Well Bought
Toyota Corona
Prices for Oriental classics are on the up.
Most people involved in the classic scene will know that interest in older Japanese cars has grown dramatically. It’s no longer just Datsun/Nissan Zs, Toyota Celicas and Honda S800s that generate interest: family saloons and saloon-derived coupes such as this Corona have seen interest grow and grow. Toyota was importing cars to the UK by the late 1960s but its offering was small due to little demand. The Corona Coupe was not offered and it would have faced stiff opposition from the just-launched Ford Capri.
It needed work, but not enough to put bidders off.
Unsurprisingly this example was an import from South Africa, and the southern hemisphere climate had been kind to the bodywork, which was in good order but did leave some room for improvement. The wings were very good, as were the wheelarches, but the crumpling front and rear valances required some tidying-up. The doors hung well and opened and closed nicely. Chromework was good and all the light lenses were too – useful, because fi nding taillights and front indicators might otherwise have been a problem. Inside all was good, the seat facings (a vinyl and cloth mix) straight and not baggy, although the driver’s seat had a tear. The dashboard was very presentable too and clearly hadn’t been cut about for extra instruments.
It was a no-reserve bargain.
Indeed, but the auctioneer thoughtfully put a guide price of £6000-8000 to steer punters towards where he thought the value might be. Valuing rarer Japanese cars of this period isn’t an easy task because so few come to market and, at the same time, the following for a coupe like this isn’t as big as for a Capri MkI. As a result anyone willing to have a go was in with a good chance of hoisting a bargain, although Historics often does well with off -the-radar classics.
It’s a bargain compared to Brits of the same age.
The buyer did well here. Compared with prices of same-age Capris it was cheap, and probably cheaper than a late-1960s Sunbeam Alpine/Rapier. A rare, usable coupe for minimal outlay.