1985 Toyota Celica XT

Tag : Padding Felt

Celicas to some degree have always been a little more show than go,but give me a stylish coupe over a more mundane four door any day.
Like many Japanese cars of their time, it looks like the designersdrew the whole thing with a straight rule, as there's not a singlecurvy line on here, and to be honest that's the way I like it.
I've always been a fan of this particular model, even the sometimesmaligned sedan/saloon with it's slightly 'squinty' rear lights.Sleek lines continue up front with the facelifted pop up headlampswhich still put a wry smile on my face every time they slide backdown, which I believe is a marginal improvement to the earlier'flip forward' headlamps (and probably help aerodynamics) with thenew arrangement leaving a smart uncluttered black fascia runningthe entire front of the car. Some other designer touches are thefake brake vents in the rear quarters, which I could live without,and the rather dated matte black rear bumpers.
Inside is how it should be, with the usual flat coloured plastic inabundance. My car came in a rather pedestrian brown (instead of thenorm grey) with matching 'granddad' check trim in the seats, whichlook awfully dated.
The driving position is good, for a variety of people withadjustable tilt steering wheel, and well placed pedals along with afoot rest beside the brake.
Instruments are equally laid out well, with simple tach and speedoas well as amp meter and a rather lively petrol tank dial; theneedle seems to move way too much than it needed to, in fact thismay have been a fault as it rarely shows full on a filling of thetank, and can flitter between half way and quarter full when thereis evidently more gas in the tank.
Also the slightly amusing 'fishing reel' controls for the rear washwipe and the god awfully cheap looking oil change recorder looklike a bit of an afterthought, but do the job once you getaccustomed to them.
Visibility is top notch with a large glass area and thin bodypillars. In the hot Australian climate, I did find the glass almosta little too open and unprotected from the sun, and was at leastthankful this car did not have a sunroof.
Having said that, the interior has seemed to have faired well, withno visible cracks or damage caused by the sun, apart from a bit offade to the trim.
Seats are a relatively comfortable if a little lightweight on thepadding, and as with previous Celicas seem mounted very low,something I needed to be reminded of after plonking down on theseats heavily after expecting them to be a fair bit higher thanthey were. The angled headrests seemed a bit intrusive for tallerdrivers.
Doors feel solid enough, but I found the glass that butts up to thepillarless body a little loose and rattly, though this may havebeen more down to their age than the design itself.
On the road, everything is untaxing, like previous Celicas thesteering is light (I believe all models in this range had powersteering) as are the pedals, and you can understand why these carsare so popular with women drivers.
The body roll and ride seem firm enough, but never stiff, with theonly the front end seeming a little bobby when unsettled by roughroads or substantial potholes or imperfections, though whether allCelicas were like this off the factory floor, or my car was showingits age. The rear was also but to a lesser extent the same, but wasremedied by fitting nolathane bushes at the rear, something (andthe only thing after initial purchase) that was required to passRoadworthiness in Australia.
Around town the XT proved capable if a little livelier thanexpected off of the lights for an Auto, while out on the openhighway the 2.4 felt equally at home, steady at high speed and atease eating up the miles.
Road noise is evident but not irritatingly so, as was wind upagainst the A-pillars from anything over 80km/h.
The Auto itself was perhaps the poorest working part of the car,with a general slackness common in older cars, and took its owntime to change up gears when required. There was also a noticeableclonk from the diff when decelerating or braking in traffic, andcould imagine the car being a real smooth performer once theseparts are looked, fixed or replaced.
Bodywise this car has its fair share of bad spots going by thenumber of rust buckets I see lingering around town, with perhapsthe rear hatch copping the worst of it, even though the car neverseems tinny or lightweight like some other Japanese cars of it'stime. Around the windscreen seems another weak spot, and my car hasalready some minimal perforations that will require closerinspection. However wheel arches seem strangely absent ofcorrosion, and would have thought to be the first area to be avictim.
Above all, coming away with this mid eighties Celica, seems to havebeen a successful one, as yet it has not let me down, and for a carso cheap, only the rear bushes needed replacing, and ultimately theNolathane replacements have improved the car and it's stability,and my experience has made me consider doing the same at the front.
Despite a slack Auto and clunking diff, the performance is stillthere, and probably due to the injection system more than anythingelse over older carburettor models.
I still like the look of it, especially as these older cars areless plentiful outside of a wreckers yard. And choosing a liftbackover the sedan/saloon has proved to be a wise one, it has literallybeen astounding how big and bulky items I have managed to cram intothe back of this thing; all I need to do know is let my other halfhave the opportunity to learn to drive in it!