Ok so this isn't exactly a Starion let alone a Mitsubishi but by a chance $1res auction gone wrong (for the seller) I was able to pick this up for a song.
It's a 1986 Toyota Century E-type, basically Toyota's flagship model at the time and mostly driven around by diplomats and government officials.
It sports a 5V-EU 4.0L all alloy pushrod 'hemi' V8 engine, 4 speed column change auto, bench seats front and rear and basically every electrical device under the sun including but not limited to electric massaging rear seats, electric quarter light windows, dual zone air conditioning (front and rear) and a tape deck with mic input housed in the rear seat armrest.
Some pics
alas I wont actually be keeping it, I've already on-sold it to a friend of mine because he actually really wants it while I was bidding on the auction half-cut for shits and giggles and had a massive 'oh fuck' moment when I ended up winning! But still I'm going to have my fun in it for the week or so that I get to roll around in it. You get so many looks and people coming up to you at service stations etc which sadly I probably wouldn't in a Starion, but a widebody Starion is ultimately what I want so this car has to go to make room for one!
Yeah I think it would look better lowered, it actually had self levelling rear suspension but I assume it broke so it's been replaced with normal shocks which appear to make the rear sit higher than the front. The factory hubcaps are growing on me and I think it would be very hard to find a decent set of wheels that would suit it - this car is probably best kept near factory or able to be put back to factory easily.
the motors out of these were a copy taken from the early chrysler hemi , The hot rodders over here use them , they re grind the cam , machine down the intake to suit a small blower or use the earlier 3.5 intake which suits a 4 barrel holley , they also modify a 308 holden dizzy to fit . my father just sold one that we had sitting in the shed for the last 10 years only the other day. i think the centurys must have went right back into the late 70s as the earlier ones were 3.5 and carby , they also had the more squares shaped tappet covers which took on the look of the hemi more
otomoto had imported one a while back and then chopped the roof off to make it a convertible :) Looked fantastic! Great cruiser too I'd imagine.
The later ones came with a v12 :D but unfortunately for us here in Aus, the v12 one cannot be imported - i remember it wasn't an age thing but something else that prevented the otomoto people from importing the v12 model, but i don't remember what :?
quest wrote:
WANTSOM wrote:Personally, I find sloppy boxes very unsatisfying. I like them tight and taught to the point that if you dont have to push to get it in then its probably too old and time to get a new one :P
don't try explaining that to her tho..... just leave. lol
greenstaz82 wrote:the motors out of these were a copy taken from the early chrysler hemi , The hot rodders over here use them , they re grind the cam , machine down the intake to suit a small blower or use the earlier 3.5 intake which suits a 4 barrel holley , they also modify a 308 holden dizzy to fit . my father just sold one that we had sitting in the shed for the last 10 years only the other day. i think the centurys must have went right back into the late 70s as the earlier ones were 3.5 and carby , they also had the more squares shaped tappet covers which took on the look of the hemi more
The next smallest V series is the 4V which displaces 3.4L. Yep like most things early Japanese they were a copy of something American, just like Toyotas earliest inline 6 series of petrol engines.
The Century made its debut in 1965 and its styling had remained relatively unchanged on the outside right through to the last of the 40 series in 1997, however the interior evolved over time and the exterior saw many facelifts and small changes over the years. Even the 50 series V12 Century was styled to look like the outgoing model.
thrash wrote:otomoto had imported one a while back and then chopped the roof off to make it a convertible :) Looked fantastic! Great cruiser too I'd imagine.
The later ones came with a v12 :D but unfortunately for us here in Aus, the v12 one cannot be imported - i remember it wasn't an age thing but something else that prevented the otomoto people from importing the v12 model, but i don't remember what :?
There's a V12 one in QLD, belongs to a guy off toymods.....
"Speed isn't everything; you gotta look cool on the touge too."- Keiichi Tsuchiya
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