Hooniverse Marketplace: Clean 1982 Starlet

1982 toyota starlet for saleToyota, you were so cool back in the 80s. What happened, man? You used to make unexpectedly cool little cars like this RWD 60-series Starlet. This Marketplace example comes from Jesse of Barnfinds.com. It’s been a short-term project car, getting a few quick fixes that it needed, with a few more left on the to-do list. It’s not perfect, but it’s shockingly rust-free and would make a great platform for a speedy commuter or autocross rig. As-is, it gets great mileage and manages to still feel peppy courtesy of its 1600lb curb weight. Usually for a marketplace post, I have to wring a bunch of info about the car from the seller, but Jesse’s done more than enough in his write-up over at Barn Finds. He’s got a no-reserve auction running on eBay motors, and as I type this it’s at $1500. A few more highs and lows and pictures after the jump… starlet interior

Positives:
-The car runs and drives well. The engine pulls well, but I think it could benefit from a full tune-up and valve job.
-No rust-through found. All suspension mounts and floors appear to be solid.
-All the gauges and controls work as they should.
-The rear seat, door cards, and headliner are all in great condition.
-The car doesn’t pull to either side on the highway and the tires appear to be almost new.
-Original stereo still in place.
-Fresh air fan blows very strong which helps with the lack of A/C. Heater blows warm too. Rear defrost and wiper work.
-Brakes work well.
-The rear wheel drive layout and five-speed transmission make the car fun to drive and fold-down back seat make it easy to haul large items!

starlet roof paintstarlet dash and shifter


Negatives
-Driver side door lock sticks. Needs greased and/or adjusted.
-The windows are a little hard to roll up and down. New grease may help.
-Dome light does not work and is missing lens. I tested it and it needs resoldered or just replaced. It is getting power.
-Front seats are deteriorated so they have covers on them. The original material is still underneath so patterns could be made.
-The previous owner put the wrong wipers on it so the windshield has scratches where they rubbed. Wipers have since been replaced and perhaps the scratches could be buffed out with glass polish.
-The passenger side rear corner has a ding that needs pulled out. I replaced both taillights because they were both cracked from separate incidents. I decided to leave the bodywork to someone who knows what they were doing. I will include and hammer and dolly set from Harbor Freight if you want to try and fix it yourself.
-The paint is worn and tired with flaking on the roof and hood. It might polish up, but primer is showing through in spots.
-Previous owner installed an electric fuel pump, so it can flood if you are not careful.
-Could use new window and door seals if you plan to leave the car outside in the rain.
-Window washer fluid tank has a leak.
-If you dump the clutch you can hear a clunk in the back.

1982 Toyota Starlet for sale – eBay Motors Thanks for sending it in, Jesse!

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