The builder of this next car appears to have gotten the cart slightly ahead of the horse, or the intercooler ahead of the hood, as they say. There is nothing wrong with swapping in a 4AGZE from an MR2 into a front-engine rear-drive Corolla chassis, but you might find out that the hood won’t close […]
This next car comes as a tip from Matt C who writes: The bad: Needs new paint, and who knows what the primer’s hiding. Can’t tell how bad the interior is from these pictures. The good: Manual transmission – for once, it’s an old Japanese car that’s not an automatic. Runs and drives, and with […]
The third generation of Toyota’s Corolla was sold from 1974 through 1981 and is probably the vehicle you could credit with putting Toyota on the trajectory from a Saab-sized company in 1974 to the worlds biggest builder of automobiles in 2021. The Corolla wasn’t fastest or the sportiest or the best car you could buy in 1974, but where American cars used electronic carburetors and digital dashboards to get buyers in the showrooms to plunk down you cash, the Corolla was just as simple thing that you could run for miles with basic maintenance. I don’t know if it makes sense as a classic, because classics are supposed to be pretty or loud or flashy or rare, but for the asking price you can’t get much these days. Find this 1978 Toyota Corolla Liftback Deluxe offered for $3000 in South Pasadena, CA via craigslist. Tip from Rock On!
The easiest way to describe an engine to a novice is that it is an air pump. The more air you pump, the more horsepower you make. If your original engine had a silly little plastic airbox, then you replace it with individual throttle bodies. If you original engine had a exhaust manifold with a Lincoln Log logo on the side, then replace it with headers. Just keep increasing the amount of air you engine can flow and eventually it will be as wicked as this next thing. Find this 1982 Toyota Corolla SR5 Liftback offered for $7,500 in San Mateo, CA via craigslist.
This next yellow thing comes from tipper JB1025 who writes; Toyota Corolla super low miles Cleaner then Skeeter’s Peter. Is it worth this money ? Hard to find this clean! I’ve answered this question before, but I’ll ask again; Why is it that the nicest preserved classics are always equipped with automatic transmissions? Because the […]
It is difficult to remember that there was a time when Toyota made good looking cars for the average consumer, but here it is in the flesh. Feast your eyes on the two-tone brown-gold beauty with sharp lines and a hood with a subtle bulge — that is subdued style. And, I haven’t even mentioned the sweet liftback shape – yowza! This is the same company (Toyota!) that today makes all manner of bulbous monstrosities decked out with fake wings/scoops/lights, what happened? Find this 1986 Toyota Camry Liftback offered for $6,900 buy-it-now located in Irvine, CA via eBay.
The first generation Toyota Celica was built in Japan for world wide consumption from 1970 through 1977 and sold in large quantities as a Japanese downsized antidote to the bloated ‘Merican sports coupes of the day. In 1976 a liftback version was released in North America that resembled a 7/8ths scale Mustang, but regardless the […]
This next car appears to be a surprisingly well preserved example of a car from the year that Star Wars first splashed on the big screen. It is offered for no reserve, is one family owned..looks remarkably well kept and original(except for repaint). The only thing it appears to be missing are the “GT” stripes […]
I’ve always been a fan of the 6th generation T200 Toyota Celica…particularly in the liftback style — it combines decent sportiness (for a 90s Japanese economy car) with everyday practicality (hatchback!) and not-to-hideous styling. In fact, I quite like the aesthetics of the liftback, it sorta looks like a 7/8ths scale 3rd gen Toyota Supra. […]
By Matt –– Forgive me for making assumptions here but you, me, and all of our friends are priced out of the original Mazda Cosmo, Skyline GT-R, and Toyota 2000GT, among many other things. Most of us would have to switch to Ramen diets to even afford an RX-3 or 240Z that isn’t made of […]