Celerity
Well-Known Member
Hey folks,
I figure I'll start putting out the word. I'm selling my two prizes so I can move on to other things. Like buying a house.
First off, my baby:
It's a 1981 Celica GTA. Yeah yeah, it's old. But check it, clown - I'm an AVID old-school toyota guy, and I've owned 14 Celicas of this generation. This particular car is a GTA - That's Tenth Anniversary for you not in the know. A little history of the GTA:
The last 2000 Celicas of the second generation were rolled off the line in Japan as Rally Sports. These were DOHC, turbo cars with the W58 short ratio gearing. That's a lotta balls right there. That's the kind of tech that America wouldn't see for another 4 years. And when it got to the US shores, they found out why. The DOHC had no hopes of passing Federal emissions, much less California so the motors had to be ditched.. At the shores. The US replacement is a completely different motor and wouldn't bolt to the W58 (The trans was in too far on the trans mounts) so they had to shaft us on the trans as well, and drop in the Supra's 4AOD transmission. That's right, this Celica is an automatic.
Since they had really nice, one-off bodies with lots of JDM specialties, and instantly lost money on the shipment, they had to sell them to round-eye as quickly as possible. So instead of the sports-group market they catered to in Japan, they now catered to the Luxury group in America.
And everyone knows much Americans wanting luxury turned to Toyota in the early 80s. Hah.
So 800 of these were sold in the US. Typical to US sales numbers, only the coastlines got the cars. 400 for the Right coast, and 400 for the Wrong coast. 200 of each were equipped with power sunroofs. This is not one of those cars.
Features:
It's an auto, but it's a 4 speed auto. Celicas didn't come with 4 speed autos in that generation, and none came carbbed. So the vacuum kick-down had to be taken from the Supra's carb (Jetted down to the decreased displacement). So it's rare.
The wheels were premium wheels offered by the Cressida. Those have been ditched (5 inches? ) for the new Supra rims (7.5 inches, better)
The interior isn't from the Celica. Well, ok it is - But it's from the Celica Supra. The center console, seats and steering column were taken from a parts shelf not seen until later year 1983 Supras. The seats are prototypical, and not seen again until the 1984 Supra.
The dash board is leather. Not plastic. This is a one-off thing that I have never seen again. The steering wheel is leather wrapped, and the armrest is leather (Although a bit sueded now)
Tilt steering, power windows, Cruise control, 3-piece stereo, 4 spd auto, LSD rear and color-coordinated body panels are something NEVER seen in a second gen Celica. Ever. No, it's never happened outside of the GTA. You may think the power windows were taken from a Supra, but that's not true either. Supra doors are different.
The grille is JDM. The foglights are JDM (Courtesy Airjockie). It's an LSD rear, which was only seen in the Supra Sports in 1982+
Now, what I have done:
The exhaust was replaced with an ANSA 2.5" to the tip. It's nice, and it actually kinda produces a smooth tone.
Tires are pretty damned new Cooper Cobras, raised white lettering.
The transmission has been rebuilt, and all numbers match. It has a shift kit, and the planetaries were balanced at UCONN Storrs. The housing was resurfaced and the bands are poly. It shifts like a lexus.
The problems:
The speedo stopped working this summer. The choke doesn't work (Which is the last straw) and you can't fix the choke either (Remember that rare, one-off carb?) so winter driving is right out. It's a japanese car, and while I've done a very good job of fighting off the rust - I can't keep up with it all owning 6 cars. I have the mudflaps (Color coordinated, very rare) and the trim (Yeah, it all fell off). The rear bumper was redone in 1996 - Which is about 10,000 miles ago. There is a hole in the rear inner fender well, which isn't structural. The springs are getting soft, and the brakes need to be bled... monthly, even though the master cylinder is pretty damned new (Remember, 3 years ago means about 3000 miles). The driver's seat is ripped, but the rest of the interior is perfect. The rear sides are peeled from their glue - Which is the case with all of these Celicas.
The body is a faded dark red, with a gold layer underneath. Gold was a symbol of wealth in 1981 - Just watch James Bond. There are 3 dents on the car, all of them were put there by flesh (A head slammed here, a hand while pushing it out of a snow drift there, and a hand from falling into the opposite fender)
Why I am selling it: I have owned this car for 6 years. I know 2nd gen Celicas in my sleep. I want this to be a mint condition daily driver - But I've wanted that for at least 3 years now. I simply have too many cars. I have to pay for storage, pay for insurance, and it robs my life. I should own a house by now, but instead I do nothing but ... Hold onto... Cars. So it's time this car goes on. My plans were to swap a 5 speed into it (very easy) and and use the Holley 390 4Barrel carb (Remember, I have to swap transmissions to fix the carb problem). The carb and intake manifold (Holley + Offenhauser.. yummy) costs $800 new and will bring this up to 180 hp, and over 220 lbs/ft of torque. And it's got an LSD, dammit. Swap in some Supra seats and you're off and running. $1400 mechanical, and about $1000 in body and paint.
$2400 I should be investing in a house.
So here it is: A 1 of 800 made, Celica 10th Anniversary Edition GTA. Bon Appetit:
Complete Gallery can be seen here
I am asking $2000, and I'm pretty firm. It has 130,000 miles on it, and a clean title. This car, after body work, is worth $8000 according to Toyota of California and Christie's auction house, and Christies while not knowing much about Japanese cars, gave that figure on it's production figures alone.
