Back in August the Toyota Car Club had their annual display, with a special twist. With the closure of the Altona North factory coming up (which occurred last Tuesday October 3), Toyota gave permission for the club to hold the show in one of the factory car parks for the first time. There was a surprising variety of Toyotas on display, starting before even getting into the display area with this old-school cruiser style MS40 Crown, so come with me for a look around.
There has been a history of Japanese cars using Australia as a test market starting in with the Tiara, the first Toyota to be built outside Japan. It was assembled by Australian Motor Industries in Port Melbourne in 1963, alongside Standard Vanguards and Triumph Heralds. This made sense because Australia was not only right-hand drive, it was an established market that was relatively small and therefore a bit more manageable.
Starting with the Tiara’s replacement (only 1,685 of those were built here so I expect they are a bit thin on the ground), there were a couple of shovel-nose T40 Coronas at the show, albeit rare varieties! The alloy wheels here aren’t original, but look like they are from an early 80s Corona.
The coupe had a twin cam engine, which was available from 1967 in the RT55 1600GT version, and it looks like this is the original 9R engine which had a cylinder head inspired by the Yamaha-sourced 2000GT engine.
The other Corona was this 1968 ute – it is Australia after all! Actually these are very rare, having sold when Toyota was in its infancy in this country. They had a 500kg (1100lb) load capacity – and there was another alternative that we will see later.
The other cars of the era were the first generation KE10 Corollas (1966-70), built in Australia from 1968, with 4 present. They all had some minor modifications, including replacing the original mirrors with JDM-style fender mounted mirrors and what I assume are some pretty rare period alloys.
This one is more stock, although I am not sure how many Corollas would have had white walls originally. The mirror isn’t stock either – the original mounting holes are evident.
There was also a Sprinter coupe version (KE15), which would have to be fairly collectible at this point. Originally they cost $500 more than the base AUD$1,698 Corolla so I don’t think many would have been sold. The third body style sold here was a 2-door wagon.
There were two second-gen (KE20) Corollas, which were still only built locally with 2 doors, one this rally car…
… and the other this very nice highly-modified version – which is fairly sacrilegious because it has a Nissan turbo engine!
There were a trio of third-generation S50 Crowns from the late 60s, starting with this ute version. I wouldn’t be surprised if the version that was originally a small percentage of sales is almost as common nowadays as the sedans.
This generation Crown was the only one with a ute variant, and the first S50 Crown had a very distinctive appearance with the head lights extending higher than the grille.
A coupe also debuted with this generation, with the rectangular headlights here indicating a 1967 or 68 model. The styling was pretty sleek with the new roofline.
Based on the registration number this one is be a late 1971 model, the last of the S50 generation.
The Crowns had SOHC straight-six engines until the 1980s, starting at 2 litres and gradually being increased to 2.3 and 2.6-litres.
To finish up with a couple of the less common 1960s Toyotas, one that I haven’t seen for years was this first generation 1968 RN10 Hilux pickup, that Toyota inherited when they took over Hino. This is typical of Japanese pickups of the era; despite having only a 1.5L four (1.9L in North America), it had the gearing and overall strength for a 1-ton payload rating. Obviously it is much more utilitarian than the Corona ute shown earlier.
You weren’t going places fast, but it was a reliable and economical workhorse, and that was probably more important for most people who bought them. My uncle had a Stout in north Queensland for years. One interesting point is I spoke to a guy who ran mini tractor-pullers years ago, which run automotive drivetrains with a 750kg total weight limit; he told me that Toyota Stout diffs were very popular, and actually harder to break than a Ford 9”. (Edit: I originally mistook this for an earlier Stout rather than a Hilux)
The other rarity was an 800 Sports; one of the most unique Toyotas produced as it has an air-cooled flat twin engine, and rear wheel drive.
The styling is compromised slightly because it is hard to translate into such a small car – compare it to the 2000GT – but it is certainly interesting. Note that the car has an aluminium lift-out targa roof panel; shades of Fast & the Furious?
Here is the engine, which has twin carburettors – note the distributor with only 3 leads attached!
I’ll break for now with this shot of the first Corolla and the last model rear-wheel drive wagon, from 1984. Next time, the later 1970s and 1980s cars.
Odd there are no MK2 Coronas on display they were still quite common in 2002/3 when I had one in TAS one of several Aussie Toyotas I was involved with.
Wait for the next installment! Not every model or generation was there but quite a few.
The MS 40 Crown in the first picture looks a lot like a Studebaker.
