1stGenCelica.com

Im Jason, Im from Kentucky. Just recently I stumbled upon a picture of a early 70's celica, it was love at first sight. I have never been a fan of ANY older cars, but something really called out to me when I saw this car. It has consumed my thoughts daily. Hopefully I will find one soon. I have expressed interest in several on craigslist.

white93mr2 wrote:Im Jason, Im from Kentucky. Just recently I stumbled upon a9picture of a early 70's celica, it was love at first sight. I have never been a fan of ANY older cars, but something really called out to me when I saw this car. It has consumed my thoughts daily. Hopefully I will find one soon. I have expressed interest in several on craigslist.

I'm a noob like you. Fell in love with older cars because I'm old. My uncle had a 1970 Road Runner, blue like the 73 Celica I bought. Since I'm a newbie, you can take my advice with a grain of salt. If I were you I would take a look around the forums and see the pros and cons of each year. Modifications and parts etc. Like I have an 18RC motor. Not much I can do with it. Later Celicas have 20R/22R's and are easier to upgrade. Look at the interior of cars as well. As you might have a preference. I would set your budget up first for what you intend to buy, and then setup a budget for what modifications you would like to do to the car, and then find a body you like. I wish I didn't have to fix my interior, and could put the money towards the engine and tranny. Also I have a bit of a rust issue, so check the cars out real good, and take a nice long drive and check out all the small stuff like door locks, window operation, interior condition, A/C (do you need it?) engine performance and transmission shifts. Also 1stGen Celicas, like any older car, are prone to rusting in the spare tire area in trunk, floor pans and wheel wells. Check the bottom of the car too. Whatever Celica you choose, I'm sure you'll be happy and have more modifications than you have a budget for. But the forums are great and I don't think you could find more knowledgeable guys. And like it is said, the only dumb question, is the one not asked. Peace and good luck! See you around the forums.

p.s. Also you can click on "User Control Panel" at the top, just to the right of your username, then click "Profile" and put in your city and state in "Location". So people know where you are from. I'm in NC, but a noob.

If I end up going to tennessee later this year to visit my uncle, I might be able to stop by in my Supra powered celica and take you for a ride is you would like
Good luck with the search, and Welcome!

G'day and hello

Best advice is to buy 2 and one for parts !

Parts cars are the cheapest way of gettig parts...

Thanks for the advice guys. Im learning, but painfully slow. What troubles me is how far I am apparently going to have to drive to get one. Is anyone here from the Orange County area of California? If so do you know anything about the Blue 71 model on Orange County Craigslist? Any info will be sincerely appreciated! Thanks

I'm not certain cuz the pics are small but I think that was Art's Celica. His screen name is 74-ra21. The low mileage and being the third owner kinda makes me believe it is. Art is the second owner and picked the '71 car up in Reno, NV. Art also had a '74 at the time, hence his screen name. The '71 is a clean and complete car. The paint is not bad considering it was done by the first owner in a garage or barn. The car is also running really well (at least when Art owned it). He drove it home from Reno, 500+ miles. I think that is the same price he sold it for.

This is what it looked like when he owned it.


BTW - Welcome!

Yes the car on craigslist is Arts old car. It's a pretty solid car.

I really appreciate you guys responding to this thread! I'm not familiar with Art, is he a member here? What about the current owner is he? I've waited a week to talk to this guy. He e-mailed me a couple days ago, I asked him to call me, but so far no luck. I'm starting to worry maybe he isnt serious about selling the car, or its a scam, I just cant figure out why he's not yet called. I worry about going all that way to get bad news. It would be a expensive two day drive, an expesive flight or some other expensive option wasted.

Sorry I hove no clue who the new owner is. Maybe he was just gauging interest and value for his car, I dunno.

vdo_game_junkie wrote:Sorry I hove no clue who the new owner is. Maybe he was just gauging interest and value for his car, I dunno.

I think you are probably right. Is there anywhere else that I can look? Currently I check all 300+ cities on craigslist daily, here multiple times daily, classic-celica daily, ebay daily, and occasionaly a straight google search. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

What year are you looking for? There are slight changes between71/72 and the 73/74, the 75, and the 76/77. Generally the 71/72 will cost more. What condition are you looking for?

From what ive seen the 71-72 jumps out the most. 73-74 would be fine. Condition, I need a reliable car, im am not mechanically inclined, but I know that there would be no guaruntees on a car this age. Biggest problem where I live would be no parts locally, no mechanics familiar with older Toyotas, very little support. That is why I would need one in good mechanical shape already. Rust free ideally, but rust repaired if it was done correctly. BTW Lookin at your avatar You may possibly have my ideal car, You interested in dealing??

You mean this..


Sorry, it's not for sale. I've had this thing for 17-18 years.

Mine could be yours for the right price.

welcome.. there are some for sale.
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/cto/1254519629.html