1979 toyota corolla 1.2 liter...

I just became the proud new owner of a 79 corolla 2 door with the 1.2 liter, engine runs strong and mechanically is sound. However being from Wisconsin, it and rust are very well acquainted. What if anything can I do with this car, or the guts from it?

Any ideas are appreciated and welcomed.

2/3's scale Locost? Even full sized, with a careful eye to keeping it true to original intentions it'll be reliable and fun.

Or let me come get it and swap the engine into the 1.1L Opel Kadett in my garage that doesn't want to run....

1.2? My '79 corolla had a 3TC, & it was a pretty optionless car.

What to do with it? Buy my pair (wagon and 4 door) to round out your collection nicely.

Seriously though...FUN cars. Underpowered, but simple and reliable.

I'm not familiar with any 1.2 liter...I assume that it actually has the 1.8 liter 3TC engine. I am not, however, incredibly well-versed about these things.

Clem

yep its a 1.2 liter engine code 3K-C, chassis code TE30, i would of thought it should be a TE31?

what is a good toyota forum for these vintage of cars?

Toyota used this 1.2 powered version of the Corolla as a "fuel-miser" model. (After all, this was about the time of the 2nd or 3rd "gas crisis".) It was also supposed to be a "placeholder" at the lowest end of the model range, until the Tercel could be introduced about 12-18 months later. I'm guessing your car is also that "Honey mustard" yellow, that 99% of the 1.2s were painted? Rubber instead of carpets?

integraguy wrote: Toyota used this 1.2 powered version of the Corolla as a "fuel-miser" model. (After all, this was about the time of the 2nd or 3rd "gas crisis".) It was also supposed to be a "placeholder" at the lowest end of the model range, until the Tercel could be introduced about 12-18 months later. I'm guessing your car is also that "Honey mustard" yellow, that 99% of the 1.2s were painted? Rubber instead of carpets?

Me and the duke almost bought one years ago for a rally project before we realized what engine was in it.. and it was that engine and tweety bird yellow as i called it lol

In reply to oldopelguy:

"2/3's scale Locost" is an Original Lotus Seven sized car

Well then, you really do need to buy my stuff so you can build a hotrod ;).

Re you rust. They did rust pretty bad. Mine are both rusty, but they rust in odd places that seem to not matter as much from a functional standpoint.

Clem

Oh please post the rear axle code!! it's on the vin plate. I've only seen one 1.2lt powerd one before and it did not have the elusive 4:30 gear set that only came with the 1.2 option.

Where is the rear axle code? is it the transaxle number?

transmission code - K40 axle code - U312

is it the elusive 4:30 gear set then?

U = 5 inch ring gear 31 = 3.909 ratio XX2 = 2 pinion gears open diff

bummer S code rear 4:30 are worth $800and up. 430's would be 28X

44

the rear leaf spring mount in the trunk is almost rusted through completely surrounding the mount. how can i fix this? i don't think that a standard patch panel will suffice

"the leaf spring mount in the trunk is almost rusted through..."

And now you know the OTHER reason why these cars are rarely found anymore. The first reason being that "powerhouse" of an engine.

2x4 steel tube and weld it in?

yeah i guess off to the scrapyard it is then

Where in WI are you, I would be interested in the engine and trans...?

The car is in the Appleton/Neenah area. too far away?

Without knowing how really bad your rust problem is, I hope my almost "flip" remark wasn't the deciding factor in your decision to "bin" your car.

Admittedly, I've tried to save some real rust buckets from the crusher in the past. For example? A PV544 with a "nearly new" paint job that did a passable imitation of a block of Swiss cheese with an engine. Before that? A '53 Plymouth that was ultimately run into a tree (accidently, of course) but which looked like an automotive "patchwork quilt" before it's unfortunate demise.

I had a 76 with that engine, and the manual 4 speed. The only problem I had with it was it ate its rings at 40K, which were replace under warranty. After two cross-country drives with it, at 120K, it turned the small end bearing in a connecting rod. Ultra easy to repair. Think british car engine but much more reliable. If it were not for the woman who ignored a stop sign and folded the car in half, it just wanted to go and go. It's an OHV/rocker arm engine. When I brought it to the machine shop to have the ridge removed in the cylinders, I carried it in and out it up on the counter. Yes, it's small.

The fun part of small-engined cars is that you can row through the gears, bring the car to its limits, and you're not likely to get stopped by the cops. Nobody knows how much fun you're having.

I had no problem keeping up with 65-70mph traffic. Fun car. Fix it and enjoy.

hehehehehe... I've been known to do a bit of "K" engine porting....

Intake...

Exhaust...

I think i will use it as a learning tool. I need to post a pic to get some input on how to fix the rear leaf spring mounting point

Here are the pictures of the trunk. How do I go about fixing this?

Or is it too far gone?