Remembering Japanese cars from the past
Posing in front of your beloved Carina ST A40 with a huge glass bottle (presumably sake) made someone decide to draw whiskers on the owners face to mimic a cat:
Or maybe it is a Japanese habit to make someone unrecognizable on the web. ;)
Anyway this picture is certainly something to keep in your family album for future generations!
Found at Minkara
I really love this song from 1992 by the Belgian comedian Hugo Matthysen where he sings about his 1981 Toyota Carina:
And 1981 makes it most probably one of the last Carina TA40s that were delivered.
The song is in Flemish, so it is hardly understandable for the non-Dutch/Flemish speakers but at least I tried to translate the lyrics as close as possible. Unfortunately it looses all its rhyme. :(
I googled for a beige 1981 Toyota Carina to give you at least the chance to form a picture in your mind what this song is all about:
Don’t pin me down on this color: there used to be a metallic beige color for the TA40 as well.
The full lyrics including a terrible translation:
Okee, ik snap geen jota (Allright, I don’t understand anything)
van automechaniek, (from car mechanics)
maar toch zeg ik, “mijn Toyota (but still I say, “My Toyota)
was een wonder der techniek.” (was a miracle of technique”)
Hij was van éénentachtig, (He was from eightyone,)
hij schakelde zo zoet, (he shifted so sweet,)
dat beige stond hem prachtig, (that beige looked great on him,)
de deuren sloten goed. (and the doors locked so well.)
Amper dertigduizend ballen voor zo’n pure klassebak, (almost thirtythousand bucks for such a class ride,)
en wat een fijne zestienhonderd dat er in zijn buikje stak. (and with such a nice sixteenhundred in its belly)
Toyota Carina, Toyota Carina,
Toyota Carina-aaaaa.
Hij had geen vijf vitessen (he didn’t have five gears)
en hij had geen open dak, (and neither a sun roof)
maar wat een kracht en een souplesse, (but what great strength and flexibility,)
wat een mooie beige lak. (what a great beige color.)
Zijn banden hadden allemaal een adellijk profiel, (his tires all had a royal profile,)
zowel de voorste als de achterste, en het reservewiel. (both its front, rear and spare wheel)
Toyota Carina, Toyota Carina,
Toyota Carina-aaaaa.
Natuurlijk werd hij minachtend bekeken (Of course people looked down on it)
door dikkenekken met een BMW, (by fatnecks with a BMW,)
of door krapuul met een CX en jannestreken, (or scum with a CX and lowly,)
maar daar lachten wij eens mee. (but we only laughed about it)
Vlaamse moeders stoven witloof of ajuinen, (Flemish mothers cook chicory and unions,)
wij stoven met zijn tweeën naar de zee. (we drove with the two of us to sea.)
Hij was al beige dus hij hoefde niet te bruinen, (He was already beige and did not need a tan,)
ik vond dat beige wel okee. (I thought the beige was okay)
Toyota Carina, Toyota Carina,
Toyota Carina-aaaaa
Direct link to video: Hugo Matthysen – Toyota Carina
Toyotas were sold throughout the world, so naturally the Carina was sold globally as well. This Argentinian Carina TA40 proves that:
The Carina itself is a 2T powered late type Carina (1981) with the Japanese tail lights. In Europe we got different ones with four lights instead of the three in this model.
You can see the tail lights in action around 1:45. (video on the next page) Continue reading
Yesterday this orange Carina deluxe wagon became for sale on Marktplaats and I wrote to the owner asking if I could put it on the blog since it is such an amazing treasure find!
Carina deluxe TA40 wagon
The owner is the second owner of the car since 2006 and bought it back then with only 124.000km on the odometer and today the Carina only covered 146000km so far!
The bodywork appears to be in excellent condition and that is mainly due to the anti rust treatment the first owner applied to the car.
Carina deluxe TA40 wagon
That doesn’t mean time stood still on this car: there is some minor surface rust on the wheel arches and around the fuelcap but apart from that the car is in great nick.
Also the interior is in excellent condition:
Carina deluxe TA40 wagon
which is due to the first owner driving around with (sheepscloth) sheets and the second owner being very careful with the car.
The engine is the well known 2T and is mated with, probably, the same 3 speed autobox as mine:
Carina deluxe TA40 wagon
I’m very tempted to buy this car, but it is simply too beautiful and perfect to be ruined by me… ;)
So if anyone else got 1250 euros for spare: this is an excellent opportunity to get yourselves one of the last Carina station wagons! You can find it for sale here:
Carina deluxe TA40 wagon on Marktplaats
Another jewel at the Japan Classic Sunday was Eric’s shakotan stickerbombed TA40:
Erics stickerbombed TA40 at JCS2011
I’ve seen a couple of stickerbombed cars, but never one that has them all over the side of the car!
However on the other side it is almost empty:
Erics stickerbombed TA40 at JCS2011
But wait, maybe there is another interesting sticker on that side:
Erics stickerbombed TA40 at JCS2011
Almost looks like a real tsurikawa! ;)
This week not a drifting Carina, not a JDM model, nor an A60 series Carina but rather an older model: a TA40 Carina. Why? Well, just because I kind of liked it:
Toyota Carina TA40 DL
This bumperless chicken fenced Carina looked kind of awesome to me. It reminded me of the old school tuning from some ten years ago where everybody was just doing DIY tuning.
The rims are a very nice finishing touch. :)
Toyota Carina TA40 DL
Also the towhook is a nice touch. If you remove the bumper, just keep the towhook to avoid parking damage. ;)
Toyota Carina TA40 DL
The interior looks great: just as it came from the factory back in 1979.
Toyota Carina TA40 DL
And this is the biggest surprise: the DL (or rather DLX) should actually have a 2T engine and not the double carbed 2TB like the ST used to have. I think the previous owner thought the same as I did: cheap 10hp power increase! ;)
You can find the car for sale here:
Toyota Carina DL TA40 on Marktplaats
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