Supposedly, when one person accidentally stuck their Hershey's bar in somebody else's jar of Jiff, a new taste sensation was born. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe 12A-powered Corolla wagon is also an amalgam that might prove equally tasty.
Once in a blue moon comes a deal like yesterday's 1990 Supra Turbo, and as the photos made plain, that blue moon made for some lousy shooting conditions. Regardless of that, and a Tolstoy-channelling spam bomb, the mega-mileage Toyota managed to go the extra mile for a 65% Nice Price win. Booyah.
A little less verbose, and with better photography, comes today's ad, which is for a rotary-powered 1980 Toyota Corolla Wagon. Now there hasn't been a factory Wankel wagon sold in the U.S. since Mazda's own RX-3 and RX-4 were on the market, more than 30 years ago. The last time even I saw an RX-4, much less a wagon, it was sitting forlornly in the junkyard, and spying one on the road these days is tantamount to catching Amy Winehouse sober.
So what's a Wankel lover who also can't get enough little Japanese wagons gonna' do? Well, in this case, they took one of the best looking RWD Toyota Corolla wagons, and dropped a Mazda 12A into it. Not only that but the 1,146-cc spinner brought along a 5-speed manual from Mazda to keep it company in Toyota City. The ad indicates that this Wankel wagon (that is so fun to say) has been somebody's pride and joy, never driven in the rain, and sports less than 80K on its clock. There's also the expected inventory of performance parts thrown onto Dr. Wankel's seal-straining creation, and the whole ad is written in the Internet equivalent of shouting - the dreaded ALL CAPs. The car may not be quite as loud as the ad as there's no fart can hanging below the rear bumper like an unshakable dingleberry. in fact, this Corolla's ass appears wholly unblemished and clean enough to eat off.
When they first arrived here in the States, Mazda's rotary engines used thermal reactors to meet emission standards. Thankfully this engine has a Racing Beat header in place of that global warming suspect, and the intake is similarly beefed up with a 650-cfm Holley. One would expect the rest of the driveline and suspension to be pure E7X Corolla, including the leaf-sprung live axle in the back and front disc/rear drum brakes. That all holds up a trim, angular five door wagon that clocked in new at around 2,000 lbs. As the 12A isn't known for laying down the power like it was linoleum when the revs are low, that light weight (about the same as an original RX3) should help keep it from bogging down at launch.
This Mazrolla looks good, what with a fresh coat of pearl necklace white and a gnarly set of 15" aftermarket rims. One thing that does look odd are the 1.8 badges, left over from when the car's blood ran Toyota pure. Unless you're going for a full-on sleeper look - and the Wankel's distinctive exhaust note will give that away in a second - it'd be cleaner without those vestigial reminders of the wagon's past life.
Along with that virgin symbolizing paint color, the seller has matched window tint and wheel centers for a What Not to Wear host's wet dream of fashion coordination. Other notable exterior elements include the black rubber bumpers that look to have survived decades of acid rain and scorching sun, as well as one of those little side view mirrors that would inevitably snap off your rental car when you didn't get the added coverage. Inside? Who knows, as the seller's not sharing any pictures, and the windows are too dark to make out whether or not it's full of gypsies. It's odd that he doesn't include any interior shots as he notes in the ad that the car has a ‘custom interior' although the pretense for not showing it may lie in the customization being done in an odd motif like maybe whale peen, or Justin Bieber. Whoa, piss shiver for that second one.
What ever the shocking truth the inside holds, there's no surprise about the price. The seller is asking $6,500, and considering you can't buy a NEW Corolla wagon in the U.S. for any price, this car's condition should warrant consideration even extant the rotary. With the Wankel, it's even more intriguing, but what about that price? Do you think it's worth dropping $6,500 on this hey, you got your Wankel in my Corolla! custom wagon? Or, does that price mean you'd stick to Nutella?
You decide!
Chicago Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears. H/T to Invidia for the hook up!
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