Jalopnik: Starlet

DOTS-O-Rama Sunday, Rocky Mountain Edition: Golden Hits

Murilee Martin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:00:00 EDT

This is Down On The Street Bonus Edition, where we check out street-parked cars located in places other than the Island That Rust Forgot. I've got Colorado photographs aplenty, so get ready for high-altitude survivors!

We'll start off with an octet from Discontinuuity, who has a knack for finding some great machinery down on the streets of the home of Coors: Golden, Colorado. Discontinuuity brought us these eight Golden vehicles plus this dignified Golden Mercedes-Benz Ponton a while back, and now we've got another round for you:

Nova Station Wagon: I've got a couple of good DOTS cars here for you. First up is a 1962 (or maybe '63) Chevrolet Nova station wagon gasser. I talked to the owner, Mike, who also owns a 1946 Austin hot rod and takes both cars out to the local Bandimere Speedway for Wednesday night drag races. The Chevy sports a 327 small block, not the stock I6, and has a killer stance in my opinion. More photos of an IH Scout coming soon.
International Harvester Scout: About a block away from the Chevy was this International Harvester Scout in fairly good condition. All I know is that it's driven by a School of Mines student and that it was probably built between 1965 and 1970.
Subaru Leone: I finally got around to photographing this Subaru today. From what I can tell, it was made between 1975 and 1978 and has every Malaise-tastic tape stripe and chrome option checked off (along with "5 speeds" and "Front Wheel Drive"). It looks like a pretty competent little daily driver though. Now I just need pictures of the much rustier BRAT last spotted at Taco Bell.
Volkwsagen Beetle: I saw the Beetle you posted for DOTS a few days ago with the engine cover propped open, and it reminded me that I needed to photograph this flat-black Beetle. I'm not sure of the year; it's probably from the mid 70s. Whatever the vintage, I think it captures the spirit of a college car pretty well: the Libertarian party bumper stickers, subtle yet somewhat half-assed mods, and the pile of crap where the back seat used to be. You also might note that it's parked on Illinois St, right in front of the MG from the original DOTS Golden post.
Toyota Starlet: I saw this Starlet parked on the street while on my way to a friend's house, and knowing the love that many Jalops have for the little Toyota I had to snap a few pictures. From what Wikipedia tells me this is an 81-84 model, and from what the bumper sticker and rust can tell me this little car has been driven hard through Alaska and Colorado since the Reagan years.
Ford Model A: I hope I'm not sending you too many photos from Golden, but I couldn't pass up this great vintage-styled hot rod I saw in a parking lot today. It's a 1931 Ford Model A (although the owner wasn't sure exactly what year it is, the title is for '31) with a chopped top, a 302 Ford V8, and some sweet pinstriping, all sitting on a '32 Ford frame and bias plys. I love all of the little details like the structural wood and fabric in the roof, flat green paint, dropped axle with hairpins, and the lakes-style pipes. Probably one of the oldest cars I've seen around Golden this year, and definitely one of the coolest.
Ford Thunderbird: I've got a couple more DOTSBE cars here for ya. The first is a beat to hell old Thunderbird I caught being transported on a flatbed, parked in front of this creepy industrial building. Whether its destiny is a full restoration or The Crusher, we can only guess.
Volkswagen Transporter: The second car is a newer VW Bus with a wikkid flame paint job, photographed near where I found the MG previously. The paint and aftermarket exhaust give it cool points in my book; however it also looses a few points because of the PRNDL between the seats. From the stickers on the back window, I infer that the owner (or previous owner) is a Christian, works on power lines, and has been a student at the Colorado School of Mines for the last three years or so.

Down On The Street FAQ

1982 Toyota Starlet: Desert Race Champ!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST

Those sand rails had better look out, because the Starlet- right off the boat from Japan and sporting JDM fender mirrors and right-hand-drive- now rules the desert! Never mind the fuel-economy thing; it's off-road prowess that gets Starlets off the showroom floor!

PCH, Rotary Swap Hell Edition: Honda 600 or Toyota Starlet?

Murilee Martin — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:15:00 EDT

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!

