While Toyota's newest tagline is Let's Go Places its most memorable one was probably Oh What a Feeling. You could go lots of places with feeling in today's custom turbo Celica convertible, but will its price have you saying I'm just not feeling it?
For years in the US market, the thing Isuzu wasn't feeling was the love, and as a consequence their fortunes faded as well. Yesterday's was a reminder of better times, but its auto box and lack of turbo left the Italian-designed and British suspended Asian without much love itself, falling to a 73% Crack Pipe loss at $2,600.
Joe Isuzu (David Leisure) gained fame and fortune for lying, while the cars he shilled never really
To start off today, let's compare and contrast. Only five years newer, and actually sporting a turbo mill and row-yer-own gearbox, this custom seems lightyears distant from yesterday's Isuzu. The only thing that Impulse seemed to have over this All-Trac-powered droptop was its Giugiaro styling, the Toy's lines being somewhat Japanese generic. Well, to be fair the Isuzu was a third this Celica's price as well.
But, as is typical of Toyota's of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s, you get so much more for your money. First off, this Celica started out `as a factory-engineered convertible, and with the exception of hairy men and Walmart shoppers, topless is almost always better. Next up, this Celica is claimed to have been restored, and it looks almost new inside and out, the blacksploitation color scheme being well chosen for what stealthily lies beneath.
What's undercover brother is what is claimed to be a 16K-fresh 3S-GTE out of an All-Trac, and a glance under the All-Trac hood confirms this as prominent in residence is a horizontal air to air intercooler. Routing to that is a K&N cone, room for which has been made possible by a diminutive Optima battery. The seller notes that along with the around 200-pony engine, there's also new exhaust, a Greddy boost control (nicely integrated into the dash), and a litany of other bits and pieces that on a 19 year old car you might expect to replace.
Parts you might not have expected to have been replaced include a JDM round-fog nose, GT-four A front fenders and clear corner lights. All that works visually and it's nice to see an older Japanese car not afflicted with body-kit-itis. The leather interior also looks stock and aside from some nominal ass wear on the driver's throne, pretty much complaint-free. Oh, except for the unfortunate A-pillar gauge, which we all hate, amiright?
Of course one final place that this Celica comes out ahead of yesterday's Isuzu is in the footwell department where the Toyota shows up with 50% more pedal. This GT may not have the All Trac's AWD despite getting its hot four, but it does move all those turbo infused horses through a five speed stick to the front wheels.
Yeah, that's one place the Impulse could one-up the Celica, it was rear-wheel drive while the Celica is an understeering overachiever. Still, it should be plenty entertaining to drive, and with an AWOL roof, the platform's probably not up to 10/10ths heroics anyway. I know, way to be a buzzkill.
Now, it's time for you to either kill this seller's hopes of selling his car for the Buy It Now of $8,700, or having its auction expire without the reserve being met. What do you think, is this clean as a cup of warm sake Celica GT worth that $8,700? Or does that price have you saying oh what a stealing?
You decide!
or go if the ad disappears.
H/T to Felix Rodriguez for the hookup!
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