(first posted 8/20/2013) Forty (update: fifty) years is an instant, and an eternity; so many things change, but others hardly change at all. One minute, I’m with a girlfriend, bopping care-free down an Iowa country road in a baby-blue ’71 Mark II, with our long hair blowin’ in the warm wind. Today, we exchange e-mails halfway around the globe about our grown kids and frail parents. And although we’re obviously older (and hopefully, wiser), grayer, and no longer so nimble, our personalities are fundamentally the same. That’s the constant we instantly recognize and love when it comes to family and old friends, even if the packaging changes a bit over time. That also applies to some cars, and especially to this Toyota.
In car time, 40 years really is an eternity, unless you’re Morgan. So many brands have come and gone along with their position in the marketplace. One year, it’s performance. The next, fuel economy, or luxury, or…well, even Mercedes seems like a different company today. But there are a few exceptions, and it’s hard for me to think of a more consistent company than Toyota, especially with its mid-size cars like this Mark II, the spiritual predecessor of today’s Camry. And you wonder why folks my age so readily keep buying them? As with our old friends and family members, we recognize their enduring qualities, even if the packaging is now bigger and softer.
Even the advertising theme is familiar: Well, maybe not the part about the lighter being concealed behind a panel, although that is typical Toyota attention to detail. It’s all about the quietness of the engine, and the comfort of the cabin: “It’s roomy without being big. Luxurious without being expensive. And economical without being noisy. TOYOTA, we’re quality oriented.” That pretty much sums up both the company and its bread-and-butter sedans.
Toyota conquered the U.S. market with those values and its sedans. Their first big seller was the Corona, which was from today’s vantage point quite a small car. The Corona started to really sell in the last years of the Sixties, and in 1968 was augmented by the then-tiny Corolla. The Corona Mark II, (later just Mark II), appeared hereabouts in ’68 or ’69 as a slightly longer, wider and more upscale version of the rather plain-Jane Corona. It signaled that Toyota was not just going to be an economy-car company forever.
It featured a brand new engine, the SOHC 1900 cc 8R, which was praised by the press for its even power delivery and smoothness. Rated at 108 (gross) hp, it supposedly was fast enough to push the Mark II up to 105 mph. My limited experience in the Mark II never allowed me to confirm that; her parents split up about then, and the Mark II went off with Daddy.
But the driving experience was classic Toyota: unexciting and uninspiring, yet exuding a self-assured air of quality and Japanese precision. The engine hummed, the manual transmission shifted perfectly, the interior was a very pleasant place to be and the steering and handling were both humdrum.
A Datsun 510 it was not, but within a few years Datsun was trying way too hard to turn their sedans into Toyota clones. The Mark II had established itself as Toyota’s first step-up car on a trajectory that would eventually lead to Lexus. Perhaps the Mark II was really the first ES; I’ll bet that more than one ES driver started out with a Mark II.
The gen-two Mark II (X10/X20 Series) were significantly bigger cars with six-cylinder engines. Since the second-generation Crown didn’t sell well here (when was the last time you saw a Crown?), the Mark II became Toyota’s top model (try finding one of those too). The gen-three Mark II was the first to wear the Cressida name in the U.S., so this car is a direct descendant of that storied Toyota.
I do have Cressidas, so sometime we’ll pick up that thread, as well as the Corona’s, of which I’ve had the good fortune to find some nice early versions. Although I’d pretty much given up on finding a Mark II, suddenly there it was, still looking for all the world like a daily driver right down to its original license-plate protector. It was like running into an old friend from 40 years ago who’s still wearing the very same clothes.
Well, don’t look at her skin too closely; time does take a bit of a toll. But the essence is all there, and the memories come flooding back.
That jutting chin,
and a few busy details trying to add a bit of pizazz to a pretty generic body. Toyota styling would neither sear nor seduce your eyeballs. While it might look a bit odd at first, it rather grows on you a bit–and at the least, it doesn’t age badly. Mostly, that still applies today, with some exceptions, one of which I consider to be the current Camry.
