Welcome to The Team Buzzard Celica Page

Then & Now

This page is dedicated to the greatest little sports coupe to come out of Japan...The Toyota Celica. This quirky little car has become one of the most recognized vehicles on the road today. This was Toyota's first real attempt at an affordable sports car. The Celica was designed to follow its bigger predecessor, the 2000GT, but be much more affordable.

The Toyota 2000GT of the late 60's

The 2000Gt had a Yamaha built DOHC 2 Litre straight six. The Celica began its life with a 2 Litre SOHC 4 cylinder. Later in its life, the Celica got a DOHC six cylinder and was called the Celica Supra. The 2000GT had only 2 seats. The Celica was a 2+2. But most importantly, the 2000GT had a price tag far out of the range of the average consumer. The Celica didn't.

The sport compacts of the mid-late 60's were getting bigger engines and more horsepower. This didn't make them all too practical or economical anymore. This opened a new market niche for some forward-looking company to capitalize upon. Toyota saw this niche and went for it...

The Celica debuted in 1971. This new little car had sporty styling and adequate, yet not all that impressive, performance. With its short rear deck and long hood, the Celica was very reminiscent of the pony-cars of the mid 60's. Full instrumentation gave the Celica that sports car look from the driver's seat. The fake wood trim on the interior was a change form the plastic found in most Japanese cars of the time.

The first Celicas came with the same SOHC 4-cylinder motor found in the Toyota Corona and Mark II. It made 108hp and 117 lb-ft of torque. This engine was mated to a 4spd or 3spd manual transmission. The MacPherson strut front suspension was a new design made specifically for the Celica. The rear suspension was a live axle type with 4 trailing arms and a panhard rod.

In 1972 Toyota enlarged the engine from 1858cc to 1968cc. This was to make up for the emissions equipment required to keep up with the standards enforced by the federal government. Despite the increase in displacement, the horsepower rated dropped to the mid 90's.

In 1974 the GT model was introduce. This was to be the upper end of the line for performance. It offered a 5spd transmission instead of the 4spd, 5-inch wide wheels instead of 4½-inch wheels, a four spoke padded steering wheel, woven vinyl seat inserts, and an upgraded suspension. The revised suspension offered better balance through improved springs and shock valveing.

1975 saw the addition of the 2.2 Litre crossflow head SOHC four cylinder to the Celica line. Although this engine still had horsepower in the mid 90 region, it had increased torque for better 'round-town driving.

1976 - The Celica liftback is introduced. Along with this new liftback body the Celica's wheelbase was lengthened and the front track widened. The wheel diameter was also increased from 13 inches to 14. The GT wheels increased in width from 5 to 5½ inches. The liftback was only offered on the GT model.

1978 saw the first completed resign of the Celica's body. It got a more European look with more rounded lines that were more contemporary than the previous style.

In 1979 the Toyota announced the addition of another engine to the Celica line. A 2.6 Litre six cylinder. This engine would only be offered in a new model they called the Celica Supra. Apart from the six-cylinder engine, the longer nose (they had to add 2 inches to the front end to fit the engine) and four-wheel disc brakes, the Supra was just a Celica.

1980 saw little change for the Celica except a squarer front with rectangular headlamps.

A new power plant is offered in 1981. At 2.4 Litres this engine produced 6 more horsepower and 7 more lb-ft of torque than the 2.2 Litre. This gave the Celica 96 hp and 129 lb-ft of torque. The first automatic transmission, a four speed, is offered. The GTA trim level was offered to celebrate the Celica's 10^th anniversary. The GTA was nothing but a GT with an upgraded sound system.

In 1982 Toyota gave the Celica another facelift. In this body, the wheelbase remained the same but all other dimensions increased. This body style boasted more angular, aerodynamic features leaving the smother flowing lines of the two previous generations by the wayside. All models now had retractable headlamps. The recirculating ball type steering is replaced with a rack and pinion steering. The S package was available on the GT liftback. This package allowed 7-inch wide aluminum wheels, 8-way power seat, and a larger front stabilizer bar. You could basically have a Supra without the 6 cylinder.

1983 saw the introduction of the Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection, which upped the horsepower to 105. This was put on all models except the ST if it had a manual transmission. 1983 also saw the addition of a fully independent rear suspension to the S package. The S package was now available on the GT coupe as well as the liftback.

In 1984 the S package officially became the GT-S and offered 4 wheel disc brakes formerly only available on the Supra. A GT-S convertible was offered mid year.

1985 was the last year for the rear-wheel drive Celicas. The only major change this year was the revision of the 2.4 Litre engine. This variation got rid of the cast iron block and made the engine lighter by giving it an alloy one. This new engine produced up to 116 hp and 140 lb-ft of torque.

In 1986, Toyota introduced the fourth generation Celica. Toyota cast off the Celica's pony-car roots to add a little spice to the market. Seeing that most people were taking hold to the idea of front-wheel drive, the Celica was totally redesigned with this in mind. The new Celica sported a more eye-pleasing, rounder body. The suspension was a fully independent type with MacPherson struts and L-shaped lower arms in front and Chapman struts with double lower longitudinal links in the rear. Both front and rear had anti-roll bars and the dreaded fwd torque steer was avoided with equal length drive axles. The ST and GT still had front disc/rear drums and the GT-S offered 4 wheel disc brakes. The convertible never showed up in 1986.

Wanting to keep the Supra as a pure sports car, Toyota split the Celica Supra sports team. The Celica Supra parted ways with its little brother this year. It became just a Toyota Supra, remaining rear-wheel drive and keeping with its pure power theme.

The redesign of the Celica did not stop with the body and suspension. All previous motors were dropped from the line. Instead, two new fuel injected motors were introduced. The first was standard on the St and GT. This was a 1995cc SOHC 4 cylinder that put out 97hp and 118 lb-ft of torque. The second, being only offered on the GT-S, was a 1998cc 16 valve DOHC 4 cylinder that put out 135hp and 125 lb-ft of torque. That was 19 more horsepower than the 2.4 Litre but with slightly less torque.

1987 saw the return of the Celica convertible in GT form. The list of options was growing and the St and GT got an updated version of the 2 Litre engine with DOHC and 16 valves.

1988 - Big news for those who wanted to really get down and dirty with their Celicas...The introduction of the Celica All-Trac Turbo. This car came with the same basic DOHC 2 Litre engine found in the GT-S but had a liquid-intercooled turbocharger. The turbo's power was translated to the ground via a viscous-type differential that transferred power to all four wheels.

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