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Pet Project: 1967 Toyota Corona Deluxe Sedan

050316 Barn Finds - 1967 Toyota Corona Deluxe RT43 - 1

The current owner of this car looked and looked and looked and finally found the car that he was looking for; and now it’s for sale! If I had a nickle… This 1967 Toyota Corona RT43 Deluxe Sedan is on eBay in Copperhill, Tennessee for a reasonable $2,500. In all fairness to the seller, they mention that they bought a bigger house and everything is for sale and if the car doesn’t sell they’ll keep it. I would want to keep this one, too. Thanks to Jim S. for sending this tip in!

050316 Barn Finds - 1967 Toyota Corona Deluxe RT43 - 2

There isn’t much rust on this Corona and it has “very solid floors.” Apparently the previous owner rebuilt the brakes and the carburetor “and more.” This is a third-generation Corona and I think that it’s the best, most-iconic design of the bunch. It was introduced just before the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and they made them until 1970. Toyota sold vehicles under the name Toyopet starting in 1947 and when it entered the US market in 1957 with the Toyopet Crown, the name wasn’t well received because of it’s cheap and toy-like connotation.

050316 Barn Finds - 1967 Toyota Corona Deluxe RT43 - 3

This car has a three-speed manual on the column, which is nice. The Corona was big car, relatively, and a lot of them had automatic transmissions but for those of us who prefer shifting for ourselves whenever possible, any vehicle with a clutch pedal is a bonus. The seller says that the car “needs a complete restoration of paint, interior, and some mechanical.” It does look a little rugged around the edges and details. They think that it’s originally a Texas car so that may explain how things stayed relatively rust-free.

050316 Barn Finds - 1967 Toyota Corona Deluxe RT43 - 4

This is the 1.9L, 3R engine with around 90 hp and 105 lb-ft of torque. It helps to have the 3-speed manual for sure, but there was a 2-speed Toyoglide automatic available and they were quite popular in the Corona. This would be a case where I’d probably get the mechanical parts working like new, or better than new, and drive this car for years as a daily driver. You could never restore this car for less than what a mint condition one is worth so unless it’s a labor of love it wouldn’t be financially feasible. Would it make sense to fix the mechanicals and drive it as it looks here or is this one worth restoring?

Comments

  1. Avatar DrinkinGasoline

    And all this time, I thought that Corona was “Cerveza Mas Fina.”
    Who knew it was a car ??

    Like 0
  2. Avatar sparkster

    I’m still looking for a Toyota Corona Light

    Like 0
    • Avatar John B

      There are 4 Corona lights. Pointing out from the grill so you can see where you’re going at night.

      Like 1
      • Avatar Tabitha

        I have a ’67 Corona Deluxe Sedan in my garage my grandpa bought brand new off the lot. After years of service overhauled the engine. I was fortunate enough to learn to drive in this baby with the 3 on the tree shifting. My first encounter with blinkers came in 1990 when I was learning how to drive. I was so hoping you didn’t give away the turn signal magic. Either way, these are magical little cars. I love mine!

        Like 1
  3. Avatar Fred

    Is that factory air I see, or are those just vents?

    Like 0
    • Avatar Brakeservo

      If those are AC vents, then the compressor, brackets, plumbing and everything else is missing.

      Like 0
      • Avatar Tabotha

        No A/C in these babies. That’s what the directional window vents are for. If you can find a heater core for it, it will roast you out of the car. I suppose you could modify it to include A/C, but what’s the fun in that?

        Like 0
  4. Avatar Will

    When I first got out of basic training I bought one identical to this one at a fly by night, buy here, pay here place in Tucson in 1979. It was basically used up and I got taken. The gas tank was rusted on the top so it leaked if you put more than 5 dollars in it. It was probably the only car in Tucson with rust The windows didn’t work right. And on and on. I traded it for a Chevette a few months later. They may be decent cars. Mine wasn’t. It still beat walking.

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Woodie Man

    First car I bought out on the West Coast in 1978,,,dark blue 4 door ’67. Eight hundred dollars in 1978 dollars. Same column shift. They were all over Berkeley then.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar RayT

    Now you’re getting close to a Toyota I’d like to own, Scotty! I’ve always had a yen — so to speak — for a Toyopet Crown Deluxe, complete with Venetian blinds in the rear window. Every Toyota since, with the exception, perhaps, of certain Supras, early MR2s and the 2000 GT, has struck me as uninteresting; in my book they are “invisible cars.”

    Keep looking! You’ve almost found a Toyota for me to covet!

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Ken M

    My father bought one of the first of these in Melbourne (Oz) and I have the original instruction manual in the faux leather zippered cover. I remember it as a good car, although not a great one.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Alvin Florentino

      Hi. I’m planning to purchase a 67 Toyota Corona Deluxe Toyopet. Just read your post saying you have an original manual with the faux leather cover. Any chance that’s for sale? Pls email me at alvincflorentino@yahoo.com. I’m from the Philippines by the way. Thanks!

      Like 0
  8. Avatar Miguel

    Did anybody notice the turn signal lever is not there?

    That is because you rotate the horn ring from side to side for the signals.

    I am not sure how many years Toyota made them like this but it wasn’t very many.

    I think it gives it a much cleaner look.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Vickie

      I had one as my first car, Can’t tell you how many times I put the blinker on and honked at the same time. My car would also get stuck out of gear, had to stop, put the hood up, grasp the linkage on the firewall and pull up. Loved that little beast.

      Like 0

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