I loved my 1978 Toyota Corolla wagon. Was still running great, but started to have body problems, like rust and problems with the tailgate hinges, which weren't easy or cheap to replace. If I was a mechanic, and a body man, I'm sure the car would still be running and on the road. Quit driving it with 90 something thousand miles on it, but as I said, rust was its main problem. Gave it away to a guy who trashed it. Too bad.

Also, had an early Toyota truck (1972) and loved it also. Very reliable, never left me sitting by the side of the road. It had body problems as well. The floor of the cab was shot on driver's side and the vehicle doesn't have any support in the rocker panels, like a VW. Beware! I thought it had a frame under them, but it's a unibody. Was such a nice looking truck. Wish I still had this one too. Probably would have been worth getting the body work done, but didn't realize Toyotas held their value so well at the time. An old farmer bought it from me, probably needed a timing chain by then (had about 85,000 miles on it). Wish I had kept this vehicle too. Hope the old farmer (who was mechanical and got it running again after it had been sitting for a couple years and drove it off) got some use out of it. This was when it was about 12-13 years old. Had a long bed which was standard back then and was a beautiful soft red color. And great looking running lights on front. Inside was still perfect. Had manual choke, handy. I lived in southern Illinois back then, so rust is always a problem in Illinois. I quit driving it when my mechanic told me if I had an accident the body/floor would fold on me and was unsafe for me to drive it. That's why I quit driving it--but it still ran fine! Loved both my Toyotas.

I saved a two-door 78 Corolla from rotting away in a trailer park. The automatic transmission was all, but trashed, and the rear end was hit, which didn't crumple the tail facade, but bent the quarter panels outward slightly. After 4 years of sitting still, everything worked like new once I got a new transmission & battery and flushed out all the spoiled fluids & fuel.

It has only 120,000 miles on the original motor, and the a/c still works, as well as every electronic accessory, light, and gauge. I could never sell it, because I only paid fifty bucks for the car, and only $1000 to bring it up to maintenance, which included more than mechanical repairs. I am restoring the interior to better-than new condition, and the body damage is being fixed as I type.

By March of 2005 I should have one of the only restored 78 Corollas in Texas. Maybe the whole country.

I had a 2 door 1978 corolla as my first car. No rust, but the paint had faded from red to orange. I could do all the repair work on it myself. Great car! It was stolen a few years ago, and was written off. On the positive side, the thieves took out a tree, and took out the corner of a building before they ran out of gas. The guy at the tow yard said they could have kept going otherwise. I drive a newer Mazda now, and find I miss my old corolla.

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