One of the big shortcomings of the classic car market is that very few people are collecting Japanese metal from the 1960s and 1970s. Toyota, Datsuns, and Hondas from the first wave of Japanese imports have quietly rusted to pieces in fields and barns across the country. That’s what makes this 1974 Toyota Celica coupe - opens in new window or tab. for sale on eBay both a rare time capsule and an intriguing opportunity.
After the 1968 Corolla, the original generation Celica is one of the first truly modern Toyotas to be offered to American audiences. Initially offered as a coupe (with a hatchback to follow), the original 1971 Celica combined Pony Car styling with four-cylinder frugality—and in many ways prefigured econo-cars like the Ford Maverick and the Dodge Aspen that would soon appear from Detroit.
Finished in a clean white, this 1974 Celica's Pony Car credentials are on full display.
It was a winning design formula. The sleek lines of the Celica coupe have held up well in the ensuing years. Available in several different trim levels, the GT and the ST have proven to be the most enduring in terms of appeal. They offered goodies such as power windows, 2+2 center console, and extra gauges. Initially, the Toyota coupe features a 1.9-liter, four-cylinder motor, but this was quickly superseded in 1972 by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder mill. Both were good for roughly 100 horsepower and just a few more pound-feet of torque.
In 1975, a larger 2.2-liter unit was installed in the Celica where it held the line on horsepower but boosted torque to 120 pound feet. The transmission of choice with the car was either a four or five-speed manual (with the latter being offered by the GT), although a four-speed autobox was also on the options sheet.
The GT trim was first offered in the United States in 1974, which makes the car in this auction that much more interesting. It also has the virtue of pre-dating the five-mph chrome bumpers that would appear the following year. The retro-Japanese fun continues with the high performance touches tucked under the coupe’s largely stock-appearing sheet metal (which includes a few retrofitted bits from 1971 and 1972 models). The seller advertises a mildly hot-rodded 2.0-liter engine under the hood, fed by twin side draft Mikuni 44 carburetors breathing out through a TRD header. The interior is almost entirely unmolested, and the entire setup rides on a coilover suspension system and Watanabe wheels. This latter point is an important one, for the Celica's sport styling wasn't backed up its fairly milquetoast handling characteristics—something the coilovers will certainly have improved.
A clean interior shows almost completely stock.
Alongside the Datsun Z and Datsun 510, it’s hard to think of an early Japanese car that caught American’s interest more than the Celica. It’s equally difficult to imagine a future when prices for these vehicles don’t take off, as more would-be collectors are frozen out of the muscle car and European sports car markets. Pick this one up - opens in new window or tab., start hoarding NOS parts, and drive it every day.
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