Check out Steve Groenink’s jaw-dropping 1973 Toyota Celica. The old school ‘Yota certainly as the look What you see here represents five years of knuckle busting as Groenink has worked hard to get his car to this point … and its appeal is more than skin deep.

We came across this gem on engineswapdepot.com so you know there’s no ’70s era four banger under the hood. The old timer is motivated by a Toyota 1UZ-FE V8 sourced from a 1992 Celsior. Groenink kept in the family going with a Toyota engine. The 1UZ is found in the Lexus LS400, GS400, and SC400 here in the U.S. It was rated at between 250 and 290 horsepower during its American production run from 1989 to 2000. These powerplants are stout and Groenink pushed matters by turbocharging the 1UZ. The car’s first turbo system consisted of a single Precision 6262 turbocharger. Running 12 psi of boost it took the internally stock V8 to 573 wheel horsepower. The car ran the stock Crown A340e automatic transmission that Groenink configured to operate in manual shift mode before surrendering and swapping in a Toyota five-speed manual. The rear end is an 8-inch unit sourced from a 1989 two-wheel-drive truck which was narrowed five inches.

“>See it run here.

As his build threads attest, coaxing a 4.0-liter V8 with the pipes and plumbing to accommodate a turbo system into the space Toyota designed for 2.2-liter four cylinder is quite an accomplishment. The firewall was heavily modified, the steering box replaced, and the brake system was reworked to name just a few of the challenges.

In the end the restricted airflow at the front of the car caused overheating issues. SO Broenink reconfigured the nose of the car and elected to build the up the V8. The 1UZ was upgraded with hardened internals, namely Ross 9.5:1 pistons and TTC chromoly I-beam rods. A set of Crower 264/272 cams were installed in the heads and a second Precision 6262 turbocharger was added to the mix. As a twin-turbo the 1UZ belts out 650 horsepower to the wheels at 17 psi.

Groenink has certainly given this old school Celica anew lease on like. The big question is, what will he do to it next?