Well, its been a treat. Lots of old cars make you feel like it’s been a really long 40 years; everything about them seems so…different. But this Mark II, well, just exudes familiarity. And that’s what we want in old friends, no?
Wonderfully true. ’86 Celica, ’01 Prius, ’10 Prius in my case.
My best friend got a new ’70 Corona much like this one, and was a big evangelist for a brand no one heard of. I on the other hand had to get a Pinto. I badly wanted a Datsun 510 or Corolla SR5, but WWII-vet Dad helped out on the payments so we had to buy American.
Quite a few early Toyota dealers had been Studebaker dealers. Oh what a feeling they must have had.
Odd to see a LHD car with Japanese-spec fender mirrors.
I’m glad this owner put mirrors on the fenders JDM style as I remember these having little chrome “dimples” on the fenders to fill in the holes that were punched in for JDM and other markets. I remember these showing up in California about the spring of 1969, so if there are any early examples still around, they’d have a “Z” series black plate.
My Dad babysat his friend’s 1970 Mark II Corona while he spent several months in India. I thought at the time (about age 11) it was a pretty neat car. Not a barn burner (at least with the 3 speed automatic), but like a “budget T-Bird.”
It’s too bad Toyota lost its way in the 21st Century: my son bought a new Corolla– six months in, the automatic transmission self-destructed. It was covered under warranty, but he was so shaken, he sold the car. I recent drove a 2010 Matrix: the interior seemed cheap and flimsy, almost Yugo-like… and the gas mileage? A surprisingly poor 20 mpg… not very good, considering my son’s Ford F-150 truck can get 19 mpg! These new Toyota vehicles are in direct contrast to my other son’s 1983 Corolla: over 200,000 miles and solid as a rock… now, if only I could by ANOTHER 1983 Toyota! (or a brand-new 1972 Toyota Hilux pickup truck!)
If I could but a new 1965-83 Toyota, oh man. So many to choose from.
Today? Maybe a 4×4 4Runner, despite its faults, its as close as we get. I’d probably choose the Subaru version of the 86.
Unless we’re talking outside the U.S., then the choice is clear.
We ran 3 cars in Tasmania a 63 EH Holden Special , 82 rwd 323 van and a Toyota MK2 Corona a 74 with 2.6 crown motor, great old car got it as payment for a respray on a VW Bug. I could tow a 1000kg recovery trailer on with a dead Kombi van on and cruise at 60mph, Nice torquey motor and a reasonably light car. In the wet at 50mph floor the gas it would drop into 1st and wheelspin but be gentle on the throttle and it would drive in top gear in town starts and all, It was ok on gas except when you booted it , The build quality must have good coz despite lots of gravel road use that car was rust and rattle free and original paint wish I still had that 1.
Hi Bryce I have a 4 door mark 2 exact same year and engine as yours the dealer installed vinyl top and side mouldings are still in like new condition it has 38,000 original miles, gets a lot of thumbs up when I take it out,I love it and will never sell it.
Paul,
I not only like old cars, but I also like to look at some of the old dealer buildings.
If you want to see what the first Toyota dealership in Eugene looked like, look diagonally across from St. Mary’s Church on 11th and Charnelton. The (incredibly small) building is now a laundromat, dry cleaner, or something like that.
That is amazing. I saw an almost identical one except it had stock hubcaps
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveseven/4017071820/
rear – http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveseven/4016299961/in/photostream/
interior – http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveseven/4017062128/in/photostream/ with automatic 🙁
Nice writing, as always. But would you please clean your camera lens? And if that doesn’t work (and it’s an SLR, where this is possible), clean your image sensor. This Toyota wasn’t much to look at, but neither were your dust bunnies.
I missed you comment when you first posted it, but you’re right. I took my old Lumix apart and blew out the sensor a couple of times; improved things a bit, but the spots would never go away. Plus, there seems to be some sort of haze that appears very badly in certain light conditions. Years of carrying it around in my pocket must have lodged crap somewhere. Anyway, I finally broke down and bought a new Lumix. Better 8x optical lens, but just a bit fatter and heavier to make its presence in my pocket distinctly more annoying.
