My 1986 Toyota Cressida

[GM_IV]

I posted pictures of my car I believe when I first joined this forum. Its somewhere in the "post your car" thread. I didn't want to make a new thread unless I have new pictures worth making a new thread. My car is a 3rd generation Cressida, its still first hand since my dad did not let go of the ownership to ensure my insurance rates stay very low while my mom "owns" the 2004 Toyota Avalon leaving me as a 3rd driver.

Heres the story about this car for those who may or may not know this is my dad's 2nd car he bought brand new. This was a time where my dad had enough with domestic cars and very willing to go Japanese, one of his good friends is a part time used car salesman and had a first generation Cressida and said it was an excellent car. My dad and his other good friend decided to buy the car basically at the same time, it also happens they both bought the exact same type of car from colour to no sunroof the only option available. My dad's friend had a dying Audi 4000 and had trouble selling it, my dad on the other hand wanted to rid himself of his first new car a Pontiac Phoenix since he felt it was very unsafe and it wasn't reliable at all. Toyota delayed my dad's order but my dad's friend still couldn't sell his Audi, so my dad tell him he needed a car and thus my dad's friend let my dad go in front take what should have been his car.

This car is older than me so for my entire life I've actually lived with this car the whole time. It lasted so much longer than my dad expected and was still in excellent condition when it was 10 years old. Alas because my dad didn't intend to keep this car he did stop some of the rust proofing and the car slowly showed rust particularly around the wheel arches on all fenders. The intention was to get rid of it after I began driving, but after I started driving it I really liked it. I liked it so much that I'm now footing the bill to fix it and basically restore it. Of all these years I never knew until then I had basically the perfect car all along just waiting.

I've driven quite a few cars all of them newer, but I've always come back to this car thinking they all lacked the feel that many describe as one of the joys to driving. Many think all Toyotas particularly the 4-doors are boring, this car begs to differ. The biggest reason why this car is so different to the typical boring Camry is that its not related to the Camry at all despite its looks, its actually more in common with the Supra. From the 5M-GE engine to the same suspension design(this car adjusted more for comfort). Of course it is RWD something no Toyota 4-door has been since its departure from the international market, only Japan has 4-door Toyotas with RWD these days. Anyways enough about the details here are some old and new pics.

This was my car in 2005-2006




Heres some pictures of it inside, the Canadian versions all had digital dashboards. The only exception is the odometer.





This is the 5M-GE engine that is also found in the Mk II Supra(1982-1986). Its power output is low for a 6-cylinder engine in today's standards but in 1986 it was actually more powerful than a 528e for a 2.8L straight-6 producing 156hp for nearly the same fuel economy. My car is an automatic, only the USA seemed to have the option of a 5-speed manual Cressida. That said this automatic is quite easy to get used to and so long as the gas quality is good, never seems to interfere nor seems to lose much of the power. It seemed more like Toyota intended this car to go up against the German competition.



Recently I had to replace both the front fenders on my car because of the rust. So my car looks a little different than it used to. I must say black is a great colour for this car, it looks more impressive somehow but I intend to keep it brown because of nostalgia.




As a daily driver, I've driven it for at least 5 years and the car has never failed me in getting from point A to B and back. I know I'm basically spending enough money to afford myself a brand new car and that I won't get it back but to me I think its all worth it. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't feel so strongly about it. This is partly why I keep insisting that Toyota could make a fun car, I know they could make one its just that they don't seem to want to.

[tedb43o2o3]

Nice, pretty old but rare now.

[jayhawk]

I always like the blocky look of them.

[C53A_4G63T]

I would do unspeakable things to get my hands on one of that condition. You do indeed have a fairly rare car. And the MK3 Supra Turbo motors fit easily in there.

[Punisher Bass]

My hat is off to you for throwing money at an old car while others tell you it's insane. I'm already in the same boat with my Buick, and probably will be for the rest of my life. Just because something is old doesn't mean you throw it away.

[GM_IV]

Originally Posted by C53A_4G63T

I would do unspeakable things to get my hands on one of that condition. You do indeed have a fairly rare car. And the MK3 Supra Turbo motors fit easily in there.

I'm not sure if they're that rare in regards to my car's generation or the last gen of Cressida, the body of my car's generation and the last gens seem to be strong enough to survive Toronto salt levels. The 1st and 2nd gens however are rare, especially the first which was during the period where Toyota was still ridiculed for thin sheet metal. Southern California seems to have many Cressidas running that I know of. As for engines, every Toyota straight-6 engine more powerful than the 5M-GE has been tried and many successful. Theres actually many modded Cressidas in the US and Australia that are using a 1JZ-GTE, a few have the 2JZ-GTE. Even the Lexus V8 can fit(barely).

Originally Posted by Punisher Bass

My hat is off to you for throwing money at an old car while others tell you it's insane. I'm already in the same boat with my Buick, and probably will be for the rest of my life. Just because something is old doesn't mean you throw it away.

