Thinking Of Restoring A Carina MkII

Volvoboy

Been playing with an idea of restoring a carina mkII for a while now, buying one that dosent need too much engine work (ie sparks, oil, filters, maybe timing belt)
and copmpletely repainting it, lads in the job who worked on them when they we're doing thier time says that they are easy to work on (Like All Toyota's) just wondering if they have any common problems that i can look out for (I know they are dirt cheap and nobody wants them).

Also if you come across one Saloon 1.6 Manual one with all the toys PM me


Thanks

-VB-

fletch

My mate has a Carina for sale....think he's only looking for a few hundred quid for it....it's got everything electric...mirrors, all round windows, tilt/slide sunroof, central locking....
He's brought it in from the UK so VRT would need to be sorted (about €350 I think he said)....it is mechanically perfect...I drove it back from Wexford a few weeks ago and it is a quick car (1.6 DOHC)
If you're interested I can put you in contact with him. I think it's a '94...not sure if that's a MKI or II...

Volvoboy

92-97 was the mkIII or the E, yea thanks for that, but i want a mkII for dirt cheap no more than 400 and want one that needs work, as nice as your mates car sounds i want one for a bit of a winter project. thanks all the same.


-VB-

AsphaltRisin'

Do it! They're lovely yokes.
Very simple and they're nice to drive. My uncle always used to have them, borrowed one off him before and it was great. dont know if there's any major faults with them but i do know they're lovely machines and very nice to drive fro what they are. cheap too

fletch

Volvoboy wrote:

92-97 was the mkIII or the E, yea thanks for that, but i want a mkII for dirt cheap no more than 400 and want one that needs work, as nice as your mates car sounds i want one for a bit of a winter project. thanks all the same.
-VB-

Just texted him there and it's a '91......

Volvoboy

Much does he want for it? what condition is the body in, it would want to be dirt cheap if i'd be shelling out for vrt?

5dr hatch or 4 door saloon?

-VB-

fletch

Volvoboy wrote:

Much does he want for it? what condition is the body in, it would want to be dirt cheap if i'd be shelling out for vrt?

5dr hatch or 4 door saloon?

-VB-

4-door saloon.....grey in excellent condition...he is looking for €400ono for it so that might be out of your budget..but seriously a cleaner example you'll struggle to find

Volvoboy

Fletch, thanks for the help but was more looking for a cheap and nasty one ya know one that would bring down the tone of a scrapyard and restore it to it's former glory, but thanks again if it was what i was looking for i'd have your hand off, but it would stand me €750 before i done any work to it.

Greatly apreciated.

-VB-

fletch

Volvoboy wrote:

Fletch, thanks for the help but was more looking for a cheap and nasty one ya know one that would bring down the tone of a scrapyard and restore it to it's former glory, but thanks again if it was what i was looking for i'd have your hand off, but it would stand me €750 before i done any work to it.

Greatly apreciated.

-VB-

No bother....just thought I'd mention it to ya....good luck with the project....they really are a great car, totally reliable and very fast

overdriver

Great car. Really nice to drive, too. They're not overly exciting, but I went through two II's and an E, and loved them all.
Good luck with it.

Henry Ford III

fletch wrote:

I drove it back from Wexford a few weeks ago and it is a quick car (1.6 DOHC)...

Nah. It's not even warm :rolleyes:

ninty9er

I wanted an E as they're cheap enough, but the insurance would have been a killer.

overdriver

How much extra was it? Cos you might make it back on the running costs. They're CHEAP to run and repair.

zilog_jones

Volvoboy wrote:

92-97 was the mkIII or the E, yea thanks for that, but i want a mkII...

TBH the Mk. II Carina was sold in the late '70s
The "Carina II" was a rebadged Corona (same goes for Carina E), and to add to the confusion there were two generations of Carina II (I'm sure it made sense to someone ). You're talking about the T170, which is the 5th generation... I think...

Anyway, when I was looking for a car over the summer I was seeing a good few Carinas and Coronas in the Buy & Sell at reasonable prices, and still see a scary amount of them still on the road (in comparison to anything else that age).

DublinDilbert

Hi VolvoBoy,

I have a Carina II, 1990, sitting up in my garage for the last 3 years or so. Its in fairly good nick...

