RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Originally posted 8 Dec 2013 on Calaisturbo.com.au - Hi guys, I've crossed over and i'm batting for an overseas manufacturer. I've just purchased a 1973 Corona Sedan yesterday (7.12.13) for those interested in the story read on, for those interested in the car skip to the photos! The inspiration struck one Friday night (22.11.13) when dad and i were sitting around and he asked me if i'd seen the shannons auction listing. essentially there was a datsun 1200 wagon for sale. i started thinking and went and looked and even made a bid on the 2nd of dec. i didn't win and was a bit dissapointed / all riled up to own a japanese classic. Through the week i was sitting in a hotel room in Ballarat after leaving a business card on a 70's Crown i'd just seen when i started scanning Gumtree and Ebay for anything pre-80's japanese RWD. I stumbled across an add for "1973 Toyota Corona Sedan $3,000.00 Model SE. Immaculate all original car, has been stored unregistered in garage for 23 years. 22,000 miles!" it was close to home and a nice pastel green colour which is nicer than the cream / mustard combo datsun I'd been looking at. the next morning (6.12.13) i rang at 8am and set a time to be there on Saturday (7.12.13) at 9am for a look. I took Selo [with his epic turkish negotiating skills] with me and a jack, some basic tools and a piece of cardboard to lay around on the ground with. after an hour an a half of scanning the car very thoroughly I'd shaken hands on a price and was off to find a car trailer. I got her home by 3pm that arvo paid for! Now at this point its: Driveline: 4cyl 1600cc Auto column shift (12R engine and BW35 g/box) Int: brown seats black dash ext: pastel green Miles: 22,159 mods: Holden horn mudflaps awesome factory stuff: steering wheel toolkit radio! The story about the KM is the vehicle was purchased new by an older woman in Wandon VIC. she lived on a farm and the car was shedded unless it was church or the shops. in 1989 she became chronically ill and soon passed away. the vehicle was last registered in 1990 with the registration sticker still on the window. late 2011 / early 2012 the man I purchased the car from was lopping down some trees at the farmhouse readying the property for sale when the husband asked if he also did clear-ups. they negotiated a price but it was too high so 2 EK holdens and the toyota were bargained into the deal. It was driven home in Jan 2012 to Avonsleigh VIC (I have a unregistered vehicle permit with that date) and was then shedded again until the seller advertised it in November for sale and I came along. The old man fitted a holden horn to the car for his wife as it was louder. It's incredibly loud and I'd guess it came off of the EK. Unbelievably it also seems to have Nasco EK mudflaps fitted to it. heres some pics documenting the "before" exterior - eng bay - Interior Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 originally posted 11 dec 13 so the first batch of photos is the as is pile. here are a few spotlighting some of the cool details on her. original plates in great condition rust like this in both front doors. also water leaks onto carpet :( original radiator cap (still available new thankyou ebay!) oil cap detail 12R engine apparently a cut down holden red. It was used up until the 80's in toyota commercials such as the Hiace and Hilux. SE is the higher spec level of coronas ADM Odd blue light in my high beams. these are a sealed unit any idea wtf this is about? disgusting boot i nearly lost my breakfst when i caught a wiff of what had been growing on this tool pack. the owner had never opened the bot and one side had been exposed to water. its all marked made in japan and toyota motors except the jack. getting her clean first! this is after a degrease soap and claybar. note the dirt on the floor around it first thing on the purchae list was tyres. my friends at beaurepairs recon what was there was late 70's at the aearliest. the whitewall was thought to be an original tyre. check out the orange peel :/ the car shows signs of overspray and thin layers of bog here and there. it seems to have had a complete taxi spray original colour during its life. shopping list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 scrubbing the boot - rust converted the next morning - putting all the good bits back in! degreasing :/ refitted the air cleaner and degreased engine bay second time! this went from rust to this in 24 hours. if you have rust go find rainex at bunnings next to the metal paint its the bomb. pulled apart the grille and headlight setup. it was dirty and leting the car down now that I'd cleaned up the outside. check the before and after also compare this to the above before! 