Description
I bought this car from a close friend of mine last year with the intention of putting it back on the road one day, when i had time. I have now decided this is unrealistic as too many commitments on my time so i would like to see it go to a new home. My friend purchased it in 2005 and he used it until the MOT expired in June 2012 although didn’t cover that many miles. It was then unused until i bought it in May last year. I have a blue mk1 of my own too so i know my way round them.
The car is in original, standard condition with no modifications at all. It has the T-bar roof and black leather interior. It has covered 125k miles and is currently SORN.
The car had a full stripdown restoration about 7 years ago where the rear wheelarches were replaced and other corrosion fixed and it then had a full professional respray in it's original white colour. I have lots of photos of when this work was completed.
The car has a fully stamped history until he bought it, most of the servicing being done at Toyota Main dealers. I also have all the invoices for work completed in his ownership. I have the original owners handbook, all previous MOT's and a spare key. It comes with the original toolkit, jack, spare wheel with brand new tyre, roof covers and bags and a spare key. Even has a nearly full tank of fuel.
The car was stored outside for a year prior to me buying it. The t-bars have a leak so water did get inside. The car has been dry stored for the last year and the interior is now mostly dried out. I lifted the carpets today to check the condition of the floors and they are solid although the underlay is still damp so it could do with the interior removing completely at some point to dry further. The t-bars will need the leak addressing to make it usable in all conditions. The sun visors will need replacing as they also became damp. Also, the leather seats could do with retrimming because the driver's one has a few tears but they are perfectly usable. The original Toyota radio/ cassette player will be included in the sale.
As you will see from the photographs the bodywork is in excellent condition. Even with a critical eye there are only minor blemishes as you would expect with newish paintwork. The rear o/ s arch has some corrosion coming back but it's not terrible. There is some corrosion under the rear bumper too but again not too bad. It wouldn't take much to sort out these very minor issues if you want to make it perfect.
Mechanically it is fine. It started first time today after not being started since before winter. I ran it for an hour to make sure there were no leaks. It got up to temperature and stayed there so the cooling system is fine. The engine mounted fan kicked in as it should The idle does surge which will be caused by air in the system so budget to change the coolant and bleed the system. I was a passenger in this car many times and drove it a few times myself too. The suspension is tight and as it is standard it still has some compliancy. The shock absorbers were changed by the previous owner.
The exhaust is a bit rusty so this will need to be changed at some point although it still does its job. The tyres are all Continental and have approx 5mm of tread although the front two lose pressure after a while so the rims might need re-sealing.
All the electrics work fine including the electric windows and electric mirrors. There are no warning lights on the dashboard.
The brakes will need stripping and either freeing or refurbing. This was from when it stood outside for a while. The pads and discs still have plenty of life left on them.
Overall this car wouldn't take much to get it back on the road and with a little work you will have an excellent example of one of the later mk1b MOT's which i feel would be easily worth £2k and as the supply of good mk1’s reduces they can only go up in value. I’ve tried to be as honest as possible about the car. I am an enthusiast and i want to see this car go to someone who will cherish it. Please contact me to either discuss the car or arrange a viewing.
