At first the etch primer looks to be a failure because of the spots it leaves. This shows the stains the rust left behind. However it is not a building/sandable/finishing primer. It is only used to prevent rust, and bond good primer to the metal.
Now this is the same hood sprayed with high build primer. It has already had the necessary body work completed and the initial sanding done.
The US versions of this car had chrome window moldings on the side. In Japan these chrome parts were left off and only the black rubber seals were used. I think the black rubber looks much nicer than the chrome and fortunately my cousin does too, so these will be removed. Also the Japan models did not come with the door trim towards the bottom of the door. That will be removed and the holes welded up to give it the cleaner look.
It looks like a mess, but progress has been made. In previous posts the automatic transmission tunnel had been converted to a manual transmission tunnel. However the automatic pedals still need to come out. The nice thing to note here is that the JDM Center console has been installed.
The Clock actually works which when dealing with cars this old, is very hard to find.
JDM Brochure
Pictured here is the same JDM console but with the Toyota section removed and the optional radio installed in its place. Also pictured here is the previously mentioned fender flares and the solid black rear windshield seals.
This center console was cut up into pieces. It has been plastic welded back together. While its not the prettiest job you can't tell when you are sitting in the seats. The flash from the camera really brings out the welds.
I'm not sure why the original owner of this console needed to cut it into pieces, but this shows the extent of the damage that needed to be repaired.
Here is the new cluster to be installed. This cluster has the optional tachometer. Also there is yet another hard to find JDM part sitting there. The center auxiliary gauges and A/C controls are direct from Okinawa.
JDM Brochure
These auxiliary gauges are pictured to the far left in this JDM brochure. Also take note of the blacked out hood vents pictured. They will be shown later.
While Lee is very proud of these gauges, there is one small problem. They would be great for a right hand drive car, which they are from. But for a left hand driver, the enumeration is on the wrong side of the gauge, the sweep is also on the wrong side. He has toyed with all sorts of alternatives, including a gauge set from a newer Corolla and a Cellica, but none come close to fitting as well as these. Since these are original to the JDM Corolla, then these will be used. Some re-wireing will have to be done because this is an amp meter and not a volts meter. Also the oil temperature is in degrees celsius, along with the oil pressure being in kilograms per centimeter squared.
Here is the original radio and climate control for the U.S. 1972 Corolla. It just seems lacking in comparison to the above JDM climate control. Japan got all the good stuff.
Here is a close up of the new speedometer and tachometer.
This is the original cluster pulled from the car. I prefer the above three gauge set up as opposed to this two gauge non tach version.
Moving onto the front grill. In Japan these parts were blacked out. In the US they were almost entirely chrome.
Here is the blacked out JDM grill up on top, and the US grill on the bottom for comparison.
Granted that the US version is in need of restoration in this picture, you can still see how much more detail went into blacking out the JDM grill vs the U.S. version getting the chrome treatment.
On top is the grill from a 1972 Toyota Corolla Sedan.
On the bottom is the grill from the US version of this car a 1972 Toyota Corolla Coupe.
I'm not sure why they changed them between the sedan and coupe, but the green donor car had the incorrect sedan grill placed on it when Lee purchased it. So the sedan grill is for sale if anyone is interested.
Pictured on top is the grill from the US 1972 Toyota Coupe.
On the bottom is the grill from the US 1971 Toyota Coupe.
Besides the obvious appearances, in 1971 the grill was entirely metal with metal emblems. Unfortunately in 1972 they went with all plastic. I assume for weight and cost saving measures.
The blacked out JDM version on the left, and the US chrome version of the head light bezels on the right.
I really like the blacked out look of the JDM parts. Especially the head light bezels.
This is the corner side marker. This part was the same for the US and Japan models. However the lens is different between them. I know I have a picture of that somewhere, but I'll have to post it when I find it.
Here is one of the blacked out hood vents mentioned above in the JDM brochure picture.
The grill and light bezels are tested for fitting issues. Everything looks good.
Just for the moment, it starts to look like a car again.
