I collect and restore cars and ran across this car the other day. I don't know anything about japanese cars but something made me buy this strange little car. The more I research this, the more strange it gets. It is a te-51 LKDA according to engine code. It has the 2t-c engine which is Im gathering the 1800 but most liftbacks Ive found have the 1200. Also, I am a very experienced body man and the fenders and tail(spoiler) are metal. I also have looked very closly and would honestly say that the kit was factory installed.It looks to be a sun chaser type kit but it has been on car since delivery. The car has never been repainted. The story behind the car, a army officer bought the car while enlisted and left it his parents home in GA. He returned from the army in 82. From 82-85 he recieved two dui's. Ga put a 5 year suspenion on his lic and he put the car on blocks in the barn with 55k on it. He was killed two years later. The car has not moved until a fellow associate pulled it out and I bought it from him. I have spent a week trying to find any 76 corolla liftback that even resembles this car. I cannot and absolutley befuddled by this. I am more of a german(Porsche) man , but this car is a mystery at best. The wheels are even toyota and have the little crown in the emblem areas. I saw the rims on a few wrc cars that were celicas in the late 70's photos. Any help would be greatly apprecited as Im going to restore it, for kicks if nothing else. LEt me know
oh by the way, the reason I say all original, the paint is original,no spray lines and the spray lines are or rather not there on the transitions in the kit. No bondo no blending, this had to be assembled with car. I would almost bet on it.

The 2TC is actually a 1600. Solid engines.

Any picks? May give people more ideas on the car. Didn't know the mid 70's had many body pieces available.

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Money Pits:
- 1980 Corolla Hatchback - Power project
- 1988 Celica Alltrac - Snow fun project

sorry here it ok maybe not it wont let me load it...don't know why
any picture a 76 liftback yellow with suncather body kit, spiral wagon wheels and front spliter intergrated into flares.. door tag is pristine and dentotes it as te51 witch some say is a sports coupe but this is definatley a hatch.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayI ... 1438.l2649
this was a link from the guy I bought it from,pics should still be up

Haha! I just recently posted this in the ad/auction section on our forum. The te51 is pretty common. But I will agree that the flares and wing I am not familiar with. It would be interesting to find out the origin of these. Congrats on the purchase by the way!

It probably is called a sport coupe. Toyota didn't understand this concept of hatchback lol. My hatchback is called a sport coupe for some reason.

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Money Pits:
- 1980 Corolla Hatchback - Power project
- 1988 Celica Alltrac - Snow fun project

according to a file I recieved from a guy this morning...this was a option code for america but under numbers produced..it is blank. Any ideas..again, I have looked for weeks and nothing anywhere close. Lots of coupes non liftback with flares but no spoiler. A few suncathers from the 77-78 years with the spoiler and flares. It is truly odd and thats me to a tee but if I restore it, I would like to know how rare this code was. Funny little car and be first japanese car restore for me. Don't wont to hack it up if it truly is a weird frankenstein beast. Chevrolet was notorious for small number F*@k ups they released to the public. AtLEAST IN THE 70S, i STILL THINK THE 1970 CAMARO IS BASTARD CHILD but collectors seem to like it. keep the thought coming

OK SOMETHING ELSE STRANGE....this just gets wierder and wierder..
the car show by stamp code to be a 2t-c and its my understanding the c reflected the calfornia emmissions section but the stamp code on the door clearly states this car not intended for california market due to lack of emmisson equipment. ODD at best. any ideas on that one

That does not mean California emissions. It's just the name of the engine.

ok some guy a club 4ag sent me a toyota motor family tree. It was stating that was how toyota denoted the engine code.lol
again japanese not forte but Im learning
thanks for the site though,its been cool learning about all of this. may not be my last yoda ...
my 13 year old loves the car

Glad to see somebody bought the and gives a crap about. I remember thatad from a few months ago. personally, i thought the body kit was awesome! some of my buddies thought it was something else. can't wait to see what you do with it!!! good luck with resto.

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1976 RA29 project car, now a driver!!!!!
1985 MX72 soon to be...
1985 Celica GT, driving the wheels off
1991 MX83 soon to be 7MGTE

yeah, kinda funny the guy was only about 15 miles from me and I lucked up on the thread from another guy I do alot of work with. I am a finance director at corp dealer group in Atlanta but have loved and collected cars all my life. I have humm I think this makes 27 now but the first and only Japanese cars. It will be in a studio with some very beautiful exotics when its done but I want to do it right. The body flares are so ala Porsche that its interesting. Porsche has and will always use steel body kits. They can be reproduced but its a very expensive transition. These are hard grade steel and that makes it more interesting. Still looking for clues and nice tosee it has stumped the corolla nation as well. Kinda of a brain teaser for all of us.

those seem to be factory toyota wheels. I have the exact same ones on my 1971 Toyota Corona. Car looks cool should be fun to restore

FYI, 2T is the motor. the - and letters tend to mean fuel/air options. C for carb. E for fuel injection. G for DOHC. T for turbo. Z for suppercharger. There is a R, U and some other ones, but not sure what they mean.

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Money Pits:
- 1980 Corolla Hatchback - Power project
- 1988 Celica Alltrac - Snow fun project

Try this guy,...maybe he will know more about the body kit

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/750532/1978-toyota-corolla/page-2

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...................... My Project
Corolla KE35 1976
Celica GT RA40 1981
Celica ST TA40 1979
Carina Station wagon 1997
Carina sedan 1996

http://www.jdmwheels.cz

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...................... My Project
Corolla KE35 1976
Celica GT RA40 1981
Celica ST TA40 1979
Carina Station wagon 1997
Carina sedan 1996

http://www.jdmwheels.cz

YEAH!! THATS THE ONLY ONE I HAVE FOUND EXACTLY LIKE THIS ONE.It is a sunchaser kit produced at factory but his is a notchback(or atleast thats what we would call one if it was a mustang ect). same 51 model. Different year and different hood but same body kit. Funny that his is the only one of its kind I could find either. It must have been a rare option or Atleast Im going by his description. Any other people you know that have this kind of car

Give Whit some time to see this thread. I am sure he will give you his input. I see him post regularly on here.

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Money Pits:
- 1980 Corolla Hatchback - Power project
- 1988 Celica Alltrac - Snow fun project

ANY IDEA ON what louvers will fit this car. Will the ones from a 70s celica fit the liftback or anybody no any repro companies that sell them?

OK, now I have a book in front of me. Here's what TE51-LKDA means:
Engine: 2T-C
Production period: 3/76-8/77
Characteristic expression in catalog model column: Liftback, Manual transmission, 4-speed floor shift, T40 type transmission, 2-door, Deluxe type, For United States of America.
Model name: 1600, Liftback Deluxe

So, it's weird that it's not and SR-5. Also, it seems like the Sunchaser cars were made on the East Coast... that could explain why I've never seen this before in my life! ...wait, it's not so weird; the I'm sure the Celicas started out as basic models too.