Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior $15 Rare Tsunami Wing

Hey guys, I recently undertook a new project and decided to do a little write-up to document the progress of it. I normally wouldn’t do something like this for a wing, but given the rarity and demand for the Tsunami wing, I figured I would. For those of you who don’t know, the Tsunami edition Celica was a version of the 7th gen Celica, most known for the angular body kit, that was available in only a few countries for the 2004 model year in very limited production numbers. As time goes on, the popularity of these Celicas is rising but they’re also getting harder to find.

So basically, I was on my way to pick up some parts from a guy with a parts car and asked him what else he had left. Out of everything he sent to me, the only thing that really stood out to me was this genuine Tsunami wing. However, the pictures he sent me revealed just how bad it was. With the condition in mind, we agreed on $15 for it, on top of everything else I was getting. The wing was badly damaged but I figured it was worth a shot for $15.

After thinking about it for a little while, I decided to the best approach would be to create a base inside the hollow part of the for me to build on. I picked some foaming gap filler, like you might use around a pipe or in a crack, and sprayed it around the damaged part of the wing.

I let the gap filler expand and dry for a day and then took a drywall saw and cut off the excess foam. I used spare sandpaper to shave down the foam further so it was flush with the edges of the wing.

Using some Bondo I had lying around, I then gradually built layer upon layer of compound on top of the foam foundation. I just laid some Bondo, let it dry, and did it again. I did this until there was more than enough Bondo on the wing.

At this point, I was headed in the right direction but still had a long way to go. In front of me was a mountain of Bondo that would need a lot of attention. I began sanding first with 100 grit, then 150 grit paper, working to form the basic shape of the wing, based on the “good” side.

By now I was feeling alright about the project. My Bondo work had turned out good except for a few dimples left behind, as expected. I grabbed some exterior caulk and used it to fill the dimples then sanded again up to 320 grit. This wing was actually coming together nicely.

I then went over the whole wing with 320 grit sandpaper, wiped it down with rubbing alcohol, and stood it up on two sawhorses for paint. I used 3 layers of primer to cover the red, 4 coats of gloss black to get it looking good, and 3 coats of clear to finish it off.

After letting it dry for a day, I set out to address the last problem; a broken mounting stud at the base of the wing on the side that was previously broken. I was headed to the salvage yard anyway, so while I was there, I pulled the stock wing off a Celica and yanked a stud off of it. Once I got home, I used Gorilla Glue to hold it in place (and it feels strong).

The Gorilla Glue had a day to dry and the stud seems sturdy. I pulled off the hatch trim in my car and removed the nuts holding on the stock wing (lost 2 of them). I carefully put the Tsunami wing in place and tightened down the two nuts I had left. I took a step back and WOW it looks better than stock!

Overall, I am happy with how this project came out. I can’t really complain, considering the whole thing only cost me about $20, for something others have paid hundreds for. The Tsunami wing is a huge step up for me, as I was never really a fan of the stock wing. I always thought the back end of the Celica was lacking when compared to the rest of the angles on the car.

I haven’t seen anyone else mix the TRD skirts with the Tsunami wing, so this may be a little funky. To help the back end out a little more, I also have an genuine TRD rear diffuser going on soon. If you made it this far into this post, let me know what you think! Thanks for reading!