Junkyard Find: 1978 Toyota Celica GT Coupe
The first-generation Toyota Celica was sold in the United States from the 1971 through 1977 model years, and this Mustang-influenced coupe became a frequent sight on American roads. The second-generation Celica debuted here as a 1978 model, and I've found one of those first-year cars in an extremely hot Northern California car graveyard.
The second-generation Celica was available in notchback and liftback form, with North American sales continuing through the 1981 model year.
The 20th-century Celica always had a sedan sibling called the Carina; that car was sold in the United States for just the 1972 and 1973 model years. Just to confuse everyone, the original Camry (available only in Japan and pronounced "cah-moo-REE") was a Celica.
A stretched and widened Celica with six-cylinder power and badged as the Celica Supra first became available in the United States as a 1979 model. This car has the good old 2.2-liter 20R SOHC straight-four, rated at 95 horsepower and 122 pound-feet.
The 20R was lifted straight from the Hilux pickup, and it was a very sturdy engine designed to make good torque at low speeds. Perhaps such a truckish motor wasn't ideal for a sports car, but it got the job done.
A five-speed manual was base equipment, but the original buyer of this car saw fit to spend extra on the three-speed automatic.
The factory clock is still there, but the factory radio has been replaced by a very 1980s Pioneer cassette deck.
That 5,000 rpm redline sure looks Hiluxy. The five-digit odometer shows 9,623 miles, but we can be sure the true mileage was much higher.
It had been sitting for many years before it came here. This is the same yard at which I shot a similarly weathered 1971 Corona coupe last year, and I think both cars may have come from the same Toyota hoard in the Gold Country woods.
The interior is trashed and the body is bent… but there's no rust. That's very rare for one of these cars, even in California.
Finally, get your money's worth!
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
1978 Toyota Celica GT in California wrecking yard.
Toyota seems to have have pushed the liftback much harder than the notchback in its U.S.-market advertising.
[Images: The Author]
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Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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Memories!.
We use to Ice Racer cars at my Cabin. 4 cylinder RWD being the only rules. So Chevettes a plenty. Well, my Low KM Pontiac Chevette (Acadian) got T Boned, so I went hunting. A Corolla came to play, beating all Chevettes. The Chevette Teams, Studded Tires, and it became close once again. Then a Celica GT Notch 20R 5 speed!
That thing could Lap the Chevettes, even with Studded tires. Everyone took their Vettes Home. Well after they froze into the Slush Ice, up to the Gear Shifters. LOL
This was the first CALTY designed Toyota to reach production. It's clean styling was considered to be ahead of its competition from Europe and the US, let alone other Japanese cars like the 1st generation Datsun 200SX. It was a dramatic step forward from the mini-Mustang 1st gen Celicas, and much more subtly elegant than the Japanese-designed 3rd gen Celica that followed it. Perhaps that's why the 4th generation Celica also originated at CALTY.