It reminds me more of a larger Lancia Flavia, including the grille shape.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancia_Flavia#/media/File:Lancia_Flavia_(5723074518).jpg
Just so! I really like the Toyota, though the subtlety and crispness of the Lancia is missing, as is the again-subtle forward leaning eagerness. Which kinda does leave the Studie there in the Crown too….
Of course, if you’d asked me cold, I couldn’t have linked three cars less related in my mind.
The coupe with the rectangular headlights is simply beautiful. Nice shots!
+1.
Through my ‘Murican eyes, they all look like miniaturized versions of GM cars of the 60’s and early 70’s. I know there were styling trends in that era that reached across manufactures. There surely was a general vocabulary for car design in that era no matter the make or model, but some seem like quite blatant imitation. Flattery?
The MS40 Crown to me looks like a circumcised ’64 Impala, while the rear of that S50 Ute looks to me like someone bifurcated the rear of an El Camino and welded the two sides back together minus a foot or two.
The highly modded K20 looks like a 1st gen Camaro and a 2nd gen Nova had a menage a trois with a Chevette. (You can see it in the offspring’s face).
This is no dig at Toyota, I’ve got several in the fam, including a ’16 Sienna that after years of resisting, made me love minivans.
Someone will chime in I’m sure, but I wonder: How much of this was just following the design trends of the era and how much was unabashed plagiarism?
To me, American-influenced styling in Japanese cars was much more evident in the ’70s. In the ’60s, it was more of a blend of European and American (many a Japanese car from that decade was designed by Europeans).
It also depends what the beholder’s point of reference is. Take the Crown in the 1st pic: might look like a ’60s Studebaker to you, but I see the Lancia johnh875 referenced a lot more.
+1
That makes a lot of sense, as Lancias are as common here in the states as unicorn.
I guess when you grow up around Chevies, everything either looks like a Chevy, or doesn’t look like a Chevy. These look like a Chevy to me.
It’s a fair observation, given that Toyota would have been considering export markets including the US when designing the cars. Tatra’s point about European designers (mostly Italian) is a good one.
Then there was a period in the 1970s when they went in a more unique direction and produced some pretty weird stuff such as the Datsun 200SX or on a lower scale the next model S60 Crown.
Then again in the 1990s there were some pretty adventurous Japanese designs, although the only one that comes to mind from Toyota is the Sera coupe with the gullwing-ish doors and 360° flush glass.
Mostly I would say that the cars were “of the era” as you would expect from a mass market manufacturer. Definitely derivative or a little behind the latest trends; not surprising for a developing manufacturer. You might call it ‘safe’ design, and in this era I don’t Toyota could have afforded a bad flop – no manufacturer can really, for their main models. For example the Tiara has been compared to the Ford Anglia (105E version), and you could find similar comparisons from Austin, Hillman (56-58 Minx), Fiat, even mid-50s Chevrolet and Ford. On the other hand the sloping front of the T40/RT55 Corona is much more distinctive; I can’t think of anything really similar to it, yet it is a good looking car.
I’ll take that Stout dropside pickup as is, thank you.
Fantastic look at some rarely seen Toyotas.
The next-to-last picture, of the 800 sports coupe, shows a drivetrain similar to that of a minuscule Toyota that was sols here by the early sixties. It was called a Toyota 700, and was a 2 door sedan and wagon. That was also a 2 cylinder, RWD, so I guess the drivetrain is the same.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Publica
Exactly right Rafael, it was a hotted up version of the 700 engine.
My immediate thought when I saw that Toyota Tiara was, “A four door Ford Anglia.”
So a Ford Consul?
I’d forgotten about that one – the Anglia has some recognition in the US, the Consul has none.
This is a true CC ! It was launched as a Consul Classic, though it became known as simply a Ford Classic in England.
Some fine old Toyotas there. Wish I’d been there with you. And yes, the Crown coupe is exceptional.
Great selection John. Never seen an 800 in the metal.
RS and S40 Crowns had a ute too. Those taillights on the Corona ute look newer in design than the rest off the car, I wonder if they’re aftermarket. Never seen a Corona ute either.
You are correct on the S40 ute of course and I’m sure I’ve seen one.
I agree on the tail lights, the vehicle had had some work and upgrades done over the years such as rust repairs, alloy wheels and it had newer seats inside etc.
I’m pretty sure I have seen a Corona ute as a CC sighting years ago.