5 brand new tyres $350 bargain. started draining the radiator but couldn't drain the water in the engine even when it was warm. couldnt figure out why! the owner told me he'd removed the thermo fan as it was clogged. it seems that after he removed it the idiot put it back in completely gunked up. as if he didn't even have access to a scouring pad and some soap! 4 flushes and still coming out brown. I also ordered a tonne of replacement parts today. leads plugs dissy points rotor oil cartridge diff seal rad hoses thermostat rad cap auto trans service kit lots of oils! K&N air filter for standard breather. a lot of it's gotta come from various stores and warehouses but the ETA is this week so looks like a very busy holiday season! ---------- Post added 11-12-13 at 23:13 ---------- Such a cool purchase. how many cars do you own now Mitch? waaay to many mate! dad's HK an HT wagon 2 HR's (and another HR in boxes of parts and cut into sections in the farm scrap metal pile) the VL wagon the corona the daily VY so currently 7. only the HK and the vl and the dly are registered but the VL/HK are on club plates so the cost is managable. ---------- Post added 12-12-13 at 11:03 ---------- $220 inc. delivery from the U.S. bargain. also comes with the original Nardi Bosskit for an MX5 which should be resellable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 originally posted 17 Dec 13 so getting there. I've done the following - engine oil flush and new filter radiator flush new hoses and thermo new fan belt transmission pan driopped cleaned and new filter and fluid installed diff casing removed and cleaned. new seal and fluid new tyres replaced headlight which had discoloured replaced / restored ignition system pressure washed and inspected undercarriage (no concerning rust) purchased a nana hat and a blanket for the rear seat! mdf fibreglass and sickaflex. I'm making a new glovebox lining I can cut up for a CD player. I've never undertaken such a complex MDF / fibreglass task before so should be interesting. I've also discovered that you can now buy CD players without CD players in them! it's like a "media receiver" for your car so its all andoid and apple compatable but no CD. the upside is they take up less room. I'm looking at buying one of these. new rims for the car coming from QLD - 14x7" et+11 14x6.5" et+2 they will fit with enough room but will fill the guards nicely. they also come with all 4 caps which is ridiculously rare and awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 posted 22 dec 13 cheers Jako, so I spent about 4 hours yesterday playing with the car and i kept getting it to run for a few mins or seconds then it'd conk and not want to start again. I checked fuel pump, filter, lines for blockages and to see they were working. no go so i started on the plugs cleaning and gapping (number 1 and 4 were dark and wet 3 was dark and dry and 2 was normal) remember theyre brand new so shouldn't have any buildup on them yet. so i cleaned and tried again, gapped and tried again then had to clean and gap and try a third time. finally satisfied it wasn't them i started playing with idle controls and linkages for the throttle as as soon as it as put in gear idle dropped off about 800rpm and it'd want to stall. where I'm at is it has an automatic choke on it. it's controlled by a spring which expands as it heats up pushing the choke open. it says something like "cimatic control" on it and is tunable with tighter being more "lean" i'm thinking what may be happening is it's choking on too much fuel once it warms up causing it to conk out then not start because its being flooded. seems logical but again i'm learning as I go here. theres also a linkage between the throttle linkages and the gearbox which is very loose. i'm thinking if i remove the slack from that i might reduce the ridiculous loss of idle rpm when gears are engaged. apart from that i'm too busy clening up after my goddamn new housemates. spent 3 hours cleaning my shed of his crap so i could actually work. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 at this point i'll tell you where I'm at now. To fit - media player (requires fabrication of glovebox) wheels (requires purchase of tyres) nardi steering wheel (requires purchase of hub) To Do - get it bloody running I'm in a car club with a guy who's a classic toyota nut so my dad is looking to buy a car trailer. when we get that sorted I'll drop the car at his house and let him get it running. he also lives next to the clubrooms and will be able to register the car and get everything ticked off. The budget is 5g but i think i may have almost passed that now. I need to get all of my reciepts together and in the excel spreadsheet. progress will be slower than planed now as we are waiting on trouble shooting and before that the purchase and making of a new car trailer. in the meantime though theres