Real Road Test: 1968 Toyota Corona! With extra power... 

Couldn't agree more.

It’s a quality if you use camcorder instead of a phone. I learned a lesson a hard way don’t buy a new phone for camera, buy a Sony Handycam AX100 or Panasonic GH5 instead

Corona - NOT a Corolla

@@sirrick59 You noticed my deliberate mistake! I didn’t want to be censored by the algorithms! 😉

@@robinwells8879 The old Corona virus conspiracy trick .LOL

U mention the radio and that is what I remember most about the shovel nose corona my mother drove me around in early 70s, the working radio and tunes on at a time I couldn't see much over the dash

Thanks for that Ron. What was the car's ventilation like in those temperatures (35+ ^C in summer) though?

@@Treviscoe Not brilliant and certainly not as ground breaking as the Mk1 Cortina but something you had to get used to, and of course we usually drove round with all the windows open. The front opening quarter lights which could swivel beyond 180 degrees were a boon though as they would funnel air onto the driver and front passenger. A bigger problem was the sun on the vinyl seats and the fact we normally wore shorts which could lead to fairly severe burns on the upper thighs. We always carried a bath towel draped between the steering wheel and the seat back to alleviate this problem. I remember with affection my first company car in the late 70s with velour upholstery which was superb after the vinyl! Another comment on the sun and its effects, we had in the early 60's a Vauxhall Victor FB which was white on the bottom and gold on the top. After it had sat in the sun for a while you could safely put your hand on the white paint, but the gold would provide severe burns!

Coincidence! My Dad also bought one new in Lusaka in 1967, he drove it on the Zambian dirt roads for 5 year's then loaded up the family and drove to CapeTown where the car was put onto the RMS Windsor Castle destination Southampton, the Corona then gave great service until 1989 with 400k on the clock by which time the UK salted roads took there toll and the car was finally scrapped. Great car and fond memories.

It also shows why certain cars are preferred for engine swaps, including the very American Chevy V8 and LS swaps in Australia: they fit with often no cutting work. It is amazing what will fit in a Datsun 240Z and, the admittedly larger. Volvo 240. Yave even seen the dreaded "LS swap" in a Rover P5, by virtue of the size of it's engine bay, and possibly the better reliability/tunability against a more tradituonal Rover V8. This car is my sort of thing though.

Thank you. I drew inspiration from high performance Italian saloon cars.

Then there's a chance it's the one my mum had for a while in the early 70s, in Adelaide I remember being driven around in. I've got a totally original 77 corona wagon in a container I take out about once or twice a year for fun

Thank you 👍🏻

Aw.

I remember that car. It was a rust free California example. I damned near cried when they incinerated the poor thing.

The handful of GSS hardtops we got here were faster stock than anything at the same price point apart from a modified or larger engined Datsuns, and a match for a 5.0 Holden in performance, though obviously being a lot lighter helped. Had the same power from that 1.9 twin-cam as a high compression 3.3 Holden 6, near enough, but could make quite a bit more, even then. Great fun to drive.

Twin cam must even rarer than the 1600 S coupes that were rare. Some coverage from Australia on a coupe and pointing out how Australia in 1965 was the largest export market for Toyota and far exceeding the USA then. Also how the reliability at Bathurst 1965 was a big boost to sales on a bang per buck basis. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-BRxPdKppZRA.html

@@johnd8892 The twincam wouldn't be an original engine, it'd be a swap from a 70s Celica.

Yes that’s what it reminded me of.

My father's opinion of Japanese cars in the early 70s was 'they're a load of rubbish', which for him, was a fairly common dismissal of anything he didn't like much. That he sold Vauxhalls for a living might also question such an opinion. But even so, I wonder how similar sized late-1960s British and Japanese cars really compared at the time.

@@frglee Reliability and engineering wise they must have been streets ahead of the British based cars. I'm jumping forward a decade or so but my first car in the mid to late 80's was a 1978 Mitsubishi Galant that was the epitomy of total reliability, started on the turn whatever the weather and as me being a young lad it got abuse. Many of my friends Fords, Leylands, Vauxhalls etc were rather a lot less forgiving.

@@wessmith3161 They seemed to rust just as quickly as British cars unfortunately.