We dove into the searing flames of Hayabusa Honda 600 Hell a few months back, but the problem with the Hayabusa is that it has pistons. What a Honda 600 really needs is an engine with no reciprocating mass and an even more deadly potential power-to-weight ratio than the Hayabusa (and besides, the Honda 600 came with a motorcycle engine from the factory). That's why we're pleased that EdNiedermeyer found us this 1971 Honda 600 with Mazda 12A rotary engine. The starting bid is $3,500, there are three days to go, and there are no bids yet! The seller, a stickler for the eBay Motors CAPS LOCK tradition, tells us "I GUESS I DON'T HAVE TO EXAGERATE WHEN I'M SAYING THAT THE CAR IS VERY FAST," and we tend to agree. In fact, we'd go a bit further and say that this setup wants to kill you, in one of those wrecks so grisly that the paramedics involved will be required to go on long-term psychological disability leave. It appears that the car has a shortened Mazda RX-2 chassis, plus evidence of quite the junkyard shopping spree, including a spoiler off a Blazer and an Alfa Romeo brake booster. It's been sitting for a long time, it's probably packed with all manner of scary hacks and workarounds, and the engine needs more power... but you'll solve all those problems. A little turbocharging here, a few months of puzzling out wiring and linkages there, and you'll be ready to wail down the highway at three times the top speed of a stock 600!

Converting a front-wheel-drive car to rear-wheel-drive, just so you can Wankel away? Why do that when there's a perfectly good rear-wheel-drive Japanese machine that's not a whole lot heavier than the Honda 600? Yes, the Toyota Starlet, the car with the best fuel economy in America. Once you ditch the pushrod four-banger for a powerplant with no pushrods (or valves, for that matter), you can make quite the impression at the dragstrip if you so choose. And if you've got $3,000 in your pocket ("only cash in person please," in one of those stating-the-obvious moments you often get in car ads), you can have your very own 12A-powered 1982 Toyota Starlet. The seller doesn't indicate whether it runs or not, but that won't matter much to you. You see, that's because you'll need to make this thing street-legal. Roll cage, nitrous, 4.62:1 rear and all! Sure, there will be plenty of work required, but imagine the glory of commuting to work in this howling-mad brute!

The 1981 Toyota Starlet: Friend of Cheapskates

Murilee Martin — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:30:00 EST

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.

Even Ebenezer Scrooge Wants an '81 Toyota!

Murilee Martin — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:00:00 EST

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!

Down on the D1 Grand Prix: Turbocharged Toyota Starlet

Jonny Lieberman — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 13:00:00 EST

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.

Some Motorcycle With That Starlet?

Mike Bumbeck — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 12:30:00 EDT

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]

Turbo Equipped Toyota Merkurlet

Mike Bumbeck — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:00:00 EDT

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. – Mike Bumbeck

Related:
Seven Second Starlets [Internal]

The '92 Starlet: A Real Knee Slapper!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 15:30:16 EDT

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! – Murilee Martin

Related:
Son of Starlet, Oh! [internal]

Hoon of the Day: Surfing Bird Starlet

Mike Bumbeck — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:30:00 EDT

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. – Mike Bumbeck

Related:
More Hoon of the Day [Internal]

Son of Starlet, Oh!

Mike Bumbeck — Wed, 23 May 2007 15:30:00 EDT

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. – Mike Bumbeck

Garagelet Spawns Drifting Starlet

Mike Bumbeck — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 15:45:00 EDT

A quadrillion square foot multi-bay shop with a floor you could eat an omelet off is most awesome for television, and a bunch of guys arguing about what gee gaw to weld or install onto a motorcycle or car. One can also achieve greatness with a modest garagelet. Proof is this 1984 Starlet with a 20-valve 4AG engine stuffed under the hood in place of its original K-series pushrod peanut grinder. This handy swap almost triples the stock output of this now mighty Starlet. Some key suspension mods combined with this newfound horsepower leads to most excellent sanctioned drifting hoonage. Bonus for orange coveralls, the guy in the cowboy hat, and Drift King appearance. – Mike Bumbeck

[Thanks to the Starlet obsessed at KP61.net for the tip]

Related:
Greco Dorifto! Grecian Hoons Prefer Starlet! [Internal]

Seven Second Starlets

Mike Bumbeck — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:30:00 EDT

From the giant turbo bolted to a rotary engine and stuffed into a small rear-wheel drive car department comes this video of two heavily modified Toyota Starlets tossing it up out on the drag strip. The red Starlet in this video is also known as La Atrevida. Under its hood is a 1995 Mazda 13B rotary that packs just 1.3 liters of displacement, yet kicks out almost 750 horsepower thanks to near 40 pounds of boost. The proof? On the timeslip, and in this video. Behold the sight and sound of angry rotary Starlets and the people that love them. – Mike Bumbeck

Starlets on the Autobahn!

