Fuel-Injected Fun: 1978 Toyota Corolla Liftback
For the past 50 years, the Corolla has been one of Toyota’s best-selling cars in the U.S. I had a bare-bones 1977 Corolla and it was a great little automobile. Though it was totally spartan, it got the job done back in the day. In the mid-1970s, Toyota added a sporty hatchback derivative of the Corolla called the Liftback, but it didn’t appear to share anything but the name with the more pedestrian product. This one from 1978 looks to be in great shape, sporting aftermarket wheels and a conversion to electronic fuel injection (EFI). A tip of the hat to T.J. for this neat tip!
The seller has owned this car for about five years, having acquired it from a collector. He/she converted it to EFI during COVID-19 to use as both a daily driver and a weekend cruiser. If it had been in a collection, then the 72,000 indicated miles could very well be original. No mention is made of a repaint or a redo of the interior, so calling it a survivor could be a mostly accurate statement. However, there have been a few performance mods made to the engine that might negate the use of that term.
This Toyota is powered by a 1.6-liter inline-4 paired with a 3-speed automatic transmission (which may take a little of the fun out of driving it). The front suspension has been rebuilt as has some of the electrical system (alternator and voltage regulator). The front and rear of the Corolla have been lowered by up to 1.5 inches. The Toyota comes with some documentation, including a letter from the City of Dallas, Texas written during the 1970s oil crisis (for what purpose?)
As best as we can tell, this is a turn-key Japanese car that should fit in nicely with the Asian imports section of Cars & Coffee. It’s ready for more action, which the seller suggests might include a hybrid build (but why?). Located in Travis Heights, Texas, this tangerine Toyota is available here on craigslist for $12,000 OBO. When was the last time you saw a Liftback that was all ragged out? And do you remember them being this small?
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Comments
Drove that exact color and year but with a five speed.
I hope the EFI helps out because even with a clutch that thing couldn’t get out of its own way.
Beautiful condition, I would love it, but like the photo shows, it could be a death trap on highway and roads, that’s a little Ridgeline, and it looks like a Hugo compared to it. Great for shows around towns.
IMO, BFG RWL’s dont belong on an import.& they are heavy tires too.
What’s with the yellow headlights?
Now THAT’S where to mount a door mirror.
That was common of pretty much all Japanese cars back in that era. Had to be something with the steel. The only ones you see now spent their life in California or some other state without salt in the air or on the road.
These were called a T18 here in Aus, but really didn’t take off, maybe if it looked more like the regular corolla???
At least they were rear wheel drive.
It has EFI , yet no engine pictures ? But they did provide a picture of a host of guys standing around washing it a car wash ? ? ? Five speed manual instead of the automatic would have been a better choice.
Total chick car. These were the cars that mom and dad bought their daughter on her way to college. Just as popular with guys, except the guys all had 5 speeds. Cost new was around $3grand, but could be optioned easily over $4. Seemed Toyota turned a major corner with these. No longer some inept puddle jumper of the 60s, the Corolla appealed to everyone, even me. If only they would have stayed like this, and not become the jellybean blobs of today. Regardless, without question, the most popular Asian car, why, there’s at least 4 in my parking lot alone and for good reason. Cost per mile is pennies and most old timers can’t argue with that. Very popular with the elderly, to the tune of almost 1/4 million/year. I know I kvetch(ed) about how Asian cars stole our economy, but Corollas are made at the TMMMS plant in Blue Springs, Mississippi, population 59,518,( salute) and I bet most assemble Toyotas, so that puts a period on that, I suppose. They are great cars.
Awesome looking car! I remember my older brother had one like this, except his was a blue Corolla Liftback. If only more pics could’ve been taken of the car, particularly the engine.
The real pretty girls got the Celicas. & a lot of teens were driving at 17 & had jobs. Over the weekend, i saw girls in the malls alone walking around with their MOMS, both glued to their phones. Guess how they got there, unlike in the ’80s & ’90s when a lot more would be there instead with a bunch of girl friends, one of whom drove them there.
Very expensive/no affordable base two doors today(even used “cars” are way too much money) & not many teens working these days only makes matters much worse for them.
LIFTback? I don’t think so. Reminds me of Niles Crane on Frasier: “All they had in my price range was this horrid thing called a hunchback. Why would anyone name a car after its least attractive feature?”
He said it.
I owned a ’79 coupe, 4 speed manual, am/FM radio, otherwise basic car. I lived in Iowa kept the car clean and had very little rust when I traded for a ’85 4 door Plymouth Horizon in ’88. Third child was on the way and it was difficult putting 2 kinds in a coupe let alone 3. It was a good car but very underpowered.
Basically, one of the most shameless copies of someone else’s design ever.
This is a direct copy of a Volvo 1800ES, but those complex curves, formed by hand by Olaf and Jens beating steel over wooden bucks, are here reproduced by Mr DIther’s High School Shop class, using “salvaged” hurricane storm panels.
Asians copying something? Say it ain’t so. Besides, the Asians are MASTERS at copying things, and quite frankly, I never saw any relation to the 1800 here.
Nice looking Corolla in a good color combo. The two door body is easy for you and your one companion to climb in and out of. The acceleration will be casual but you’ll have the manual steering to keep you entertained. Roll the windows down, keep right and let the speed crowd go ’round.
I had a yellow 77 SR5 Liftback that I put over 200,000 miles on from new. The service manager at my last dealer (c1988) considered the 2TC engine in that car to be the best engine Toyota ever made and it was certainly bulletproof for me. The car ate alternators (I had to have it rebuilt every 30-40,000 miles or so) but it never once left me stranded. (Being a stick helped, as I did have to pop the clutch it a couple of times when the alternator had failed.) It was a great car that had only one real weak spot, as others have noted: rust was the thing that ultimately killed it.
I bought one of these in ’77 brand new for just over $4k a year after I got married, but it was white. They’re good little cars for what they are, but it was little too spartan for me so I traded it in on a Saab wagon back before I moved to the east coast. Seeing that one between the trucks really puts some perspective on how massive vehicles have become. Even early Mustangs and Camaros I see on the road look small by today’s standards.
I’d rather walk
Needs an injection of vitamin 2ZZ (the Toyota engine in the Pontiac Vibe). That’s good for 180 hp and with a 5 speed would scoot this car right along. If you start with a body as nice as this the whole process is a lot easier since you aren’t messing with a lot of body rot. Or you could opt of the light v6 from a 350Z with it’s six speed and with 370 hp this could be a real stormer. It’s a bit too common to think that it’s a worthwhile to restore it to factory but it would be a hoot with some big power in it.