I usually enjoy seeing cars again that I’ve previously photographed. It can be somewhat like running into an old acquaintance after several years. Often it is nice to see the car still on the road and taken care of but sometimes the reunion is under less happy circumstances. The first time I saw this 1977 Toyota Corolla two door sedan it was outside an older building that housed an independent mechanic’s shop. Perhaps the repairs didn’t go as smoothly as expected given its current location.
Here is the same Corolla roughly a year earlier in more hopeful time. The distinctive pin striping and front bumper rust confirm it to be the same car. The flat hood pegs it as a Standard base car but the yellow and green pin stripes really help jazz up the basic refrigerator white paint. The passenger side mirror would have been a later addition as basic cars of the era made do with just a driver’s side one.
The rear view confirms this is quite a solid car overall with some surface rust gaining a foothold around the edges. This generation of Corolla is code named E30.
I never did get a photo of the interior on my first encounter as I was rather rushed at the time. At the yard the parts pullers have already snagged the steering column but no interest in those remarkably intact looking seats yet. The interior still sports rubber mats instead of carpeting which was common to the lowest cost Japanese cars of the time. The duct tape shift boot would, undoubtedly, make Red Green proud.
Some clueless yard worker labelled this one as a Camry despite the fact the Camry was years away from seeing production. I did appreciate the smart ass correction in pencil by one of the previous patrons.
The tiny 3K-C four cylinder engine has lost a few parts like the two barrel carburetor, thermostat housing and valve cover. The exterior of the engine was on the dirty side but the exposed valve gear was extremely clean and looked to have little if any wear. Displacing a mere 1,166cc the engine routed its modest 55hp output through a four speed manual gearbox to a live rear axle. A two speed automatic was optionally offered for those who wanted to travel even slower. The more plush Deluxe model featured a larger 2T-C 1,558cc engine with 75hp but couldn’t match the smaller engine’s impressive fuel economy.
Around the back we can see into the Corolla’s modest trunk complete with fuel tank mounted against the rear seat. Also visible is the drum brake equipped leaf sprung rear axle while the front had the usual struts with disc brakes. Steering was operated via a recirculating ball set up and Corolla’s of this era were not known for their fine handling. Priced at just $2,711US for a base car in 1975 the Corolla offered good value for basic transportation needs. It is a shame this old Corolla ended up in the bone yard as it looked be very savable with a little work last time I saw it.
This can’t be, as you know, in the history of all mankind, no Toyota has ever been scrapped, they are all still running…
Seriously though, poor little car, it still seemed pretty clean for a 70’s Japanese car, its a shame. Even though its a common run of the mill car from the 70’s, these are getting scarce, I can’t recall when was the last time I even saw one on the road.
This vintage Corolla is starting to get a wee bit less well represented here on the road, but there’s still a few in daily use. I just shot this one the other day which I hadn’t seen before; I wasn’t going to use it because it’s such a blurry shot.
I agree with Carmine, I find it sad when one that still looks as good as this one did ends up as an organ donor.
And, why is it always “refrigerator white.” I think we need to broaden our descriptions to include “washing machine white” and “water heater white”. 🙂
In my family that is always referred to as “toilet bowl white”, probably the reason we haven’t purchased any white vehicles in a long, long time.
You give me an entirely new way to think about the White Olds 98 I owned with the brown interior. 🙂
Thanks. I know exactly the 98 you must have had. Your comment will stay with me the rest of my life!
I prefer to call that particular shade of paint ‘Peruvian Marching Powder’ myself.
Whatever you want to call it, white has the distinction of making ANY car look plebian and rather generic, no matter how well gussied it up is was with options.
I remember these, and STILL see them on the roads around Puget Sound as long as they spend all, or most of their lives here in the area, and didn’t get exposed to the salt water at the coast much, they just don’t rust out here, at least not until they’ve been around 30+ years. 🙂
Love the 3K-C! Brother had one in a ’70 Corolla Sprinter. Did you know that they made a dual carb version, using 2 down-draft 2bbl carbs? It is a 3K-B. I have the factory shop manual for the K series engines..
Poor little guy. A shame to see such a solid car put out to pasture.
