Yahoo Autos Junkyard Gem: 1983 Toyota Celica GT Coupe
Once Toyota began selling enlarged Celicas with six-cylinder engines and Supra badges here in 1979, the Supra kept getting more powerful and more expensive and the regular four-banger Celica seemed less exciting with each passing year. For the 1986 model year, the Celica went to a brand-new front-wheel-drive platform and became a true slick-looking commuter machine, while the Supra became a genuine Camaro rival. Today's Junkyard Gem is an example of the Celica generation just before that split happened, found in a self-service yard near Reno, Nevada, last fall.
The Celica's dragon boat emblem design goes back to the early Carina-based cars.
The U.S.-market 1982-85 Celicas could be had as notchback coupes or two-door liftbacks, with convertible versions sold here for 1984 and 1985. These notchbacks are generally harder to find than the liftbacks.
The retractable headlights are exquisitely 1980s.
This one came from the factory with a fuel-injected 2.4-liter 22R-EC engine, a low-revving SOHC motor that was extremely sturdy but better-suited for truck use than it was for an allegedly sporty car. Horsepower was 107 and torque was 137 pound-feet in this application. 22Rs tend to get pulled quickly by Toyota truck owners when they show up in the boneyards, so this engine compartment is empty.
The base transmission was a five-speed manual, but this car has the extra-cost four-speed automatic.
