Yesterday we saw a variety of classic Toyotas stored outdoors. Today we’ll see others that were deemed worthy of indoor storage. As you can imagine, these are in a little bit better shape.
First up is this 1965 Toyota 700/Publica Deluxe, right on the showroom floor. It is was quite tight in there, so I could only get some rather average photos of it. According to (now absent) information on the dealer’s web site, this 700 was acquired in 1991 in rough condition, and then was restored by their own paint-and-body department over a two-year period.
Even buyers who selected a heater, radio and cigarette lighter from the option list didn’t didn’t find many luxuries inside. This one has an automatic gearbox, which I believe was standard for the Canadian market.
The automatic transmission, dubbed Toyoglide, had only two forward speeds. Teamed with the 697 cc, 32-hp (28 hp when introduced) two-cylinder engine, it’s a good bet that forward progress was leisurely. Suspension-wise, the there were double wishbones with torsion bars up front, while the live rear axle was suspended by semi-elliptical leaf springs.
Is it just me, or do those look like Ford Pinto hubcaps? They’re almost identical but look a size smaller.
In the home market, other body styles were offered over the years, including a convertible, a pickup and a wagon.
The Toyota Publica Sports concept car of 1962, based off the Publica/700 platform, spawned the slightly less radical S800 sport coupe.
Across the street is an extra lot and a building that appears to house the dealership’s overflow inventory. Tucked inside, but still visible from the street, are a few more treasures. Among them is this 1960 Toyopet Crown Custom, a model not originally sold in Canada; however, these were sold in the United States, as Toyopets, starting in 1958. This 1960 example was sold new in San Francisco, California, for around $2,000, and followed its owner to Canada in the late 1960s. In 1973, after helping the owner secure parts for his early Crown, the dealership became the second owner of this car, which has a mere 35,674 miles on the odometer.
Having seen this one at a car show a number of years back, I can attest to its lovely condition.
Also on display is this charming 1970 Toyota Corolla Sprinter. Besides its excellent condition, the most amazing thing about this Corolla might be that it has managed to keep its original trash can lid-inspired hubcaps all these years. Its like-new appearance is explained by the mere 25,600 miles on the odometer.
How about something a little more sporty? This 1977 Toyota Celica GT looks to be in equally nice condition. The dealer’s now-defunct website once offered the following description:
On June 8th, 1977, Mr. Jim Pugh purchased this Toyota Celica brand new, from Frontier Toyota in Winnipeg, for the cash price of $5,990. Some 12 years later, he sold this car to his son, Jeffery, who lives in Calgary.
On July 5th, 1992, Jeffery came to Heninger Toyota and traded his 1977 Celica for a 1990 Toyota pickup. He received a trade-in allowance of $6,000 and agreed to the trade on the condition that Heninger Toyota would not offer his old Celica for resale, but keep it on display.
Seems a little odd that someone would trade in a classic, but it sure is nice to see one in time-capsule condition.
Wow, this is indeed the Mother Lode. First, I have never, ever seen a Toyopet. I looked these up yesterday after someone’s comment, and never realized that the sedans had suicide doors. It also seems that they sold about 2500 cars over 2 years. An American involved in importing the cars convinced the company that Toyopet was a terrible name in the U.S., because 1) it reminded people of a toy, which is a cheap, throwaway thing and 2) it made the car sound like a pet, which was too cutesy. They started using the Crown name on the later models, but they were too underpowered for American conditions, and way too expensive for what you got. I love them for their rarity, if for no other reason.
But what reviews were done on them at the time invariably commented on how well built they were. I seem to remember one review using the term “bank vault”.
Little did the reviewers know . . . . . . .
I agree with the reviewers: Japanese cars are a fad that will never go anywhere. They won’t survive in our conditions. Detroit has nothing to worry about.
Back in the 1960s the head of General Motors Holden proudly stated that you would never see a Japanese car in R.S.L car park. The R.S.L is the Returned Services League, the main organisation then representing former military personnel and was notoriously conservative. Not to fond of Japan after the unpleasantness of 1941 to 1945 if you get my drift.
Ten years later most of the cars in most R.S.L lots were Japanese and Holden was selling a rebadged Isuzu Aska/ Gemini….
As you state, the hubcaps (wheel covers if you prefer) on the 700 do look like those used on the Pinto. I hope that Ford didn’t copy them from Toyota!
Thank you, just what I was hoping to see. I’d love to see more articles on the old Toyopets, as they fascinate me. Of course, we never saw anything like those in western PA.
Does anyone else remember the parody that Mad magazine did on Japanese cars in the early 60’s? Rather insulting (by today’s standards could be considered racist), and, of course, treated the cars like little tin toys that were unworthy of purchase by adults.
Kind of the same attitude I saw on a newsreel of an early 60’s Catalina Island TT motorcycle race. The commentators had great fun that one of the Japanese entries was made by a piano company. It didn’t finish the race, and was therefore predicted that “we won’t be seeing them again.”
And, of course, the British bikes were all conquering . . . . . . .