Equipment for the price was and still is the Korean maker's MO later on. Don't forget build quality was way ahead too.

@gilburton For sure. What I was thinking. Common nowadays to say Brit cars were crap, but I would think a 1968 Austin 1800 was streets ahead of the 68 Corona. Space, paint, metal, handling, performance, design. However, I don’t know about build quality and reliability. The Coronas rusted quickly. I also thought the Corona looks kinda cool in a retro way.

Nail on the head Tom. You've named the very car which was the main influence I drew from. Thank you.

Thanks. Indeed so. Pleased to report that there will be further videos on other members of his fleet...

Thanks David! 👍🏻

Here in Australia it was the other way round. We've always had yellow rear indicators but white reversing lights were unknown until these toyota's started appearing. I remember as a kid wondering why there were white lights on the back of them. Couldn't figure it out. Up until that point the orange indicators came on solid whenever you put a car in reverse.

Never understood the seemingly US only aversion to amber indicator lights.

@@johnd8892 Neither do I! Some vehicles have them, some do not.

@@Seiskid another car with white reversing lights from 1959 was the Mercedes Benz 220 fintail models. There may be a Toyota connection with these as AMI in Port Melbourne were assembling the fintails at the time Toyota were setting up their first overseas assembly there of the Toyota Tiara. Another feature of the Mercedes was the interior wheel knob to turn the quarter lights, as in the later Corona. Some people also say the later Crown OHC six motor is very like the Mercedes 220 six. Were AMI so proud of what they achieved with assembly of the Mercedes Benz that they showed it in detail to Toyota or did Toyota have one shipped to Japan so they could ostensibly evaluate AMI's capabilities to assemble Toyotas? I think it could only be to Toyota's benefit to have their engineers under stand the then benchmark fintail Mercedes. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3Ce5qZ6iZH4.html I also think the first Falcon XP in Fairmont versions had, tacked on, clear reversing lights as standard and optional on other Falcons. From memory of reading prized brochures as a kid. Looked like a clear version of the amber indicator lights that auto electricians sold in their thousands to make old cars without indicators either up to date or legal.

@@Seiskid an XP Fairmont in original condition with the tacked on reversing lights still fitted. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hzBJtO_TQvs.html

Masks are not mandatory.

You need to think harder and come up with a good Corona joke. It would go viral.

They weren't completely useless if one spent the requisite number of hours to get them adjusted right, only for some kid to come along and twist them around, along with bending or snapping the radio antenna. Hence the many cars sprouting the bent wire coat hanger.

I love my wing mirrors thank you very much. Don't have to look out the door to see behind you. (1972 Hillman Avenger.)

Wing mirrors are ok on some cars; on Mini's , Morris Minor & 1100s /1300s they can be in the way when working under the bonnet, & can cause a build up of mud & salt causing corrosion & holes, though on cars like the Avenger, MK1 Capri & the Corona just tested,they can look & work ok! They seem to be better suited to a longish wing /bonnet. Though they are really good on a Mk1 Transit.

Wing mirrors are great.they are better than door mirrors.you can see much better behind and to the side of you with a lot less of a blind spot.i drive modern cars and vans but the wing mirrors on my old classic are much better.

That’s so interesting I never knew you could buy non soviet cars at that time, was it open to normal citizens?

They weren't really sold on the free market in CZ. There was a state organization called Tuzeks where people from the diaspora could buy western products to their family left in CZ, if I remember well. Skodas were the national product whilst Russian Lada were a little bit more expensive.

@@jurivlk5433 Actually, all Coronas were sold trough motottechna not Tuzex!

@@jurivlk5433 wow, super interesting thanks. The communist economy was obviously more complicated than I ever realised. Feel sorry for the ones left behind at that time but at least they could get some perks if their relatives did well !

@@Nonamenever557 There were also delivered some Volvos or VW Golfs to German Democratic Republic and even Honecker, the leader, drove a western car as the official vehicle! The GDR produced many, many good quality household appliances and electronics for West Germany. The economy of the East wasn't less complicated than the western one and some products were ahead of capitalist products. People weren't stupid in the GDR, in Czechoslovakia, Romania or Bulgaria. Don't forget that it was the Soviet Union that won the war!