• Very nice original condition
• MOT Exempt
• Rare car

The MS63 Crown Custom Wagon was released in 1971 through to 1974. It was the Flagship model for Toyota and also referred to as the Crown Estate wagon. The Custom wagon is a 7 seater wagon with in floor rearward facing dicky seat in the luggage compartment that folds flat down into the floor.

The original MS63 was only released as a 3 speed column shift auto and it was powered by a 2.6 litre single overhead-cam straight 6 with an alloy Crossflow head generating 140bhp @ 5200 RPM. The engine was smooth as silk with eight counterbalances, as opposed to the industry standard four, with 7 main bearings and chrome plated, forged rocker arms.

Judging by some of the old MOT certificates with the car it spent a lot of its time in London before being exported to Ireland in 2005. Since that time, it’s only been used sparingly and covered around 5,000 miles.

The current owner bought it in 2009 and has kept it in a heated garage, using it occasionally on dry days.

All the servicing has been done by the current owner with the last major service being carried out at the end of 2020 which included changing the gearbox oil and flushing the radiator as well as the usual oil and filter change. All the brakes were renewed in 2018 and the car was given a full re-spray in 2013 in its original white colour.

The car comes with two sets of keys, its original owner’s manual and many old MOT certificates and Road Tax Discs from its past.

There is no current MOT as the car is exempt, and if brought back and re-registered in the UK it should receive its original registration mark of SHV 352L.

The original 14” steel wheels and hubcaps also come with the car.

The blue interior is in good original condition with an unfortunate split in the driver’s seat and front carpets that are a bit threadbare in places now. The door cards are in very nice shape and, other than some scuffing to the internal wheel arches and some light staining on the headlining the overall interior is in great shape for its age.

The controls and instruments are all reported to work correctly and other than some patina here and there on the dashboard and some misaligned covering on the glove box there is little to be concerned with.

It still has the original push-button radio, which has the unusual feature of being able to be tuned from the rear seats.

Externally the car sits straight and has great shut lines and the sills and wheel-arches have no signs of any rust or bubbling paint. All the external chrome, light surrounds and paintwork are in very nice condition with only a small dent in the chrome trim at the front of the car and a small crack in the rear reflector. 

The car currently sits on 16” wheels from a Mitsubishi Starion, all of which have good tyres. t’s only the odd model insignia, badge and trim around the rear lights that show any sign of weathering.

The car has been regularly maintained and serviced by the current owner who reports that the car is mechanically sound and in exceptional health. Prior to his ownership there are no service records to refer to but the condition of the car overall tells its own story.

This is a very nice, well-kept example of a top-of-the–range Toyota from 1973 that has stood the test of time well.

A super-smooth engine with an automatic gear box and those hugely useful extra two seats in the back for the kids make it a great everyday car with the knowledge that its value will no doubt increase as the years go by.