I have a feeling that opinion will be very much divided on this one. With very few roadworthy survivors around, a 1973 Toyota Corona Mark II Coupe is undoubtedly a rare car. But a purely stock example, even a hardtop coupe, doesn’t have massive collector-car value. So would you restore to stock or, like this owner, radically customize one?
The original Corona Mark II of 1968-1972 was an attempt to plug a hole in the lineup between the compact Corona and the luxurious Crown. Based on the Corona platform, the marginally larger Mark II combined some of the Crown’s upscale features with economical four-cylinder power.
Toyota moved the second-generation Mark II from the Corona platform to the larger X platform, but for some reason kept it badged as a ‘Corona Mark II’. Four- and six-cylinder power was offered outside of North America, where only a straight six could be had. The front styling of this 1973 has a distinctive split grille, which to my eyes looks more Mazda rotary than Toyota. With the Crown no longer available in North America, the six-cylinder Mark II now topped the Toyota line, and the second-generation’s bigger size and power offered buyers a nice, comfortable transition from an American car to a Japanese one.
The heart of any car is its motor, and it’s obvious this Corona Mark II has had a transplant. The original 2,563cc 4M inline six developed 122 hp, and would have been paired to either a four-speed manual or, more likely, a three-speed automatic. The result would have been reasonable performance and relaxed cruising. This example ups the ante significantly with a fuel-injected, turbocharged 7M-GTE inline six and matching five-speed manual. The 7M-TE is a more powerful relative of the old 4AM introduced in 1986. Displacing three liters (stock), it was rated at 232 hp. Easily tune-able after the factory head bolt torque specification is fixed, it’s capable of much more.
To go along with the engine swap, this Mark II has received a completely customized interior. The bright green color on the exterior and under the hood continues to make a strong impression inside as well. It’s likely that the steering wheel came from the same Toyota Supra that gave up its engine.
Fat fender flares, a trunk-mounted wing and flared rockers offer plenty of evidence that this Corona Mark II means business. It definitely diverges from the usual Toyota palette of period-popular browns and golds with its bright green color, which looks almost identical to the “Spirited Green” of my Mazda 2. Now, what judgement will be passed on this coupe by the CC readership?
I don’t care for the exhaust, it should have dual pipes.
Originally it had a twin pipe system
I have a 1971 corona mark II, wanting to install a 22r turbo engine, has anyone done any mods like that? motor and trans. mounts, etc.
I did this mod on a 1973 and we had to get a oil pan off of a 20R pickup. this was in the 90s and I dont remember which year, but the oil pan sump was at the opposite end. Also had to use the radiator out of an 84 celica (it is where we got the engine from). We used a weber carb and a non electronic 22R. Could be done with a 22RE but would require a lot more work.
It’s a straight 6 motard. Dual exhaust would be pointless. This isn’t some ford
I had a brown coup’e with a 5 speed behind a 2.2 6 I took the rocker shaft out for my 2.6 sedan and some other parts and threw the remains in the Cygnet tip. The 74 sedan was kept until we emigrated to NZ and sold to a workmate for $550.
Excellent car as far as cars go it gave no trouble had no rust and was in good order just valueless.
“But a purely stock example, even a hardtop coupe, doesn’t have massive collector-car value. So would you restore to stock or, like this owner, radically customize one?”
I’d restore any older car to stock. If I were to purchase a classic car, it would be because I like the car, not because I’m looking to make a quick buck by re-selling it for more than I payed for.
I personally loathe customized cars. Sure, I can see doing an engine swap or a few improvements to make it more comfortable or perform better. But a full-customization like this one here ruins the car in my opinion. Once you do this, you can’t go back to the original. It’s like someone who gets way too many plastic surgery procedures. Not a fan of the Fast and Furious paint job either.
I like the swap and the use of the tilt telescopic columnbut the fattened wheel arches dont do it any favors. Maybe it it where a little more stock apearing in those regard it would look much more in propertion with the stock doors. Still I think I would own this bwast but Id have the colour changed to somthing from the era it was built.
I looks like someone spent a lot of time and money making it look like a Japanese version of a Camaro.
Green Camaro
All the work on the Corona appears to be top quality. It really does look like it should be a Mazda. I’ll take the brown Skylark behind it Thank You.
Hey, at least the engine is Toyota, and not a SBC, right?
Not to my taste, but nicely done. I’ve always wanted something from the malaise era that appears 100% stock, but has a modern, high-output engine. Maybe some day…
Agreed. I’m not a Toyota fan by any means, but I’ve always believed (when possible) that the engine should match the brand.
If it began life with a 2.6 this could simply be a cylinderhead swap as the Supra used the same engine block as the Crown/Corona if it was a 2.2 its had a complete swap as those were a different engine family.
Not very likely, eh?
This is from the era of wierd Japanese styling and I never cared for it.
Grrrrrrr.
