Faults:
Net on drivers seat that supports driver broke down seam.
Wandered at high speed.
Shock absorbers had not been replaced since the car was bought new, and were dangerous during high speed cornering.
About 9 months after replacing shock absorbers myself (amateur project), the car developed a problem with camber.
Cooling fins on the radiator susceptible to corrosion (but no leaks), replaced with a better condition one.
Issue with the vacuum hoses meant that the automatic choke would not stay on for long.
Engine blew smoke when cold, until warmed up.
Some wear in the gearbox, fast changes into second could result in crunching.
Received a knock on the centre muffler while driving on a 4WD track.
Rust along edge of front and rear windscreen.
Faded paint on horizontal panels.
Windscreen demister vent didn't fit into dashboard panel, Rear demister wire disconnected (could be from physical interference).
Exhaust gas return air pump was disconnected and only adding weight, so I removed it and blocked off the hoses.
General Comments:
The car seemed to be in overall good condition when I bought it, but I discovered that it suffered a severe lack of maintenance, probably from the person the previous owner bought it from, going from the amount of things he had a mechanic replace. The cooling system was full of rust, the shock absorbers were the factory originals, and the gearbox oil looked like glitter when it was drained.
I replaced the rear shock absorbers, which was easy, and this noticeably improved the handling, and with some new front shock absorbers (not so easy) the handling was transformed from what it used to be.
As I got used to the engine's power delivery, the overall effect was a somewhat sporty vehicle. It couldn't be driven hard around narrow twisty roads the way my MR2 could, but it was still fun enough to not leave me pining for the day when I would have a more powerful better handling car, like when I owned a 1.3L Ford Laser.
If you are willing to put your foot down, these things can keep up with modern traffic with some room to spare, but this may be difficult to do when the price of petrol gets above $1.50.
It does well on dirt roads, and could potentially take you anywhere where ground clearance and traction allows.
Coronas are ergonomic and easy to drive, and have an endearing quality that may make you want to find a way to keep driving it indefinitely, if only this were possible with mechanical devices.
The styling may be functional and it may lack EFI (for this model anyway), but it is light weight (around 1050kg), rear-wheel drive, has a well matched 5-speed gearbox, a surprisingly large boot, can run on unleaded and has Toyota's attention to detail in sorting out bugs, which is lacking in most other manufacturers. The Australian build quality isn't great, but is good enough.
I wouldn't mind owning the higher spec Japanese version when these become old enough to be classics, would probably be easier than trying to find a mint condition Mitsubishi Starion...