Thank you Paul! That was the very car I had in high school, (81-84) yes a 2 door hardtop just like the one you found. That one has the exact same taillights as mine did, leading me to believe thats a 70 like mine was, not a 71. Still miss her to this day, would love to find one as I have a twin-cam 18RG in the corner of my garage…. 🙂 I still have the owners manual!
My brother had one of these. It was used in Wisconsin and then Illinois. It disappeared in a cloud of (red) dust. Rust was a very bad problem with these vintage Japanese cars.
In the Pacific Islands, these older Japanese cars would disintegrate from the top down; crumbling a pillars, C pillar holes and trunklid lips would crumble . . . I think they licked the rust bug somewhat by ’83-’85 . . . .
My parents had a ’74 Corona MkII. It was such a miserable little car. It was pea green with a brownish gold vinyl interior. The car was so sad, pretending to be sporty, but being really blah.
After owning it less than a year, my father smacked the passenger’s side front fender against a pole in a parking lot. It wasn’t a hard hit and the external damage was almost unnoticeable, but after that the door on that side wouldn’t open, so we all had to climb in through the driver’s side. As a kid, the shame of being picked up from school in that rolling booger was somewhat mitigated by being allowed to climb in through the passenger-side window like we were in Hazard County.
Shortly after that, the engine block cracked and my father gave up on Toyotas and went back to Nissans, where he’s been ever since. I remember my old man’s fury as the Nissan dealer refused to budge on $50 for the Toyota trade in.
Had a ’71 Mark II Corona after college graduation. The underside fell victim to rust that caused significant structural issues over time. The car had 262 thousand miles on the engine and was just starting to burn a small amount of oil when it was taken off the road. Oil and filter changed ever 2 thousand miles. It was a pleasure to drive, handled well, easy to work on and gas mileage was very good.
The Corona MKII definitely holds a unique place in my heart as one of the most mysterious and tempting of the oldschool Toyotas. I’ve only seen 2 in person, a stunning gold 1974 wagon , and a 1971 sedan that has spent decades being preserved under a massive conifer.
Even though I prefer wagons, there’s such a powerful “diamond in the rough” appeal happening under the tree. I picture just hosing the moss off to find the original paint gleaming white.
My very first car! Light blue 71 mark2 🙂 Loved that car…. the fish tank was its name. Killed it coming home from college for a weekend party, made the 1 1/2 drive in 50 mins. Burned up all the oil on the way….
Doing a little research and ran across your site. I’ve retired to Cuenca, Ecuador and am living in an apartment for the month of May, 2012 until the house we’ll be in for the next two years (at least) is available. Sitting outside the door in a driveway unseen from any street sits a 1971 Toyota Corona Mark II pickup truck. It is all original, pretty straight. I can see a little “crooked” in the front grill/valance/bumper and some of that is explained looking at a front end picture you have posted of the blue car. What little I can find indicates this vehicle/year should have had disc brakes in the front, however this one is drum on all four corners. I can see it is a stick shift, but not sure if it is 3 or 4. All the glass is good, I think the paint will actually scrub up pretty good. I’m thinking this is a market unique vehicle for which parts searches might be for a year or two earlier. I hope to hear it run and perhaps drive it in the coming week. The initial price offering is $3,500, Ecuador is on the US dollar. For comparison, we were kicking tires last week and vehicles here are outrageously expensive. We sold a 2008 Ford Fusion SEL with less than 50K on the clock in excellent condition for just under $14K in January. We saw a 2010 model here, 4cyl hybrid for $38K! We also see that KIA offers the old Sportage as well as the new one here. The old model is assembled in Ecuador and this is why I think maybe this particular Mark II may actually be an earlier production but still sold in 1971. Anybody know anything about the truck versions? Thanks, Lenny.
the car you took pics of is my car parked outside my place of employment
“the lady” is a 1970 Toyota corona mark II
this is a newer pic
I’ve always liked this generation Corona Mark II. My aunt and uncle had a 1970 Corona Mark II when I was a boy. I like this, and the 1977 through 1980 Cressida.
These little things disappeared years and years ago in the midwest. I agree – it is not a bad looking little car. Not great, but not bad.
