The Holy Grail: 1972 Toyota Celica ST Coupe





























As lazy as this next statement may sound, I like it when online postings for collector cars for sale have the perfect title in their description; It makes coming up with the right title for an article so much easier. On that note, vintage Japanese cars have been on the up and up in terms of value recently, and nice, clean examples are hard to find today and command a decent premium. An exception to this rule is this 1972 Toyota Celica ST coupe, which is bid currently to $15,000. Find it here on eBay in King City, California, with a little less than 23 1/2 hours left to bid.



























After being displayed at the October 1970 Tokyo Motor Show, production of the first-generation Celica began in December 1970. Based off of the Carina sedan, the Celica was initially offered as a coupe and drew inspiration from the Ford Mustang, with its size similar to the 1964-1966 Mustang and styling reminiscent of the 1969-1970 Mustang. This Celica is a 1972 ST coupe model, and is one of 1,068,321 Celicas built for 1972. Said to recently been subject to a cosmetic restoration, this Celica ST looks nice in Altair Green with the original ST graphics. The wheels currently on the car are aftermarket but appear to be era-correct; the factory wheels and hubcaps are included with the sale, but I would source a period set of slotted wheels and fit them on the car. 



































Being an ST package Celica, this Celica is powered by a 1.6L inline-four cylinder. Rated at 105 horsepower and 101 lb-ft of torque, performance is actually decent on this Celica. Backed by a four-speed manual, this Celica ST has 123,000 original miles, and benefits from a recently redone radiator and new parts such as brakes, clutch lines, and a clutch slave cylinder. I would throw some JDM engine parts at it to boost power a bit more and take it to the local asphalt track. 



































Unfortunately, there a few flaws on this Celica ST, and they're riddled throughout the interior. The dash pad has two cracks in it, the driver-side door panel has small tear in the carpet part, and the steering wheel vinyl is shot. Otherwise, the interior is fairly complete, decent and original. Black is a nice color for the interior, and the optional air conditioning will be needed to prevent one from burning his or her bottom off. I would source a new steering wheel, a new dash pad, and a new driver's-side door panel. Overall, this Celica ST is fairly decent, and would be a nice driver to do a little tinkering. What are your thoughts on this fairly nice Celica ST?
Location: King City, CA, USA

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