Thank you Jonny and your team for bringing my Uncle Ken’s Toyota Celica back to life. It was a pleasure to spend a day filming with you and a fitting tribute to my uncle ❤
Absolute pleasure Graeme. Thanks for trusting us to visit, tell the story and to give the Celica a deserved wash. Would love to see it at a show before the end of summer!
Not much to get it there really. Make a strap or two for the tank, Sort out the tank contents and replumb the fuel pump, probably and electric fuel pump as the diaphragm will be very tired in the one that's on the block. Bed the brakes or have some fresh pads made and the rotors or drums machined (if needed, do not do this if not absolutely needed), flush the brake fluid out carefully and fully cycle the master and reflush, change the oil and filter before the filter collapses and causes drama, change the coolant. You'd get through most of that in a day. Good luck. If I was in the same country I'd give you a hand :-D
@@fredio54 thanks, the clutch master needs replacing or refurbishing too, plus carbs cleaning, rubber lines replacing… and the electric aerial has stopped working, and that’s critical 😱
@@GraemeWhiting Fair enough - hopefully you can find someone to resleeve it in 316 locally - if you do that it will literally never fail again :-D I have some old VW wheel cylinders done in brass many years ago, even those are basically forever - though they do go green if abused without fluid changes for a long long time. I had assumed cable clutch - nice car in its day having hydraulics there :-) Also cool to see W50 as the gearbox on the build plate, I wonder if the earliest ones are any weaker than the revered late ones that people did all sorts of silly things to. Then again, I can't imagine you abusing this car ever so that's a moot point :-D Unlike my 83 KP60 which I flog within an inch of its life on AR1 with M1166 up front :-D
Hope you get this running and are able to put some miles on in the summer !if we ever get one Graeme ! Buy the way it's on high idle and doesn't want to rev up without going flat ,you may weary well have an air leak pipe off or rotted through old age .
@@mrcogginsgarage7062 Summer?.. what’s that? 😂 The vacuum pipes are perished and need replacing and I’ll put the carbs through my ultrasonic cleaner with a service kit too. Graeme.
In 1980 I worked for an aftermarket company so I was driving all sorts of customer cars from the dealers to our garage workshop. I had the chance to drive one of these (along with all sorts of 80s cars, Nissan Sunny, Nissan Space Wagon, Toyota Corolla, XR2, XR3, Sierra, Vauxhall Astra etc) and even though it was a few years old at that time, I'll never forget the Corolla GT's engine being a huge surprise. What a machine. Torquey and yet free revving. Beat the crap out of UK mass market engines. And how incredibly beige it was! Anyway we did used to fit Remov-A-Top sunroofs, so it was definitely a dealer fitment. Dealers would get them fitted as an added enticement, along with a rustproofing system using Waxoil, if you remember that. Jeezuz, I'm so old.... takes me back!
Cars of this era were SO brown! It's easy to forget but just seeing this was such a shot of pure nostalgia. The multitude of shades of brown inside a car is like a snapshot of the 70s and early 80s that'd be impossible to explain to young people without showing them.
Interesting on the preferred colours of yesteryear when compared to today's car colours which are mainly from the 'German rainbow' colour palette of: white, silver, black or 150 shades of grey - i.e. what I call the monochromatic world of cars that 'we' sadly currently inhabit. I wonder what persons in 30 years time would be thinking of today's 'monochromatic', oversize and frumpy SUVs.
You can see why Japan made such an impression in the market. That paintwork and finish is way beyond anything we were churning out in British $hitboxes
I think this is the first time I've really had empathy for another person's story on this channel, cause I also drive a 2L Celica that used to be owned by an Uncle before they passed away. Don't get me wrong all these Barn find stories are brilliant but this one felt close to home.
@@astontapper8543 thank you. As I’m sure you’ve experienced, it’s more than tinged with sadness at loosing Uncle Ken, my dad’s best friend for 87 years. I think we’ve done it justice in his memory and my dad did so well appearing on camera. Graeme.
