... Still trying to decode that one.... I'm betting it's the Terra Cotta Leather L-Type seats... Pictures of the seats & dashboard & steering wheel will confirm for sure.

Terra Cotta is more or less basically the color of those "orangey" clay planting pots... And no, I'm not kidding....... The color name "Terra Cotta" is in the 82 & 83 US Spec Sales Brochures... :shock: Why Toyota chose this color, is beyond me..... Personally, the Terra Cotta exterior paint looks great when it's taken care of (like Sidman's MKII), but when it goes to hell & is oxidized, it looks like rust. Same for the TC Cloth interiors, they look great when they are dark & new, but when they have that faded look......

 

[CJSREDPRA]

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks Graham!!!!! You've just introduced me to the world of "Non US-Spec interior codes that are in RHD MKII's". That explains why the interior code looked a little bit odd.... :shock: :shock: This is the first time I've seen a 3 digit interior code... Learned something new again!!!! Black P-Type seats in a RHD MKII will have a different interior code....

And for those of you who have never seen a RHD steering wheel, this IS what it looks like!!!! Almost looks like a Cressida LHD wheel & is obviously different than what was available in North America (well, at least we got the leather rim covering).

Supraa_luva: At this point (thanks to Doug's pictures & his codes), I'm now 100% sure that your RG/M 83 L-Type has the Code LF31 Terra Cotta L-Type Leather seats.

Ken... Does your "Event Horizon"s interior look like this???? At least the dash & the steering wheel????

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Yep, you're missing the Leather rim covering on your steering wheel. If you look @ Doug's picture carefully, you can just barely see it.

Yes, the RHD wheel I was referring to, was Graham's picture.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Well.... Now for the hard part....

Don't know of anyone who sells a leather wheel cover that will match up w/ the color of the Terra Cotta steering wheel. Not sure if Wheelskinz has anything close to it.

I know American Stitches does not. I need to send them a color sample one of these days.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Seamus,

He does indeed have a TC interior. Only difference is that his is the Leather L-Type seats, while you're thinking of the Cloth P-Type seats. The leather L-Types tend to have a rather "almost brown" color to them, while the Cloth tends to go towards orange. And yes, his interior code does confirm this, the "31" in the code is the big key. The 1st 2 digits are for the style & material.

So yes for the most part he does still have the same color interior. Now on the other hand, if Supraa_luva wants to convert to a TC cloth P-Type interior and swap out the seats & the door & side panels.... If you don't mind the stripes...

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Seamus,

Yes, I've seen a Leather Terra Cotta L-Type interior before in a junkyard, so they do exist. As mentioned, the Leather tends to lean towards brown as it starts to age & darken. It's definitely not Maroon or Burgandy. However, I do feel that Maroon is what replaced TC in the 84 model year, since Black & Blue was retained. And the North America interiors only came in 4 colors during it's 5 year run (Black, Terra Cotta, Blue, Maroon).

I agree, the best thing that he can do now, is to find a spare set of seats that he can have made up. AND.... If possible on his current seats, find a small sample of leather that has not been darkened over time, this way the correct & original shade of the TC leather can be recreated w/ dye.

This is what Jim King did about 3 years ago when a bunch of us w/ the 84 - 86 Maroon interiors did our leather rim steering wheel recovers @ American Stitches in Texas. Jim had to find a small sample of Maroon leather that had not been darkened (our Maroon Leather's are NOTORIOUS for turning dark over time) and sent them a sample.

TC leather steering wheels. Nope.... ALL North America MKII steering wheels had the leather wrap on them, as evidence in Doug's picture above. Most of the time, the leather is in a advanced stage of rot, or as in Supraa_luva's case, the leather & the foam padding has been completely removed. I've also seen about 4 TC steering wheels that still had the original leather cover on them, ONE OF THEM was still in a 9 out of 10 condition!!!! No wear or rot on it. I pulled it off & sold it to someone in the midwest about 6 years ago (should have kept that wheel). Anywho, I currently have a TC steering wheel that I need to get redone, but the leather is in a advanced state of rot, so one of these days I'll see if I can head up another GP for leather cover refinishes @ American Stitches (we're probably about due for one now).

Leather cover replacement. This is where things get a bit technical.

