Friday 23rd August 2013

Shed of the Week: Toyota Celica ST

Shed is deployed to find a proper track car... and gives us an 85hp Celica

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After penning a story on the Toyota Sprint Series the other day, our Matt made the schoolboy error of admitting to a hankering for the lifestyle of a track god. It was therefore an open goal for Editor Dan when this Celica coupe was innocently suggested for Shed of the Week. Surely, proclaimed Dan, there could be no better vehicle for Matt to enter in the Toyota Series?

Champagne Gold paint is sparkling (sorry)

Ever since he was ordered to go out and get this fine specimen bought, Matt has been spending an inordinate amount of time 'on location' or in the office toilet. So, while he dithers, why not get in before him and be the proud owner of the most ironic car on the 2014 TSS grid?

We know it's our second Celica in three weeks, but beyond sharing the name and front-wheel drive, this '86 Mk 4 doesn't have much in common with the '02 Mk 7 we featured three weeks back. Which is only what you'd expect with 16 years and a whole lot of brown having passed between the two.

Coming from an age when brittle plastics were avant-garde, and the only felt-tip car interior designers were allowed to use was Caramac Beige, this week's Shed is a statement car for those who are confident enough in their chromosome count not to worry about the inevitable smirking from the uninitiated.

Brittle, beige and brilliantly 80s

Nobody will expect you to win anything driving this in the Toyota Sprint Series, and they'll be right: after all, it's a long stretch from this lugubrious 1.6 AT160 model to the 190hp ST165 GT-Four that became such an effective world rally weapon. If the WRC car was a Capstan Full Strength, the one you're looking at here would be a herbal cigarette that's been left out in the rain for three weeks.

But it is a manual, and it is a Toyota, so with front-wheel drive you'll be able to understeer your way to TSS oblivion all day long. There are thrills available, even if they are the unexpected sort that will make you glad about the colour of the seat fabric. Watch this fool nearly get it wrong in a contemporary ad.

So, you would be buying it for the irony, but also with one eye on the possibility of shipping it back out to Japan where there is a growing interest in the home industry's earlier products. It may look bland to us now, and to be honest it was when it came out, but that airy glasshouse and clean front end with pop-up lights lend it a certain style, and this model is now extremely rare. With just 53K miles under its wheels and a bleb-free body it could easily tempt an Asian collector.

No LHD overtaking issues here with 85hp...

Or you could simply adopt it as a fuss-free daily driver that's a bit different. If you don't fancy that - and nobody would blame you if you didn't - you could lay it down like a fine wine and wait for your ship to come in. The ship would probably be quicker than the Celica. Even pushing a relatively light 1030kg, the 85hp 8-valver in this car dribbles it from 0-62 in 12 and a bit seconds and a top speed of 108mph.

Such relaxed performance fits nicely with its '80s Dutch provenance, though. You can almost smell the stash in the coin compartment. In Goldmember, Austin Powers' father Michael Caine reckoned there were only two things in life he couldn't stand - people who were intolerant of other peoples' cultures, and the Dutch. Be that as it may, here's the ad. Enjoy the rich whiff of beigeness over a schmoke and a pancake.

 

1986 (C reg) Toyota Celica ST (1600cc)
53,100 miles (85,475 km at 17.07.2013)
2 door coupe, left hand drive
Petrol, manual drive
Champagne metallic paint
Beige cloth interior (spotless)
Alloy wheels, new-ish tyres
Bought new in Holland, imported into UK in 1989
Garaged and well maintained
MOT and taxed thru April 2014
Working in London so car doesn't get driven

 

[Henry Fiddleton]

I'll pass on that one!

[pnunn]

No thanks

[renaultgeek]

The ad is a good'n though.

[excel monkey]

Nice little '80s curio, but I'd rather have a cheap 6th gen Celica.

[164Cloverleaf]

Really?

[mrpenks]

I like it but I see it through the rose tinted spectacles of my own Mk1 MR2 of similar vintage. 80s jap cars are great fun to own and drive in my experience provided the rot hasn't taken over. I'll bet it feels faster than those numbers too and would be a laugh to drive. Classic insurance would be a draw too - about £100 fully comp for frugal motoring

[anything fast]

NO NO NO !!!

Drive in to a lake and put it out of its misery. Awful car in every possible way..

This reminds me the import only 80's Toyota Supra that came with a 1.8 engine rather than the 3.0 or the 3.0 Turbo the UK spec ones had! Might as well have pedals instead of an engine.

[Denorth]

great shed!
not in terms of power or luxury, but just as a rear-ish find something that most people now would not even look into.
'car from 80s, why bother?' that kind of thing.

[bimbeano]

Now that was a dog of a car.
My cousin used to have a 86 hp 1.6 and it weighed around 1100 kilos (no 1030 kilo as you guys say). At the time i had a 920 kilo 90 hp 1,8 Jetta (two door, which you guys in the UK didn't have) and i can assure you it was twice as fast as that Toyo-boat :-) .
So IMO this would be the worst track-car you could ever buy, plenty more and much better choice around .

BTW, i'm not Dutch ...

Filip

[Captain Muppet]

I love these Celicas.

But not the ugly saloon arse.

Or the weedy engine.

Or the LHD.

Out.

[HorneyMX5]

Love the front end styling of these but the liftback was always better proportioned.

[V8 FOU]

Oh dear.
I bought my Alfa 147 for a monkey and so far have spent £200 sorting it out and have ragged it 1500 miles. Wonderful. Booked for its first track day in a couple of weeks. Much better than this!

[SprintSpeciale]

Underpowered, LHD, ugly, "champagne" paint and beige interior. Neither a performace car nor a wafter. Has Shed been out in the sun too long?

I like something a bit different from time to time, and I enjoy Shed's often esoteric take on the bag of sand option, but this has just spoiled my Friday.

[Mr E]

I like it, but I've had a history of Celicas.
3S-GTE transplant?

[IanO]

Look around the eyes, look around the eyes, not in the eyes, look around the eyes... Now when you wake up you're going to think this is a powerful, great handling, right hand drive, rear wheel drive, six cylinder, red BMW/Porsche/Alfa/anything other than an old man's mobility scooter.

[dublet]

The coupe version of this is very rare indeed. But for a grand you can buy a far quicker GT.

[Terry Duckworth]

He is my partner, and my lover also:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRfluaMKoOY

[Drivebyabuser]

Dont be so hard on shed you lot. A genuine oddity. I like it for it cleanliness and rarity. Shed isn't about armfuls of oppo or luxobarges. Its about being surprised about what your bag of sand will get you into. You could pootle about in this for a year knowing you would never see another in all that time.

[anonymous-user]

Rusty rear arches? Not good.

[SuperHangOn]

Old, slow, LHD, FWD, rusty and brown. I'll have two.