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1967 Toyota Crown Ms47 Wagon


silverra23

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I am mega excited to be posting about my latest acquisition, a 1967 MS47 Crown wagon.

 

There had been much discussion on the forums and at club meetings about this nice old Crown wagon at Centre Rd Wreckers that needed saving. I didn't think much of it, assuming it was a rusty bugger or in dire straits, if it had made it to the wreckers.

 

Then on a sunny Thursday afternoon, with a does of the CBF's at work, I decided to go for a wander around the wreckers yard to see what was new. It was then I came upon this beauty. It was straight, almost completely rust free, and just too good to be sitting in the wreckers slowly getting pulled apart. I had to have it, especially as I have been dreaming of Crown wagon ownership for many years now...

 

So within 24 hours I had convinced the better half that it should come home with me, then gone back to the wreckers, did the deal and then towed it home.

 

Here she is on the trailer:

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In the glove box Hendo had found this note

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So naturally I called Don. Old bloke and was happy to have a chat. I didn't quite work out how the car got to the wreckers, but given the Manheims sticker on the window, I guess he sold it at auction, and the wrecker bought it.

 

He had owned it for the last 25 years and it had sat in his shed all that time! It was going to be a project he said, but he just never got around to doing anything.

 

That makes this sticker the last time it was registered I suspect!

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He told a tale of getting it off someone he knew, who had got it from someone else when it was left in a workshop. The story was a bit muddled, but he invited me to go visit to collect some bits he still had for it, so I will try and get the story straight then.

 

He also told me he had rebuilt the engine bottom end, using a different block, and that he put in a different auto transmission as well, which led to him changing the gear indicator on the steering column. Clearly its a bit ass about!

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Anyways, today I spent the morning getting to know my Crown a little better.

 

This how she looked pre-washing

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Inside

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That yellow shit you can see in the last photo is all the seat foam disintegrating and falling on the floor.

 

This is how she looks after a wash, which isn't really a lot different but its a bit better. A cut and polish is going to work wonders though!

 

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I was so stoked to find these buried in the foam pile under the front seat last night

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They meant that I could test the electric back window this morning, which to my joy goes up and down with a turn of the key, just like its meant to! If you read the writing, its the RACV membership from 1979, indicating the owner had been a member since 1966, and the original rego was KGE751.

 

Still has its membership sticker

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And has this bit of history on the passenger rear window too

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Here is an engine bay shot.

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And here is the ultimate goal

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So the plan is something along these lines:

 

Clean up interior and retrim seats

Overhaul brakes

Replace missing bits in the engine bay and see if she will fire up

Cut and polish

Find missing side trims, or remove them all

Slam it

Fit Hiace front disks

 

Cruise.

 

There is a few bits missing - steering wheel, grille, side trims, radio blanking plate, coil, radiator, badges - so if any one has any of these or spots them, I would be eternally grateful if you could point me in the right direction.

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So the plan is something along these lines:

 

Clean up interior and retrim seats

Overhaul brakes

Replace missing bits in the engine bay and see if she will fire up

Cut and polish

Find missing side trims, or remove them all

Slam it

Fit Hiace front disks

5M-GE or 7M-GE Conversion

 

Cruise.

 

Edited plans list.

 

Awesome find Adam. All the best with it.

 

Josh :cool:

Edited by JJT036
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Thanks fellas! Josh that isn't a bad addition.. though it would sound much better with a v8 burble wouldn't it? :)

 

Anyways I went and visited Don this afternoon. Lovely old bloke.

 

He gave me a stash of parts that he thought he should hold on to rather than send to the auction house. Given the pillaging that had occurred before I got to it, I am rather glad he did!

 

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Scored hub caps in great condition, a tool bag, brand new windscreen and windscreen rubber, chrome trims for the windscreen and a plastic wind deflector. Oh and the spare wheel.

 

He also gave me the owners manual, the service booklet and a Crown workshop manual.

 

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Service booklet tells me she started life as someone's company car in 1967, with NSW rego EPC986

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Then there is this receipt for its purchase in 1969 for the sum of $2060.80.

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Not quite sure what that receipt is about, because then there is this letter a few days later - May 1969 - confirming its registration in Victoria as KGE751.

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Then Mrs Armstrong got some head work done in 1980 on the old girl at Bill Moxon Autos, who coincidentally I use to get all my roadworthys done!

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Service receipt in 1981, mileage at 97323 miles.

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Mileage now is 02558. So she has done 102558 miles, the last 5000 of which have taken 31 years!!

 

Don had it in his garage for the last 25 or so years, and he bought it off Mrs Armstrong. Apparently her son had decided to do the engine up, and then never finished it as he moved to Darwin. So Don bought it for $200 and put it back together. After that it had an oil pressure problem, and it sat in his garage.

 

Recently he decided it was time to move it on, so he donated it to the RACV's Cars for Kids program that auctions old cars for a kids charity. They sold it for $430, and that is where Centre Rd Wreckers got hold of it.

 

He was quite pleased it was going to live again, and I promised him I would bring it back to show him when its done.

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