Here’s another selection from shots posted by Tim Finn from “Corvette Days”. It’s about as prosaic and dull as the ’69 Fairlane sedan we saw yesterday, a Toyota Corona. But what surprised me is when I saw the shot of what’s in the engine compartment: no, it’s not an SBC or LS1.
It’s the quite distinctive hemi-head pushrod 2T 1.6 L four, one that first appeared in the Corolla in 1970 and was never offered in this generation of Corona.
The original engine would have been the 1.9 L 3R engine, also a pushrod four but with inline valves and looking rather like a Chevy II four.
It’s a bit unusual to see a smaller engine swapped in, but it rather makes sense of you want to keep it in the Toyota family. And how many folks would look in here and know that it wasn’t the original engine?
The first non-US car I ever worked on. I made a few bucks (or was it a case of beer) installing some tune-up parts (or was it some belts and hoses) for a kid on my dorm floor who had one of these. It had been painted black – with a brush – but impressed me on how solidly done everything was and how easy it was to work on. I also remember being amazed at the automatic transmission (Toyoglide?) I knew nothing about the car except that it was ugly and was more impressive than I had been expecting.
I would have never guessed the Corolla engine. I would have guessed a superthrift 153 or the 2.4 twin cam from Jim’s 85 GT-S below.
Nice. I am guessing this is a period swap, given the much better options existing for such an undertaking nowadays (all by Toyota).
Looks more like a ‘66 than a ‘69. Toyota made changes in external details every model year at this time.
I saw this very car yesterday morning at a stoplight in Tigard! My first guess was an 18R-G twin cam. That said, I would have at least done a 1.8 3-TC. Small world!
These Toyota’s always reminded me of a ’60 Studebaker Lark. Here’s a picture of one that I took a few years ago in Warren, Indiana when we were in our trucking business.
Probably a bolt in swap for when the tired original finally stopped.
I always thought I’d enjoy one of these with a 3-TC swap. Love the quirky styling of 60s Toyotas. I’d take a Stout to park right next to it, and it better still have its 4spd on the column!
I got the same swap on my 69