Hey, thanks for checking out my site. For latest updates on my car, go to Page 4. Enjoy and let me know what you think. Play nice!
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INDEX:
1) Intro & History
2) Mods and Future Plans
3) Sound System (Current & Plans)
4) Journal (Last Update 8/31/04)
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The Beginning:
It's not often I meet someone around my town who's actually heard of a Toyota Corona, much less seen one. Then there are those who have heard of one, and think I'm crazy to ever put money into it. Either way, it doesn't matter. I love my car. It's a blast to drive, has been an incredible learning experience, and has amazing potential. Anyway, there's a bit of history involved, so bear with me for a second...
Probably 5-6 years ago my parents bought this 1975 Toyota Corona from my aunt for a measly $600. The car was all original, with only 60k some-odd miles on it. Quite a find. Although I don't have any pictures, the original color of the car was - self described, kind of a crap-gold. The epitomy of 70's paint choices, with matching brown interior. Needless to say, a white spray-paint job did wonders for this car at the time:
Unfortunately the car sat for so long before we got it, pretty much every gasket and seal on the motor had dried up. So the car developed a nasty oil leak over time. My brother inherited the car going into high school, drove it for a couple of years, then bought his own car, so the Corona was passed to me. I had much bigger plans for it.
The time had come to decide the future for the car. It needed a complete engine rebuild, no doubt. With the massive oil leaks, and dying piston rings, it was either rebuild or junk yard. The aspiring mechanic, I made a deal with my parents, and decided to take the identical 20R engine from the old Toyota truck we had, which was no longer in use. A donor was found.
Gaze at the beauty...the potential beauty that is
So, with the help of my best friend; an entire summer was spent. We removed the old 20R motor from the pickup, stripped it to the block and cleaned every useable part of the pounds of oil and grease that had accumulated over the years. I ordered a full rebuild kit, with everything down to the piston rings. The pistons were still in good shape, so no need to replace them. I decided that stock internals just weren't good enough, so I ordered a custom camshaft from a local shop that had been in the business of custom Toyota cams for 15+ years. Tech specs, the lift is .437, a significant difference from the stock cam. Also included were dual spring valve springs, so those rocker arms would be nice and responsive at high rpm's. I figured all the external performance mods I could do later. Moving onward...
We finished the motor, then spent an entire week pulling the old motor from the Corona, cleaning and painting the engine compartment, and dropping the fresh new 20r into place.
sorry the pics are kinda hard to look at, all I have is these black & whites. You'll get the idea.
After many hours (and much money) spent; needless to say, it was a glorious day when that new engine roared to life.
True beauty attained...
Finally, back to present day. Thanks for bearing with me. Time to check out where my baby is at now...
