Jalopnik
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choose your eternity
PCH, Rotary Swap Hell Edition: Honda 600 or Toyota Starlet?
Technically, the Peugeot Mi16 beat the Mercedes-Benz 6.9 in last Friday's Choose Your Eternity poll, but we're talking 327 to 317 votes here. When all is said and done, however, France still needs to take on Britain in a PCH Superpower Challenge... but we're postponing that apocalyptic battle for another day, because tipster EdNiedermeyer sent in a mighty Wankelized contender from not-often-seen-in-PCH Japan (earning a half-credit towards a Project Car Hell Tipster T-shirt in the process), and we've found a Rotarian opponent that stacks up pretty well against it. So throw those pistons in the trash and stagger into the sumo ring to face your 800-pound opponent, because it's Rotary Swap Hell Day!
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The 1981 Toyota Starlet: Friend of Cheapskates
Even though Japanese Starlet Ads are way more fun, there's still some entertainment value to be had from Late Malaise Era US-Market ads. Yes, the '81 Starlet got the best mileage of any car sold in the United States that year- the lack of airbags, air conditioning, power windows, cup holders, and other items now considered absolute necessities certainly helped. -
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Even Ebenezer Scrooge Wants an '81 Toyota!
You think we've run out of Late Malaise Toyota ads? Think again! This one features by far the most maddening version of the "Oh What a Feeling" song yet, with a vast chorus of potential Toyota buyers singing the praises of the whole Toyota line, from Starlet to 4x4 pickup. Come on, everyone, sing along! -
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Down on the D1 Grand Prix: Turbocharged Toyota Starlet
Parked on the "concourse" right next to the RS200 was an other eye-catcher. In fact, the same dude owns both cars. That's right, it's a Toyota Starlet all hopped up on goodballs. And by goofballs we mean turbocharged/intercooled goofballs. Those in the know were slapping their collective heads, wondering how on earth the car passes smog. Those with no clue (hi mom!) just stared in awe and marveled.
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good carbs, bad carbs
Some Motorcycle With That Starlet?
My Starlet was recently selected at random by the punch card driven vacuum tube powered California DMV computer for a yearly smog chek. The usual routine is every two years. The 1300cc engine passed after three trips to the rollers and countless hours of rebuilding and tuning the inherently evil downdraft Aisin carburetor. The solution was to build a 16.5 degree measuring template out of cardboard to achieve required stop angle on the size-of-a-dime main throttle blade. The final solution may be something else entirely. Some enterprising hoon on the KP61.net forum has planted the idea of transplanting a row of sidedraft motorcycle carbies in place of the downdraft stocker. All that's required is an electric fuel pump, hand crafted intake adapter, jetting, some tuning, linkage fabrication, and so on. Easy, right?
[Thanks to Matt from Grimsby for the tip] -
take it easy there, turbo
Turbo Equipped Toyota Merkurlet
From the engine swap department comes the news that the 2.3L Ford turbo mill can make some juice. The 2.3L engine was originally dropped into the SVO Mustang, Thunderbird, and Merkur XR4ti as factory equipment. With some creative shoehorning the engine can also be swapped into Pintos, and evidently a Toyota Starlet. More » -
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The '92 Starlet: A Real Knee Slapper!
Oh, those wacky Japanese! Even while Toyota relentlessly crushes America's auto industry beneath its hobnail boot, they still want to have a little fun! Take this ad for the '92 Starlet- sure, the car is a masterpiece of cold-eyed production efficiency and will probably last 400,000 miles (well, it would if the draconian Japanese car-inspection system didn't send most cars to the crusher before they even hit six odometer figures). But, more important than all that boring engineer-y stuff, it's a car that a couple of American serial killers can use to stoke their rage against humanity as they look for a good spot in the desert to dispose of the dismembered corpses in the back! More » -
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Hoon of the Day: Surfing Bird Starlet
Featuring not one but two Ramones songs, this video shows us just exactly how durable a KP60 Toyota Starlet can really be. Remember to always wear your helmet when throwing a back yard single car punk rock version of the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show. More » -
hypersonic starlet
Son of Starlet, Oh!
In the Toyota order of things the rear-drive KP61 Starlet eventually begat the front-drive EP82 Starlet. North America never saw the later Starlets, some of which were produced in all-wheel drive turbocharged trim. These particular Starlets evidently traveled at such tremendous velocity that they sped up time and motion around them, causing samurai to chase after the cars and baby pterodactyls to breathe fire. More »
