Among the 3000 or so classics on display at the NEC Classic Car Show last month were many delights from across the entire range of our hobby, from the mundane, the sporty, the practical, the rare, the stylish, the exotic, the fast. One car that really got my attention was one that I hadn’t seen for years, and some of those labels you could apply to it might include mundane and practical, but nowadays, also rare, and very rare at that, certainly in the UK – a third-generation Toyota Corona 1500, for sale with a dealer in the tiny village of Kettlethorpe, near Lincoln in the East Midlands region of England.
Back in the 1960’s the British car market was dominated by BMC, Ford, Rootes, Standard-Triumph and Vauxhall. Imports from Europe were only 10% in 1968, and imports from Japan were even fewer, with the first cars from that country arriving on our shores in 1964 in the shape of the Daihatsu Compagno, with Toyota entering the market in the following year with the Corona, and it is one of these that is our Prime Find this week, a 1967 Corona 1500. By 1980 – a mere 12 years later – that import figure had risen to 60%, and the decline of the British motor industry – which in reality meant the decline of British Leyland – was well underway.
Established competitors to the Corona in the mid-to-late 1960’s were cars like the Ford Cortina MKII, Vauxhall Viva HB, Hillman Minx, Triumph 1300 and Morris Oxford, while among imports, the Simca 1301/1501 and Renault 16 were also in the mix.
Introduced in September 1964, our Prime Find is an example of the third generation Corona, designated the T40 and T50 series, the first to be sold in the UK, and it was the car that established Toyota here as well as in the US. Indeed, it marked the company’s return to the US, having temporarily withdrawn from that market in 1961. Available as a conventional three-box, four-door saloon, estate, two-door coupé, five-door hatchback, pick-up and van, the most distinctive feature of the Corona’s styling was its nose, with a pronounced backwards lean. Engines ranged from a 1.2-litre up to a 1.9, with transmission via one of a 2-speed automatic (Toyoglide), 3,4 and 5 speed manual ‘boxes.
The Corona – already a success in Japan after the introduction of the first generation in 1957 – was initially met with reservations in the UK, principally due its styling, but the levels of equipment, fuel economy and reliability soon won British drivers over, as well as those in other markets; in fact, the facelifted version of this third generation Corona won Imported Car of the Year in the US in 1969.
1,788,000 examples of this generation of Corona were built, and while there are only three 1967 Corona’s on the road in the UK, I would expect there are many more in it’s home market, and since Japanese market cars are all right-hand-drive, it wouldn’t be too hard to increase those numbers.
Nevertheless, this is currently an unusual car to see in the UK – I can’t remember the last time I came across one – and unlike most of our Prime Finds, I’ve actually seen this one, and I have to say, it really does look as good as in the photographs – it’s in excellent condition. The dealer’s advert is perhaps a little over-effusive (but then, it is an advert) and is very detailed with a comprehensive selection of photographs, some of which we’ve borrowed – you can see it here – but the main selling points for this Nippon classic are it’s overall, completely rust-free condition, the “as new” interior -which looks barely sat in, and the low mileage it has covered in recent years – about 4,000 miles in the last 20 years, but the odometer is now on its second time around, so it looks like the car was used fairly regularly for the first forty years of its life. Despite the lack of recent use, the dealer claims that this 1500cc Toyota starts, drives and handles very well – “a delight and pleasure to drive”.
The car comes with a comprehensive history file, sheaves of MOT’s and invoices, and the owner’s manual. The asking price is £11,995 – with so few others, well, none, actually, to compare it with, it’s difficult to say how realistic a price this is. It’s been for sale for a few weeks, so clearly isn’t being seen as a bargain, but it is probably a unique opportunity to acquire an exceptionally rare Japanese classic from the era when a Japanese car on our roads was a very uncommon sight.
With our Saturday instalment of Prime Find of the Week, we’re offering our services to the classic car community, by passing on our favourite classic car for sale from the week that passed. This top-tip might help a first-time-buyer to own his first classic, or it could even be the perfect motivation for a multiple-classic-car-owner to expand his garage with something different. We’ll let us be inspired by anything from a cheap project to a stunning concours exotic, and hope that you will do the same.
Just remember – Any Classic is Better than No Classic! We obviously invite our readers to help prospective buyers with your views and maybe even experiences of any given model we feature. Further to that, if you stumble across a classic which you feel we ought to feature as Prime Find of the Week, then please send us a link to primefindoftheweek@viaretro.co.uk