Just up the road from where I work, this guy has a back yard full of cars. 69 Camaro SS 396 (Numbers Matching apparently) Some 90's Mercedes, a G-body, a 50's Olds, I think a MG Midget...with a hard top? He also has a 1985 Toyota Celica GT. That had gone and grown some greenery over the years. Last insured for 10 years ago.
Seeing this thing pretty much everyday, I got distracted by it. Talked to some of my co-workers about, and said I'd probably go up and talk to the guy about it some day.
A couple days later, my coworker comes back from break having talked to the guy, "$300, but it burns oil. A lot of oil, says it makes clouds of smoke."
....$300, for a Celica with surprisingly little rust? And it supposedly runs?! Too good to be true.
It didn't run. Turned over perfectly well, it wanted to run, but it was presumed that 10 year old gas just...doesn't burn well enough.
I mull it over for a few days...but who am I kidding? I had to.
Well, after buying it, I waited until today to try and get it home. Push it out of its resting spot, and down the hill to my work (Car detailing shop), give the tires some air, and then use a siphon pump to empty the tank, full of rancid old gas. Bought a remanned battery, and a jerry of gas.
Cranked over and started like a 22RE should. Just...with an epic smoke show.
Drove it up and down the block a bit, making sure the brakes were in working order, suspension wasn't going to crumble or anything else. Did find that; A) Fuel gauge, does not work. B) Driver's side mirror is busted. C) Rear defrost does not exist. D) Radio still works, sort of. Connections to the speakers seem imperfect, and it doesn't even have a tape player, but it is original.
E) Everything else seems to work flawlessly.
Those who know about these Celicas, know that the hatch is usually turned into swiss cheese. This one, even after just sitting for 10 years in Victoria, BC, uncovered, has only two, small spots of rust:
Interior has a faint bit of mould, in the rear passenger's footwell. I vacuumed that out for now. Otherwise, the interior is pretty damn...minty, which is faintly surprising.
After giving it a quick wash, I drove it home, no issues, no drama, just me chuckling like an idiot in 5:00 downtown Victoria traffic on a Saturday, with a car that smells like a 2 stroke. Does have a noticeable vibration when driving at 90-100 kph. That's it. Got home, and parked it.
I am quite pleased. Neighbor might have a line on a used 22RE with a blown headgasket that might be the best price ever...Free. As this one in the car, I'm guessing it's the valve guides leaking oil, which seems like more of a pain in the ass than replacing a headgasket.