-> Steve
I figure I'll start putting out the word. I'm selling my two prizes so I can move on to other things. Like buying a house.
First off, my baby:
It's a 1981 Celica GTA. Yeah yeah, it's old. But check it, clown - I'm an AVID old-school toyota guy, and I've owned 14 Celicas of this generation. This particular car is a GTA - That's Tenth Anniversary for you not in the know. A little history of the GTA:
The last 2000 Celicas of the second generation were rolled off the line in Japan as Rally Sports. These were DOHC, turbo cars with the W58 short ratio gearing. That's a lotta balls right there. That's the kind of tech that America wouldn't see for another 4 years. And when it got to the US shores, they found out why. The DOHC had no hopes of passing Federal emissions, much less California so the motors had to be ditched.. At the shores. The US replacement is a completely different motor and wouldn't bolt to the W58 (The trans was in too far on the trans mounts) so they had to shaft us on the trans as well, and drop in the Supra's 4AOD transmission. That's right, this Celica is an automatic.
Since they had really nice, one-off bodies with lots of JDM specialties, and instantly lost money on the shipment, they had to sell them to round-eye as quickly as possible. So instead of the sports-group market they catered to in Japan, they now catered to the Luxury group in America.
And everyone knows much Americans wanting luxury turned to Toyota in the early 80s. Hah.
So 800 of these were sold in the US. Typical to US sales numbers, only the coastlines got the cars. 400 for the Right coast, and 400 for the Wrong coast. 200 of each were equipped with power sunroofs. This is not one of those cars.
Features:
It's an auto, but it's a 4 speed auto. Celicas didn't come with 4 speed autos in that generation, and none came carbbed. So the vacuum kick-down had to be taken from the Supra's carb (Jetted down to the decreased displacement). So it's rare.
The wheels were premium wheels offered by the Cressida. Those have been ditched (5 inches? ) for the new Supra rims (7.5 inches, better)
The interior isn't from the Celica. Well, ok it is - But it's from the Celica Supra. The center console, seats and steering column were taken from a parts shelf not seen until later year 1983 Supras. The seats are prototypical, and not seen again until the 1984 Supra.
The dash board is leather. Not plastic. This is a one-off thing that I have never seen again. The steering wheel is leather wrapped, and the armrest is leather (Although a bit sueded now)
Tilt steering, power windows, Cruise control, 3-piece stereo, 4 spd auto, LSD rear and color-coordinated body panels are something NEVER seen in a second gen Celica. Ever. No, it's never happened outside of the GTA. You may think the power windows were taken from a Supra, but that's not true either. Supra doors are different.
The grille is JDM. The foglights are JDM (Courtesy Airjockie). It's an LSD rear, which was only seen in the Supra Sports in 1982+
Now, what I have done:
The exhaust was replaced with an ANSA 2.5" to the tip. It's nice, and it actually kinda produces a smooth tone.
Tires are pretty damned new Cooper Cobras, raised white lettering.
The transmission has been rebuilt, and all numbers match. It has a shift kit, and the planetaries were balanced at UCONN Storrs. The housing was resurfaced and the bands are poly. It shifts like a lexus.
The problems:
The speedo stopped working this summer. The choke doesn't work (Which is the last straw) and you can't fix the choke either (Remember that rare, one-off carb?) so winter driving is right out. It's a japanese car, and while I've done a very good job of fighting off the rust - I can't keep up with it all owning 6 cars. I have the mudflaps (Color coordinated, very rare) and the trim (Yeah, it all fell off). The rear bumper was redone in 1996 - Which is about 10,000 miles ago. There is a hole in the rear inner fender well, which isn't structural. The springs are getting soft, and the brakes need to be bled... monthly, even though the master cylinder is pretty damned new (Remember, 3 years ago means about 3000 miles). The driver's seat is ripped, but the rest of the interior is perfect. The rear sides are peeled from their glue - Which is the case with all of these Celicas.
The body is a faded dark red, with a gold layer underneath. Gold was a symbol of wealth in 1981 - Just watch James Bond. There are 3 dents on the car, all of them were put there by flesh (A head slammed here, a hand while pushing it out of a snow drift there, and a hand from falling into the opposite fender)
Why I am selling it: I have owned this car for 6 years. I know 2nd gen Celicas in my sleep. I want this to be a mint condition daily driver - But I've wanted that for at least 3 years now. I simply have too many cars. I have to pay for storage, pay for insurance, and it robs my life. I should own a house by now, but instead I do nothing but ... Hold onto... Cars. So it's time this car goes on. My plans were to swap a 5 speed into it (very easy) and and use the Holley 390 4Barrel carb (Remember, I have to swap transmissions to fix the carb problem). The carb and intake manifold (Holley + Offenhauser.. yummy) costs $800 new and will bring this up to 180 hp, and over 220 lbs/ft of torque. And it's got an LSD, dammit. Swap in some Supra seats and you're off and running. $1400 mechanical, and about $1000 in body and paint.
$2400 I should be investing in a house.
So here it is: A 1 of 800 made, Celica 10th Anniversary Edition GTA. Bon Appetit:
Complete Gallery can be seen here
I am asking $2000, and I'm pretty firm. It has 130,000 miles on it, and a clean title. This car, after body work, is worth $8000 according to Toyota of California and Christie's auction house, and Christies while not knowing much about Japanese cars, gave that figure on it's production figures alone.
-> Steve
