Restoring 2 first-generation Celicas

Atty. Jerome G. Neri
The Scrutineer

IN 1970, Toyota gave us the Celica. The first generation Celica car came with many different specs. From a 1600 single carburetor to a two-liter twin cam, twin side-draft carburated version. On the body style, there was the two-door coupe and the two-door fastback. The Celica was said to be a “cut down” version of Toyota’s supercar then, the 2000GT, making it Toyota’s affordable sports coupe. The car looked good and it sold well. It was Toyota’s version of the Mustang.

Today, the first generation Celica is a very sought after car whether it be a coupe or a fastback by every car collector who is into Japanese cars. The car was even featured on the show Wheeler Dealers on Discovery Channel where one sold in Japan for 3 million yen or about P1.5 million.

As a car lover, I am very pleased to be involved in the restoration of two first-generation Toyota Celica cars, one coupe and one fastback. We hope to finish these projects by the end of the year. Plans have been laid out for the restorations of both of these cars, which will take different directions. The coupe will more or less be a completely era correct restoration, while the fastback will be modernized.

Let me talk about the fastback first. The Celica fastback was purchased with a 1600cc single cam engine mated to an automatic transmission. After some discussions with the owner, restoring this car back to original would result in a 75 horsepower automatic transmission car that will look good but completely boring to drive, so modernizing was the way to go. The goal is to have a car that looks original on the outside and in the cabin but with modern DNA.

After some research, the best engine that would be good for this project would be Toyota’s 200hp inline four dual overhead cam and dual VVTi 3SGE Beams motor. This is the engine found on the early 2000s Toyota Celica, Toyota Altezza and on some versions of the the Lexus IS 200. The automatic transmission will also be ditched and changed to a five-speed manual. The engine will be modified with individual throttle bodies. This mod will have two purposes: first, horsepower and engine response will be improved, and second, the engine will sound like it is on twin side-draft carburetors and thereby retaining the old school engine note.

Because the car will be having more than double its power, the braking and the handling will have to be significantly improved. The rear differential and the front struts and brakes will also be replaced with that of an AE86 and will be further upgraded with better springs, dampers, polyurethane bushings and brake pads and rotors. The steering system will be converted to rack-and-pinion from its original steering box configuration. The wheel size will be increased to 15 inches in diameter with an eight-inch-wide front rim and a nine-inch-wide rear rim. To keep the wide rims tucked neat, a set of Toyota Racing Development (TRD) fender flares will be fitted.

I am optimistic that we will come up with a modernized classic coupe that will look, feel and perform well.

Apart from the two Celicas mentioned here, there are other project cars that are in the planning stage and when finalized will also be shared here. We have a 1977 S30 Datsun 280z, a 1966 Ford Mustang fastback and a 1976 Mitsubishi Colt Lancer.