Junkyard Find: 1998 Toyota Corolla LE, New Jersey Skater Edition

Murilee Martin
by Murilee Martin
junkyard find 1998 toyota corolla le new jersey skater edition

After yesterday’s Corolla Junkyard Find, it seemed right to follow up with another, newer, Corolla. You know how you can tell when you’re a car’s final owner? Such was the case with the final owner of this much-abused Corolla, who drove his or her Corolla a couple thousand miles west, no doubt to be where cannabis is legal.

This sort of paint job attracts a lot of attention from members of the law-enforcement community, especially when the driver looks like this guy or maybe even this guy.

The house-paint-and-rattle-can-graffiti look also tends to enrage neighbors, which increases the chances that the car will get parking tickets and then get towed away by The Man when those tickets aren’t paid.

The drive out from New Jersey probably featured a lot of E.Town Concrete on the stereo.

Judging from all the stickers and tags on the car, the owner must have been a big fan of Creature skateboards.

Many Eastcrust stickers as well.

You see many of these Grenade Gloves stickers on various mud-splattered SUVs and final-owner hoopties in Denver. They’ve become quite commonplace in junkyards, maybe even more so than ICP Hatchetman stickers these days.

Odds are that this car’s first owner was a rental-car company, as is the case with so many Corolla LEs.


Or perhaps the original owner came from this Buick-like demographic.

It’s hard to imagine any car company being willing to torpedo their wholesome image with a song from the notoriously drug-addled Sly and the Family Stone back during the band’s heyday. What’s next, Iggy Pop selling Cadillacs?

OK, now we need some of Sly’s yodeling, from an era when cities were burning, bombs were dropping, and shit was getting crazier every day.










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  • Boogieman99 Boogieman99 on May 29, 2014

    A lot of fun was had with this car... the type that can't be had when parents buy their kids a brand new Civic or Altima instead of a decade old beater

  • Guy922 Guy922 on Jun 03, 2014

    These Corolla's were probably the crappiest iteration yet. I have a lot of memories and experience with 1988-92 Corollas. In High school and the early years after, many of my friends had those. A few have had 1998-02 Corollas as well. the '98s felt so cheap with the lame upholstery and the low seating position. The anemic engine felt like it was pulled from a Tercel powertrain and it probably is the blandest looking of all corollas of late. I find well used 1988-97 Corollas more visually appealing than a well used 1998-02. The cheapness and butt ugly looks were somewhat remedied with the 2003 redesign. I used to drive a my Aunt's 1999 Corolla CE at times. After driving that and getting into my 1992 Camry, the Camry felt like a whole other world. The Corolla is good at what it does best-Cheap and reliable transport. Those looking for refinement and a high quality interior would be best to look elsewhere.

  • ToolGuy CXXVIII comments?!?
  • ToolGuy I did truck things with my truck this past week, twenty-odd miles from home (farther than usual). Recall that the interior bed space of my (modified) truck is 98" x 74". On the ride home yesterday the bed carried a 20 foot extension ladder (10 feet long, flagged 14 inches past the rear bumper), two other ladders, a smallish air compressor, a largish shop vac, three large bins, some materials, some scrap, and a slew of tool cases/bags. It was pretty full, is what I'm saying.The range of the Cybertruck would have been just fine. Nothing I carried had any substantial weight to it, in truck terms. The frunk would have been extremely useful (lock the tool cases there, out of the way of the Bed Stuff, away from prying eyes and grasping fingers -- you say I can charge my cordless tools there? bonus). Stainless steel plus no paint is a plus.Apparently the Cybertruck bed will be 78" long (but over 96" with the tailgate folded down) and 60-65" wide. And then Tesla promises "100 cubic feet of exterior, lockable storage — including the under-bed, frunk and sail pillars." Underbed storage requires the bed to be clear of other stuff, but bottom line everything would have fit, especially when we consider the second row of seats (tools and some materials out of the weather).Some days I was hauling mostly air on one leg of the trip. There were several store runs involved, some for 8-foot stock. One day I bummed a ride in a Roush Mustang. Three separate times other drivers tried to run into my truck (stainless steel panels, yes please). The fuel savings would be large enough for me to notice and to care.TL;DR: This truck would work for me, as a truck. Sample size = 1.
  • Art Vandelay Dodge should bring this back. They could sell it as the classic classic classic model
  • Surferjoe Still have a 2013 RDX, naturally aspirated V6, just can't get behind a 4 banger turbo.Also gloriously absent, ESS, lane departure warnings, etc.
  • ToolGuy Is it a genuine Top Hand? Oh, I forgot, I don't care. 🙂
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