Disclosure: This site may receive compensation when you click on some links and make purchases.

Plain Yellow: 1973 Toyota Corolla

1973 Toyota Corolla

This plain yellow Corolla (that was originally brown) hails from a day when Toyotas were known for both their simplicity and reliability. This one is located in Homestead, Florida and is for sale here on eBay where bidding is well below $1,000 but has not met the reserve. Unusually, this car has the rare air conditioning option which the seller asserts blows cold! Finally, a barn find where the air conditioning actually works! Yes, there’s some rust, and it’s not very luxurious, but at least you’ll be comfortable! Who cares that you can see a puppy on the ground through the hole in the tire well? For simple, basic transportation this couldn’t be beat, either then or now, and while I wouldn’t characterize the rust repair as “simple” the way the seller does, it would be a good car to learn welding on in your garage. Just be careful when you’re cutting and welding! Let us know in the comments below if you decide to bid on this one.

Comments

  1. Avatar That Guy

    If it comes with the puppy, I’ll take it. Otherwise no deal. :-D

    Like 1
  2. Avatar BILL GRAHAM

    What in the world are you thinking? This isn’t worth opening my E-mail for! Come on, really….Are you serious?

    Like 0
  3. Avatar mike d

    not worth the powder to blow it up

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Clayton

    Hey. Some of us live above the rust belt, I’ve never seen a Toyota as old as 1973 in person in my life. I think it’s interesting.

    Like 0
    • Avatar 1977ChevyTruck

      As a Western Canadian, I fully agree with you. I too have never seen a Toyota that old in person.

      Like 0
  5. Avatar sparkster

    I bought a 1972 Corolla a few years back for $75 bucks and it ran and drove with no rust. ( California) car. Drove it home and put a For Sale on it for $699 , Parked it in front of my house. got home from work and had a line waiting to buy it. First guy who drove it said the u joints are worn out in the driveshaft. My reply , ” that’s why it’s so cheap. He bought it, anyway.

    Like 0
  6. Avatar Blindmarc

    Perfect candidate for a modern turbo engine and suspension.

    Like 0
  7. Avatar Leon

    Last time I saw one was 1996. A SAMs coworker had a $200 beater. I think it was white

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Dolphin Member

    Reliable when taken care of, and deadly dull. Gets you around and that’s about it. A relative had one and called it the ‘thunder chicken’.

    There wasn’t as much choice in cheap, reliable basic transportation back the as there is now. I can think of lots of much newer, better cheap cars, but I’d rather not.

    Like 0
  9. Avatar Tirefriar

    “There are some rust issues that are easy repairs.” – after reading that and looking at the pictures I have a very hard time believing that “The Air conditioning works great and blows ice cold” or anything else stated in the ad…

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Jason

    This POS isn’t worth the bandwidth. Please don’t get so desperate for traffic that you post ANYthing. BaT did that and it reeked of desperation.

    Like 0
  11. Avatar DT

    Run till the body falls off,had a couple of these,you can really rack the miles up on these ,1600 cc Hemi,2TC. Simple to work on.simple to keep running.Decent mileage.I had a wagon of this year. I traded it for a Borgward

    Like 0
  12. Avatar Karl

    This is really an unusual find. You see more Ford Pintos around than these, a fact that I believe is both true and simultaneously inexplicable.
    I remember these cars from when I was a kid, but only vaguely. One of my neighbors had a green one, but what neighbor and when, I absolutely don’t recall. I always assumed that rust was the killer of these early Toyotas, since the drivetrains were so bulletproof. But this one is in Homestead, which is about as close to salt water as you can get without your feet being wet. Maybe the real reason for demise was the total lack of enthusiasm that these little bombs inspired. Now, a Celica or a Hilux, that would be interesting.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar charles hefner

    I find it very hard to believe it only has 36k original miles!

    Like 0
  14. Avatar David F Member

    These were a bit quirky. My 69 was pretty well bullet proof, though. The turn signals and the alternator were on the same fuse. You adjusted the clutch by pulling out the cable on the firewall and moving the clip back a few notches. Exaust leaking into the car was cured by bending the trunk lid in a bit.

    The most fun thing was that when I set my empty blues harmonica case on the package shelf under the dash it would rise and roll slowly at about 67 MPH. When the clutch cable broke, I was still able to drive it until I got a day to drive the 60 miles into town. I drove it on 80 between Salt Lake City and Sparks several times floored, at night, as fast as it would go. The fellow I sold it to had it for years afterward. “XBS 303” was a car I’ll never forget.

    Like 0

Leave a Reply to 1977ChevyTruck Cancel reply

RULES: No profanity, politics, or personal attacks.

Become a member to add images to your comments.

*

Get new comment updates via email. Or subscribe without commenting.