V.I.S.I.T. – 1976 Toyota Celica

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What have we here?

On my daily commute to the office, I sometimes take a bus route that has me walking the last half mile to my office from the bus stop. Last week, while cutting through the parking lot of an office park, I spied this little number sitting by its lonesome near the street.

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Thanks to safety regulations, the back end looks like a bumper car.

 

This appears to be a 1976 Celica. I’ll be the first to tell you I don’t know much about these cars, but this is clearly a good example of a first generation Celica. I can also tell you it has an automatic transmission, and the interior is all original.

 

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This is clearly a survivor, and needs a little body work. The quarter window on the driver’s side has gone missing, replaced by cardboard and the handyman’s secret weapon, duct tape.

 

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Love the Holley sticker on the bumper.

 

Again, the back end looks a little awkward with the huge bumper (so does the front end, really), but overall I really like the look of this car. It’s small without looking like a compact, but not so small that it can’t wear the long hood/short trunk proportions well. What do you think of this little car?

(Oh, and the ducks? They live here. Behind them in the first image is a building, which actually sits over a small lake, as does the adjacent seafood restaurant. Yes, these birds are fat and happy.)

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13 responses to “V.I.S.I.T. – 1976 Toyota Celica”

  1. Alff Avatar

    The northwest is so kind to older imports. The few of those that were sold in the heartland turned to a pile of orange years ago.

  2. needamog Avatar
    needamog

    I had a 1977 fastback. I wish I still had that car. It would get a fresh 3.4 V6 with TRD supercharger.

    1. dukeisduke Avatar
      dukeisduke

      Why stop there? A Tacoma 4.0 V6 with TRD supercharger, mated to the Tacoma's six-speed manual.

      1. Kogashiwa Avatar
        Kogashiwa

        3S-GTE.

  3. Irishzombieman Avatar
    Irishzombieman

    On my list of stuff to do before I die:
    Find one of these, either notch- or hatchback, that's got just enough body damage that I don't feel bad about turning it into a rally car. If a hatchback, hopefully it's got louvers.

  4. TrueBlue315 Avatar
    TrueBlue315

    At this age, would anyone in the federal widget factory care if you swapped in the Japanese-spec blade bumpers? It's the equivalent of an automotive butt-lift.

    1. danleym Avatar
      danleym

      Depends where you live and what inspections you have to get, I guess. I'd think most places would be just fine, California may or may not be an issue. I know they do emissions back to 74 or 75, but I don't know if they would care about a bumper.

      1. Irishzombieman Avatar
        Irishzombieman

        California wouldn't even notice, as long as it met smog requirements. Because, you know. . . more important to protect the earth than people or their cars , and the sooner this old car gets totaled, the sooner it's off the road.

  5. Bret Dodson Avatar

    I had a '75 as my first car. It was strangled by California emissions, but I love it all the same.
    I always thought these Celicas looked like little first gen Camaros.

    1. MVEilenstein Avatar
      MVEilenstein

      That's exactly what I was thinking. Almost like a compact pony car.

  6. Stredda Avatar
    Stredda

    Those US spec bumpers ruin all the nice 70' Japanese cars. I makes them look like dogem cars!

  7. John-o Avatar
    John-o

    1977 Fastback was the first car I learned to drive. Being 15 years old in that thing, there were so many antics I should have been dead.

  8. jjd241 Avatar

    So, where do we fall on the pronunciation? Cell-a-ka, or sa-leeka?