@@GraemeWhiting Great to see your Dad on camera. I'm not a Toyota fan particularly but I was mesmerised throughout. Initially I wasn't expecting to see it start but so glad it did and how smoothly it ran. I thought there was a perfect opportunity here for a short drive around the yard. I hope you get it back on the road again soon.
Tear in my eye watching this. My second ever car was an ST version of this in the same colour. Brought back so many memories of a being the proud owner. Loved it… and was especially fond of the electric aerial 😊
@@TheLateBrakeShow yes in a heartbeat. Had a few Toyotas of that era and they never let me down. Wasn't at all surprised the Celica sounded so smooth when the guys got it started 👍 Thanks again for a great vid.
In 1983/1984 a bloke I worked with used to give me a lift to work in one of these. It was his pride and joy and I loved it. He would never let me have a drive. Great car, great video thanks Jonny.
So I had never heard of this channel until today. I had 5 different people send me this video because I'm a 2nd generation Celica nerd 😂 I haven't managed to watch the video on it's entirety yet (because I'm at work currently) by just wanted to say that the pop top sun roof would have been dealer fitted. The factory Toyota ones are a wind back sunroof. Probably a good thing it didn't have the factory type because the drains on the mechanism tend to clog and the roof rusts out around the sunroof panel. Also the stainless trim going over the roof is called a tiara. This is an awesome car. It's so damn clean. If you need any parts for it please feel free to get in contact. I'm in Australia but happy to ship worldwide and help out fellow 2nd gen owners.
@@NooB-Celica thank you, that’s such a very kind offer, and we now have the name of a tiara for the brushed aluminium strip! Glad you liked the video! Graeme.
Awesome. Check out the Smith and Sniff podcasts, too. I have a 1992 Celica Convertible here in Northern Wisconsin. I was born and raised in Eire, this show gets my nostalgia for cars I saw as a child alive.
In addition to the unfolding story of each barn find car, the attraction of the series it the nostalgia it evokes in those of us alive when these cars were new.
That car is in incredible condition. Brings back great memories. I owned a 1978 1600 coupe in metallic blue with the same interior but in blue, bought at 5 years old with big scabs on both rear wheel arches but boy did I love that car. It was cracking to drive. My Dad always said it was the most comfortable car he’d even ridden in. Fantastic
Remember one of the older boys had one of these coupe. He was a mechanic really good with cars and it was really quick remember going for a spin in it I was about 10 and we were doing about 120 down the motorway... Galactic speed in those days
It's the history of the car and the stories of custodial care and provenance that bring meaning into these barn finds stories. Thanks, Jonny for yet another adventure into the lesser-known models and re-animating them for us all to see, hear and vicariously experience.
@@TheLateBrakeShow After some research, I recently spoke with the son of the original owner of my unrestored 1972 BMW 2002tii. He lives in the family home here in Northern California - about a mile from me. Seems unbelievable, but it’s true.
Still have my first gen 1973 RA21 purchased in 1977. It had 22,000 miles (yes speedo is in MPH). Now has 380,000 miles. In the process of a ground up resto with lead, no bondo and real walnut instead of plastic photograph.
Ah Jonny, you're hitting close to home with this one. My high school buddy had this very same Celica, a 1978 model , different color (it didn't have the two tone vinyl roof), same interior, same wheels, different lower body trim, sunroof everything - but in US spec (I think it had the 2.2 liter 4 cylinder with fuel injection if I remember correctly). It was a very nice car and he lusted for the follow up 6 cylinder Supra that came later. He had an after market Pioneer cassette deck with 4 6x9 speakers, one in each door and two in the back in custom built cabinets and a 200 watt amplifier. He also loved the Sunchaser which was a very rare dealer special order custom model with a removeable targa top roof and folding rear roof. Another great post - I love this!
