Vehicle Description
68 Toyota Corona Body
Full Tube Chassis
Lexus SC400 4 Liter V8
Full Custom Build
Fresh service and inspection
ready to be enjoyed for years to come!!!
EMG is excited to offer a truly One-Off unique Toyota Hot Rod for
sale!
This 1968 Toyota Corona was hand built and designed by a well known
Hot-rodder and Fabricator in Southern California, Mitch
Allread.
Mitch took his old daily driver 68 Corona and transformed it into
this 32 Ford inspired Toyota HotRod! Utilizing a Lexus SC400 4.0L,
DOHC, 32 Valve V8 just to keep it all Toyota and even more unique;
he took his corona apart and built a completely custom Tubular
Steel Space Frame with 106-inch Wheelbase (10.7 inches longer than
stock Corona). The front suspension consists of upper and lower
unequal-length A-arms on either side that he fabricated, plus
Carrera shocks inside Afco coil springs. In back there's a Speedway
Engineering quick-change solid axle located by three links and a
Watts linkage dampered, again, by Carrera shocks and Afco coilover
springs. RGP manual rack-and-pinion steering handles that chore,
while the braking system consists of Wilwood 1231/416-inch
cross-drilled rotors at each corner clamped by six-piston calipers
in front and four-piston calipers in the back.
The engine was scavenged from a wrecked '92 Lexus SC400 and
installs in Allread's concoction essentially unmodified. Naturally,
except for the original exhaust manifolds, Allread had to build the
entire exhaust system himself. It funnels the waste gases down the
center of the car, through an X-pipe to two mufflers, and out each
side of the car. The result is a very un-Lexus-like sound; a loud
tenor that sounds something like two old Kawasaki KZ1000s screaming
along just behind each of the driver's ears. That's not a bad sound
at all, actually. The same SC400 donated its four-speed automatic
transmission and the shifter that controls it. Lexus drivetrains
are justly famed for their smoothness and quiet, but bolt in any
engine and transmission using solid motor mounts and its inherent
vibration is undeniable. Rated at 250 hp when it was bolted into
that Lexus coupe, the Lexus V-8 probably isn't making much more
than 260 in Allread's, but it sounds and pounds like an animal.
Of course the Corona shell has been itself heavily rubbed. Allread
whacked 311/42 inches out of the pillars and replaced the
windshield, rear quarter-windows and rear window with Lexan (the
doors' side windows are just gone). Opening up the rear-wheel
openings accommodated the slight shift in wheel position and rails
welded into the roof and trunklid exaggerate the car's circle track
vibe. The tail is capped by a Lexan spoiler and replica '59
Cadillac taillights. Finally, he took the leading edge of each
front fender, welded it to a chunk of the hood that he narrowed 17
inches, and filled the space between them with mesh. The resulting
box is a grille shell that sits forward of the front tires that,
along with the engine, are exposed to the open air.
Sitting on P215/45ZR17 front and P255/50ZR17 rear Nitto tires
around Lexus IS300 wheels and painted a PPG Powder Blue, what this
car looks most like is an open-wheel modified circle tracker. The
interior is nearly as wacky as the exterior with two Jaz racing
seats inside upholstered in orange silicone by Michael Maestas,
five white-faced Auto Meter gauges for monitoring what's going on,
and more orange silicone on the ceiling and floor. At just 47
inches tall with a full 'cage, this isn't an easy car to get into,
and once in, the driver's and passenger's legs are shoved outward
by the wide center tunnel. But it's not an uncomfortable place to
be.
Allread's creation drives like the raw mechanical beast it is; it
shakes, it shimmies, it rattles, but it's never less than
completely amusing and thrilling. In that way at least, it drives
like a lot of '32 Ford High-Boys. And if it drives like a hot rod,
it must be a . . . well, we'll let you fill in the blank on this
one.
Don't miss a great opportunity to be the talk of your next local
car show with this fun to drive and fun to see Toyota HotRod!!!