I do understand why they wanted to persuade me otherwise. Logically it does make sense to buy a new car because of warranty and a better ROI, but I tend to follow the heart and surely enough I do miss it even if I didn't see it for say 2 weeks. I do have difficulty throwing out good things away, I'm probably the worst enemy to businessmen who profit from the disposable society.

[WellsieTRD]

Always liked the Cressida. Pitty we never got the manual version's here in Aus, I think we only got auto's with the 7M engine. Id dearly love to get a supra 5 speed and bolt it up to one. Great cars, id buy one

[pfrocker]

heh my grandfather had the newer version in white.

[Shawn]

I used to get rides to afterschool tutoring in my friend's mom's really old Toyota Cressida (I think it was a late 70s, she had a Corona too). I have some fond memories of the Cressida therefore.

It's a unique ride, and I love the LED dash. So 80s.

[MattD1zzl3]

The 80's look is just starting to get cool, keep that car alive as long as possible!

[GM_IV]

Originally Posted by MattD1zzl3

The 80's look is just starting to get cool, keep that car alive as long as possible!

Toyota's 80s look happens to be expensive too . For some reason Toyota went a bit chrome crazy during the early 80s to mid 80s, the sports cars like Supra and MR2 seemed to have the least. There so much exterior trim particularly chrome on most Cressidas(they really cut back with the 4th gen). Even the 1st gen Camry seems to have more chrome than most Lexus excluding the LS.

Originally Posted by Shawn

I used to get rides to afterschool tutoring in my friend's mom's really old Toyota Cressida (I think it was a late 70s, she had a Corona too). I have some fond memories of the Cressida therefore.

It's a unique ride, and I love the LED dash. So 80s.

I have yet to see a 1st gen Cressida in person. Those are extremely rare cars especially in Canada.

As for the dash, its still accurate and is extremely easy to read. The only flaw is its bright so sometimes I forget to turn on the headlights at night, I fortunately always catch this before I get on any proper road. Glare is another issue, but it only occurs at certain sun angles and because the dash is so bright I can still accurately guess.

Originally Posted by WellsieTRD

Always liked the Cressida. Pitty we never got the manual version's here in Aus, I think we only got auto's with the 7M engine. Id dearly love to get a supra 5 speed and bolt it up to one. Great cars, id buy one

All 7M equipped Cressidas came with an automatic. They discontinued giving the Supra 5-speed in 1987 even for the USA due to poor sales of that package. Swapping the auto for a Supra 5-speed is probably the most common Cressida mod if any are done.

[Sony]

impressive

Maybe I missed it but how much does it have on the clock?

[GM_IV]

Originally Posted by Sony

impressive

Maybe I missed it but how much does it have on the clock?

I actually didn't say but its almost 260,000 kms or roughly 160,000 miles.

[Big pete]

I also have a cressida an 84.My grandfarther had it from new and has been passed down to me,still go,s like a dream

[GM_IV]

Interesting time to necro my car thread. I just acquired all the trim pieces I need to replace, finalized the timing of when I'm going to get the body completely overhauled. I'm dropping off the car on Tuesday. Since those pictures, my car has been crashed into by an idiot hit and runner, fortunately minor damage except it completely bent a chrome trim piece. My car also was also hit by a very very bad hail storm so several dents all over the hood, roof and trunk. The hail damage repair is the most expensive addition to all the bodywork, I'm somewhat glad my car is tougher than a lot of newer cars, among my co-workers my car is the 2nd cheapest to repair it was only beaten by an H3. I'll take pictures on the weekend basically as a before image.

[LeVeL]

My friend has a Cressida that he cant kill. They are tanks. He crashed it into a guardrail while drifting and fixed the huge dent in the front by tying it to a tree and backing up. Oh, and did I mention that its loud as hell?

[GM_IV]

Originally Posted by LeVeL

My friend has a Cressida that he cant kill. They are tanks. He crashed it into a guardrail while drifting and fixed the huge dent in the front by tying it to a tree and backing up. Oh, and did I mention that its loud as hell?

That's the last version of the Cressida, the only way he could kill that one is if his engine blew a head gasket, the 7M-GE is notorious for blowing head gaskets. Other than the engine, that version of the Cressida has no real flaws.

[TopGearDog]

Very nice car

I've been tempted to buy this 1978 Cressida, but dont really have the money to repair it.

[Dsemaj]

Awesome! I know your feeling about your car, I feel the same way about my Bluebird. Apart from it has a hell of a lot less power, and I keep spoiling myself by driving my dad's car.. which makes it feel wooden!

But still, if I keep it, it'll be for a long, long time.

EDIT: Oh, and awesome rear leg room, and the dash is straight out 1980s! I've got LED Bar-stacks for all my 4 gauges, analogue everything else.

[SoxXpupPeT]

Originally Posted by TopGearDog

Very nice car

I've been tempted to buy this 1978 Cressida, but dont really have the money to repair it.

you should. if you have the space at least. a car like that is rare and cool. and done up right would be quite a looker.