A kiwi friend in Tassie has a RT40 Corona ute its pretty rough but she uses it for the designed purpose its a working ute not a show car, it hasnt got those tail lights much smaller units are fitted
You can imagine that finding original replacement lights would be near-on impossible, especially in the pre-internet era when I suspect the ute might have been restored
The pictured Corolla looked like the ’69 I had in the mid 70’s. A fun little car with 1100cc engine that loved to rev, 12″ tires, 8″ drum brakes and never under 25 mpg – 35-40 if I didn’t drive it hard.
Very nice collection, I’m looking forward to the next installment! Love the 800, I saw several a few years ago at the Japanese Classic Car Show on the US West Coast, it’s hard to describe just HOW small they are. They kind of make a 1st gen Miata look large…
Very true Jim. The Corolla beside and Supra behind it provide some scale, and the wheels will be 12″ I expect.
Some really nice stuff here, John. That sleek Crown coupe and the 800 sports both really stand out for me. Eager to see part 2.
I kinda like the Crown coupe, Canadians were clamouring Toyota to bring it Northbound where Crowns have a small following, and they did in 1969-70. I oughta know because I had a ’70 Coupe made into a Convertible by coachwork builder AHA of Scarborough, Ontario. Stick in a modified 2000GT Six and you could troll the Trans-Canada looking for Lamborghinis, Camaros, and occasional Cobras and ‘Vettes to shade.
A great selection with nice commentary — I too wish I would have been able to attend the event!
Very nice collection.
That pickup appears to be Hi-Lux, not Stout.
Thanks for picking that up, I have corrected the text. Thinking about it, it must be at least 15 years since I’ve seen my uncle’s Stout when passing the open-fronted shed it lived in.
Great shots, John. The MS 40 Crown does look like BOTH a Studie and the lovely Lancia, though that “cruiser” stance and wheels here do it no favours (for me anyway, in my rapid descent into early old fartdom). Rode frequently in a wagon one as a kid, and just loved it. It felt classy. The tappety six made a wonderful noise too. New owners of these were true early adopters, considering that Australia still had the White Australia Policy and still had widespread, extremely bitter feelings towards the country that made them. Those owners, btw, all found them really good cars and remained very loyal. The quality name of Toyota here must have been much influenced by the experience of these people.
Like other Ausies here, never knew of the Corona ute either. Fascinating.
The KE10 owned by a friend years back must have been one of the very earliest, and imported, as I swear it was a ’66. A lot of fun to flog hard and yet go slowly anyway.
Once had a long and unfortunate trip in the chiropractics-dream back seat of a K15 Sprinter 2-speed Toyoglide (“ooh, look, 60mph…oh, 56 again”); pretty sure these were full imports new?
That highly original blue S50 was a car I have always fancied. I realise now that it was doing the thing Toyota did for a long time, namely, a fair degree of apparent blandness concealing (in plain sight) an attractive car.
Wonderful to see the ricer variants. Miles and miles from my taste, don’t like ’em but in truth proof of a better world, where embitterments from hatred long ago fades to become a respectful interest in another country’s culture. The future as we all hope it to become.
I agree justy, I will have to check which GM of Ford Australia said (to paraphrase) “you will never see a Japanese car in RSL car park”. Which is the Returned Services League. In 1960 I expect that was true, it was said around 63-64 from memory. But by 1970 I don’t think so, that was 25 years and a generation after WW2. I’m not sure how far to delve into this topic, I don’t think it is too controversial to discuss past attitudes and how long it takes to put something behind you, which will vary depending on your experience or indeed your parents’, and I am no expert in the field.
Oh lord, neither am I! I just have such a vivid memory from ’70’s childhood of George, the sweetest “old”* guy you’d ever meet, who despised the Japanese and anything to do with them, and the contrast with Frank, who drove an S60 Crown, saying to my dad “they make a bloody good car”. Both had been POW’s. Japanese cars were everywhere by then, so I remember being really shocked by George’s unexpected vehemence, which my dad explained existed in a significant chunk of George’s age group.
I was probably more thinking of the majority readers here (US), who may not know of the significant role racism and insularity played in our history, with a direct impact on things automotive. As for past attitudes and moving on, I probably wrote unconsciously to myself; whenever I find something modern that I just don’t get, I try to make a conscious effort to see it in another way (not always with success), and to have young Aussies passionate about their ricer mods/look really does make me glad that this is the Australia I now live in.
*”old” means here about mid-50’s. At 49, I refuse to say it without italics
Is it me or does that 1966 Corolla have some Hillman Imp about it?
And the 1967 Crown Coupe has an Opel Rekord vibe
A late reply Roger – a little, but not as much as the Datsun 1000 2-door sedan which is very close in proportion.