I couldn’t help but notice the giant hood scoop on this Corolla coupe I saw parked the other night. Of course I had to stop and investigate, and when I saw the BOSS 302 callout on its front fender, I admit to having some doubts. I rather assumed the owner was just having a bit of fun with it, although the fat rear tires might have suggested otherwise. When I got home, I remembered having seen this car before, right here on the pages of CC back in 2022. I opened up that post and it turns out that a year later the owner left a comment that confirms what’s under the hood.
The owner, John Borg, left this comment about his Corolla:
Hey there, I’m the actual owner it’s a ke 35 from Australia and yes it has a 302 Windsor engine with 302 Cleveland heads making it a boss engine, has a c4 transmission and a narrowed 4 pinion diff from s Holden commodore and the striped were original from Toyota because this was a sports pack with the original engine being a twin carb unit Happy to answer any questions.john
That is impressive. I’m not going to split fine hairs as to whether this can rightfully be called a Boss 302 engine or just something very close to it, as the original article did have a special block and other unique parts. But it undoubtedly is a whole lot quicker than an original KE35 Corolla coupe, even if it was a Levin/GT Grade with the hottest 110 hp DOHC version of the 1588 cc four. Which it clearly wasn’t. It appears to have started life as a 1975 or 1976 Corolla 1200, with some 55 hp. Quite the power upgrade.
The key element that made me doubt the veracity of its BOSS 302 badge is what first hit me as I approached it from the rear: only a single exhaust. That is an unexpected choice, as big dual pipes sticking out the rear of a car that normally wouldn’t have had them are the usual instant tell-tale of a V8 under the hood. A single exhaust on a Boss 302? Who would have guessed? Maybe there were space reasons for that, or some other. Maybe John will come back to answer that.
There’s certainly no obvious tell-tales in the interior. This was clearly no shade-tree engine swap. The only thing I can see that’s a wee bit off original is that the shift quadrant is slightly moved to the rear, and not centered on the console opening.
Here’s how the original looked. I am not remotely an expert on what it takes to shoehorn a Windsor V8 and a C4 automatic into a Corolla, but I am impressed if this is the result. The Windsor is of course one of the most compact V8s ever and they’ve ended up in a lot of unexpected engine compartments.
I had quite a bit of seat time in a similar vintage Corolla 1600 sedan, my GF’s mother’s car. The three of us went to Death Valley in it, and I managed to see something close to 100 mph on the speedometer on one of the endless straight stretches of road that starlight evening. But if I’d had this, we would have made it there even faster.
It’s certainly a clean machine, all-round. I imagine it’s a hoot to drive too. Presumably the suspension and brakes have been upgraded some to keep up with the drive train.
Just the thing for some impromptu redlight shenanigans. But maybe it would have been better to delete the BOSS 302 callouts? Who wouldn’t be willing to take on a little Corolla coupe?
Related CC reading:
Reader Sighting: Toyota Corolla “Boss 302” – There’s More Here Than First Meets The Eye by me
CC Capsule: 1978 Toyota Corolla (E30) Hi-Deluxe – Boring Wins by Tatra87
Autobiography: Driving Nirvana — In A 1975 Corolla by me
I had a ’75 KE35 Corolla coupe while in college. Let’s hope the 302 V8 is a bit quieter than the 1600 was at highway speed with only a 4 speed manual. Also, the side door window seal was a poor fit to the A pillar and to the rear side window. Not sure which was louder, the wind noise or engine noise at 65 MPH.
If yours was a 1600, it was a TE35. (The first letter of Toyota chassis codes is the engine family, and the U.S. 1600 had the 2T-C engine rather than the 1200’s 3K.)
Being both a Ford and vintage Toyota fan, I like It. Would love to see under the hood. Don’t know If I would call it a Boss, but they DID sell 302 Clevelands Down Under.
This is lovely and if the swap was as well done as the paint it’s grand .
-Nate
With that hood scoop, single exhaust was not a stealth move. I would guess that it was fast enough with the V8 that they didn’t need to grab every available horsepower by going to dual exhaust and there was something underneath getting in the way. Looks like an excellent job on the conversion but it’s a shame that the carburettor was too tall for a more subtle scoop. Compliments to the chef for keeping everything as restrained as possible and not going for a massive body kit, wings and flames. Even the wheels are just right.
What a neat little car! It that moves rapidly. In the original post you can see a cut out in the bumper for the exhaust. Maybe why they went with a single? Of course anyone who could swap a V8 into one probably has the skills to notch a bumper.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/IMG_20220430_094757035_HDR.jpg
Love it.
Shows imagination. (but , Nah!)
We’ll believe it when the hood is open.
In Australia, this would be very expensive and annoying to register.
You would need an engineer’s certificate for everything you changed from stock, then apply for a modification plate.
After that, there is, I think only one insurance company (Shannon’s) that will even touch the car.
Want to do this without a mod plate? Enjoy a string of hefty fines, several demerit points, and the car is flagged in the system so you can’t register it as is.
Yeah. THIS ^^^ Is why single exhaust I would bet Money.
They have some interesting motor vehicle rules in Australia.