Classic Toyota Celica Gets Pristine S2000 Swap

Best of the Best

While a handful of folks have taken on the blasphemous act of swapping a Honda engine into a Toyota vehicle, this 1977 Celica previously featured at MotorTrend might just be the nicest we've ever laid eyes on. This rolling work of art has been around for a few years now but recently popped up for sale, giving us yet another look to drool over its utterly amazing build quality.

Photos: MotorTrend

Deceiving Looks

Peter and Theresa Vong found this vintage Celica up for sale some time ago, and it presented them with the opportunity to do something truly special. The car was already packing an S2000 powerplant and looked to be in pretty good shape on the surface, but underneath, that, unfortunately, wasn't the case.

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Major Rot

"I bought the car off of the Internet, so it was completely sight-unseen," Vong said. "I had photos and videos that the owner sent me, but it was in far worse condition than I thought. It originally came from Oklahoma City so the car had a ton of rust. When I received the car, I noticed that the bright green was just a single layer. You can still see the original red paint revealing itself along with the exposed rust. The floorboard on the driver's side had two holes from rust that were large enough for me to put my foot through it while driving."

Photos: MotorTrend

Total Makeover

Things were so bad that the Vongs decided to strip the vintage Celica down to its bare chassis and start over, blasting away all the rot and making it like new again. From there, they finished it in Midnight Purple, a Nissan Skyline color, while also updating the exterior with "Smiley" fiberglass pieces, a TRD chin spoiler, a TRD rear spoiler, and over-fenders.

Photos: MotorTrend

Riding on Air

Next, an air suspension was installed to provide a cushy ride and adjustability, a setup that consists of an Accuair VU4 4-corner valve unit, Bilstein shocks, and Addco sway bars. That allows the vintage Toyota to hunker down over its custom-built BBS RS wheels, which measure 16 inches in diameter.

Photos: MotorTrend

Drivetrain

Neo chrome gives the F22C powerplant a unique iridescent chrome finish, while the S2000-derived engine itself has been treated to some upgrades including 48mm Jenvey ITBs and a J's Racing header. The inline-four is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox and a TRD limited-slip differential from a Zenki AE86.

Photos: MotorTrend

>>Join the conversation about this F22C swapped Celica right here at S2Ki.com.

Icing on the Cake

Throw in a modernized cabin, and this Celica is easily one of the nicest we've ever laid eyes on. The fact that it's powered by a Honda motor, well, that's just icing on the proverbial cake.

Photos: MotorTrend