Friday, July 24, 2015

Repeels: 1981 Toyota Starlet KP61

What better way to keep up today's string of Toyotas than with a classic Starlet? The KP61 generation Toyota Starlet was the first and only generation of its model sold new for the North American Market. In 1985, the little rear wheel drive compact was replaced by the front wheel drive Toyota Corolla FX-16, a great car in its own right, but prone to fits of understeer.  Find this 1981 Toyota Starlet KP61 offered for $7,900 in Long Beach, CA via craigslist.  Tip from FuelTruck.

This KP61 certainly looks like some kind of modified hound dog, but under the skin it is pure pussycat.  The original engine is a 1.2 liter 4K-C inline-4 that pushes out 58 horsepower into the rear wheels...which means you aren't exactly going to do much drifting unless the you find a frozen lake covered in vaseline...and you'll still need to initiate any drifto with a little E.  What this thing needs is an injection of horsepower; perhaps you can get the engine from a crashed Mk IV Supra. Those things are always seconds away from crashing.

See another inverse sleeper?


  1. Why is it that so many of my erectile memories involve '80s Toyotas? Function of time and place, I think.

    In this case unrequited, and tangential - girl I wanted badly had former boyfriend who had one of these (tweaked, but not big flares), she ended up back with him later I think.

    1. Because boners and Toyotas were both better in the '80s.

  2. from the front it reminds me of a VW GTI, of course it does need a real engine

  3. Replies
    1. I knew it looked familiar! In that case I can report to our readers & prospective buyers that I drove this car when it was temporarily living at DT Headquarters and is indeed slow as balls, and needs some sort of repower. Miatabusa of course.


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