At $16,500, Might This 1976 Toyota Celica GT Liftback Lift Your Spirits?

When it arrived in 1976, today's Nice Price or No Dice Celica Liftback looked more like a Ford Mustang than did the contemporary Ford Mustang. Today, we'll see whether we like the price on this classic mini-Mustang.

Yesterday we looked at a 1994 Chevy Corvette ZR1, the first model in a long time that showed Chevy was serious about making its sports car a global contender. Here we are now, four more generations into the Corvette's evolution, a path that has turned it from an athletic sports car into a near hypercar. Even in that light, the '90s C4 ZR1 still holds strong appeal. And that's not just for Jorts-wearing Dad-bods either. 

In fact, the entire C4 line has gained a reputation as an under-appreciated classic and is currently one of the best values for anyone looking to get into the Corvette scene. Of course, the ZR1 is a special case, although at $24,000, our car, while extremely expensive compared to standard C4 prices, was deemed to be super cheap when it comes to the high-zoot model. You all acknowledged that in the comments and in the 70% 'Nice Price' win the car received.

The last time Chevy offered a Corvette with performance like the C4 ZR1, it was the early 1970s. Emissions controls, safety standards, and fuel economy demands robbed the Corvette of its potential for the next two decades.

At the same time, in the early 1970s, Japanese carmakers began to flex their dominance in the U.S. market. This was because Japanese builders offered something unfamiliar to American car buyers: solidly built, well-equipped compact cars and trucks with good fuel economy that didn't cost an arm and a kidney.

Toyota led the vanguard, offering a full lineup by the start of the '70s, from the compact Corolla to the mid-sized (for North America) Crown. The company also introduced its first specialty car, the Carina-based Celica starting in 1971. The model leaned heavily on the pony car aesthetic first forged by Ford's Mustang seven years earlier, further emphasized with the introduction of the Liftback model in 1976. The Celica was meant to compete with Datsun's 240Z sports car, but offered simpler specs and more practicality owing to its standard 2+2 interior. Both the Datsun and the Celica proved to be hits in the U.S. market.

This 1976 Toyota Celica GT Liftback hails from the penultimate year of the first-generation Celica's model run. Showing how important the model was to the company's U.S. sales, the next generation was designed at Toyota's Calty Design Research office in Newport Beach, California. That car, however, lacked the mini-Mustang vibe of the first generation, looking more like something designed by someone who had heard a description of what the Celica looked like and then had to draw it from memory. That's probably why that edition doesn't have the same following as this one does.

Mechanically, these are pretty simple, offering even more appeal for classic car buyers. Power comes from a SOHC 2.2-liter four-cylinder with 96 horsepower and 122 pound-feet of torque. That feeds a five-speed manual and eventually a four-link-located live axle in the back. Brakes are disc up front and drums at the rear. According to the ad, this 75,000-mile Celica was parked on non-op registration in 2012. It was recently awakened from that long slumber, was given a new battery, fuel pump, and a gas tank flush, and is now claimed to "run like new." Jeepers, you've got to love old Toyota quality.

Speaking of old, this Celica is old enough that even its restoration work is years in the rearview. Per the seller, it received a paint job in the '90s, with the current red covering the factory orange. While not original, the paint appears to be in good shape and professionally done, though the engine bay does give it away as a respray. Happily, all the badging is intact, as are the factory steelies and their trim rings, which only adds to the overall old-school appeal.

Craigslist

The cabin also saw some work at some point, as the seats and door cards have been reupholstered in a non-factory pattern, and the dashboard wears a black cap rather than the expected brown to match the rest of the interior. Other changes include an aftermarket stereo and an odd rubber shift boot in place of the loose leather snood installed from the factory.

Nothing in or on the car appears questionable, and it all looks tidy and ready to enjoy.

Take a look around. How many first-generation Celicas do you see on the road? I'd wager that outside of a Japanese car-only show, you won't find any. That's too bad, as these cars have a growing following, and with many of them having been sent to the scrapyard, the ones that remain can command a premium.

This Celica asks $16,500, which is probably about three times what it cost when new. It's not new, however, and it's now incumbent upon us to determine whether this well-presented, long-squirreled-away Liftback is worth that kind of cash.

What do you say, could this Celica go for that $16,500 asking? Or is that just too heavy a lift?

You decide!

Los Angeles, California, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.

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