My favorite Toyota! I have owned a few Toyotas and this vintage Celica (I owned an ’83 GT for ten years) was the only one that ever excited me. Now, it’s not a powerhouse, but it will move along well, has a nice ride and capable road manners, solid reliability, and the functionality of a liftback hatch. Styling? It’s subjective but I really like it. This car, referred to as a time capsule example, is located in Old Bridge, New Jersey and is available, here on eBay for a BIN price of $17,000. There is a make an offer option too.
To be specific, this Celica is a GTS as opposed to a GT which means fender flares to cover the wider wheels/tires and, best of all, independent rear suspension as opposed to the live axle that held up the lesser GT. Considering that this car has been domiciled its entire life in New Jersey, it shows amazingly well and backs up the claim of indoor storage. This vintage Celica will rust when exposed to the proper climatic conditions like snow, sleet, and the resulting road salt. Happy to say, there’s only a small bit of rot noted at the front edge of the lower portion of the passenger side fender, beyond that, there’s no sign of that nonsense occurring elsewhere. The finish and black plastic exterior pieces have withstood the test of time and show no indication of fade or degradation. Also good to see is the condition of the alloy wheels, they appear to have escaped curb side-swipes and brake dust pitting.
Power comes from one of Toyota’s best, a 2.4 liter “22R-E” in-line, four-cylinder engine, good 113 net HP. It doesn’t sound like a lot of power, and it’s not, but it’s a torquey engine that has a nice low-end pull. The seller adds, “Runs and drives good. (I would suggest preventative maintenance be done prior to driving it long/hard)” – apparently, this Celica has been sitting for a spell. A five-speed manual transmission drives the rear wheels – the last year for RWD as the all-new ’86 Celica went to a FWD architecture. And speaking of that fourth-generation (’86-’89) Celica, fuggedaboutit. I owned an ’87 and it was a huge disappointment, made that much more so evident by the ongoing comparison to my ’83 which I owned concurrently with the ’87.
Other than a worn-out driver’s side floor mat, and maybe just a wee bit of driver’s seat discoloration, the interior still possesses a clean and crisp appearance. And considering that the upholstery is light gray, that’s a pretty remarkable achievement. The cassette player with an equalizer (remember those?) creates the perfect ’80s setting. This example does have power windows but only the door glass is operable, the rear quarter windows are fixed in place.
There are certain Japanese models that have deservedly reached collectible status though I’m not certain if this generation Celica has. If it hasn’t yet, it certainly has my vote! It would be good to hear from any current or previous owners of ’82-’85 Celicas – anyone have a story to share?
Great looking and reliable car but unfortunately didn’t have the power to back up the looks. For $14k, you were close to the cost of a Supra which had a lot more HP and a better car. Might have been ok for ’83, but by ’85 and ’86, performance was rising fast. Mustang GT, Trans Am were more around $11k new and double the HP than this. For $14k you could get a GN in ’85.
$14K in ’85? I only paid $9,450 for my ’83 and that’s out the door, tax, tags & title (I still have the receipt).
JO
$13,954 according to a pic of the window sticker in the Ebay ad…
Right you are! Actually, my comparison is weak as I didn’t have a sun roof, A/C, or a tape deck. I didn’t even have power steering.
JO
$9,450 OTD was a damn good price with a base price with shipping of $11,744.
These were really balanced to drive, and bulletproof reliability. Most were used up and disposed, so it’s rare to see a nice, 5-speed GTS.
My experience was with Toyota Supras of this vintage. At that time Celicas were like 7/8 scale Supras. My first Supra (of 3) was an 82 which was COTY. Traded an 80 Buick Riviera Turbo on it. The Toyota felt and drove like it was crisp, tight, light and responsive with it’s dohc inline 6. In comparison the Riviera was like driving a Sherman tank.
I bought a used Celica Supra,it had everything , including rear window slats. I loved that car,but since it has high mileage,bought a new Corolla after a couple of years. I wish I still had it. Silver with black accents.
I currently have an 85 GT liftback I bought last fall, and I love it. Mine is a west coast car so no rust issues. It may not have a lot of HP, but it is a blast on the back roads. The handling is amazing.
Mechanically it’s bomb proof. Engine starts and runs like it’s brand new. It’s also a car that loves to be driven. I swear the more I drive it, the better it runs. Whoever gets this Celica will have a great time driving it.
I’d highly doubt the 60k mile claim on this one. It’s so easy on these cars to just unhook the cable. Those floor mats have tons of wear on them. The 90k mile ones I have look about 10x better. That fender rust is unusual. I’d love to see photos of the underside of the hatch, the controls arm, up around the rear fender flares that rust so easily on these cars in comparison. At least it has a nice dash. The Celica ones tend to bubble up around the sides.
When i was scrapping cars i bought a Supra with a 5 speed For 50$ ,no turbo and these were great cars, good mileage, comfortable, not a slug. I drove it for a year and sold it for 699. Toyotas like this are special, of course now im blown away with Prices regularly, and Now i also take part in the insanity when i sell
America greed and lousy build quality is why Toyota rules the automotive world the last 30 years and will continue. Their cars don’t break down and run forever. My wife’s 2003 Matrix has 155,000 miles with original clutch, starter and water pump. Zero rust as I rustproofed the car myself. When she takes it in for inspection at the local garage, everybody wants to buy it. Not for sale. Beautiful Celica here.
It’s a relist, previously “sold” for $18,500?
https://www.ebay.com/itm/265472734385?hash=item3dcf6874b1%3Ag%3Aa3gAAOSwGulhylod&nma=true&si=dMgl97B7WSi7CP671mYmuFUlje8%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
I bought a used Celica Supra,it had everything , including rear window slats. I loved that car,but since it has high mileage,bought a new Corolla after a couple of years. I wish I still had it. Silver with black accents.
A friend of mine bought a new GTS in white. It drove and handled quite nicely. Four of us decided to catch a ball game one Sunday at Candlestick park. (I know, they don’t play baseball there anymore in San Francisco) We lived in the Reno Nevada area. We all of a sudden realized that we got our times mixed up and the game was going to start in 3 hours. We missed the first pitch. Yep, 225 miles in 3 hours flat though Sacramento, Fairfield, etc. And out the other side of SF. That also included 20 some miles with the CHP glued to the back bumper. Then, once the CHP pulled of at an off ramp, I hit the gas again, Watching to see if the Chippie would come back at me. He did, and was there for another 5 miles or so. But I never got pulled over. (that would have made us really late for the game) Yes, not long on horse power but a very nice driving car.