She's a real unicorn now, isn't she. Nearly perfect condition. Outstanding. That ITB setup sounds delightful even on a primitive old engine like that 18R
Lifting the bonnet brought back so many memories for me. My first car was a series 1 TA22 Celica. We only got the ST and LT in Australia and mine was an LT but at some point in its life someone had installed an imported GT twin cam 1.6 litre engine, which was a popular modification at the time. I loved that car and how it drove and was very sad when it had to be moved on for a more practical vehicle.
In the 70's I was a Foreman mechanic for a Toyota dealer and remember those cars so well. If you look at the pliers in the toolkit they are year stamped and I have a set from 77 on my computer desk and a set from 76 in my tool kit. They are indestructible. Great find and a great show.
My tech drawing teacher had an identical Celica when I was af Comprehensive school 1982-86. It was the best car in the teachers car park. Same colour and vinyl roof but it had gold Alleycat cross laced alloys with diamond cuts rims. It was beautiful.
The sister of a (kind of) girlfriend of mine, who worked for Toyota, had a new coupe of one of these when they first come out. It was so impressive! I had a drive of it, I felt it was very fronty, it took a long time for the front to come around!😀It's wonderful to see this iteration revived!
Great to see this one . I recently got a barn find Celica back on the road had not been used for 12 years and kept in a dry garage. We changed the fuel the rubbers the cambelt and brakes etc - it fired up the very first turn of the key and all the electrics still worked perfectly - these were really well made. And I used to drive these shape celicas when they were quite new I remember the thin wood steering wheel and frame less door windows.
Awesome Episode!! Love that Celica, so 70's. The interior ,Dash and Paint were amazing . Great works from the Uncle, may he rest in Peace. One of my favourite episodes yet.
Uncle Ken taught Graeme well . All that time pottering with him mending strimmer's etc. It was very good of him to let us share in its resurrection and not to just do it on his own which I'm sure he would have had no problem doing . Very much enjoyed the whole video , thank you .
Very much enjoying the barn find episodes - if you could do re-visits to those barn finds that has come fully back to life and do test drives of them, that would be awesome!
Wow that exact steering wheel, gear knob, and seats (including the material and rear buckets) were all in my 1980 Toyota Corona. Such a tasteful display of plastic and beige! I sold mine for $500 in 1998. I saw one advertised a few weeks ago for $25,000. To be fair, mine would have rusted away by now even if I had kept it. It sure was slow by today's standards but it was great fun to drive...
My mum had the very same car back in the day. On that side of things, it was in that classic early 80's green. The biggest trigger i had over this episode was the dash and the manual. I think a no named mountain bike rider crashed into it once. Thanks Johnny!
Amazing watch again, what a car! Another great bunch of people and you allow them to really tell us the stories of why the car means so much to them! You have a brilliant way with people!
@@jackthompson8006 Jonny is very relaxed in front of, and behind the camera and really brought out the story well. My uncle would have been proud to see his car featured. Graeme.
Many people here in the US shared the aversion to Japanese cars as well. My own father didn't care for any imports at all, "Buy American, or get out of my house!" was a problem for me as a young man who cared for twisty roads, instead of straight ones. There was certainly no way I could afford a Corvette as a 16yr old (I had a used 1969 Triumph GT6 Mk.2, but had to hide it at friends' houses). I think I'm actually in the 2nd generation of US citizens who initially embraced J-cars. People here reconsidered their bias after the OPEC "oil crisis" of 1974. First new car I bought as an adult was a 1983 Honda Prelude. Things have changed here. After years of hearing "Japanese cars will never become collectable.." from older car guys, it has been proven untrue. The fastest growing car show circuit here is called "RADWOOD" (yes, it's a pun on Goodwood) for cars from the '80s & '90s. Many of them are Japanese. Seems like every kid who grew up in the back seat of their mom's Corolla/Civic/Sentra 'gets it'. They're amazing cars. Jonny, have to say though..what amazes me about this one (I love them, my Dad's assistant manager had one) is how clean the bodywork and trim is!! I tell the younger folks getting into the collector car hobby here that even with their brilliant engineering, and their robust initial build quality - they all rust like a 1960s Fiat. Seen prices on original Nissan 240z cars lately? Yeah, half the price of a good one is how much money the seller had to spend on welding it back together. 🤣 Apologies for the length of the post, Jonny..I just like talking about cars.
