Somewhere during the summer I spotted this abandoned 1982 Hyundai Pony Mk1:
Hyundai Pony Mk1 1400 TLS Automatic
Hyundai Pony Mk1 1400 TLS Automatic

You may think: WTF?! This is supposed to be a JDM section only? So what is that Pony doing here?. Completely true: Hyundai is a Korean brand and this Pony was produced in Korea…

Hyundai Pony Mk1 1400 TLS Automatic
Hyundai Pony Mk1 1400 TLS Automatic

Hyundai started with producing a copy of the Ford Cortina in 1968 and released the first Korean car in 1975 with the introduction of the Pony. Well, partly Korean: the Mitsubishi Motor Company provided the engine and drivetrain. That is one of the great things about the Hyundai Pony: you can actually swap in a RWD Mitsubishi engine this way! 😉

Hyundai Pony Mk1 1400 TLS Automatic
Hyundai Pony Mk1 1400 TLS Automatic

Now this is where TE71Corolla comes in… I know him through AEU86, bought my AE86 from him somewhere in 2005 and I know he owns two Hyundai Ponies (Mk1 and Mk2). Back then he told me that the Hyundai Pony was based upon Mitsubishi underpinnings, had a licensed Mitsubishi engine and drivetrain and he wanted to put a Starion engine (4G63 or 4G54?) in one of the Ponies!

So I gave him a call and he was very enthusiastic about my “barnfind”! So I gave him the address where the car was parked and after some thorough investigation he found the owner! 🙂

It turned out that the car was parked at the same spot for over 4 years! Knowing that it is amazing how well the car still is! Another Pony saved!

So, TE71Corolla now owns 3 Ponies! Looks like he’s starting to be a serious collector now! 😉