Mike Bumbeck — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 12:45:00 EST

Moving back into Toyota time is this Starlet commercial from 1978 featuring Starlets passing a truck on the Autobahn. As far as we can tell these are KP60 bug-eye Starlets on some manner of Trans-Europe trial run. Soundtrack features buzzing third-of-a-dozen K-series 1300cc powerplants, along with a quick riff from the helicopter required to film these guys hooning it up Starlet style on the famed German motorway - at 75 miles per hour! – Mike Bumbeck

Starlet, Oh!

Mike Bumbeck — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 11:55:55 EST

The Toyota Starlet was marketed as Toyota's low-price economy mileage leader here in the USA from 1981 to 1984. With a whopping near 60 horsepower, the diminutive hatch didn't exactly scream performance in stock form. The Starlet in this commercial says otherwise at the hands of its helmeted driver. With these kinds of moves the Starlet rekindles a message from the past somehow forgotten today. Economy cars need not be boring. Even 1.3 liters of pushrod four-banger power can be fun with rear-wheel drive and some loose dirt roads around. – Mike Bumbeck

Greco Dorifto! Grecian Hoons Prefer Starlet!

Davey G. Johnson — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 18:00:00 EST

The Greeks know what's what. They gave us good food, their own brand of sexual intercourse, democracy, Zorba and well, let's face it, the Romans were just sort of a ripoff of the Greeks with added conquest and some aqueducts. And when these Hellenic hoons go drifting, they do so behind the wheel of the Mighty Starlet. Zeus didn't raise no fools. – Davey G. Johnson

Related:
Super Amateur Dorifto Crash Potential! [Internal]

New Era for Starlet!

Mike Bumbeck — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 15:46:32 EST

If CNN can spend hours broadcasting live court custody hearings of decomposing spray-on butter eating pill-popping celebrity types, then we can certainly bring you news from our still rolling 1982 Toyota Starlet. The Starlet is about to turn 200 thousand miles on what is assumed to be a never cracked open stock 4K-C 1300cc pushrod four-banger engine. While our Starlet sports a fussy Aisin carburetor, the fuel injected and slightly more aerodynamic 1984 Starlet was rated for a still astounding 54 mpg on the highway. Our Starlet did recently give up on its voltage regulator, yet continues soldiering on slowly into a new era thanks to readily available replacement parts. – Mike Bumbeck

A General History of the Starlet [Toyoland.com]

SUPER RPM AMUSEMENT! Hayabusa Powered Starlet

Mike Bumbeck — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 15:02:35 EST

Swapping a light weight and powerful motorcycle engine with a ten thousand rpm redline into a light weight rear-wheel drive hatchback is clearly a fine idea. It took Kiwi Tony McConachy to make it happen. The Starlet kicks out about 180 hp and evidently employs the stock Hayabusa six-speed trans coupled with a Quaife reverse box for both forward and reverse gearing entertainment. [Thanks to the hoons at KP61.net for the tip]

666 Motorsports [External]

SUPER HATCHBACK AMUSEMENT! 1994 Starlet Grand Cup

Mike Bumbeck — Mon, 27 Nov 2006 15:00:06 EST

We have long maintained that the reason for motorsports getting worse instead of better is the lack of connection between the fan in the stands and the car and driver out on the track. While manufacturers still attempt to employ the old "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday" strategy through the creative use of vinyl letters conveying what kind of car is out doing the racing, if you have to physically spell-it-out-in-letters for folks then the crucial fan connection is gone. Racing fans like to think that the cars they drove in to watch the race could be tossing up door handles with the hopped up versions on the track. The Toyota Starlets in the parking lot at this race might not have been packing hi-po TRD 4K 1300cc pushrod race engines, but there had to be a few of them out there. Behold angry Toyota Starlets and the fans that loved them circa 1994. – Mike Bumbeck

