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Clean California Coupe: 1984 Toyota Celica GT

This 1984 Toyota Celica GT coupe is rare survivor of the notchback body style and one of the last years of the rear wheel drive Celica. This example is a California car that shows none of the usual cancer that plagues these Japanese classics with their brittle sheetmetal. While not particularly sporting, they are near impossible to find today in condition like this. This Celica GT has an automatic transmission and features a minty interior and the high-end factory audio system with equalizer. Find the Celica here on eBay with bids to just over $5,000 and no reserve, and located in Sacramento, California.

The GT didn’t buy you any performance, and even the top-shelf GT-S featured mostly cosmetic tweaks. The gold paint on this example doesn’t scream “racy”, but it’s still a period correct color and appears to be in excellent shape. The coupes were noted for their sharp edges around the roof line, where the rear window drops down abruptly and there’s seemingly acres of space on the trunk lid. I’ve always been partial to the rear lenses, as they appear to be glaring at you from back of the car. The U.S. models were unfortunately saddled with the huge safety bumpers, but at least it made the car virtually indestructible when parking in the city.

I came very close to making a horrible decision and attempt to restore a very rusty example of a GT -S coupe, almost convincing myself that they’re extinct and I’ll never find another one. A few things happened: one, common sense kicked in, as the rear of the car was almost completely rotted out and the trunk floor was close to it; and two, even though the GT-S had those sexy fender flares, fat alloys lifted from the Supra, and awesome sport seats with orthopedic support, it’s not known for being a particularly engaging car to drive. Fun to look at, sure; rare to find in any condition, absolutely; but to the point where you’d restore one from the ground up? No way. Better to buy a car like this that has survived incredibly well.

Of course, my favorite feature is this absolutely ridiculous equalizer. I’d love to go back in time and see if any one listening to the stereo noticed a modicum of adjustment in the sound quality as the driver fiddled with it. And while we lambaste drivers today for being distracted by cell phones, can you imagine a 16-year-old trying to impress his friends with the range of audio adjustments he can make from the front seat? The seller notes this Celica is a two-owner example with 129,500 miles, and unfortunately, the killer radio does not work. The Celica has received new struts and shocks in the short time the sellers have owned it, and the car otherwise is a turnkey driver with just an inop passenger side mirror and non-functioning cruise control. Going cheaply at the moment!

Comments

  1. Avatar nlpnt

    Fun fact; this color is the one the GT Sport Coupe was pictured in in the brochure http://importarchive.com/brochure/toyotacelica1984_01

    Too bad about the automatic, but I guess a manual shifter would take away your equalizer-adjusting hand.

    Like 8
    • Avatar Superdessucke

      Good catch. If this was a 1969 Mustang, you could interject some unsubstantiated speculation about that and it would add 5k to the final price!

      Like 0
  2. Avatar Poppapork

    Honestly i dont like it all that much,body style it looks more like a two-door sedan and reminds me of a Toyota version of a G-Body.

    If i wanted a Japanese couple from the early 80ties thats different i woulda look for a mazda 929 coupe (not necessarily with a 3 rotor engine, some stout 4 cylinders were mostly used in them)

    Like 3
  3. Avatar JoeNYWF64

    I would have thought that ’70s GM cars would be a lot worse & rust lot sooner than 80’s imports. Yet there are plenty of ’70s american cars left & few 80’s imports. Go figure.
    Trying to read the radio station display that low on the dash while driving might not be very safe.
    Full gages & an affordable 2 door with a [decent size] trunk – good luck finding 1 of those today.
    Hard to believe the bumpers dont match.
    I bet the next owner, if young enough, will stop at a custom wheel & tire shop for some 18’s, or bigger, even before taking it home for the 1st time.

    Like 0
    • Avatar AMCFAN

      Vintage Asian cars are a very hot market for the 20-up year old crowd. They have a mutual respect for their elders it seems. The auto trans kills it though and may be a factor in its current survival status.

      If mine I would have to turn it up a notch and slam it and add some crazy tuner wheels. If not my son would be doing it for me anyway. It’s all be about rolling clean and having the right offset wheels with tire stretch.

      Like 1
  4. Avatar Maestro1

    It’s interesting that the car is an 84 but has very late (this year) California plates. I’d like to know where it came from.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Steve R

      If a car is parked long enough, 7 years, without a non-op being filed with the state of California it gets dropped from the system. It then gets issued new plates from the state if itnever gets re-registered. That’s happened with a 1970 Nova I have. The old plates were even in the trunk, but I couldn’t get the DMV to reissue them to the car.

      Steve R

      Like 0
  5. Avatar jerry z

    Unfortunately these car rusted badly in the northeast. I had a few 70’s Celicas and they all had rust issues back in the early 80’s! This car needs two changes, manual trans and GTS wheels then all is good.

    Like 1
  6. Avatar PRA4SNW

    SOLD for $5,010.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar BONE

    The GT-S had independent rear suspension , the GT did not .Thats a little more than cosmetic tweaks …..

    Like 3
  8. Avatar Aussie Dave Member

    I bought an 1985 RA65 coupe for my son as a project car from a wrecker for $100.
    I chased it’s provenance, turns out it was displayed at the 1985 Tokyo motor show, and then sold to a Toyota Australia employee. Then sold to a wrecker because of bad engine corrosion

    Like 0

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