Am I the only one who thinks that “Corona” was the best model name Toyota ever had? Toyota has done a better job than most of picking a name (not some alphanumeric hash) and sticking with it for the long haul. But why did Corona have to go away so soon? Or, maybe it is just my age and the phrase “Toyota Corona” is indelibly etched in my memory from advertising when they were first becoming popular in the 60s.
I remember the Corona name. As I have said, my aunt and uncle had a 1970 Corona Mark II when I was a boy. It’s too bad they sold it. Although it has seen better days, its body was still in good condition. All it needed was some tlc. I’d also buy a Toyota Cressida if I were in the market for one.
Okay, Paul. You did it. You mentioned “1971” and “Corona” in one breath! I break my Toyota silence, because the two aforementioned items stir memories of a great time in my life!
Of course, I bought my beautiful avatar in June, 1970 when in the air force. In early 1971, a guy just assigned to the office I worked in just happened to be from Sacramento, just 40 miles to the south of Beale AFB.
He and I became friends and hung out a lot, and he just happened to have bought a new 1971 Toyota Corolla 2 dr. wagon. Yellow, of course!
The first time I followed him home on a weekend – thanks to him, I spent many weekends enjoying a bit of home life away from my barracks room, not to mention home-cooking, and his parents were very happy to have the extra company and accommodated me quite well and I was grateful and appreciative of their generosity.
His folks had a blue Corona 4 dr. sedan, not sure of the year, but it was almost new. This was the first time I been up close and personal with any foreign cars besides my buddy’s Volvo PV544 and a friend’s Volvo P1800 back in Missouri.
At first I scorned somewhat, but one Saturday in June, we hopped in the Corona with his younger brother and parents and drove up to Lake Tahoe to pull a few slots. I actually made money on that trip – had 5 bucks in my pocket and came home with $20 – quite a sum for a dumb kid! Coming back, we stopped near Donner Pass off I-80, found some snow and had an impromptu snow ball fight just for grins!
Later, several trips were taken in my friend’s parent’s Corona and in his Corolla wagon seeing the sights in and around Sacramento, the Sierra foothills and the gold rush country, visiting old gold mining sites, and even panning for gold – me? I just harvested lots of pyrite!
Those weekends continued for a couple of months until I met a young lady, but that’s another story…
I wasn’t impressed by the cheapness of the interiors in those cars, especially the squishy sun visors, but SOMETHING did impress me about those Toyotas – how well they RAN and how LITTLE gas they used!
No, the overall impression wouldn’t sway me from my avatar, but I learned to keep an eye on Toyota, and later, Honda, Nissan and the others, becoming grudgingly accepting of their merits, if not overly impressed ’til a few years later.
Last week I observed the 40th anniversary of getting out of the air force and now you bring some of that back! I’m glad you reminded me of many happy memories of that unique year!
Interestingly, after I came home from the service, I don’t recall ever seeing another Corona.
As I’ve previously mentioned in other threads, I have actually seen a red Corona Mk II like the one in the advertisement above on the streets here in the Witch City, which is a shock since early 70s Japanese cars rusted out around here by the 90s
With three of my 200 pound high school friends, 800 lbs. total, I was able to get my 1970 Corona Mark II up to about 95 mph.
What a great intro. Can’t get this kind of writing anywhere else.
I had a 1600 71 Corona sedan if you held your clog down for a couple of miles it could hit 95 mph indicated it went really well for the size of the engine, Much better build than the Datsun those things shook the B pillar fast on bad roads, the corona was solid it coped with airborne events without bottoming out on landing and it didnt fall apart when driven hard on farm roads that was an australian car, I,d rarely seen those cars in NZ most disintegrated under warranty, Toyota noticed this made apologies and suddenly a new model with minor detail changes appeared.
My father hired Coronas in Fiji to travel the clay tracks that pass for roads there on holiday several times He was GM to his bootstraps and he saw what the Fijian goat tracks did to aledgedly tough Holdens and bought a lightly used Corona upon retirement.
