• down on the street bonus edition

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


    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! More »
    04/19/09
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    Comment by FP - pass the stars, please: I've never before seen an array of awesome cars and been least excited by a VW bus. 10 Responses | Other threads

  • classic ad watch

    1982 Toyota Starlet: Desert Race Champ!

    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!
    11/18/08
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    Comment by combat chuck: This got me thinking: why not a Rally version of the 24 Hrs of LeMons? 7 Responses | Other threads

  • 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! More »
    04/07/08
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    Comment by joneez is wearing green for FOTA: The 600. I was gonna put a turboed 1200 Goldwing engine in one of these but this is SOOOO much... more » | Other threads

  • classic ad watch

    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.
    12/26/07
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    Comment by thatguy01: @halfshaft: Starlet was RWD, like the contemporary Corolla. It's a Japanese Chevette. IIRC, the first Tercel was Toyota's first FWD... more » | Other threads

  • classic ad watch

    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!
    12/12/07
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    Comment by wheels OF satan!: the whole world thinks amerikans are dumber than dirt... and toyoda is the perfect car for them! a car company even dumber... more » | Other threads

  • drifting

    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. More »
    11/25/07
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    Comment by Hyman Decent: @LamerX: Except that Wikipedia (according to my quick reading of its entries for the Starlet and the Toyota A engine)... more » | Other threads

  • 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? More »
    08/07/07
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    Comment by Comrade Teargaskov: You can register it at Wert's address in Michigan. Inspection inschmection. more » | Other threads

  • 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. – Mike Bumbeck More »
    06/19/07
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    Comment by Comrade Teargaskov: It may fit in there, but it belongs in a locost. more » | Other threads

  • classic ad watch

    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! – Murilee Martin More »
    06/19/07
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    Comment by dr.chophoppers coz mr. wont cut it: Ummm, that's definitely a Starlet GT Turbo - 135 hp and less than 1,900 lbs (860kg) empty spelt lots of... more » | Other threads

  • star let bop

    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. – Mike Bumbeck More »
    05/30/07
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    Comment by superbmtsub: aww crap. Was hoping to hear the original "Surf Bird" song by the Trashmen. Ramones arent too bad though. more » | Other threads

  • 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. – Mike Bumbeck More »
    05/23/07
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    Comment by spicy_tuna: I WANNA STARLET!! I WANNA STARLET!! I WANNA STARLET!! more » | Other threads

  • clips

    Garagelet Spawns Drifting Starlet

    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 More »
    04/11/07
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    Comment by Turboner: For anyone within driving distance of PDX who might be interested, who isn't car-poor ATM, there is a clean, full... more » | Other threads

  • clips

    Seven Second Starlets

    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 More »
    03/15/07
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    Comment by Jake: It's the bridge porting...love it or hate it its a distinctive 'brap brap brap' sound. At those levels of boost... more » | Other threads

  • ad watch

    Starlets on the Autobahn!

    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 More »
    03/07/07
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  • ad watch

    Starlet, Oh!

    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 More »
    03/07/07
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    Comment by no_slushbox: Front wheel drive cars almost killed GM, and they will kill you Toyota. Bring back small rear wheel drive... more » | Other threads

  • clips

    Greco Dorifto! Grecian Hoons Prefer Starlet!

    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 More »
    03/05/07
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    Comment by Exe: We thank you for your comments. The administrator of Driftclub.gr more » | Other threads

  • toyota

    New Era for Starlet!

    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 More »
    02/22/07
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    Comment by quayzar: Those cars were so superior to modern autos. As long as you weren't completely daft and did something like put... more » | Other threads

  • starlet

    SUPER RPM AMUSEMENT! Hayabusa Powered Starlet

    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] More »
    12/15/06
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    Comment by Rob P: It sounds like a chainsaw and angry bees coming to kill you. I like it. more » | Other threads

  • clips

    SUPER HATCHBACK AMUSEMENT! 1994 Starlet Grand Cup

    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 More »
    11/27/06
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    Comment by dr.chophoppers coz mr. wont cut it: It's like watching porn. No wait, it IS porn! more » | Other threads

  • sema

    SEMA Show: Ice Sculpture Melts All Over Shrimp Skewers

    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 More »
    11/07/06
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    Comment by scotte: How 'bout a shot of that '58 Toyopet that was at the Toyota/Lexus/Scion Fish-O-Rama? more » | Other threads

  • retro

    Angry Starlet

    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. More »
    09/14/06
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    Comment by monkeywrench: That certainly sounds like a 4AG. How cool is the driver? No spring chicken in that Starlet. more » | Other threads

  • news

    Bumbeck Gets New Mirrors

    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. More »
    08/31/06
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    Comment by monkeywrench: Strategic Lift Command! more » | Other threads

  • retro

    Uncle Bumbeck's New Wheels!

    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. More »
    06/09/06
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    Comment by aaron x: A friend of mine had a Starlet, only he dropped a Tercel motor and five-speed in it (he worked at... more » | Other threads

  • retro

    Starlet Power!

    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. More »
    03/22/06
    417
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    Comment by boldventure: I love it, a bitty buzz box! You can buzz around have a blast and almost nobody would notice. more » | Other threads

  • retro

    Starlet, A Reasonably-Priced Car

    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. More »
    03/02/06
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    Comment by monkeywrench: Yes. The Starlet was sold in the states from 1981-1984. Made in Japan from 1973-1999. The main mod is an... more » | Other threads

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  • 1-25 of 25 for "Starlet"