Toyota Corolla KE-35 restoration

[firzamkhan.007]

Salam everyone, this is my first time using pakwheels forum so excuse me if I may be slow at any point.

I would like to start off with a brief introduction:
I am a 17 year old car enthusiast and have been saving up for a while to afford a project car and the restoration costs surrounding it.

I had been looking for a car for the past month and eventually settled on a few final options, out of which I eventually settled for a 1977 Toyota Corolla KE-35.

The car is in REALLY rough shape. And rough may be understating it.
It has been abandoned for a while, has absolutely no wiring whatsoever, had a 4k installed in it fairly recently (2021) but that doesn’t run either, the body and frame are EXTREMELY rusted out and it is barely holding on to dear life.

The car has some nice rims, recaro bucket seats installed and the dashboard is surprisingly still neat, intact and complete.

The car was originally listed for 3.5 lakhs but I negotiated with the owner to a price too good to refuse and eventually ended up getting it towed to a very dear friend’s factory/workshop who are very well renowned vintage car collectors themselves and have restored many cars that were beyond dead.

The denting aspect has been dealt with (I’ll be getting it done from my friend’s workshop and we have worked that out), the mechanical aspect has also been dealt with, but my main concerns are parts, electricals, and the fact that I don’t want to get in too over my head since I will eventually have to let go of the car when I move out of country for studies and I don’t want it to be a money pit that I cannot afford.

Considering all of this (and I will be attaching pictures of the car below), do you guy’s think this is a worthwhile project? What are the interchangeable parts between the KE30 and 35 (i.e, wiring, suspension, interior bits, exterior bits, etc)? And how I should go about restoring this since this is my very first project and none of my family members have any knowledge or interest in cars, let alone old ones.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance and I will be attaching pictures below.

(Can’t seem to attach pictures from my phone, can someone teach me how?)

[sardarg]

[sardarg]

use a pc to attach pictures. add line feed (press return) after each picture I'd recommend attach 4 pictures per post. please @firzamkhan.007

[firzamkhan.007]

My laptop isn’t working at the moment so let me try something and let’s see if that works.

Now these photos are just aesthetically pleasing, none of them showcase the true condition of the car.

The real showcases of condition are videos, which I have absolutely no idea how to attach.

Maybe I’ll post them as YouTube video soon and link that here or something, not sure.

[firzamkhan.007]

Laptop’s broken, so I’ll try to do it w my phone in the next reply.
Fair warning though, pics don’t show much, the videos are the ones truly showcasing the condition but I’m not sure how to attach those either.

[pwuser153796752163]

Now these photos are just aesthetically pleasing, none of them showcase the true condition of the car.

The real showcases of condition are videos, which I have absolutely no idea how to attach.

Maybe I’ll post them as YouTube video soon and link that here or something, not sure.

Now these photos are just aesthetically pleasing, none of them showcase the true condition of the car.

Oh they do, I've owned old Toyotas of this vintage before for many many years in different guises, they're absolute rust buckets and you can't find parts for them anymore. Good luck, I wouldn't touch this with a 10 foot pole.

[firzamkhan.007]

Did not mean they don’t showcase the true condition in a good way. These pictures do not showcase the true amount of rust, lack of original parts, and holes everywhere. So these pictures are literally catfishing the true horror this car is.

Anywho, duly noted your opinion and I totally understand where you’re coming from, but I’m more so interested in the interchangeability between the ke30 and 35 parts.

And since you have owned many old toyotas previously, you could perhaps help me identify what parts I can interchange with the ke30 (and save money by sourcing them locally instead of importing every ke35 part from japan).

Thank you.

[pwuser153796752163]

Only bumpers front fascia and fenders are interchangeable. Although a sedan fender would make the car look shorter, as sedans use shorter fenders. Also, your current front bumper is from a KE20 so loose that.

For interior, you can get dashboard, steering, seats swapped. Door cards and headliner would need to be custom made.

Mechanically, everything can be swapped from a KE30. What would be tough for you is exterior parts. They are very hard to find now.

[pwuser153157067741]

Honest advice. Don't want to demotivate you but it's better to start with a ke70. You can find pretty much everything new for it these days. Anyways if you need parts etc I have collected a list of classic car parts dealers in Pakistan especially for ke chassis. PM me and I'll share them

[firzamkhan.007]

Yeahh, you’re right. Parts are a lot more affordable, plus practically everyone is using the ke70 chassis.

Anyway, about the parts, how do I PM you? @pwuser153157067741

[pwuser153157067741]

contact me at 03104717238

[brownrose78]

Share list with numbers from your classic car parts dealer so that other readers can also get benefit of it instead of pm

[alibish69]

I'm doing a similar project ,do you guys know anyone who could do such a project for me in Islamabad denting

[pwuser177044262451]

Very good model Toyota Corolla my long exprenise in drive fuel efficiency bohut kaam ha

[azgardezi]

Ive been engaged with a KE35 project myself for a few years now.

The crux - this project will take you in way over your head financially - yes.

The trouble - finding spares for the half of the car that does not have anything common with the KE30.

If you plan on going abroad - park the car and forget about it. It will cost you an arm and a leg to get it up and running.

[azgardezi]

There is a very nice gentleman by the name of Masood Alam in Islamabad. He helped me alot during my initial restoration. He has a navy blue KE35 - I personally rate it to be the best in Pakistan at the moment. Plus another great person Hassan. I think he is active on this forum.

Masood had his topic up and running till some time back. If you can contact him, he may be able to guide you regarding the denting part. Hassan is an expert in electronics.