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Mark II Coupe: 1972 Toyota Corona

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The old-school cool appeal of vintage Japanese cars is hard for me to ignore. When you check out examples like this 1972 Toyota Corona Mark II coupe here on eBay, it’s difficult to reconcile that this is a vehicle from the same automaker churning out Camrys and Corollas for the masses that apparently don’t enjoy driving. While this Corona is far from an enthusiast’s ride of choice, it does have an extra does of personality that modern Toyotas don’t possess. 

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This particular example is said to have just over 36,000 miles from new, and while those old-school odometers are tricky to verify, the car featured here appears plenty solid. The Mark IIs slotted between the upmarket Toyota models of the time, like the Crown and the Century, and the more plebian Corona. Mark IIs like this one received bucket seats, a floor-mount shifter and console, electric rear window defrost and a full-size spare tire.

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Engine-wise, the Corona Mark II featured a 2L, four-cylinder motor paired to a 4-speed manual transmission (in this application, an automatic was offered). Though little info is offered to us as evidence of maintenance, the low miles hopefully promises some level of preservation and sensible upkeep. The seller mentions the Mark II is a solid runner and benefits from new wheels, tires, suspension components and a fresh carb, demonstrating a reasonable attempt to make this Corona road-worthy.

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It’s rare to see these curious coupes on American roads today, a reality you can blame on weak sheet metal and a propensity for rust. This example is located in sunny Miami, Florida, with a highly ambitious Buy-It-Now price of $9,500. While they are hard to find, I don’t personally feel that Coronas of any spec have achieved significant collector car status. Perhaps a dedicated Corona fan will scoop this one up, but for now it will likely reside on eBay as an example of what Toyota once was.

Comments

  1. Avatar AMCSTEVE

    Ugly car and high price = no sale

    Like 0
  2. Avatar Rich

    Sweet car. Perfect for a classic daily driver

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  3. Avatar Walt

    Price is a little high ? But would bring active bidding in Honolulu and the
    West coast . Regarding the rust issue and body parts. Toyota started to use
    a much better alloy in the late 70’s and 80’s for a while if I remember
    correctly, I still see a few around Oahu and Honolulu showing little
    or no rust. Not an east thing in Hawaii. i’m sure these would be
    garage kept with original owners or kept in family and passed down

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  4. Avatar Scotty G Staff

    If only the $4,500 could be the buy-it-now price!
    I much prefer the “non-Mark-II” design, but this looks like a pretty solid car.

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    • Avatar geomechs Member

      My mother had a 4-door version of this. I remember it getting into a collision with a ’63 Pontiac when the Poncho rolled backwards into the ‘Groaner’s’ front end. It was a slight bump which managed to amount to $500.00. Those headlight doors were $156.00 each (1972). I will say that it had a much better motor (I believe it was the 20RC) than my ’71 pickup had (8RC) and it had a heater that almost worked.

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  5. Avatar angliagt

    This should have the 18RC,2000cc engine.
    I had a ’72-1/2 Toyota Hilux with that engine,& swore that I’d
    never buy another Toyota.
    Then,after driving a ’76 Toyota SR5 Longbed,I went out
    & bought a new ’77 SR5 Lonbed.It had the 20R engine (2200cc),
    that came out in 1975.

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  6. Avatar Fred

    Had the wagon version, two tone green with brown sides. Not a bad car at all. Toyota started paying close attention to rust prevention a few years before the US companies but still long after this was made. When they did that, you never saw a Toyota with rust again, at least where I lived.

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    • Avatar Walt

      Well said Fred, That alloy they used was great, held up very well even
      in Hawaii with our salt air, not all of them of course, but quite a few.

      Copper alloyed steel ? I wonder The US were making such alloys for
      sheet metal quite a while ago.

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  7. Avatar Jubjub

    Neat car but jeez. Sketchy looking hood alignment, old baggy seat covers and a ’79 Celica steering wheel. All for just $9500!

    Had a neighbor when I was a kid, old guy, had a really nice Mark II like this but a pail powdery blue. He traded it in for a brown X body Phoenix.

    Seems most of these had the pointed corners of the fenders layed over those $156 headlamp bezels…or at least where they had been.

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  8. Avatar Paul Bellefeuille

    All original.. then the copy reads “Has new wheels, tires, suspension, and carb.”
    okay then..

    Like 0

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