That is the exact model of Toyota that was the pre-eminent rental car on Maui in 1977 or 78 when we were there. The rental rigs were automatics though and there was no preponderance of white ones. Iirc they all had that tan interior though.
We only got the 3K version I had a new one as a rental awful car it got blown all over the road by crosswinds but cheap on gas
That minor rust would render it unroadworthy here I just bought a Sentra with similar problems
I like the green legacy outback wagon next to it
Bajaturbo05, I second that comment! You can tell some Suby-lovers were taking parts for their own rigs at home. Nice feature when most of Subaru’s fleet in the late 90’s was composed of two (major) platforms. Parts “inter-change-ability” was good during that age.
Perhaps the thing was suffering from the tin worm more then we think? Perhaps there is a bit more rust just hidden underneath? These early Toyotas could rust out in the middle of Death Valley. Perhaps the car was not saveable? Looks can be deceiving. I had a 1980 Malibu that looked in good shape(except for the faded puke green paint) with no visible rust. One day I got adventurous and yanked back the carpet on the passenger side front to find out why it got wet all the time. It was not coolant and I was thinking it was because of a leak in the door seal BUT after pulling back the carpet I discovered most of the floor was gone and the rest unstable. I went car shopping soon after.
Or perhaps it was bought as a donor car to preserve a better specimen? The owner took what they needed and junked the car? Or perhaps it was not able to be titled or the title was missing?
There’s quite a few of these still on the streets in Eugene, and we get 45 inches of rain a year; quite a bit more than Death Valley. More like Mud Valley. But they don’t rust, unless they’re exposed to salt. Of course there is quite a bit of salt in Death Valley, come to think of it.
This is the car that helped bring Toyota mainstream, in my estimation. 1975 thru 1979 Corolla was an awesome car. Cheap. Flimsy. Slow. Gotta admit. But they were bulletproof and dependable, and the design was a leap forward from 1974 models. They looked good. There were several in my high school parking lot, in the late ’70’s, and all were flogged hard. Didn’t know the motors were so small, however. How did we ever get by back then?
This car is (was) in fairly remarkable shape being 36 years old.
I had an appliance white on blue 78 Deluxe with the 2TC motor, 3-spd auto, and A/C that got me through high school and college. It had (shag) carpeted floors, yet vinyl seats, go figure. Mine came with rain visors on the doors – not sure if they were factory installed. I never could get better than 25mpg; then again, I flogged (?) my Corolla mercilessly throughout college (0-60 in 5 miles lol).
Carburetor issues, a slipping trans, and front end work all needed at once did mine in. I sold it to some schmuck for $900 back then (after paying $1000 for it 6 years earlier). Should have held onto it – RWD Toyotas in much worse shape go for $2000+ here in central FL now, 12 years later.
I can confirm the passenger mirror was aftermarket as mine had no passenger mirror.
This car didn’t have A/C (rotary dial surrounding fan switch and a/c (COOL) label not present). Probably would have sapped even more power from the tiny revvy 3KC.
I haven’t seen seats that pristine since the ones in my car. (Then again, tinted windows and seat covers helped.)
Say what you want about that appliance white color; mine would be restored with a simple coat of Turtle Wax once a year. Can’t say that about Toyota’s white paint from the early 2000s.
Here’s my 78.
hi I need some parts for my 1977 corolla te31. am missing da side panels that go inside the car near the window. please contact me at 347 278 2128
Where is this one? Since it is being parted out,,,I need some parts for mine.
My first car was a 77 Corolla, inherited from my father when he bought a Lada! in 1983. It had been a New Brunswick car and I had the pleasure of watching it dissolve around me for the next several years. It burned oil like mad, the throw out bearing on the four speed made a squealing sound, random plastic bits broke off and when I was delivering flyers one of the leaf springs broke. By the time it was 10 years old it was a junk car but I did keep it running, replaced the clutch, the rings and many other things. It didn’t leave me stranded and even in -35 Saskatchewan winters started right up. My current car is a Lexus which at 14 years has had no major problems, no rust and also never leaves me stranded.
First time in the Lexus I noticed the steering wheel controls where almost the same placement as the Corolla. Why mess with what works!