It only has about 70K miles on it! It's a long story, but it's been in the family for over the last 10 years, and has been garaged for alot of it, on and off...

About 2 years ago i brought it for the NCT, and the only thing it failed on was an anti roll bar bush, and 2 shocks... I replaced the shocks, but never got a chance to get the bushing, and never had time to bring it back for the NCT.

At this stage it' needs a battery, but appart from that it will drive no probs....

If it's something like this your looking for, drop me a PM....


PS they are a lovely car to drive, comfy too, has that velvet type interior...

AsphaltRisin'

Volvoboy,


I actually just remembered i DO know of a carinaII Which needs restoration, might be a bit too much work for what you want though...
It's up at a mate of mine's place sittin there for few years, used to be his mother's but it's not been used in ages, was light blue 1.6 with class blue velour seats. 5 door hatch.... write me on this or PM me if you want know more, dunno if he wants to sell it but it might be worth a shot

fletch

Henry Ford III wrote:

Nah. It's not even warm :rolleyes:

It's quick for what it is....would piss all over most modern 1.6 saloons.

Volvoboy

Hey Dublin Dilbert, is the car a saloon or hatch? Colour? How much do you want for it?

maidhc

Are we talking about a Carina MkII or a Carina II here?

A Carina from the 70's would be pretty class, and even anything pre Carina II is unusual now, but I don't think it is worth spending a penny on a Carina II or E. You can pick up clean ones of these that don't need work for pennys anyway.

I know a guy who brought in a spotless Carina II last year from england. He paid £0 for it, and just €250 to put Irish plates on.

galwaytt

a pic of the model would be a good idea.........I know know where there's a gold-ish one, sitting in a yard..............could be had cheap-cheap I reckon....

Volvoboy

http://hyperinzercia.sk/inz/62346.jpg


somthing like this would be ideal.



-VB-

Gary ITR

So that would be the second generation carina II

Henry Ford III

fletch wrote:

It's quick for what it is....would piss all over most modern 1.6 saloons.

Perhaps. But that's an entirely different statement to your earlier one.

p.s. Does it handle like a fridge feezer?

bazz26

There is more to judging a good car than just how it handles.

Henry Ford III

Agreed, although very few good cars handle poorly.

pburns

There seems to be an unexpected amount of affection for the Carina II (Mark II...) I mean the classic car mags or Top Gear crew are unlikely to be crawling all over it.

However I can see the attraction of this car. Even by Toyota standards this models record for durability is legion (from what i've heard anecdotally). There something deeply satisfying about a motor that's so thoroughly engineered that it just goes and goes and goes. I love old Japanese stuff - reminds me of my youth...

Something I find interesting - in pre-Celtic Tiger Ireland (especially during the '80s), a mid-range saloon like a Carina/405/Sierra was a bit posh, a bit of a status symbol.

BrianD3

I remember the 2nd gen Carina II for its sweet engine, refinement, decent comfort levels, velour seats, precise controls and big clear dials. Styling was sober but elegant enough (better than the Carina E IMO) On top of all that was the simplicity, longevity and relability. I agree with the previous poster that a relaible long lasting car is satisfying and a car like this can acquire charcter as it ages.

colm_mcm

compare the 16 valve EFI engines with what Europe was putting as standard in their cars.

bazz26

My father bought one of the last of the Carina II models back in 1992. The Carina E was next to it in the showroom but he didn't like it at all. He kept the Carina II for 4 years, great car, very nippy for a 1.6 litre and the velour seats were very comfortable. A work colleague of his bought the car then and still had it up to about 2 years ago. It was serviced by the same mechanic my father goes to and he said they are one of the easiest cars to work on. Apparently there was about 180k miles on the clock the last time he looked.

colm_mcm

the last of the Carina II models were certainly more plush than the start of the Carina E models. those blue velour seats were so comfy (similar to the Camry seats) a very much loved car in Ireland, where we don't have the blind vehicular patriotism that the British seemed to suffer from.

Gary ITR

We had a mkI Carina II executive model. Beautiful car and it had just short of 200,000 miles on the clock when it finally went. My dad actually drove it to the breakers yard, head gasket had gone.