To the automotive world, the Ford Mustang was a bomb blast when it debuted. Options, engine ranges, colors, even the overall appearance with it’s short deck, long hood and squared-off but sporty lines sent other manufacturers scurrying to get something whipped up that could hold a candle next to Ford’s winning formula. General Motors, Chrysler and American Motors took the Mustang head-on with pony cars, with GM keeping the closest pace. But over in Japan, brands that were bent on making inroads into the American market knew that they needed something that was similar to what the Mustang offered if they wanted to have a good chance of being taken seriously. Enter Toyota and the Celica, whose first generation body design smacked of the Ford Mustang in all of the right ways. 
For the second-generation Celica, there were two different looks. This car is the Series A, which was produced for 1978-79, had the round headlights and different tail lights than the Series B model that ran through 1981. The engine is the 20R four-cylinder, good for 95 horsepower and 122 lb/ft of torque. The seller claims that this is an automatic-equipped car, but from where we sit, that sure looks like a manual transmission’s shifter, so it’s a coin toss between a four-speed and a five-speed…our money says four-on-the-floor. The Celica could use some cleaning, but otherwise it’s all there and looks to be pretty solid. 
Growing up, the adults would shoot their mouths off constantly about these cars, about how they were cheap throwaway items. Amazing how time puts these cars in a different light…it needs any other color and some TLC, but there’s potential here. Not everything has to be V8 and built to kill…though, we wouldn’t blame you if this Celica happened to go under the knife, either.
I wouldn’t complain about a V8 swap, but this car seems to need a really weird swap instead. Maybe a bridgeported Mazda rotary, or a Honda K series built to rev to the moon.
Had a ’78 GT hatchback with the 5 speed back in the day from a tote-the-note car lot. Total POS! Had to replace a clogged fuel filter with the barrel from a BIC pen to get to work one day, but that 5 speed sure was fun!