This great-looking, somewhat faded 1979 Toyota Celica ST Sport Coupe is from the middle of the second-generation redesign of this iconic model. The big bumpers do it no favors in the looks department, but otherwise, it’s hard to beat the look of a notchback coupe for me, especially one in orange. The seller has this example listed here on eBay in West Des Moines, Iowa, with an unmet opening bid suggestion of $7,500.

The seller refers to this base ST Sport Coupe as being “original,” and then goes on to say it’s been repainted, the radio has been changed, and the engine has been changed. Otherwise… Maybe they mean “original spec” or “original style,” or a combination of those things. It certainly isn’t original anymore. The paint, I believe, is a dark orange color (called “Orange,” believe it or not) that was offered in 1979, not red as they say. I would want no other color on this car if it were mine; it’s perfect. I don’t even mind the fact that the paint is said to be 36 years old and is faded in spots.

The second-generation Celica was made for the 1977 model year until July of 1981, and there was a notchback coupe, as seen here, in either GT or ST trim, along with a hatchback, or what Toyota called a liftback body style. Some aftermarket companies offered convertibles, and some goofball named Scotty G made a sedan version. Make mine a notchback every time.

Toyota was the first Japanese car company to have a big presence in the U.S., as far as having a design facility here, going back to 1973 in El Segundo, California. Well, what did you expect, Omaha? That’s where this car was sold new, according to the dealer info on the back of the car, so there is some rust on the body of this one to deal with. The interior looks nice overall. The seats look like new, and with some deep cleaning of the carpet, it would look great inside.

The replacement engine is the same as what would have been there from the factory, Toyota’s 20R, a 2.2-liter SOHC inline-four with 96 horsepower and 120 lb-ft of torque. They don’t say why it was replaced, and they list the mileage as being 50,000, but the odometer appears to read 77,626. So, is that 126,626 total on the car? Nobody knows. A 5-speed manual will make this a fun-to-drive car, and there’s a new gas tank and many other new parts. Any thoughts on this Celica?