Doomed 1979 Corolla Wagon Would Fit In Current Corolla's Cup Holder

Murilee Martin
by Murilee Martin
doomed 1979 corolla wagon would fit in current corolla s cup holder

The tiny rear-wheel-drive station wagon, killed by hatchbacks, minivans, and 64-ounce sodas, is no longer with us. Here’s a reminder of an era in which such vehicles were relevant.

The 2T-C engine in this car displaced 1,588cc and made 88 horsepower. That doesn’t sound like much, but keep in mind that this car scaled in at a mere 2,280 pounds.

Yes, it was noisy and crude and would leave nothing but a grim memory in the responding paramedics’ minds after tangling with an Excursion, but I’m still saddened to see another subcompact wagon get crushed.






Comments
Join the conversation
2 of 56 comments
  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Jan 13, 2011

    If that were a proper sized station wagon that could hold more than 4 midgets I would be sad to see it get crushed. But a crude RWD underpowered rust to oblivion Toyota from this time period. All I can think of is not being able to make it up the slight ramp to get to the very first McDonalds drive thru during Winter with one of these owned by my friend at the time. It would barely make it up normal hills in the Summer either and passing on a two lane highway was scary. I think he only had it that one Winter and Summer when he lost his job and had to make due with a beater. Haven't seen one of these in about 20 years- no joke! His replacement 1986 Celebrity wagon felt like a race car in comparion with the 130 HP FI 2.8 and there was considerably more room and comfort to that car.

  • MyCorolla MyCorolla on Jan 24, 2011

    Well, I'm taking my 78 Toyota Corolla out of retirement. I have a carburetor related problem. When the car warms up the idle heaves back and forth. I was advised it's an idle air control valve. What part is that exactly? Can anybody advise where I can find a picture of one? The car passes smog at normal driving speed but not when idling. Also, I found a lot of carbon build up in the EGR valve, is it possible the interior of the engine as the build up as well? What type of instrument do I use to clean inside via the ports?

  • EBFlex Good. This was Ford's way of culling the number of dealers they have. It was ridiculous and the requirements were unnecessary. Yet another huge hit to Ford's pointless EV push.
  • Dukeisduke So we have to wait until 2025 for a crappy turbo four coupled with an electric motor, instead of the torquey 4.0l 1GR-FE?
  • Raven65 This was basically my first car - although mine was a '76. My Dad bought it new to use as a commuter for his whopping 15-minute drive to work (gas is too expensive!) - but it was given to my sister when she left for college a couple of years later - and then she passed it down to me when I got my license in 1981. It was a base model... and I mean BASE... as in NO options. Manual 4-speed (no o/d) transmission, rubber floor (no carpet), no A/C, and no RADIO (though I remedied that within a week of taking ownership). Dad paid just over three grand for it. Mine was a slightly darker shade of yellow than this one (VW called it "Rallye Yellow") with the same black vinyl "leatherette" seat covers. Let me tell you, the combination of no A/C and that black vinyl interior was BRUTAL in the SC summers! Instrumentation was sparse to say the least, but who needs a tach when you have those cool little orange dots on the speedo to indicate redline in gears (one dot for redline in 1st gear, two dots for redline in 2nd gear, three for 3rd). LOL! It wasn't much, but it was MINE... and I LOVED it! It served me well through the remainder of high school and all the way through college and into my first "real job" where I started making actual money and finally traded it in on a brand new '89 Nissan 240SX. They gave me $300 for it!!!. I wish I still had it. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
  • Analoggrotto Telluride is still better
  • Arthur Dailey So how much more unreliable is a 50 year old Italian made vehicle in comparison to a 5 year old Italian made vehicle? After 50 years wouldn't most of the parts and areas most prone to failure have been fixed, replaced and/or addressed?Asking for a friend? ;-)
Next