When you opened the bonnet , I had flashbacks to my 1980 Alfa Romeo Gillette with the famed twin overhead cam engine.. great video and good to see an owner that kept you on your toes. Lol
What a brilliant Barn find this was! Posh Barn! no cobwebs! Time capsule of a beautiful car! The enthusiasm of the owners was magnetic and the banter was lovely!
@@tlinford Thank you. This was filmed at my dad’s place. He’s 87, can no longer drive due to his poor eyesight, but keeps everything immaculate! Graeme.
I’m 55. I learnt to drive in that car here in Australia back in the day. It was my mums shopping trolley. Five speed stick. Loved the Celica Liftback. Hers was a 77. I think it still had the round headlights. The 79 was facelifted to rectangular.
Jesus, you get a real time machine effect with this car! I was not even born when this machine rolled out the factory but it must be an amazing experience to drive it now! Amazing find and props to Graeme who looks like he knows at least as much about old cars as Jonny does. Just blown away by the whole thing, really. I hope this car gets a few more drives under its belt!
My brother in law had one of these in the early 80s, replacing a Corolla. It was beige. I much preferred his rectangular headlights to the double round ones. The car looks a lot nicer from the front with those lights. I have very fond memories of going to play snooker with him. A lovely, sumptuous, ride and all the dashboard lit up in green when the lights were on. It seemed very classy at the time. He subsequently had the last generation Celica, which I didn't like nearly as much, as it veered more towards being a purist's sports car. He had a young family of 3 by then. It was completely impractical when they all needed to visit!
Another brilliant episode. What's a brown beauty that is glad the dad got to see it as well. Hopefully we get follow-ups on these when it's all completely restored And Jonny can stare at the aerial😂
Awesome video!!! I couldn’t believe when I was watching this how much the surroundings was looking so familiar!! I then realised after seeing the photos that I bought all my fishing bits and my dad bought nails and bits and bobs when that was a Hardware shop!! Im a dedicated car enthusiast from Methwold 😃😃😃😃👍👍👍
Ah, memories! Back in the early 90's in NZ, I had a JDM 1981 gen-2 notchback GT RA45 (18R-GEU + W50), red (391) paint and black-grey interior -- the car I regret selling the most. Also had a JDM 1980 MA45 Celica XX (1st gen Supra), and a JDM gen-3 1981 TA63 (3T-EU) notchback, and built a Vauxhall Chevette with 18R-GR + W50 power and HS bodykit. And many other 80's JDM Toyotas (Crowns, Chasers, Starlets etc). The Late Brake Show is always brilliant.
As an ex-owner of a Porsche 924, there's so much of this car that compares with it; engine size, big glass back on a coupe shape, plush interior, even the design of the wheels is very similar, and the design is from almost the same date too.
I started my first job in a Toyota dealers the month this car was registered! One of the best engines made back then, actually Yamaha cast the blocks, they did lots of development work together. My favourite car is the one before this, the RA28 with the 18-RG twincam like this....superb cars, I just knew it would easily come back to life! 😍
hello jonny. i saw you at Festival of speed today. got a selfie with you, thank you for showing respect towards me, good to see you don’t just switch up for the camera. like i said. you are my idol. thank you for everything jonny❤
I was looking forward to this from the time I saw the thumbnail - these TA40 Celicas seem to be rare all over the world, but I have liked them from the time they first came out when I was a child, and of course this car was the basis for the original Supra. It has been very well kept and looks practically factory fresh after all these years.
Ah, I realy do miss those. I think the fate of so many had to do with them remaining so practical when cars were starting to get rather faster and all, so they would filter through the used market till they were finally done by rust or use. (And those of us who loved em tended to prefer the older body style.)
