1st Gen Celica Info?

Bought a Challenge car!

Any things in particular to know on these? Car is a '77 Celica GT. Any performance parts interchangeability advice? Any forums out there with a decent noise-to-signal ratio? My google-fu is weak on this one, and the forums I tried to check out didn't have much info on anything older than the FWD cars.

Haven't picked the car up yet, so I suppose everything could crash and burn at the last minute, but if not I'll be posting pics next weekend!!!

1stgencelica.com is pretty decent. As to performance parts, well, depends - you can occasionally find the twin cam engine or you can fit and tweak a 22R but that's it for options that I am aware of that don't need much in the way of fabrication.

IIRC the Lexus 4L V8 can be made to fit, but that requires a "little" fabbing.

BoxheadTim wrote: 1stgencelica.com is pretty decent. As to performance parts, well, depends - you can occasionally find the twin cam engine or you can fit and tweak a 22R but that's it for options that I am aware of that don't need much in the way of fabrication. IIRC the Lexus 4L V8 can be made to fit, but that requires a "little" fabbing.

Thanks! Will have to sign up to view 1stgencelica.com, that may have been why I missed it the first time around.

Car currently has a popped head gasket, but is complete and hasn't been touched yet (motor is still together). I'll have to take it apart to see if the head is OK, from reading a bit it seems 50-50 on whether the 20R head will be warped.

The cars don't seem too complicated, so I'm hoping I can size some performance springs and dampers from other cars if there are no original fit applications. I've had good luck with that in the past on my old Nissan S12. The Lexus V8 would be interesting, but can those be sourced for Challenge money? My current thinking was to either hop up the existing motor or possibly try to adapt a 7MGE/W58 drivetrain from a 3G Supra.

2RZ and W58 gearbox...

oldeskewltoy wrote: 2RZ and W58 gearbox...

Care to elaborate? Difficult swap? Easy? From my momentary searching, it appears this is the 2.4L I4 out of a Tacoma? Fuel injected and ~142hp?

I was thinking that if I have to upgrade the fuel system (pump and lines) to EFI specs anyway, the straight six would be nice to have. Plus I'm just a sucker for the I6 feline growl (mostly experienced on E30's up til now).

Flynlow wrote: The cars don't seem too complicated, so I'm hoping I can size some performance springs and dampers from other cars if there are no original fit applications. I've had good luck with that in the past on my old Nissan S12. The Lexus V8 would be interesting, but can those be sourced for Challenge money? My current thinking was to either hop up the existing motor or possibly try to adapt a 7MGE/W58 drivetrain from a 3G Supra.

There aren't many performance parts out there for these cars unfortunately, so it's a matter of adapting what you can.

IIRC one of the cheaper performance upgrades - if you can find one - is the 22RE turbo that you could get in the 4runner for a few years. A bit hen's teeth like, though.

IIRC you can get Weber manifolds for the 20R/22R, hotter cams etc but a lot of the bolt-ons like headers are for the truck applications and not Celicas. For Challenge money you're probably looking at motor swaps, the performance parts for the Celicas themselves aren't exactly cheap.

I know the 22R with a 20R head is a popular choice that would be very easy to swap in.

I've got a '77 GT that I'm working on myself. Sweet cars. Let me know if you need any parts for the stock drivetrain or interior bits (except dashboard), I've got a pile of parts off my car that I won't use.

Miata drive train and turbo? Ka24de with a turbo? I am not sure if it will fit lengthwise but a m50 would be cool if you like the sound of a six. A few years back I stuffed one in a 1st gen RX7 (But I am pretty sure the 7 has a bigger engine bay)

everything is a mattrer of $$

The 20R will be your least costly... as long a it is only the head gasket... 20R engines are quite stout.

Everything else is a matter of $$.

The RZ engine series in essence is the modern replacement for the 20R/22R/22RE engines. They came in the mid 1990s are found in Tacomas and a few SUVs. There is a HIGHLY modified Corolla using a boosted 2RZ that is running in the low 7 second range

I have a friend who is currently building a 7AGZE powere RA29 (1st gen Celica). The Celica is a nice chassis because even a V8 swap isn't out of the question.

Much of the suspension components are similar to many other rwd Toyotas of the era... including the AE86. So some of the AE86 bits can be adapted to work on your Celica

There are tons of lexus v8s in the junkyard for under $500.

Try the japanese nostalgic car forums. I like the fastback versions of the 1st gen celica. A lexus v8 or a 7mgte would be awesome... then add fender mirrors.

If it weren't a challenge car i'd be finding either an 18rgeu or a 3tgte to put in that thing.

I drove a '77 for many years. Great car, just need a LOT more power. I always wanted to drop a 289 (back in the day) in it. There is enough room in that engine bay for a 5.0 HO. That and a T5 and you could have a very fun car.

my 1st gen Celica fantasy involves a smiley bumper fastback

With Toyota's own hemi V8... the 4V, or 5V engine

Make mine either a smiley bumper with a big chin spoiler:

Or whatever is going on with this freshness:

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm going to be browsing craigslist for 3G NA Supras as a donor car, but will keep all these other options in mind. I do like the Miata drivetrain idea, and I'm fairly familiar with the 4AG series, so I suppose an 80s Corolla take-out would work as well as a similar setup.

JohnyHachi6 wrote: I've got a '77 GT that I'm working on myself. Sweet cars. Let me know if you need any parts for the stock drivetrain or interior bits (except dashboard), I've got a pile of parts off my car that I won't use.

Will do! Any chance you have a 20R head in good shape in case mine's warped? What color was your interior?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Make mine either a smiley bumper with a big chin spoiler:

This is stunningly pretty, btw. And ironically, I order a set of Konig Rewinds for the car last night.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Make mine either a smiley bumper with a big chin spoiler: Or whatever is going on with this freshness:

Oh damn . . . both of those are hawt

In reply to Flynlow:

I haven't touched the engine since I got the car other than to pull it out. The PO said it was in good shape, but the carburetor needed a rebuild from sitting for a year or two. I do know that the spark plugs looked good and the engine turned over easily. If you end up needing the head, I could take a closer look at it for you, just let me know.

The interior I have is the tan vinyl some of it's in pretty good shape, some not so much. If you need things, again, just let me know and I can see if it's in decent shape.

I like the dark blue one with the chin spoiler over the one with the intercooler