Lots of Kiwis bought Coronas it was the best selling car in this country Toyota even let an ex race driver retune the suspension to suit our driving conditions,
Retired grand prix driver turned motoring writer Chris Amon had regularly criticised the dynamic abilities of Toyota’s Corona and its rusting abilities.
Toyota noticed and realised that despite the rust problems these people still bought the cars, said if yer so feckin clever you make em handle right and he did a pretty good job, He set out to emulate the Peugeot 405 widely acclaimed as the best handling sedan, Toyota were’nt about to design an inertia steered rear axle for him but his Corona will hang the tail out on a hard turn and grips at the front under power on the same event a JDM version on its ride inspired suspension heels over and understeers on its skinny little tyres into the armco the difference is chalk and cheese.
I bought my Dads 93 Corona from his estate it was a good solid car Dad unusually didnt wash it, Toyota galvanised them that fixed the rusting issue and my Dad having watched his new 54 Vauxhall get rust in it before 5 years old appreciated it and I still see the car regularly it lives near here, I sold it to a girl in 2006 she and her family are still driving it the gouges my ex put in it that I beat out still havent been painted and are not even surface rusty unless they crash it the car will run forever.
“It coped with airborne events”, love that line. Thank you for throwing in a few commas, periods, and paragraphs Bryce. Reading your Corona story was a pleasure.
I can recall seeing the occasional Corona Mark II as a kid. The Asian invasion was slow to come to the middle of the country, and our road salt in the cities ate any early Asian car alive in very short order.
Most early Asian cars had such cheap feeling interiors and many were so darn slow that I couldn’t ever see myself in one.
It’s been in just the last few years that I’ve come to appreciate Accords, Camrys, etc. I am amazed at how much space even the current Sentra has. And, the Americans are struggling. The current Malibu is a joke as far as the back seat, the Taurus is huge on the outside and cramped on the inside, and the Chrysler mid size cars are also rans. The Fusion is the best American, but still isn’t as accommodating as the Asian cars.
I have not had a car since my ’95 Chrysler Concorde turned into a crossover. I think a sedan is on my list next time around, if the new Impala does not make the cut, or possibly the Fusion, I may finally arrive at the Asian party 40 years fashionably late!
I’ve never posted here before, but I had to when I saw this car. This was my first car in high school, circa mid ’70s. Specifically, it was a 1972 Corona Mk II coupe like the subject car, but mine was metallic blue with a black vinyl roof. RT73 was the model designation. It had the 18R-C, 1968cc, 2-bbl carb engine, and 3-speed Toyoglide automatic, which I eventually swapped out for a 5-spd manual from a Celica.
I remember my MkII as a solid driver, but with the automatic, it was not particularly speedy. The 5-spd was an improvement, but I recall needing to use a different cross-member and driveshaft to get it to work. The 18R-C seemed to have decent torque and was very easy to work on. I learned how to rebuild engines on the 18R-C in high school auto shop.
I had a 74 MK2 sedan auto and aquired a 72/3 coup’e for parts it was 5 speed I removed the entire kit but never installed it, The car was my partners and she didnt drive a manual.
Dan S. if you see this, can you email me about how the swap to 5 spd was? I’m trying to find a celica 5 spd, but I have no idea on the years that would work with a ’71 mark II 8R-C engine, and if they have that weird angled shifter that comes into the hump facing the driver, instead of straight up through the floor like normal transmissions usually do.
damageinc86@gmail.com
I am the current owner of this car.
Pretty excited to get working on it..
So I have this car and there has been a few owners over the last couple of years that have really abused it.
I am the 5th owner (I believe)
The 3rd owner appeared to have taken some stuff off the car, either the 3rd or 2nd owner damaged the passenger side rear, it was bent up pretty bad and I had to pull it. I need to pull it a little more.
The car has also been lowered 3 inches up front and in the rear now.
Two pieces of Chrome were taken and the front bumper. I replaced the bumper but still looking for some lateral chrome windshield trim.
I replaced the optional chrome wheels with some css mesh wheels also. I will keep all the oem parts, to include the optional $150 chrome wheels.