[via KP61.net]

SEMA Show: Ice Sculpture Melts All Over Shrimp Skewers

Mike Bumbeck — Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:58:04 EST

In between episodes of wheel-induced hypnosis and the shock of one too many airport quality "Hawaiian" shirts with '32 Fords all over them on one too many guys there were a few things that caught our eyes at SEMA. Somehow the ice sculptures were more interesting than the plethora of overwheeled and overstuffed project cars. Besides. The Toyopet has to be one of the better car names ever. Almost as good as the Starlet. – Mike Bumbeck

Angry Starlet

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 14 Sep 2006 17:00:00 EDT

So Uncle Bumbeck had an amazing day at the junkyard a couple of weeks ago, scoring a rare set of wheels for the Mighty Starion and a Mitsu Colt Turbo bodykit that with a bit of trimming will make a boss addition to the JDM mirrors and slot mags he's picked up for his '83 Starlet. We're not sure what motor this caged-and-kitted KP61 Toyota is running, but it sure-as-Mary-Lincoln makes a lot more power than a stock 4KC. Man, Starlets are just cool.

Related:
Starlet Power! [Internal]

Bumbeck Gets New Mirrors

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 31 Aug 2006 00:00:00 EDT

This is our third attempt at writing this post. Honestly, seriously, it was funny the first time, but now we're just pissed because our computer is a bigger idiot than Ann Coulter. And our right hand hurts from punching our monitor, because we, apparently, cannot distinguish between the faces of leggy conservative women with prominent Adam's apples and 20" ViewSonic monitors purchased from ex-roommates for 20 bucks. Meanwhile, Bumbeck out-pimped us today by scoring a set of JDM mirrors for his Starlet from some Thai eBayer.

We need to be more like Bumbeck and less like Ann Coulter. No doubt, Ed Iskenderian is eagerly awaiting the day Uncle Bumbeck plops down in front of him at the Island Burger, drops a cam in his fries and a set of lifters onto his plate and says, "Ed. 4KC. I want the Superleggera. The Five-Cycle grind. The Strategic Lift Command. The whole nine yards. What can you do for me?"

TOYOTA Starlet KP61 Corolla TE71 KE70 fender mirror NEW [eBay]

Related:
Uncle Bumbeck's New Wheels! [Internal]

Uncle Bumbeck's New Wheels!

Davey G. Johnson — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 23:48:28 EDT

All hail the re-wheeled Starlet! Bumbeck found some 13x5.5 slot mags in a junkyard, dropped 80 bucks on the set, spent another 80 having 'em straightened, polished them himself with various odds and ends found at Harbor Freight and then picked hisself up some 175/70 Ultra-High Performance Sumitomo HRT 200s for another 190. And now he most likely has the most badass Starlet in all of Montrose, California, especially with its superleggera carpet-free interior. Y'know, sometimes we wish we were that guy. Except that we'd still live in Pedro. Less women in exceptionally large sunglasses here.

Related:
Starlet Power! [Internal]

Starlet Power!

Davey G. Johnson — Wed, 22 Mar 2006 21:58:42 EST

We really need to stop letting Bumbeck warp our brain so much. But he seems to have that effect on people. Sorta like that guy from Bridge On the River Kwai versus the guys in the white plastic suits with orange shoulder pauldrons. Nevertheless, we're starting to come down with a case of Starlet fever ourselves. Yeah, sure, it's a shitbox, but until 1984, it was a rear-drive shitbox. Plus, aluminum control arms. Who knew? It's like a Ford GT, but not.

Toyota Starlet [Wikipedia]

Related:
Starlet, A Reasonably-Priced Car [Internal]

Starlet, A Reasonably-Priced Car

Davey G. Johnson — Thu, 02 Mar 2006 18:29:02 EST

Bumbeck just bought a new car, and his obsession with all things Japanese and out-of-production is really starting to infect us as well. His latest? An '82 Toyota Starlet. $300 bucks. Rear drive. And apparently, the Twin Cam mill outta the beloved-of-drifters AE86 Corolla is an easy swap. Which means 150hp in a 1,200 pound car. Can you say hoonage par excellence? Meanwhile, here's a link to a gallery of Starlet radness.

Starlet Gallery

Related:
A Brief History of the Starion [Internal]