Faults:

3 years gone & I haven’t done any restoration, just done the maintenance.

They are: Changed oil, filter, replaced distributor cap, radiator cap, some hoses, ignition switch, tyres and cleaned plugs - that’s all. Runs like a charm.

I once parked her at my garage, left the house for a new job and came back after 8 months and started her from sleep.

Only adjusted the platinum point (previous owner has changed it to platinum), recharged the battery & add some brake fluid. Then turn on the ignition and there she went vroom vroom.

Then to make her road worthy again I cleaned the radiator & replaced the inlet & outlet, replaced 1 cooling hose, cleaned parts & replaced some nuts & bolts and replaced the oil & filter. That’s all.

General Comments:

Comes with stock 4K motor & 4 speed tranny. Got her 3 years ago. I’m the 3rd owner. This old girl must have traveled around the world when I bought her. The car is 42 years old now. That’s older than me, I’m 30. I wanted to restore a quad light wagon in style, that’s the reason I bought her. Since then I used the car as daily transport, get to work, and go on trips, to carry my motorcycles, house work: you name it - this is a workhorse. This old girl can handle pretty much everything that life throws at her; rain, a little mud, night driving, horrible roads, clean roads, highways etc. This is the vehicle I’m using to travel around the country, to go on trips and to unknown destinations, with a house full with my friends and camping gear. She always gets us home.

71V has good ground clearance. Damn reliable; this old girl will take me to the moon and back. Parts are cheap & easy to find. Even used engines & gearboxes can be easily found in scrap metal places. Fuel efficient, does around 12-14 km per liter. Can park & leave her anywhere without worrying. 3 people & a dog can sleep inside without any problem. And it’s always a pleasure to drive.

The car is 42 years old and many cars don't last half that. I bet the only thing that can kill an old Toyota is rust. Otherwise it just keeps running. I wish I could have bought this car brand new.

Faults:

It was in the family for many years before being passed down to me as my first car.

Brakes, single piston non power assisted master cylinder was replaced with a booster assisted dual circuit unit from an AE91 Corolla with a little re engineering. New brake pads & shoes all round with rear washers and flush brake lines. Modification proved its weight in gold.

Charging system, constant flat batteries lead to the external voltage regulator being replaced and alternator serviced. Brushes replaced as a precaution + new battery.

Starter motor, serviced due to not turning over engine when hot.

Entire front suspension and steering ball joints and bushes replaced + laser wheel alignment.

Replaced complete exhaust system.

Front suspension cross bar replaced due to corrosion. I was told this was a common problem in Corollas of this vintage by my mechanic.

Difficult cold starting, cured by overhauling the carburetor, overhaul distributor new ignition leads, new Denso projected tip plugs, contact points, condenser, air filter, fuel filter, vacuum lines, distributor cap and electronic engine tune up.

Over heating when stuck in traffic. Cooling system flushed with new coolant, hoses, radiator cap and fitting a coolant expansion tank.

Stock 12inch rims+tires replaced with aftermarket 14 inch rims with low profile tires.

Front and rear windscreen rubber beading and seals replaced with new hood lining.

Driver side door key barrel replaced due to excessive wear.

New clutch and reconditioned transmission.

Front foot wells getting wet when car washed with high pressure water. Problem partially cured with closing off the vents below the front windscreen.

Front seats needed new covers.

Factory fitted clock failed to keep the time and finally stopped.

Poor night time visibility cured with 75W/90W sealed beam headlamps.

General Comments:

After being used and abused by my family for more than a decade, the car was in a really bad state till I resurrected it from a near death.

Outstanding efficiency of the 3K engine shone when it started to exceed 15 km per every liter of fuel, yet being powerful enough to keep up and even overtake cars 15 years younger.

The four speed manual gear box's lack of an overdrive heavily is felt on long distance drives where the engine noise starts to get irritating after the first half an hour.

Very reliable, never had a breakdown after fixing up the car.

Over took a car cursing at 130km/h with less than half throttle on the fourth gear.