Junkyard Find: 1981 Toyota Celica Liftback

We saw a fairly solid junked '80 Celica coupe yesterday, and a good example of its liftback sibling was located in the same California self-service wrecking yard. It's like a history lesson in Sporty Malaise Era Commuter Cars With Truck Engines! In fact, these two Celicas are parked side-by-side as they await The Crusher's jaws. Next stop: the Port of Oakland, where the ground-up remains of these cars will be put on container ships heading to China. The '81 was the last of the second-gen Celicas, and the big difference between the '80 and the '81 was the upgrade to the 2.4-liter 22R under the hood, a 200cc increase in displacement over the 20R. These cars weren't exactly high-performance machines, but they held together pretty well and they came with some nice— for the era— crypto-luxury touches. Check out the herringbone upholstery! This period was the era of the split between California-emissions-legal cars and "49-state" cars; we're looking at a car that probably spent its life in California. The junkyard had this Celica in their "runners" section for a while, but nobody wanted it. Another rust-free pseudo-classic about to get crushed— it happens every day on the West Coast! from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

puts the internet to work for you. via task 680102