Curbside Find: 1984 Toyota Corolla Wagon – Tough To Kill

Not sure how attention-calling an old Corolla wagon is to regular folk. But to us curbsiders fond of the regular machines that once populated the streets, and still in running order? It’s quite a find. And this is as “daily driver” as they come, with all the scars and missing pieces to prove it.

We know these Corollas sold on the promise of starting every morning and doing daily tasks with little drama. On that, they delivered, and this one keeps honoring that contract four decades later; modest in power and looks, offering reliable RWD hardware and a kind of durability that asked for little and gave all it’s got. Perhaps too modest and demure to go all Die Hard and scream: Yippee Ki Yay… M…..F! But, let’s not push it. This one has put up with a lot, but it’s clearly still putting up a fight. And have you ever noticed how hard it is to put down someone with nothing to lose?

Paul has sung his praises to these hard-to-kill Corollas before, and I drove a worn, seriously run-down Corolla coupe of this era, with all its crucial systems out of whack (brakes, suspension, steering, you name it), and yet, nothing would kill it. The utter lack of maintenance seemed to have no hold on its running will. Only rust seems to get them down, but well, what hero doesn’t have a weak spot?

Today’s find has clearly escaped the tin worm, but otherwise, with all its origami pieces disheveled to some degree or another, it looks only a couple of steps above that 1980 coupe I drove back in 2003. Still, it’s a daily-driver, unlike the Citroen Xantia across the street; a car that is part of my neighborhood and which has been on that spot for months in non-running condition (Only reinforcing certain stereotypes about French transport –Will it ever move, again?).

The photos come from the first day the wagon appeared in my San Salvador ‘hood, and it shows up from time to time near my home. Now, I’m pretty sure that face never reached the US, but I may be mistaken. Also, the bumpers are non-US spec, and this is a 3-door. These weren’t sold here back in the day, so maybe this comes from a neighboring nation?

From what I see, 1983 was the last year the RWD 5-door Corolla wagon was sold in the US. In the US-brochure, it seems to have the facelift the model got for the 1980-1983 run. For 1984, a whole new Corolla lineup would show up stateside, offering the new FWD 4-door sedan and 5-door liftback, and the 2-door and 3-door RWD coupes and liftbacks. As far as I can tell, all wagon action in Toyota’s economy range from 1984 and on was Tercel-based.

Elsewhere, looks like the RWD Corolla wagon remained around with this facelift for 1984-1987. Not a bad update, though I prefer the original round-headlight face of 1979-1980, and even the 1981-1983 one.

Here’s the 4-door, in 1981-1983 looks, next to a later family member. The 1979-1983 E70 is my preferred of all Corollas, actually. It applied well the rational-aerodynamic school of design that Europe had established by then; its lines were 1970s modern, crisp, and with just the right proportions.

The E70 Corolla still stuck to RWD across its lineup when it came out, and that well-tried hardware has much to do with its long-lasting capabilities and the following that it enjoyed. Not that the E70 was mechanically archaic; as Paul said on an earlier piece: “The fourth generation Corolla arrived in 1979, for the 1980 model year. It was a somewhat bigger jump from its predecessors than the previous generations had been, being larger, looking more grown up, sporting a new four-link coil spring rear suspension, and a general air of refinement.”

That said, wagons naturally retained leaf-springs at the back (clearly visible in this shot), as it was more suitable to their mission. As for power, these were offered with a 1.8L Hemi in the States, with a whole 73HP on tap. Not earth-scorching, but its mission was efficiency and economy. Literature about these is scant in South America, and Toyota had a whole array of engines to offer, so other than it carrying a 4-cyl., I have little idea about what exactly might be under the hood.

Here’s thet early 1980s interior which has seen better days. A 3-speed automatic was offered on these, but in South America, manuals are generally preferred. I would think this has a 5-speed, something for which Toyota earned a good reputation from early on. And on the sedan/coupes, that modest 4-cyl. with a manual could make for fun little things to push hard and enjoy. Not in neck-breaking speeds, but regardless, there’s something fun about tossing a small package around.

The seats are clearly newer; local resourcefulness, you know?

And that little Toyota “T” at the wheel’s center, a throwback to gone days.

Let’s see where this one fits in your memory banks: The dutiful econobox from the non-joyful post-energy crisis days?  The college years hauler? Or the one that turned you into a Toyota faithful?

To the drivers still using them, they’re clearly just workhorses. Not sure how many of these early Corollas will escape that fate, as their owners just keep using them beyond retirement age. But that makes each still running one a special sighting. And if for some reason it gets rescued by the Fast and the Furious crowd and gets hot-rodded, who knows? It may just learn to say Yippee Ki Yay… M…..F!, after all.

 

Related CC reading:

1981 Toyota Corolla Wagon: It Could Have Been My Previous Car

1981 Corolla Wagon and 1988 Dodge Omni – Two CC Survivors

Curbside Classic: 1980-193 Corolla – Doppelganger

COAL: 1980 Toyota Corolla (E70) – One Last Stand For The Wounded Warrior