Toyota Celica

Cmar-Ireland

Hi All,

I saw some 70's celicas while browsing the web recently and it got me thinking about getting one. From a quick search around the usual car sites, I couldn't find any.
So, where do I go hunting for one? I particularly like the mid 70's baby mustang fastback style.



Although the coupe is very nice too.


What prices are good one's making? I noticed on some coupe pictures that the rear windows also wind down. Is this also the case with the fastback?
What about parts availability and reliability?

Cheers
Ciaran

AsphaltRisin'

Those are really lovely cars. Have wanted one for years but they've always been too expensive. When they've come up for sale berfore they're usuallly around 6 to 9k when i've seen them, but those may not be average/typical prices, that'ss just the sort of range i've seen them in. You'd probably get one "Over" much easier than here

CtrlSource

We had a 1978 Celica, black with chrome trim. Lovely car. Remember it being unreliable, but I was very young and probably just recall one or two instances of it breaking down.

Must try and scan a pic of it.

AsphaltRisin'

CtrlSource wrote:

We had a 1978 Celica, black with chrome trim. Lovely car. Remember it being unreliable, but I was very young and probably just recall one or two instances of it breaking down.

Must try and scan a pic of it.

Ha h ah it's funny that isnt it? I used to irrationally hate Volvo 740s because when i was a little lad my dad had one which i remember overheating "all the time", but i've since realised form having one myself, and talking to him, that it only happened because his one had over 250k miles on it and he drove like a lunatic....

Cmar-Ireland

Yeah, That's what I thought.... Toyota and unreliable in the same sentence???

So anyone know of one of these celicas for sale?

CtrlSource

We not talking about 90's or 00's models here. The Japanese had their problems back then too

TigerTim

I always liked that model Celica. Parts could be a problem. Have seen 2 on ebay.co.uk recently - would have to buy both together. Also worth keeping an eye on http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/. Some turn up there from time to time.

Good luck,

T.

Mahatma coat

http://www.autotrader.com.au/iteminfo/adnumber_N17501575-31_loc_locRZSQregtAVSCdistRZSQAVSCstateRZSQ9AVSCregRZSQ_off_20_sect_Automotive_sort_otRZSQ1BJDZfdRZSQSearchDisplayPriorityIndAVSCotRZSQ1BJDZfdRZSQFirstPublished_sqt_0_srchby_minyrRZSQ1970AVSCmaxyrRZSQ1986AVSCmmbsRZSQMakeAVSCsrchbyRZSQmkmdlAVSCmkdlsRZSQToyotaMRFXCelica_stpg_1_subs_Used+Cars_

****loads of em over here

BMWE21

There's one on the bay at the moment. Needs work though.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1977-TOYOTA-CELICA-GT_W0QQitemZ290090862684QQihZ019QQcategoryZ122151QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Your best bet is joining the club over the water. They'll give advice on the many rotspots etc.

TigerTim

Nice one on Mobile.de. Not sure if this link will work

http://www.mobile.de/SIDKxEBE1gS-A.NK0as1ipCAw-t-vaNexlCsAsCsK%F3P%F3R~BmSB11LsearchPublicJ1173292473A2LsearchPublicD1100CCarW-t-vctpLtt~BmPA1A1B20A7%81R-t-vCaMkQuSeUnVb_X_Y_x_ysOvT~BSRA6D1100E24100BGNCPKWA0HinPublicA2A0A0A0A0HOldtimer/cgi-bin/da.pl?bereich=pkw&sprache=2&sr_qual=GN&top=7&id=11111111243119042&

T.

Cmar-Ireland

Ok, I started looking at the Land of the Rising Sun to see whats over there, and a quick search found these....

1973 Celica 1600 GTV TA22


1976 Celica 2000GT RA28


1974 Celica 1600GT TA27



All of these are around the 500000 yen mark, so should be under €6000 registered in Ireland. I wouldn't mind going down the import route. VRT should be minimal. What way does VAT & customs work for cars older that 30 years?

What is the order of the most collectable of this era Celica? I really like the look of the 1600GT or the GTV. The flared arches on the 2000GT are really horrible looking.
The GTV is the dearest of that lot, but not by much. I like the idea of a pillar-less coupe for the summer too

So, if I was going to import, what should I be concentrating on? I'm not buying for investment, but I don't want to buy the runt of the litter either!

