Where to start! This car was bought through auction in Japan during February 2019. The only way to buy these cars as they are ultra rare being JDM only models. Classic car dealers in Japan won’t sell TA27 models to buyers from outside of Japan, being so rare they are desperate to keep them in Japan, I know as i tried!
For the purchase I used GT Torque who have a great reputation and 20 years experience of importing cars from Japan. 5 months of checking auctions dally only bought up two of these cars one of which needed full restoration and one was this example. The auction sheet rated the car at 3.5 out of 5 which for a 45 year old car is really as good as it gets. The rating is only a guide so i had the car inspected in japan prior to auction and also had 30 photos of the car including on the ramp underneath. The inspection confirmed the condition was as good as it looked so the decision was made to bid on the car. The next morning i got the call we had secured the car, because the car was in such good condition the decision was made to pay extra shipping and have it shipped its own sealed container. Once the car arrived it was registered in the UK with the DVLA in the historic car class, MOT and Tax Exempt with registration VMR 813M.
One of the first things we did once the car was in the garage was to search for rot as unfortunately rust is always going to be lurking on a car of this age with assumed mileage of 117000 km (72700 miles) so the inspections began and the longer we looked we still could not find any or even signs of age related repairs anywhere, the rear arches are all original un rolled with no repairs sections. The original factory spot welds all still on the lips, this would be simply impossible on a car that had been around the clock, We have taken up the carpets and there are no repairs at all, its totally original throughout with no rust. The arches and underneath of the car are spotless with no repairs and original condition its a true time warp car.
This TA27 is a ST model so would have been fitted with a 2tb engine. This has been replaced in the last couple of years in Japan with a rebuilt tuned 2TG engine with hotter cams from the range topping GT model. The engine has been pressure tested at a really healthy 230psi and tuned by the “engine tuner” in the UK on a rolling road, achieving a documented 144bhp with a brand new set of twin weber 40’s fitted. The 2TG engine is fitted to the factory 5 speed gearbox and drives without fault.
This car being an ST model one below the GT probably meant it was owned by an older person and didn’t get much use in its early years and for whatever reason spent many years in storage, its quite likely that during this storage the engine might have seized and the battery leaked as the battery tray is the only repair on the vehicle. This TA27 was then recommissioned in Japan with the range topping engine fitted and the car painted in a metallic version of the original green colour.
Since owning the car i have used american based techno toy tuning T3 suspension parts to lower the car, these are renowned as the highest quality aftermarket suspension parts for these cars and not cheap parts at all. I would never do anything to a car of this vintage that couldn’t be easily reversed so all the original suspension components are with the car and everything has been carefully fitted to ensure the wheel arches have not been touched or rubbed by the current set up.
I have boxes of rare original spare parts that will be included in the sale worth 1000’s The car lives in a free standing air chamber in the garage, this could also be included in the sale.
To sum up this is a totally usable but ultra cool classic car that is genuinely rust free without welds and repairs. The only repair on the car is the battery tray area
The cars mileage is only 10,000 miles any inspection is welcome and encouraged to verify how solid this car is.
The TA27 & RA25 celica were only built between 1973 -1975 and sold only into the Japanese market they are the original lift back model. It had many design differences to the worldwide market lift back released in 1976
The TA27 and RA25 models were the same car but with different engine codes - TA had the 1600 t engine code and the RA had the 2000 R Engine code
It had many differences to the worldwide market lift back released in 1976.
For the purchase I used GT Torque who have a great reputation and 20 years experience of importing cars from Japan. 5 months of checking auctions dally only bought up two of these cars one of which needed full restoration and one was this example. The auction sheet rated the car at 3.5 out of 5 which for a 45 year old car is really as good as it gets. The rating is only a guide so i had the car inspected in japan prior to auction and also had 30 photos of the car including on the ramp underneath. The inspection confirmed the condition was as good as it looked so the decision was made to bid on the car. The next morning i got the call we had secured the car, because the car was in such good condition the decision was made to pay extra shipping and have it shipped its own sealed container. Once the car arrived it was registered in the UK with the DVLA in the historic car class, MOT and Tax Exempt with registration VMR 813M.
One of the first things we did once the car was in the garage was to search for rot as unfortunately rust is always going to be lurking on a car of this age with assumed mileage of 117000 km (72700 miles) so the inspections began and the longer we looked we still could not find any or even signs of age related repairs anywhere, the rear arches are all original un rolled with no repairs sections. The original factory spot welds all still on the lips, this would be simply impossible on a car that had been around the clock, We have taken up the carpets and there are no repairs at all, its totally original throughout with no rust. The arches and underneath of the car are spotless with no repairs and original condition its a true time warp car.
This TA27 is a ST model so would have been fitted with a 2tb engine. This has been replaced in the last couple of years in Japan with a rebuilt tuned 2TG engine with hotter cams from the range topping GT model. The engine has been pressure tested at a really healthy 230psi and tuned by the “engine tuner” in the UK on a rolling road, achieving a documented 144bhp with a brand new set of twin weber 40’s fitted. The 2TG engine is fitted to the factory 5 speed gearbox and drives without fault.
This car being an ST model one below the GT probably meant it was owned by an older person and didn’t get much use in its early years and for whatever reason spent many years in storage, its quite likely that during this storage the engine might have seized and the battery leaked as the battery tray is the only repair on the vehicle. This TA27 was then recommissioned in Japan with the range topping engine fitted and the car painted in a metallic version of the original green colour.
Since owning the car i have used american based techno toy tuning T3 suspension parts to lower the car, these are renowned as the highest quality aftermarket suspension parts for these cars and not cheap parts at all. I would never do anything to a car of this vintage that couldn’t be easily reversed so all the original suspension components are with the car and everything has been carefully fitted to ensure the wheel arches have not been touched or rubbed by the current set up.
I have boxes of rare original spare parts that will be included in the sale worth 1000’s The car lives in a free standing air chamber in the garage, this could also be included in the sale.
To sum up this is a totally usable but ultra cool classic car that is genuinely rust free without welds and repairs. The only repair on the car is the battery tray area
The cars mileage is only 10,000 miles any inspection is welcome and encouraged to verify how solid this car is.
The TA27 & RA25 celica were only built between 1973 -1975 and sold only into the Japanese market they are the original lift back model. It had many design differences to the worldwide market lift back released in 1976
The TA27 and RA25 models were the same car but with different engine codes - TA had the 1600 t engine code and the RA had the 2000 R Engine code
It had many differences to the worldwide market lift back released in 1976.