American Stitches WILL try & go the extra mile to do a correct & proper leather skin replacement on our steering wheels. This includes trying to recreate the original stitching pattern, the seam locations on the leather itself (will explain that in more detail in a minute) AND, underneath the leather wrap, they will replace the foam padding that is inbetween the leather & the wheel rim itself (yep, why do you think the leather is a bit on the squishy side when you grab it). On our original steering wheel GP, we goofed on the thickness of the padding needed, thus when you grab the current set of redone wheels, the thickness of the leather seems a little smaller than the original ones. When we do the next set of wheels, we will have to ask for thicker padding underneath.

Seam locations. This is where it gets even more interesting. When we did the Maroon steering wheels (I had 1 Maroon wheel & 1 Black wheel done), we of course used the 84 - 86 steering wheels & the original leather stitching pattern was copied & digitized for future reference. No other MKII steering wheel was used, this includes the 82 - 83 wheels. On the latter 84 - 86 wheels, you will notice on the wheel rim TWO seam locations that are in line w/ both wheel spokes that are at the 5:00 & 7:00 positions. BOTH of those seam locations were recreated on our redone wheels. On the 82 - 83 wheels, those seam locations are NOT in the same place underneath the spokes, they are located on the sides at the 9:00 & 3:00 positions. So already this is a bit of a problem.

At this point, I need to do 2 things. 1. I need to send to AS, both a spare Black 82 - 83 wheel that I have, and a spare TC wheel that I have. Both need to be recovered & 1 of them can be used as the stitching/seam location template that they can copy & digitize for the 82 - 83 wheel pattern. 2. I have a ratty looking pleather console lid that looks horrendous on the top, but underneath, where it wrapped into the metal part of the console lid, the pleather & the original shade of Terra Cotta is still in brand condition. I'm going to have them use that as a color sample & hopefully they will get some leather made up & dye'd.

So yeah, it can be done, but there are a few minor technicalities that I need to deal with first.

One other thing that I forgot to mention. American Stitches will ALSO replace the leather on our 5-speed shift knobs. Maroon & Black can easily be redone at the moment. Blue & Terra Cotta, they will need color samples first.

If you want, I can bring 1 or both of my steering wheels w/ me to the Baxters meet & you can check out their handywork. I had a Maroon & a Black wheel done. LMK!!!!

I also need to find the AS website. Will have to do this later tonight.

 

[CJSREDPRA]

Nope...

Even for the US cars in 84 - 86, it's Black, Maroon & Blue. The Black/Gray interiors for those model years is what Toyota calls Black according to the 84 - 85 US Sales Brochures. A Gray interior color is not mentioned anywhere, and on both the 84 + 85 brochures, the interior color is listed next to all of the available exterior colors. Yeah I know, it's weird. From what I heard, Toyota started to get weird & superstitious at times, or it's another goofy marketing thing. I was hearing things like the Japanese would NOT sit in a all black interior (it's considered bad luck), thus there are some light colors in places. Or the color description would be something totally different to what it actually is. 1 example is in the Teal 92 MKIII's w/ the Leather interior. It looks like it's a all Black interior, but Toyota Marketing calls it Shadow Gray... Figure that one out.

I'll have my US Sales Brochure collection w/ me @ the Baxters meet, you're welcome to look at all of it.

Steering wheels. Am just about 99% positive that ALL of the North America 82 - 83 steering wheels have the leather covers. This is what seperates the Supra steering wheels from the Celica steering wheels, the Supra's were unique, because of the leather covering. The plastic on the wheel rim holds up pretty well & hardly every deteriorates, so that might be the reason why it looks new. I'll bring my TC steering wheel with me to the Baxters meet & will see if I can straighten all of this out. There is a chunk of leather missing in 1 spot & the plastic wheel material also looks pretty new. I pulled back some of the leather in places to see if the original color was still there, and it is, but I've decided to use the remnants of a console lid, that has a larger color sample on it.

Yep, to me if you stick in Maroon seats in a TC interior, it will look strange. The seats will be MUCH darker looking & the difference will be obvious. The TC interiors tend to go towards a orange or a rust like color, while Maroon tends to be a darker looking burgandy or purple.

Interesting debate this is becoming..