The TA27 above also has the 5 slot mustang lights.....nice!

TigerTim

Cmar,

What sites did you find these on. I remember looking for Japanese car sites before which handled older Toyota's & came up with very little.

T

AsphaltRisin'

Yeah like tigertim said... please let us know where you found these, if could get one for around 6 grand i'd be mad for one, especially that orange one...mmm orangey....!

Cmar-Ireland

Hey!!!!!!!!!! Hands off, I found them first!!!

I reckon I could buy the three of them and make a nice profit.
I'm leaning towards the coupe, but the '74 GT is very nice too.

AsphaltRisin'

Ah now that's not very nice, what i'd be mainly hoping is that i'd find something like a old square shape Skyline RS-X turbo , or a RWD Lancer GSR1800 turbo or a Starion

TigerTim

Cmar,

Not buying - just looking out of interest. If you do buy then you might post some links. If you had one on the road in Ireland for around €6k, it would make a great daily driver (once you're not doing too much mileage). Rust would be a problem but liberal coating of Waxoyl or similar would keep it at bay for a few years. Cheap & cool looking motor for a few years.

T.

Cmar-Ireland

Any of the Japanese importers should be able to source them. Thats who I used, I have access to the daily auction listings so I can check them.

My intention is to buy a really good one and then get something else for the bulk of my driving. I would use the Celica for fine weather driving.

I would be concerned with rust, as the early toyotas are very prone to it. I suppose I could shultz (sp?) the inner wings, arches and underpan. Would this be enough to keep it at bay?

Did the GTV only come as a coupe, or is it available in the liftback too?

TigerTim

I only ever saw the TA22 GTV as a coupe but there were never that many in Ireland. I'd say rust would be a constant battle but plenty of waxoyl, shutz & burnt(used) oil would need to be applied at least once a year. Would these cars come in fairly rust free. Have you seen the condition of any of these older Jap imports.

Any idea how one would be fixed to insure one of these cars as a daily driver. Would an insurance company have problems with it being so old. You would save a bit on road tax. I no longer do any driving for work so sold my modern car about 12 months ago & now drive a 1991 Corolla with 305,000KMS. Sailed thru' the NCT last October so I am a Toyota fan. Now only drive 12kms per day to/from work. Wife has a reasonably modern car if we are travelling.

T.

Cmar-Ireland

I'm trying to sift through all the different model codes, but I have decided if I go for one it will be a 1600 or 2000 GT fastback. I think the codes are RA25 & RA28.
From what I can gather, the GTV is very basic and has stiffer suspension (and only in a coupe).

Regarding insurance, the ins company told me depending on the model, it will be 200-300 euro for a 10k per year limit. I can certainly live with that!

Chonker

http://www.tradecarview.com/stock/photo.aspx?id=107922&p=0

Who's up to the challenge????

I would love to be able to fix that bad boy up.

Esel

Cmar-Ireland wrote:

What way does VAT & customs work for cars older that 30 years?

For cars imported from outside the EU (eg USA, Japan) you will pay VAT on (the cost of the car plus the shipping). Not sure if there is duty as well. VRT exempt if over 30 years old, costs €50 to register. Also factor in handling charges in Dublin (€150 from a thread in motors) plus paperwork fee (€100 from same thread).

Gary ITR

BMWE21 wrote:

There's one on the bay at the moment. Needs work though.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1977-TOYOTA-CELICA-GT_W0QQitemZ290090862684QQihZ019QQcategoryZ122151QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That car went past me today on the back of a truck on the N7 at Naas

Dades

Onkle wrote:

That car went past me today on the back of a truck on the N7 at Naas

I saw it too - going past (on a flatbed) on the quays yesterday lunchtime...
Will be a while before we see it again I'd say.

mxpx6979

Is this the sort of thing you were looking for?

http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=632208

Carl Mad

Just thought I'd take this opportunity to mention that I have a 1979 Celica For Sale, she's an Australian Import in excellent condition. Recently resprayed and can be seen and inspected in Carlow. Has brand new superlite alloys, 2ltr engine, automatic, rear wheel drive. Anyone interested or know's anyone who is please give me a call 086 3585002. Can email a few pictures if interested, Cheers.