I was s previous owner
I’d love to talk about her
Richardwr83@Gmail.com
My dad had a 70 Corona Mark II four door sedan like in another photo on this site. Can you, or anybody, please help satisfy a curiousity I’ve had for years? Was the reverse gear all the way to the left (toward you) or right and down? When dad had his, I swear it was to the left. I’ve looked high and low for photos of old Corona Mark II’s with manual trannies, and I’ve seen only automatics. Thanks for you help.
es un bonito carro yo tengo uno , pero me hacen falta la mica de atras espero y me digan donde conseguirla por favor
Sweet looking Corona Mark II. My aunt and uncle had a Mark II sedan when I was a boy. It’s too bad they sold it, for although it’s seen better days, its body was still in good condition. What it needed was some TLC. I believe theirs had a Toyoglide automatic transmission. Whether it was a 2 spd automatic or a 3 spd automatic, I can’t remember.
i now own this car can anyone find me the owner for when this was posted?
I believe I was second or third owner I would love to talk about the lady
Richardwr83@gmail.com
another pic.
I was the owner during the first post my email is richardwr83@gmail.com
I had one of these and I can definitely confirm that it could do 105 m.p.h., at least by the speedometer. Unfortunately it didn’t survive the experiment… Blew the engine in Death Valley. I really miss that car!
YUP THATS A 70 I STILL HAVE MINE IT WAS MY 1ST CAR N WAS LOVE @ 1ST SITE I GOT IT @ 13 N IN 2002 GOT A STATION WAGON MK 2 THATS NOW MY DAUGHTER?!!!!!
Shortly after I got my driver’s license my parents bought a used ’71 nearly-new Corona Mark II 1900 sedan in the early seventies.
While my father (an erstwhile Hudson driver in the early 1950s) always preferred his German Ford Taunuses (17M, later 20M/26M), we kids went for the Corona. We loved the slick manual transmission and the weird, dowdy styling, especially of the grille. Our Corona was tan metallic with green-tinted windows all around — typical Seventies chic.
I remember going over the mountain passes in Central Switzerland (Susten, Oberalp) for no particular reason just to lengthen a trip from Lucerne to St. Gallen, in general driving the heck out of the poor thing. It could definitely reach 160 kmph (100 mph) on the highway, but did not feel safe or at ease at all. At such speeds it turned into a demonstration of what Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) stands for.
Towards the end, my sister drove it relentlessly and carelessly. Finally, at about 200’000 kilometers and with a lot of rust holes, she dropped it off at the local wrecking yard. The engine seemed fine, burning no oil at all. My father’s Fords usually had a catastrophic engine failure (broken valve train or thrown big ends) at about 150’000 kms. It was said that they were built that way and nobody cared.
The only feeble point of the Corona was that it did not like to start in wet and cold conditions (it had a choke that needed to be handled with great care). I do not remember it ever breaking down even though we did not follow the service intervals.
I am an automotive omnivore: I have had BMWs, Hondas, Volvos, Citroëns, Chevrolets, German Opels, even the odd Mercedes E-class. I am now once again driving a Japanese car – a Mazda CX-5. It is clearly not a BMW or Mercedes, but it gives the same impression of simplicity, solidity and honesty that the 70s Corona provided.
The Toyota Corona Mark II’s and then later on Cressida’s “spiritual successor” is the Toyota Avalon which in the same manner the regular but a bit smaller Toyota Corona were to today’s Camry. The top of the line Toyota Crown however a decade and a half later through the present was replaced by the Lexus LS series. Only the Corolla regardless of the “Cutlassization” of its model range remained the only stable nomenclature on the history of the Corolla. The Tercel which later became the Echo and then another round of “Cutlassization” of the Yaris name to the present also sprouted from the Corolla line up like the Corolla Tercel for instance.
Like a number of late 60s and early 70s small cars, their too tall appearing side proportions, really hurt their styling.
Quick before and after, with about 2-3 inches removed in height from the bodyside and greenhouse. Plus, that very clunky rear quarter window trim removed. Looks more like the late 70s Celica coupe. Better proportioned.
Interesting trim on the A pillars, a bit over done perhaps.