countless hours of cleaning and polishing to do plus i can get to work on the soundsystem. I'll also be playing with the rear suspension. seeing if i can mod that without having to shell out for lowering blocks etc. (hoping to flip the shackles and springs) I'm also on the lookout for lowered front springs so much to do! hope you all enjoy, excuse the mass pics and what not but i wanted to get evryone up to date. plus i had some issues registering back in december when i purchased the car. -Mitcham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nerfbat Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 absolutely gorgeous mate..! the first car i owned was one of these..! dropped an 18R in it. drove that thing , never maintained it, or checked oil, water or anything for a few years. couldnt kill it. nice score. subbed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 (edited) thanks nerfbat. i'm hoping to enjoy it for a while, get her all sweet then when i'm done with it I'll be able to sell up and return it to original. hopefully someone will apreciate her! I've only done 13,000km in my vl weekender in 5 years so it wil still be incredibly low mile when i'm done with it. edit - plus i'm keeping al reciepts and a spreadsheet of costs and a detailed thread on her so the next owner will get all of the details possible! Edited January 21, 2014 by RT81Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenpos Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 looks great mate, love these old girls, i have 4 of them myself, i'm loving seeing more of them on here, should look good with those wheels, what are your plans for the engine/gearbox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 plans on the engine and box are to leave them alone. I have an HR holden wagon undergoing a full rebuild and I have a VL Turbo wagon which is a bit of a street registered go kart. plus being a budget build and the value in this car being originality i'm going to leave the engine and box alone. its got new perishables and might need some gaskets but i can easily spend $$ on the engine and box and not positively affect the resaleatleast with the mods i'm planning they are ll reversible. and the parts will hold their value (eg classic jap wheels and the nardi will hold their value. the media player ill lose $ on but that happens.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
B.L.Z.BUB Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 I'm gonna be that guy.... technically its a two owner car ;) Pretty sweet ride, wonder how many times that ODO went around. Wheels should look great on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 judging by the interior and undercarriage it hasn't been around. there is however bog and respray everywhere (minimal rust) i'd say its genuine km's but being an old lady it had a few scrapes and dents and got a full respray undr insurance in the 70's / early 80's. if it had been around theres no way the carpet would be clean and hole free. also check those wheel tubs. theyve taken a few presure washes but still epically clean. remember the car has come out of gippsland / eastern melbourne ranges so its super wet there. if it had more miles it'd be full of rust and moss. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 tyre joint recons the tyres on it were dated in the 70's. also adds up to a genuine mile car. plus look at the indicator lenses and bumper bars. the first few photos are as found. it had all of the gunk and dirt from when it was registered. plus last regoed 1990. and look at the number plates. original issue and unbent / unchipped / unfaded. the bog doesn't add up with the rest of the picture but apart from thata everything points to a true story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark90 Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Looks sweet! Love your choice of steering wheel, I so wish mine still had the original stereo but the previous owner cut the dash and put a CD player in. I recently purchased a new sealed beam for mine from Bursons, the filament inside was coated blue on the tip to give a whiter light. Looks ok on the road but I'll chase a standard one soon. Here's a link to mine, SE model too :) http://www.rollaclub.com/board/topic/62702-marks-rt81-corona-mid-gearbox-conversion/page__pid__674773__st__135#entry674773 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RT81Guy Posted January 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 hey mark cheers for the link I've seen a few photos of yours floating around google. i was able to get some sealed units from an rt80 at the wreckers yard. straight fit up and while the make is different, no blue leaky look. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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