Not bad as far as rice-boy specials go, it’s quality work and shows some taste. But it’s not any kind of ’73 Toyota anymore. It doesn’t look or drive like one. Change the taillights and grille, and most people would never even recognize what this custom started out as. I’m sure it’s worth more than a stock ’73, but only to those who are into customs and muscle cars and rice rockets and such. Such are the mainstream tastes that tend to define market values. To historians and proponents of vintage originality like most of us here, this car is of far less interest than a nice stock ’73 would have been, even if it’s easier to re-sell.
Probably not what I would have done, but there’s a lid for every pot. Someone obviously had a lot of fun (and wrote a lot of checks) making this thing happen. More power to them.
In related news, most folks look at me with pity as I continue to shell out money to keep my MB 300D on the road while most denizens of this site would think that a noble pursuit, but not everyone is as wise as we are. [Said with tongue firmly in cheek]
“…but there’s a lid for every pot.”
You have obviously never been in my kitchen.
It is getting to the point where there are virtually no mainstream Japanese 70’s cars in original spec, especially here in the Midwest. The Coronas, 710s, RX-2s that used to be plentiful are now rare, and the ones that are left are having this done to them, usually by kids that have no historical perspective. Sad.
Except for the RXs, though, that generation of Japanese cars were eminently forgettable.
Especially the Toyotas. Datsun/Nissan was the innovator in those days; and aside from high assembly quality and reasonable prices, Toyota wasn’t offering much. Those cars were too close to their “British clones under license” roots to be anything more than momentarily interesting.
Are you referring to Toyota as “British clones”? It was Datsun that had a license with BMC, not Toyota. Yes, Toyota wasn’t offering much:
Never saw that one. Not surprising, since it had RHD and apparently never hit the States.
There are gaps in my knowledge, sure…between adolescence and the Internet, I had to work hard to pay the landlord, the baker, the credit-card maker. Not much room in there for auto-porn…I did subscribe to C/D for some years, but without the means, the dreams are mean.
I could come back with photos of the Toyota Sominex and Soma models…you know which I mean. Despite Datsun’s roots, they developed refinement quickly with the 510 and Fairlady. Toyota took a little longer to break out, at least in the mass market in the States; and with the Celica went in a different direction.
Given Toyota’s appearances in their early postwar years, I’d been given to believe they, too, were licensing European models.
I am not a fan of “built” cars. I would prefer that someone restore the thing to stock. I would find it more interesting. However, I also must recognize that I would not be standing there with cash in my hand had the guy done the car the way I would prefer.
The interesting question (to me, at least) is what is going to happen to all of these “built” cars in another 10 or 20 years? Are they going to be the value equivalent of one of the 70s era “replicars” (very low compared to the real thing) or are they going to be treated as unique cars worth saving, such as some of the earlier customized hot rods that have some collector respect in some circles? I have no idea.
Of course we don’t know when the work was done on the original – this might have been just an old car, a $750 runner with a solid chassis and some mechanical issues, when whoever had the wrench-set started his work. So for that reason I’ll suspend judgment.
The purpose of a car as a hobby and project, is to reflect one’s personality and to entertain. If the owner at the time got his jollies out of a bargain-beater and an engine transplant, and was able to bring it up to this level…more power to him.
I’d lose the fart can, though…
I love a Clue that makes me go, “oh wow, I know that one, I KNOW it, c’mon, what is it?!?…”
And then realize the next morning that I wasn’t even on the same continent.
This was originally a rare example of the early era of Japanese imports in America. For that reason alone the ethics of scarcity apply, regardless of what condition it was in when the work was started.
Look, I’ll almost never begrudge a person for updating the drivetrain or suspension or brakes on an older car. They’re meant to be driven; so why not update the gear and make it more drivable in modern traffic? I get it.
And if someone has an aesthetic “vision” for an old car and wants to take a Maverick or a Granada or Chevy II and make it look like it’s some Transformer boogeyman, then fine. “Cool” is in the eye of the beholder, and there’s still lots of those cars left to go ’round.
But to do THAT to such a rare car??!! No way. That guy is a $#%^!€, pure and simple.
I’ve not seen one of these cars in ages, and have mostly given up. They were never exactly common, except in CA. And count me in as not a fan of this either.
Tough crowd, Paul doesn’t like it, and his identical twin Paul doesn’t like it either..
🙂
He just left, though…
I have actually seen a Mark II in red just like the one in the 2nd picture above here in the Witch City (Salem, MA) where 70s Japanese cars usually dissolved in rust by the early 90s.I seen it parked @ a local car repair place.
I really like some of the older Japanese cars, and I like the idea of transplanting better engines and suspensions to improve performance. I agree with most others here, the bodywork and interior is over the top, I would much prefer he kept those mostly stock, just use better wheels and seats and the nicer steering wheel and the car would be more tasteful. As was pointed out, it isn’t as if these cars have any real value if they are truly restored to stock, however a tastefully improved model will have value to more buyers.
Not to my taste either, but who cares as long as the owner likes it.
Being the overly practical sort of person, one of the reasons I’d never do something like this is that you can drop a pile of money into a highly customized car, and your chances of recouping most of your investment are not great.
