I found this engineless 1971 Toyota Crown on craigslist one night out of boredom and got the idea that this could be a good candidate for my project car. I'm not much of a mechanic myself, however, I became friends with a co-worker (at my new job that I got in the summer) who had his own workshop and worked with mostly Nissan 240SXs and one Datsun 240Z. He had suggested that I should look for a project car to work on for good fun and something to not bore myself with my daily 1999 Honda Accord (In lovely...beige) that was passed down from my brother.

This all started due to my habit of going to craigslist every couple of nights to look for an interesting car that I COULD buy, but not really keep. Since my parents are really strict on how money is spent... (Part of our family culture) But the Toyota Crown really hit the spot for me, I fell in love with it just looking at the pictures off of the craigslist ad! (Which could have been a bad thing.) After talking with my friend about the possibility of working on a Toyota Crown (I had several concerns with it not being a good candidate since he likes to work with Nissan's and I decided to bring a Toyota. Although I feel that Toyota might be in my blood.), we agreed that it would workout.

The car was listed on craigslist for $950 and I emailed the person who put up the ad showing my interest. Turns out the person who put up the ad was a friend of the owner. We talked for a bit about setting up a date for my friend and I to look at the car. (It was up north about an hour away from us) Took a trip up north, liked it, and went back to negotiating with the owner. Got it down to $800 (couldn't go lower, but tried), bought it, got a trailer, and then brought it to my friend's workshop. (I didn't even tell my parents that I purchased it, but they found out eventually) I never thought I'd have myself an interesting car at this age. It may be ambitious, but I was sure it would be worth it. I knew the Toyota Crown existed, but I never knew about this generation and that it was sold in the U.S. Uniqueness is what got me. I love being different.

Enough talk, time for the pictures! (Sorry for the amount of pictures)

Picking the car up from the barn:




On the trailer back to the workshop:


Dropping it off at the workshop!






Interior and close-ups:



Even came with a record player and three 8-tracks!

I love it already

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"Life can only be understood backwards. Unfortunately, it must be lived forward." ... Kierkegaard

Very cool!

Theres a few of us crown enthusiasts over at www.toyotacrowncentral.com - should be a lot of info you can share!

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Own a Crown? Take an interest into these beautiful cars? Come join the community over at www.toyotacrowncentral.com/forum!

what an extremely lucky find!

awesome car man

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Schassisowner's garage sale 4me parts galore!

http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=18604&p=158903#p158903

mx32 2jz swap in progress

This is why the guy stopped emailing me
Good job saving it.

PM me if you ever want to get rid of it.

_________________
- Travis
Yes I CURRENTLY own all of these.
AE86
AE100
JZX32
MX63
JZX73
MX83
JZZ30
RN65
VZN130
VZN185

wow! awesome found!!!!

Huge +s:
- uncracked dash pad
- uncracked steering wheel
- red. RED.
- corrosion looks minimal
- (factory?) 8-track
- windshield looks good
- more parts around for the 60-series than the 50-series

-s:
Can't think of any, actually. Without an engine you save yourself the "do I get rid of the original?" dilema and you can shoehorn in some 5MGE / 7MGE number.

Wow. That's a deal.

Mike

Thanks for the comments everyone! Much appreciated.



Oh! I didn't know that there were others looking at the car as well. They didn't tell you anything about anyone else looking into it? Well, if things go towards a downward spin, I'll consider an offer. Hopefully there will be something else on offer if I do end up finding it a difficult job. There is a Datsun 510 wagon for sale in Maine as well for $500 and I would buy it if I didn't already have this.




It was an amazing barn find, having been in the same barn for around 30 years. Not too sure about the red, although to keep some costs down, I think I'll repaint it in red, just not what was on it. The 8-track is from the factory and it was great to find a well kept interior. Downside was that the seats had tears in them and the driver side door catches on the fender. There is rust on the rockers and a moderately sized hole in the trunk. Planning on cutting it out and welding new pieces. Also, did the '71 Toyota Crown come with a factory sunroof? Can't seem to find much information on that. Also surprised to hear that the parts for the 60-series Crown is more common. Looked through a classic car buying guide and found that the 1971 Toyota Crown in "restoreable condition" is worth $740. Although the book was not very specific. Though the fact that the almost all of the car was there (except for one major part, the engine ) probably made it worth the $800.

As for the engine, I was thinking of finding a 1UZ-FE for it... Not sure how well that'd go for originality, but I'm not sure about restoring it to original condition.

The pop-up glass sunroof like your car has in an aftermarket add-on. Sometimes installed by the dealer, sometimes installed down the road by the owner. Almost never installed by the factory.

Good rule of thumb is, if it doesn't say TOYOTA on the glass, it's not factory.

Ah ok, thanks for the information. We were all unsure about whether the sunroof was factory or not. Though, I think the latch for the pop-up sunroof was a giveaway. Something about the plastic latch didn't seem era correct. Am glad it doesn't leak though.

Sweet car. Love the look of it already. I can see the looks of the celica on the back and the rest is almost like an old mini Lincoln continental. great find!

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See my 76 Corolla build: http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=19630

i saw this ad on craigslist about 3 to 4 months ago for $900. i wanted so bad but the
guy didnt respond to me. lucky you mang. there's alot of parts in yahoo auction japan if you need it.
i have a 71 black ms60 with red interior, its in the process of getting restored. planning to buy the doors from japan, its
power windows.

Well, maybe I'm jumping to conclusions a bit. I got this bushing kit for my MS55, which had a few boxes that were marked MS60 with a few other parts added. The 60 wheel cylinders are definitely more common. You see more 60-series Crowns in Canada than 50-series, but both are pretty scarce.

Yea man,
I have detailed pics he sent me of the car when I was asking about it still in my email. He never mentioned anything else about other interest in the car either.

I was really gunning for it, then he just stopped responding.
Atleast it's in a good home now rather than locked up in that barn


But if and worst case scenario, if you have to set her free back into the wild.
Please remember to msg me asap.

I'd do a 2jzge swap with the autobox as a nice cruiser, super simple wiring.
parts are abundant for the motor also. Good luck with it.
If you need help with a JZ swap message me

_________________
- Travis
Yes I CURRENTLY own all of these.
AE86
AE100
JZX32
MX63
JZX73
MX83
JZZ30
RN65
VZN130
VZN185

Oh, and If you still want to go UZ
I have a few sitting around

_________________
- Travis
Yes I CURRENTLY own all of these.
AE86
AE100
JZX32
MX63
JZX73
MX83
JZZ30
RN65
VZN130
VZN185

That actually sounds good, I've been looking for one for a while with no real luck. (In state that is) Though NYC is quite far... Maybe PM with details?

My planning to go 1uz too. looks like we
need the 1uz from sc400 for the mid sump.

wow that thing looks pretty straight... nice score...

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wow what a nice found you got... I do own a 71' kujira too, white with black interior and W50 transmission swap. Keep me updated on your project!

_________________
*はくげい* MS65<3

Came across a friend of a friend who has a Jetta that he's planning on selling. And I couldn't help but noticed that he had what might be mooneyes hubcaps (or copies at least?) on the Jetta. So I asked him if I could buy it if it fit my Crown and he said he'd agree to hold onto them for me! Here's a pic of the Jetta:


What I do plan with the Crown. (Not the body color, but the rims) Photoshopped by a fellow forum member of...another forum I go to.


Opinions?