1980 Toyota Celica RA40 from Australia and New Zealand - Comments

Nothing has gone wrong since I've had it, but there are some things that are wrong with it.

These things came with the car.

The rear bumper bar has been taken off, although it came with the car.

It was taken off because the back end needs straightening and there is a crack in the back end of it as well, just below the hatch.

The car also makes a very weird "Chzzt Chzzt" sound, my step dad believes this could be due to a fraying timing belt or something.

Also, the center piece of the steering wheel has been taken off, and I can't get it back on.

One of the center pieces of one of the wheels is missing as well.

Well, I've had the car for a few days now and I have to admit I love it already.

I've loved the 2nd generation Celicas for a very long time, and I'm proud to say I own one now.

And at just 17 years of age!

The car handles really well for a car that hasn't been looked after too well.

The car definately needs a new paint job, as the current paint job (yellow and grey) looks really disgusting.

I'm thinking along the lines of something black.

The car looks really good aswell.

What I mean by this is that the car is definately not ugly.

I love the doors, they are nice and long and have no window frame for that extra sporty feeling.

Another thing I like about the doors is where the door lock is, it's obvious too see the car has been planned and created pretty well.

I'm amazed at how heavy the bonnet on the car is, it's got a bit of weight in it, that's for sure.

I was quite happy to see the car had very little rust, of course, this may change after the car has been sanded back for a paint job though, as there could be rust I'm yet to find out about.

When you sit in the car, you feel very low to the ground, I was amazed at how weird it felt to sit in at first, but I've already gotten used to that.

It's definately better than my old rusted out Mitsubishi Colt heap.

My uncle used to have an 1980 celica and he had to watch how he washed the car b/c of those frameless windows.. then again he had problems with his car and sold it for $500 (it needed over$5000 in repairs) he had his car for 2 years and all he did during those years was complain about how much he hated the car..

Mine is probably in better condition than his.

The frame-less windows go fully up, so I can wash it without worrying about water getting in.

My car needs roughly $1200 including roadworthy and registering fees, so probably about $700 in repairs.

Hey Simon from Australia here. I know what you mean about these cars. I have had mine (‘78’ LT lift-back) since about November ‘05’. I got it for $275 from the wreckers because it was going to cost the owners too much to do up. Only the week before this my mate had given me his 79 coupe cause it had a heap of rust and he couldn’t sell it. So when I found this 78 I decided to go for it. You’ll have to send me some pictures of it.

Trust me on this, don’t get your Celica painted black. I saw a picture of a ‘78’ painted black, a professional job too, and it looked terrible. They have such a beautiful shape and it just gets lost when they are black. I’ll try to post the picture. I wanted to do that myself, but after seeing it I decided not too.

Hey some good spots to make sure you check for rust (might be a little diff then my 79 but seems to be basically same body set out)

• Side window sills

• Door pillars

• Exterior roof pillar (plastic cover)

• Edge of front window inside.

Hey everyone I bought my 1978 Celica bout february 2005 since then I have put in a sport exhaust, cd player, speakers and have recently painted it bright green... When roadworthying my car the mechanic told me it was the best conditioned one he has ever seen and had obviously had a lot put into stopping rust. However on closer inspection you could find rust in the usual places! One big rust area is the black guard below the doors mine was pretty much completely rusted out, but having the black plastic coating you couldnt tell! Another major place is the chrome around the roof. I have just finished rebuilding the carby and have just found some more minor mechanical problems. This car has cost me a tonne of money, but I find it is a great car to set a foundation for your mechanical knowledge. You can fully service this car for under $60 bucks instead of the $300 the garages will charge you, but due to the age of the car parts are hard to find and are more expensive. Overall the RA40's are pretty damn good and if they are looked after will pretty much flog most cars on the road. PS. Depending on local road rules the huge engine bay can house some awesome engines!

Hi simon, I'm also from australia. I'm 17 and I'm looking for a celica of this vintage to restore/do up. You were saying that black looked bad on a celica, I know that they say that you loose the shape of the car with dark colors, but I saw this black one and I reckon it looks very cool, I don't know about the gold rims though, I think 'deep-set' rims look good.

http://www.celicas.org/members/akolenda/frtang1.JPG

PS, I also love the shape of the 80's-ish celicas.

Here is the main page:

http://www.celicas.org/members/akolenda/akolenda.html.

Cheers.

Felix.

Hi Tiph from Phoenix here. My uncle just gave me a 1980 Toyota Celica Liftback. I love love love it; it will need some work, but the interior is in amazing condition and it only needs minor body work from an accident with a previous owner.

The car hasn't been too much trouble so far; just basic stuff. I am going to paint it black in January. Saw a pic of a black one... same year, looked amazing.