Ok, so I've decided to go ahead and share this nifty little modification with the community. First offive, I would like to say that I had this idea because it something I've done on my old 97 sc300 and, after careful analysis it seemed as though the same could be done with the 5th gen celica. The first handle was a little rough but the econ fit right in like factory and I absolutely love the simple upgrade.
First thing is to remove the door panel
Then remove the two plastic clips holding on the metal pins attached to the handle/lock unit
Remove the three 10mm bolts attaching the handle/lock unit to the door frame
Once you remove that you can get to work on the removal and installation
On the bottom of the pin that goes through the lock and handle you'll see a flat round solid end piece that needs to be removed with a dremel, I some took the head off flat
Next step is to remove the pin, as you can see, the original and the ls400 pins are different sizes (this comes into play later)
Simply insert the ls400 pin that you pulled while grabbing the handles along with carefully grabbing the bottom retaining clip (as pictured)
This is the top view of the new pin installed, it is much taller but it's ok, do not attempt to hammer it in any further.
Next is to shave off the excess portion of the upper part.
It doesn't fit perfectly behind the handle bezel so a small amount of material has to be removed to clear the longer pin, no big deal it won't be visible.
Same goes for the bottom part, just a small trimming and it fits fine and can't be seen once back on.
And after that it's just installing like normal, the handle has some really good weight to it and is metal so it won't degrade over time, it's smoother overall than the cheap feeling plastic and this mod is basically free and ads some class to and old chassis. Enjoy
