Sooner the better build '79 Te51

[ItsaCorolla]

Haha get it, sooner...because I'm from Oklahoma... anyways

I recently purchased my first classic Japanese car. It's a 1979 2TC powered Corolla so I'm not sure it's quite in the classic category yet but at least it's the sport coupe SR5 model. When I got the car the interior was in rough shape, it was missing numerous pieces, the entire rear interior and the front seats were two passenger seats rigged to fit (worse still each was a different color). The body was in good shape for it's age and aside from the color included a few perks like a brand new Weber, a vintage set of Enkei Compe8's and a folding rag top. Not a bad deal. The best part by far though was it only had 83k original miles.



I plan to slowly build the car in a sort of "restomod" fashion. I've been aimlessly wondering severa forums (mainly here and JNC) for ideas as well as browsing Craigslist for some deals. A 1uz-fe would be fun but the 5spd swaps are so expensive and a decent W58 is hard to come by around here for least that an arm and your first born. It may still happen but the stock engine is running well for now and with paint and other projects in the works that's still a ways off.

Anyways here are some pics from the day I purchased it after only a wash and vacuum. By the first weekend the interior was completely taken out (including the trunk and carpet) and I was happy to discover this thing is nearly rust free. All I could find was some surface rust on the damage fender and around the headlight. Not bad considering the previous owner brought down from Washington state.

[rice4life]

Great read, great car, great wheels, great color.

Love it.

[ItsaCorolla]

My next project came a week or two after driving it back and forth to class and around town. I was sick of driving with the ugly mismatched seats that were barely bolted down and missing panels making it impossible to enjoy my stereo from 1982. I couldn't find a parts car locally so I went to the local pick-n-pull salvage yard and scored two 1G DSM seats for $26. They're a little rough but match my color scheme and fit the dimensions I needed.



A few strips of steel,a angle grinder and POR15 later I had two matching seats in the car and my bare green interior was taking it's first steps to being converted to all black.

Next up was the missing panels. I framed up a percel shelf/bench behind the front seats and stenciled out some replacement panels with poster board. I then cut them out of 1/4 inch sheet wood and covered each with black leather to match. The finish needs a little work but it's not terrible for my first attempt. I thought my hardware choice here would give the panels a retro look but I'm starting to grow tired of it. I make paint everything black and then go from there.

Since I don't have a back seat now, does that mean it's a Roadster? lol

[ItsaCorolla]

Great read, great car, great wheels, great color.

Love it.

Thank you, it's been a great car so far and while I loved my previous SC400, this thing gets 35+ mpg. Haha I'm not sure the SC could of got that while being towed

After another week or so of driving with the "new' interior I again grew restless and put the car on stands and proceeded to tear it apart. The weather here has been pretty cold and damp so I've been stuck inside. Why not use that time wisely and start a new project All the trim, bumpers, badges etc came off of the car and the DA went to work. While I love the fact that the original green as unique it just wasn't to my taste. It was also the original paint (ducks for cover) and while it was in decent shape it was still showing it's age in spot. On a day that was just too cold to paint I thought I'd take a few hours to repaint the badges. Old badges and parts for these cars are getting harder and harder to find so I try to save/refinish when I can. Here are some of them the after a few hours with a tiny brush and the first coat of new paint.






Also here's a few pics of the car being torn down. Sorry for the low quality here. With all the dust I didn't want to get my good camera out. I found a little more rust hiding below the paint in the rear quarter and the front fender was worse than I thought so off it came for a little hammer and dolly work.

[MikeyRa]

This is so damn cool. I want an old kamikaze car!

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[rice4life]

I love what you did with the interior.

May I ask why a 1uzfe over a 4age or agze?

My neighbors dad has a yellow one with a fully built 2tc in it, its loud as hell and wakes up the whole neighborhood.

[ItsaCorolla]

That brings everything up to date and details what I'll doing this week. Here's a list of things I ordered this weekend which will find they're way back on the car once paint is done.

Also as a request if anyone is familiar with the solid rear axle/leaf spring setup on these cars I'm searching for advice/input on how to drop the car. I'm considering bags but this would be the first setup I'd every owned/installed so any knowledge you could share would be greatly appreciated.


CCW knock-offs ( I know I know, I love the originals but as a student and married man I just can't justify $2500 for wheels on a car that I bought for half that)
Front 15x8 +0 Rear 16x9 +0


Datsun ZG arches


VW mk1 chin spoiler


Te27 rear deck wing re-glassed to fit


Harness bar with four point belts

H4 sealed beam replacements

and a few other OEM odds and ends that needed to be replaced like trim etc

[ItsaCorolla]

I love what you did with the interior.

May I ask why a 1uzfe over a 4age or agze?

My neighbors dad has a yellow one with a fully built 2tc in it, its loud as hell and wakes up the whole neighborhood.

Mainly the cost of the engine itself. My location is pretty prohibitive when it comes to sourcing JDM engines and 4age's sell for twice what a decent mileage 1UZ goes for, which I can find locally by the handful. From what I've read on JNC, club4ag, and a few other source the 1UZ can be swapped in with little work. A shimmed rack and modified stock mounts vs a 4age swap which requires custom built mounts. Of course there's wiring and custom drive shafts etc needed like most swaps. Also V8

As far as the 2TC goes according to the machine shops and builder I spoke to, the build cost is upwards of $4k just for a standard rebuild. There are only two companies that I've found that specialize in these motors and they are fading out as well. Like I said earlier parts are getting harder and harder to come by, so that means a lot of custom work and custom built/machined parts. All that equates to higher costs for me.

[ItsaCorolla]

This is so damn cool. I want an old kamikaze car!

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Thanks. If you find one grab it and hold on to it. There are fewer and fewer of these in the states these days. No one every expected some cheap Japanese upstart called Toyota to last so not many of these were kept around/maintained.

[MWyeS]

I was soo close to buying a te51 lift-back but i talked myself out of it.

[MWyeS]

Anyways, car looks good OP. cant wait to see what you do with it.

subbed

[lewda]

i can dig it, I love where this is going already!

[ItsaCorolla]

Oops, forgot one. This is just a crappy cell phone pic, a little teaser after the base coat. Several more to go and a lot of wet sanding left.

[Daffy]

In for more!

[MartinsElerts]

I think I found my new favorite car
The rear seat space shave looks a bit dodgy, but hey, we all learn by doing, and maybe next time You'll make it better.
In for more of Your work.