Picking up 81 Corona Liftback tomarrow. Have ?'s

I stumbled upon a 81 Corona liftback a week back. It is in great shape, runs good shifts good etc and its a steal of a deal. I am picking it up tomarrow. I built a mr2 turbo a while back and my family has owned a few toyotas so naturally I am a fan of the brand.

I have heard the liftback model is quite rare. Is this true? It very very slightly backfires when letting off the gas when shifting, its barely audible and does not affect drivability. The owner says it also gets less than stellar mpg in the city as well. I am not incredibly familiar with carbuerated engines. Could this be due to poor carb tuning?

Are there any other things I should look over before handing over the cash? It has a clean title very little to no rust etc.

One other thing I am wondering is if the 22r block will fit into the engine mounts without any modification? I am quite the gearhead and i doubt I will be able to leave it untouched for long.

I will post pictures tomarrow.

Thanks,

Eric

I dont know how rare these cars are, but Im pretty sure there were a few for sale around here not to long back.

The back firing could be a timing problem and also a carb problem. So going to need some more investigation on that problem.

As for the ease of a 22r swap. That depends on the engine model you have in it. If its a 18r. then yes a 22r swap should be pretty straight forward, with a possible engine mount hump.

So, if the thing is not too rusted ( check the windsheild corners, trunk/gas tank, etc.). And it currently runs and stops, I say why not?

Thanks!

The car checked out and I bought it. It actually has a 20r in it.

Eric

Well the 22r should be a breeze then. I would keep the head off the 20r and slap in on the 22 and up the compression.. Hybrids are all the talk these days.

Thanks a lot!

keep us updated on the corona ... i would also check the timing and carb and spark plugs to check if thiers pre detonation...