W Reg (1978?) Celica St2000/18r

[japstyle]

Its always the way, my boyf and I have been looking for an old rwd toyota for a while, obvious one being an 86, but to no avail. At the weekend we bought a '90 corolla gti 16v, bit rusty but full ticket and runs great. I know its not rwd but we've been looking for ages now and we thought this would do in the meantime.

THEN!!

Today I get offered this Celica, bit of surface rust round the rear arches, paint bubble in the fuel filler area, new door pins required, bit of welding to do on rear jacking points, but apart from that panels are dent-free, engine bay is quite clean, interior doesnt look its age, all original.

http://www.skidmark.co.uk/images/image1.jpg

http://www.skidmark.co.uk/images/image2.jpg

http://www.skidmark.co.uk/images/image3.jpg

http://www.skidmark.co.uk/images/image4.jpg

http://www.skidmark.co.uk/images/image5.jpg

Not sure what the mot is yet, but if there is none then I will have to do the welding.

The dealer is asking £1000, but I get the impression he hasnt got that much of an idea about it, hes just asking what he thinks is right.

So, is it worth that, considering the work that may need to be done? Also, would it run on unleaded?

Any comments would be great!

Thanks

[HH.]

I "ended up with" one of those rescently, 18r engine as aparently LRP or leaded only.

Mine came via the M-I-Law, did a bit of research on here and the celica club board.

If you want a car with pace and agility I wouldnt say the ST is the one, aparently the GT engine version is better.

MIL paid something like £300 or £400 for a very low milage one owner one, good from a distance then some minor paint imperfections when close up, bottom solid, all trim intact, recent exhaust and tyres etc.

It was a sale from a friend so probably not true market value.

I found a couple of similar on eBay a bit rougher for similar money.

Kp30 tony on this board has swapped the GT engine into his (which can run U/L), and mechanical parts seem sourceable. Bodyand trim bits are harder- the only luck I had was with TCB in cornwall.

Your dealer will have paid pennies for it, old cars offer too much liability for them when it breaks down the next day.

Dont think they are worth anything close to the value of a gen 1, but I'm no expert.

[guglielmo]

That looks mint in the pictures. Unfortunately, the mk2's are not worth nearly as much as the earlier Celicas like the TA22's, RA29's etc but I still like them.

I'd say, as nice as that RA40 is, it's probably not worth £1000. Try and beat him down a bit since that is a nice example, wasted in a dealers yard!

As for the Unleaded issue, I think you should be OK if you just !Removed! the timing a couple of degrees. Or you can use an additive like Redline Lead Substitute. Don't waste money on LRP though, since it doesn't combust correctly and robs you of power and mpg.

I'm pretty sure US 18R's have been run for over 250,000 miles on unleaded with no problems....

[Kp30 tony]

All the above comments are valid. If you need any parts contact Shaun (in Newbridge South Wales) on 07980623058. He seems to have access to quite a lot of body panels.

It looks like RA40 are starting to go up in demand due to their scarcity. Added to the fact that if you want an early RWD Celica, they seem to be the only solution as all the Gen 1 are either restored (major money then) or only worth it for parts.

[japstyle]

thanks for your comments guys, we have decided against it as there is no mot, and we just havent got the time at present to repair the car to the standard required.

If anyone is interested in this I can put you in touch with the dealer, I think after talking to us (with our "little but more than him" jap car knowledge) he may be open to offers.

We/the car is in south Norfolk. :)