1983 JDM Toyota Celica GT-R

[2-Skinny]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1983-Toyota-Celica-GT-R/173585146035?hash=item286a7b20b3:g:OYIAAOSwi1pbwKTW:rk:8:pf:0&vxp=mtr

Dude.  Probably once in a lifetime chance to own a car like this in the US.

[twotone_ra64]

HOLY SH*T!!! I would SMASH the buy it now button if I had the money and space.

[ctsround4]

A little behind the 8-ball here but J-Spec has had this car for about 2 years now. I first saved the listing from a Facebook post by them from 9/15/2016 when they listed the car at $9,995. No idea why it's gone unsold for so long. $1,000 cheaper now and still no luck selling. Looks like the bid went to $4,300 on eBay (reserve not met). I'd love to have it myself just no room amongst my other Celicas and projects.


Edit: for anyone truly interested, here is the website:

https://jspecauto.com/en/toyota/complete-cars/998/1983-toyota-celica-gtr/

[twotone_ra64]

That's very interesting... I wonder why it's not selling! Again, if I had the money, I'd get it. Or maybe I'll convince my stepdad to get it, he's been looking for a classic JDM toy (specifically an AW11, but if he gets this AA63, he's the automatic winner of "Cleanest Car of BACC" )

[1933beer]

This is very rare in the US. But is it rare in Japan? The rarity of it then would bring the money. Where would you ever get parts? As is right now I think the market would be hard to go over 7000.  Still very cool.

[twotone_ra64]

It might not be as rare in Japan, but perhaps less in the limelight as the AE86s are. The remaining examples I've seen online are all preserved like the one being sold. Parts... only option would be Yahoo Auctions, I suppose.

[Teranfirbt]

Luckily that's the 4AGE version, so parts shouldn't be too hard to get. The Japan specific body and interior parts are going to be rare of course. a 3T-GTE equipped one would be much more difficult to get parts for.

[squall]

I emailed with them for a couple months earlier this year (probably May-July).  I was getting close to flying out to see it ... then I bought a Scion FR-S instead.

I loved the idea of having a RHD JDM 3rd gen though...and the 4age with LSD rear didn't hurt one bit.

That said, some things I was unsure of: there are no side GT-R decals.  Leading me to wonder if it had been repainted.  If it had been repainted...it could be hiding bodywork and not be quite as mint as it looks.  Difficult to get a good handle on from multiple states away.  Started looking for a reputable company to inspect it...but didn't quite get that far.

The pictures I got of the underbody were decent for the year....but didn't seem as flawless as the rest of the car.  That said, they were sent from a cell phone and weren't high res (about thumbnail size almost!), making it hard to really tell.  I'm not suggesting that the underbody is in bad shape, I just couldn't tell!

But in the end, the biggest factor was that as much as I love the idea of having it...it probably wouldn't have been smart.  I already have a project '67 Datsun Roadster. And my daily driver is my '00 Celica. 

I thought it'd be more responsible to buy something newer and keep the '00 Celica as my winter car.  Hence going with the FR-S...which I really like...part of me would still really, really love to own this car instead though.  And that engine bay is so clean! 

Hopefully it finds a good owner one of these days who will appreciate and care for it properly. (Better than I would have been able to).

[Teranfirbt]

Realistically you made the right choice
While legendary, the 4AGE is pretty gutless from the factory, it takes a couple grand of cams/exhaust/intake/tuning to wake it up, and it takes a turbo to make it actually fast (or like 8 grand in parts and machine work...)

[yella81celica]

Link sent me to a '80 Sunchaser. Looks like it was in good condition. Nice copper orange color.

[twotone_ra64]

Ah yes, you are right! Looks pretty nice...