Thats the thing, its not an investment, its a car. You buy it because you like it, you fix it up because you enjoy it, you sell it when you get tired of it, and you try to sell it to someone who will at least appreciate it.
A full-on original restoration can cost more than customizing or resto-modding a car, and if the owner did a lot of the expensive work himself then customizing might not even cost THAT much if you don’t count your time. You consider it a hobby, not a job, so the time spent is not critical. Even guys who completely restore “recognized” classic cars almost always end up losing money on them when they sell it.
Doing this to a nice one would be sacrilege. I will choose to believe it was trashed beforehand. I actually LOVE this look. It looks like what I imagine Toyota might have done for a factory racer in the day- aside from the color. I would rock this car any day!
The owner will one day tire of it and sell it for much less than what he has in it. The next owner will drive it on the street, get a bit of road rash, and give it to his 16-year old daughter who thinks it’s, like totally dorkey. It finally ends up as a calling card for a junkyard. Sic transit, as they say.
Wow someone has put a lot of work into that, the flares are incredible. The thing that sticks out the most to me is the apparently electronically adjustable struts. Did he some how fit the ones from the Supra that donated the engine? Anyway you cut it who ever did it has some serious skills. Not saying I’m a big fan of the overall look and color choice but you have to give the person kudos for the quality of the work.
Not my cup of tea but it’s obvious the owner put a lot of time, effort and $$ into it. I’d rather someone hotrod a car than leave it sitting in original spec in the weeds.
Maybe it’s b/c it’s Friday afternoon, but that “The most Toyota” line in the print ad just cracked me up. Has a very Spinal Tap “none more black” feel to it 🙂
This car goes to eleven!
Not to split hairs, but since it is among my top 5 all time movies, I am pretty sure the line was actually “None blacker.”
Although the paint and interior is too radical, I like the concept. Is this really all that different from other hotrodding eras when people dumped flatheads into Ts, ohv Caddy V8s into Mercs, etc. The combination of older cars with newer drivetrains is time honored.
speaking of Toyotas,how come landcruisers pick ups have never been imported to USA,my dad drives one in Sydney(Australia).one day while I was there to visit my parents,we went hunting near Sydney,climing up mountains,that son of camel was going places that even animals could not go.very capable trucks.
They were imported into the US, somewhere I have the brochures for them I found in the attic of the tire store I worked at that was originally built as the Toyota dealership. They never sold in very big numbers due the the price as they were affected by the chicken tax which is a 25% tariff on imported commercial vehicles enacted in 1963. Toyota obviously didn’t think they would sell well enough to import them as incomplete vehicles and instal beds here to avoid that tax as they did with the HiLux.
or maybe if they bring such of strong truck to USA it will effect those ones being sold here already.that kind of capability that I felt in my dad’sLandcruiser,that thing will have a tundra for breakfast&pop it out by lunchtime,i saw those towing tractors&3 ton trucks that is almost impossible for truck that size from other companies.just amazing.
Anyone know real value for a nice stock 72-73 Mark II Coupe hard top. Here in the USA is impossible to see one let a long one for sale. This is for sale for 10k. Can you please give your opinion. This ones I terior is 90% bad bad carb, bad brakes, cheap paint, 1% rust 99% rust free moldings not good all windows are original. Please give opinion… ?
I admire the workmanship, if not the end result. One thing about it, you’re not likely to see another one like it coming in the opposite direction while you’re out for a drive!
I don’t know about this one…
The flares and odd interior are too over the top. I do like the color though 🙂
I think the owner is an attention whore.
If you don’t see this car coming down the street, you’ll definitely hear it, fart can and all.
I like it. The car is tastefully done. all body panels match so it is not a half assed ricer creation. It does look a little Camaroish but it is ok. Now that disgusting Batmobile themed Monte Carlo that is in the far left of the last pic is another story.
I like the more rare Japanese cars of the 70s, and although original is usually my preference, this one seems very well done. Excluding the interior, I like it.
Yuck. I do not like this at all. Yes, the work looks to have been done reasonably well, and obviously it’s to the owners tastes, but it’s certainly not to mine. This era in car design was pretty bad, and the modifications have only accentuated that design language.
Persnoally I’m more of a fan of keeping cars more stock than not, but I’m no enemy of modifications. I just think that this one has gone a little too far. It reminds me of all those 90’s Australian rotary showcars.
Can any one help me restoring this?
Contact me on mubasher_kayani@hotmail.com
CAN ANYBODY ADVISE MORE OR LESS HOW MUCH IS A 73 TOYOTA CORONA MARK II HARDTOP WORTH IN RUNNING CONDITION NO RUST A PROJECT CAR PLEASE RESPOND
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Hola que tal. Aun tienes el Toyota corona? Podrias mandar fotos y precio por favor
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Podrias mandar fotos y precio por favor
My aunt and uncle had a 1970 Toyota Corona Mark II when I was a boy. I also had a neighbour who had a 1975 Corona Mark II.
Hi, everyone. Looking for all interior for my 1973 MII RX22. any one can please help me.