Love the ’70 Corolla Sprinter. Brings back memories as my brother had one in the early ’80s, same time I had the Corona Mark II.
The 700 is very Trabant-ey isn’t it?
blended with DAF and Ford Prefect/Anglia
That 700 could almost pass as a brand new retro looking car the Japanese auto companies make on occasion.
I think I know which dealership that is! I’m not in the market for a new Toyota, but I think I might stop by one day to check out their “museum”.
The Crown seems to have been heavily influenced by the Audax-bodied Rootes cars, which I believe have some Studebaker influence courtesy of Raymond Loewy. I would love to have any one of these beauties, but especially the Sprinter!
Where in Canada is this dealership? Open Road Toyota Richmond sometimes has a 2000GT that they display every now and then. But, this store with all the Crowns and Toyopets, I would like to go to there…..
Calgary, Alberta
50:50 weight distribution for the 1965 Toyota 700/Publica Deluxe!
I wonder what the gearing was on the first gen Crowns that showed up in California in ’57 . . . . I understand they were underpowered running out of breath easily on the freeway. Would a taller rear have helped? It would’ve been a tough compromise as the OHV four was small to begin with and having a three speed stick certainly didn’t help things. I believe this may have been rectified around ’61-’63 with the Tiara, but they were still “tough sells.” Until Coronas started to take off, my earliest memory of any Toyota was a 2nd grade buddy of mine who’s dad had a Land Cruiser truck. I now know this would’ve been a ’64 or ’65. I rode in back and it sounded much like a Chevy Blue Flame six . . .
That tiny and very basic 1965 Toyota 700 reminds me of our DAFs from the same era.
With the Variomatic, the starting point of the CVT as we know it now.
Their nickname was -and I did my best to translate it to English- “old cow shaker with garter transmission”.
I guess this Toyota had the same image.
A guy I knew in the early 70’s drove a 700 identical to this one. I think it was his mothers. The hub caps were different however.They look like the ones I had on my 1979 Escort. It had the Toyoglide, and you could tell it coming or going because it had a badge on the front grill as well as the back. It sounded a lot like a lawnmower IIRC.
I searched quite a bit online and never came across another one with this style of hub cap.
The first Toyotas I remember growing up in the Pittsburgh area were the Corona models of 1966. There was a dealer in Coraopolis (west of Pgh near the airport) where these were sold.
Those early Toyopets remind me of 3/4 scale ’53 Plymouths.
I’ve been to this dealership in Calgary and seen this collection. A must see for any Toyota enthusiast. (yes we exist.) Now if only I could get into the Torrance collection.
I discovered earlier this year on the great WasabiCars site that Toyota did a modern reprise of the Toyopet Crown in 2000. Named the Toyota Origin, only 1,000ish made apparently, powered with the 3-litre straight-6 from the Supra. Its looks strongly reference the Toyopet, including the reverse-slant C-pillar and the suicide rear doors. Not the prettiest Toyota I’ve seen…!
Wow – this is the first Toyota I have seen all week that I really, really want!
JPC, if you like the Origin, then may I present to you its predecessor, the gloriously ugly 1996 Toyota Classic! It was a modern reprise of Toyota’s 1936 AA sedan, itself a copy of the ’36 Chrysler Airflow. Toyota’s ‘Classic’ reprise was, bizarrely, based on the crew cab Hilux ute. The best thing I can say about the Classic is that it makes the Origin look good…! Pics courtesy of wikipedia:
Lord have mercy! It’s like a Disney ride on acid! God-awful! Note to Toyota: Hire Italian designers for bodies
Holy crap that’s ugly! It makes my eyes hurt…
I want that Celica Liftback…….Too bad the dealership promised to not resell it.
Love the 700s as an owner of two if these cars at present they are a joy . Look forward to finishing the restoration and driving them
Very cool Toyos. The 700 is just adorable, and the “Clown” is like a bad-ass yakuza cousin of the GAZ-Volga. Very rare to see either, I would think.
The Toyopet name is still alive and well in Japan. There are Toyopet stores (I sh*t you not) that sell various cars that we non-Nips stupidly call Toyotas or Daihatsus. It’s basically a dealer network. Toyota has several sub-networks, kind of like GM used to have, which offer versions of the same car or specific cars unique to the network (I hesitate to call those “brands”, as all the cars are definitely badged as Toyota / Daihatsu / Lexus. It’s confusing as heck and makes no sense to me, but that’s Japan for ya…) So if you drive around Japan, you will see Toyopet showrooms and, like me, you will snicker discreetly.
Speaking of Crowns, we bought a 10-y old one recently and had it shipped over to Burma from Japan. Ours is the Crown Super Deluxe, i.e. the civilian version of the Crown Comfort taxi, which is basically a 1990 Crown with more room at the back but very few frills. Toyota is still making those — it’s the car many Japanese folks pass their driving test in and the base-level government fleet car; other Crown models are now very different from this and have sixes or V8s. It’s very much the descendent of that 1960 model: leaf springs, live rear axle, 4 cylinders, black paint, a little chrome here and there… Even has the little chrome turn signal indicators on the top of the fenders.