does anyone here know anything about these cars? (pre 78)

Seems like the older Toy's have even worse rusting issues than 914's if you can believe that. Probably not many of them around anymore. I had an early one years ago. It was a fun, cheap car. Hammered on it, always ran perfect. But I think most of them are rusty piles by now?

i was curious about performance specs.

i remember driving around in my uncle's when i was a kid. he had 2 pre-78 celica's.

was thinking about a nostalgic buy.

Nothing blistering fast. There was an ad I remember seeing in a magazine when I bought mine they guy let me have. It was for the year of the car I think. I remember something like 8.5 0-60 and 18 second quarter mile, but got 29mpg. Something like that, I am probably off. But the ad bosted performance and decent mileage. 70's gas crunch.

my first wife owned one when i met her. her's was very dependable and she abused it horribly maintenance wise. void the vinyl roofed ones if you can.

k

In high school a buddy of mine had a 76 celica GT coupe. Had a cool 2 tone metallic gray/silver paint on it, neat car.

I had a 78 and Beat the ever livin crap out of it... I must have though it was made for racing... It was a great car, when I bought it orignial motor flipped once, and when I drove away with it, it was at 78k miles. When I sold it same engine and it was at 60k..

I've always liked them, and they take well to engine transplants from more modern Toyotas....

-Josh2

Actually,

They are pretty good rust-wise.....

Lived in Florida near the beach and the salt air was everywhere. The Toyota Celicas held up pretty good. There were a lot more older Celicas driving around without rust in a land that turned Hondahs into rustbuckets overnight.

Bottom line, locals bought Celicas cause they lasted, and locals refused to buy Hondahs due to rust issues.

Which one you looking at? The early rounded one, or the Mustang, wannabe

Ken

yummy 73

racer

The silver one I drove in the early '80's was ultra reliable.
Gas, tires and oil was all I ever did. Sporty, but Not A Real Sports Car.

nice pics a-ron

i'd prefer the coupe, but i think the lift backs were more common in the later years. post '74 they put in a 2189 cc engine, so that's the one i think i would want.

i always liked the look of the interior.......

Former owner of several Celicas: 72 ST, (first car) with an 18R engine. Also had an 80 hatchback (20R), 74 GT Coupe (20R), and a 79 Celica/Supra (before the Supra became its own separate trade brand).

Awesome cars... especially in later years their weight distribution was pretty even (50/50, on the 1980, and about 52/48 on the Supra). However, they were never super fast. No thrills, no frills, but they could be souped up easily. I don't recall any rust issues on my cars... but these were all CA cars and we're talking mid 80's to early 90's when I owned them).

There used to be an 18 RU replacement Jap market engine for non-smoggable cars.

I got to drive my dad's 77 liftback, very reliable 20R or 22R? engine. I hauled so much crap in that car for school and car projects. I don't see too many on the road something other than the drivetrain must have made them extinct. Designwise, I like the early coupes and the japanese bumpers...

I had a 78 lift back and it was bullet proof, pretty zippy, for a sedan...decent mileage...good car.

i had a 77 lift back, 20r is what it had. drove that car into the ground.not as fun to drive as a 914 but alot more reliable.lol
james

thanks for the replies. seems a914 is easier to find.
there is 1 for sale in colorado. hope the guy calls me back....................

There's these celicas for sale on Ebay:

1977 Celica GT Liftback

1973 Celica ST

1977 Celica

1976 Celica GT Liftback

I had a '73 Celica ST, way back in the '80s. It looked like a baby (first gen) Camaro and it got 30 mpg. It wasn't all that fast, but it was extremely easy to work on. Little 4 banger up front with lots of room around it to swing a wrench. I loved mine... but it got rear-ended, I fixed it as best I could, and sold it.

Funny thing, though... I bought the Celica because I wanted a little sporty car that got good gas mileage, and I was unable to locate any good examples of my first choice... a Porsche 914. (True Fact!)

Here is a 74 GT with an injected 18RG engine. Lots of parts, lots of modifications. Looks like a fun ride.

74 celica GT hotrod

QUOTE (morphenspectra @ Jan 21 2006, 08:02 PM)

i had a 77 lift back, 20r is what it had. drove that car into the ground.not as fun to drive as a 914 but alot more reliable.lol james

Yes, my in-laws had a number of them, very good cars.

Well engineered, well built, no suprises.

John

My father had a '74, seemed to run nice.

You can unload a large calibre weapon directly into the engine, and drive another 259,000 miles..


M

How about something like this?

Or this?

Theres a first gen Celica here in town with a S2000 honda engine and 6 sp transmission...

Very Very nice....... Bob