It’s nearly impossible to look at the first-generation Toyota Celica and find it anything other than lovely. If you’re a skeptic of this lovely little Japanese sports car, this immaculate 1977 Celica GT Liftback that is here on eBay should quickly make you a believer.
Located in Roseland, Virginia, this example appears to be in fantastic shape. The seller of the vehicle claims his father was the original owner, noting that the car was garage kept “90% of the time” and that regular maintenance has always been performed. Additionally, the exterior of the vehicle received a paint respray to the original silver color at one point during its life.
Under the hood, you’ll find Toyota’s 20R 4-cylinder engine. This engine has covered 125,716 miles during its lifetime, which is barely breaking it in. The seller notes that they drive it weekly and that it does not burn or leak any oil.
Inside, all of the seats appear to be free of tears or damage of any kind. Much like the rest of the car, everything seems to be quite tidy – even the dashboard appears to be crack-free.
At the time of writing this article, bidding is at $8,600, though it could easily climb due to the increasing demand for these models, which are hard to find in this kind of shape. Would this survivor Celica be worth it for you, or is it too costly to justify?
Favorite Toyota ever,,, TEN GRAND??? ( sound of tires screeching) This site has truly become the , “you’ve got to be kidding on the price” site. Practically every submission, it seems, is off the charts, price wise. What the heck gives? You people make $50 bucks an hour today? These were nice cars, but $10g’s for an outdated, obsolete Asian car, you may or may not be able to get parts for, is a bit of a stretch. Since the hobby has passed me by, and I’ll never be able to afford these things, I guess it’s kind of fun watching how far off the deep end this hobby will go.
True that Howard, I’ve been looking at pricing on other venues and see greater value. I know a lot of BFers poo-poo auctions, but some of the smaller auctions (less cars and not B.J. famous) around the country offer all types of cars at seemingly reasonable prices. And the cars are clean and presentable not laying in grasslands and barnyards. They’re out there. Check auction lists on Hemmings and local car shows anywhere. I go to the Jefferson, Wisconsin show every year and see lots of neat stuff. And of course the whole hobby is Caviat Emptor as is the whole world, whether you buy cars, food or socks…………….
Hey On and On, you’re right, little auctions can be a goldmine. I have a buddy that attended a nearby farm auction, and to his surprise, was a really clean ’67 GTO that wasn’t on the listing, so naturally, these were all farmers, and nobody was bidding on it. He never told me what he paid, but it wasn’t 5 figures. I can’t really blame someone for asking $10g’s for this car, I have lost all sense of value today. These were terrible rusters, even in dryer climates and yards were full of them and pretty hard to find. It’s amazing to see one at all. I guess it’s my fault I didn’t buy one of these when they were $1500 dollar beaters.
I lived near Jefferson for 15 years and attended the show, even sold a car there. It’s a fun show, and haven’t been in Colorado long, but I see nothing like that here yet.
Most of these that have survived are unfortunately slushboxes so this one is going to be fiercely fought over. It’s one of those cars that really HAS to have the manual to truly enjoy it. I’d love to have it, but not at close to what it’s going to go for.
“All original”,& “repainted” – isn’t that a contradition?
Cool car, and NONE of the cars featured are worth the asking price regardless of what they sold for.
Unfortunately they’re worth whatever the highest bidder is willing to shell out. Between Barrett Jackson and other TV programs,cash for clunkers, and the growing wealth disparity in the world most of us hobbyists are being priced out of the hobby. Old cars have moved from being “toys” in a “collection” to “assets” in a “portfolio”……Cornholio!
Looks like Toyota copied the ’69 Mustang.
At one time a neighbor of mine would buy, repair and sell cars. One day he had a bright yellow ’75 Celica Liftback, air, 5 speed, 60K, are you ready? $300.00. I drove as fast as I could back home, returning with the cash, and the car was gone.
Someone please buy it and install the JDM bumpers.
I have seen this one in person. It is a very nice ride. However, only half the cylinders under the hood that I would require.
over 12 grand now
Ah – the high school memories of cruising around in the back of one of these with Van Halen blaring out the Alpine.
Hard to believe that this is the same company that came up with the grotesque new Supra…
Fun fact about these. When the bolt that holds the distributor tight strips out and the timing is walking all over the place and you’re 80 miles from home; you can take a screw out of a piece of trim on the sill of the driver side and screw it down between the engine block and a boss on the distributor. It will work so well that you can forget about it for a year-and-a-half ’til somebody else points it out.
Up to over 12 GEES! wow!
I’ve been reading Howard’s remarks about this Celica and the beautiful 4 Runner and while I am in the habit of generally observing and not commenting, his remarks have bothered me sufficiently to comment back. Perhaps, Howard is an older gentleman who believes that only American metal is eligible for classic status and appreciation. Why is it that nobody criticizes a 65 Mustang that cost a few thousand dollars new but today commands more than $20k? Howard, the Japanese collector market has taken off in the past 10 years like never before, in case you’ve missed that. I own a collection of Japanese cars from the 1980’s and 90’s and not that long ago, I sold my 77 Celica and 86 Cressida for some very good money. While America was producing junk during the 70’s, the Japanese began producing some outstanding vehicles, especially in the 80’s and 90’s (not so much today). Many of my generation grew up admiring them and today, we enjoy collecting, showing and driving these gems. They too merit and deserve respect!
I love Barn Finds for the great variety of cars featured and let’s not forget that most cars featured were common place on our roads at some time in the past and only a few special ones deserve any attention today. Howard, feel free to cancel your subscription as you’ve made me a new subscriber!
I always thought Ford did the worst job of integrating the 5 MPH bumpers.
I was wrong.
It’s just another sign of the car bubble we’re in right now. Whenever the stock market gets over-valued and is due for a “correction”, investors both 1) feel ‘rich’ when they look at the paper value of their stocks, and 2) get nervous about the stock market dropping, so they look to put some of their money into ‘tangible assets’, like cars.
So, cars that are interesting but not really ‘collector’ cars see their prices start shooting up. Like this car. It’s happened before, and will happen again. Just look at what’s happened with the prices of any air-cooled Porsche over the past couple of years – even 914’s are now selling for the price of a late-model Boxster. I’ve seen several cycles of this in my >50 years of being a gearhead.
The stock market *will* “correct”, and the prices of some cars will come back down. That’ll be the time to buy.