I had a KP60 starlet of the same year. My first car! I can smell it again, the interior plastics were the same colours. And that Bright green owners manual? Pure nostalgia.
These are such wonderful vehicles. I worked at a Toyota dealer in Tooting in the early eighties. It was my first full time job. I took my apprenticeship working on Toyotas, and I so remember working on these. I went to the Toyota training centre both in Croydon, and the main HQ in Cirencester to learn the ins, and outs of these, and several other models. Toyotas of that era do hold such a great place in my heart. I really enjoy seeing them on the road. There was never a 1.4 litre though with these. It was purely a 1.6 litre, and of course the 2000 cc. We always had a team come in to fit the sunroofs, and a company to do vinyl roofs too. We would fit tow bars at times, but also had a company do them too. We also put the fog lights in too. A full size spare wheel & tyre too back in those days, so it will be the alloy wheel that you see fitted to the car. Wonderful video. 👍
Aloha Jonny , another great story with the reward of seeing a loved car brought back to life. I hope you filmed the Daimler Dart for a future episode/follow up . I am a Big Daimler fan & have a 4.5 Daimler Hemi in my 1932 Ford Roadster here in Hawaii ( I am an Ex Pat ). Cheers from Kona Hawaii.
Yes this model wasn't the most popular Celica however in Australia Japanese cars were all the rage in the late 70s and the 80s. The hatch was more popular than the fixed head coupe because it offered greater versatility. I love this one has the hello.spot lights too, as they were the best lighting one could get 44 Years ago! Well done. Get it back on the road.
Loved this. I had 2 of them 30 years ago. Long legged extremely smooth cruising cars. Prone to blowing head gaskets if you dropped the clutch. Rather than repair it, I discovered it was the same price to engine swap it with a later model, low km 2.8 supra engine. Shocked when it was engine swapped and delivered back to me in one day.
Great vid as usual Johnny, my stepfather had several slightly later gen. celicas all from new then onto new Supras most years there after… 2.8’s, 3.0 etc…. at the same time my mum had Corolla GT front wheel drive then onto a raft of MR2’s… all from new…… you. could say they liked their Toyotas..! lol….. keep feeding us this great channel…. 👍🍺
It’s funny but when it was new I wouldn’t have had one but now I think it has a great deal of appeal and charm and the condition is truly incredible and a testament to the late owners care 🏴👍🏻
I've watched many of your episodes, loved this one. Had one of these as my second or third car back in the late 80s. Same car year, same colour, just without that special roof! Drove it a few years before it rotted away - which is testament as to how well this one has been looked after.
Yes @thelatebrakeshow Johnny back to barn finds. Bloody love these. It's a fantasy for most petrol heads to find old motors. Amount of time I have passed old garages and farms and notice something and start to dream about some person who does not know about the gem they have and buying off them and then that first clean.
Stunning! My friend had one of these as his first car in 1984. It was a 1978 liftback in lime green! Seeing the dash and interior brought back memories.
I owned a Celica of that vintage - HNB 86V. Loved it. Bought second hand with about 20,000 miles on it, ran it to over 100,000 miles and i never got tired of driving it.
I only have one experience of these cars. That is a family friend with his other half who turned up at the petrol station where I worked in his Celica 2000 GT just before closing. He insisted on giving me a lift home which wouldn’t have been a problem if I hadn’t had my road bike. Nevertheless me and the velo were levered and folded in through the tailgate on top of the flattened rear seat to endure a side-to-side, slidey, cramped (I’m 6’ tall) 15 mile trip back to my house. Thanks for the memory, Ed.😂
I had a twenty fifth anniversary model. Bought it when it was four years old, back in 2001 and finally had to scrap it in 2022. Absolutely fantastic car to drive and I certainly did drive it. It had done 37K when I bought it and by the time I parted with it, it had aver 220K on the clock. I didn't really want to get rid of it, but the chassis was in a bad way and would ultimately, have been condemned, so it had to go. Still miss it.