Newish Guy in So. Utah

Please introduce yourself and Celica or ride(s).
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mrm76gt
Posts: 232
Joined: November 15th, 2009, 9:55 am
Location: St. George, UT

Newish Guy in So. Utah

Post by mrm76gt »

Well.. The Celica bug hit me again..

I've been around this forum for a while, mostly just lurking, I've interacted with a few people here. So some may remember me but most won't.

A little about me.
My love of the First Gen Celica started when I was 16. My father owned a 77 coupe when I got my drivers license. He taught me how to drive with this car. So.. That alone gives the Celica a special place in my heart.

I would have kept that car forever. But the fact that I lived in Northern Utah at that time and that the car had suffered 20+ years of road salt causing corrosion it was sold off as scrap. It sucked but there really wasn't much of a body left when the scrap man took it away.

Afterward I came to the conclusion that I would never own another 1st gen Celica. They were becoming very rare at that time. So I mostly forgot about the car...

That was until I went back to school focusing on entering the automotive industry that the fire was relit. I was looking for a project car to work on just for the experience and to mostly just mess around with when I seen a 1976 Toyota Celica on Craigslist. I knew I had to have it. After all, what better vehicle to learn about cars with than the one I first learned to drive with?

At first I was all gun-ho and wasn't going to let anything stop me from returning this car to it's former glory.... Then... Reality set in.

The car simply had way too much rust and frame damage to make a decent resto of. That same feeling of never owning another 1st gen hit again. :cry2:

Then luck would have it... I found a completely rust free shell of a 77 out of CA. :ohyeah:

The two cars.. The 1976 "parts car" and the 1977 "shell" have both been sitting in my garage collecting dust for the last 2 years. Waiting for funds to roll in ya know? But I'm sick of waiting!!

I seen a video recently of a 3S-GE BEAMS powered Celica and instantly the
fire was lit again.

So here I am about to dive headfirst into this Restoration..
My goal is to just have it back on the road within the next couple of years. (Show Car quality of course)
I would really love to drive it to my hometown and let my father take it for a spin for old times sake while he's still with us.

Wish me Luck!! :2thumbs:
'76 Celica GT
'86 K5 Blazer
'03 Harley FXDL
'00 Celica GTS
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