Which Slowpoke ’70s Classic Would You Fix Up? 1978 Toyota Corona vs 1979 VW Rabbit Diesel

You remember the old fable of the tortoise and the hare, right? Slow and steady wins the race. Today, we’re looking at two slow and steady cars from the ’70s, but in this case the “hare” might actually be the slower one.

Yesterday we looked at two right-hand-drive imports from Japan. Lots of you liked the idea of the Ford Ka, but it didn’t translate into votes. I think that little Mitsubishi was just too cute to pass up, and that’s before the benefit of 4WD and a much more modern engine design.

I have to agree. I really like the Ford Ka, but it feels like it’s not worth the money, especially when you can get a US-market Aspire that has the same basic vibe to it for a lot less. That Pajero, however, feels special enough to be worth some extra dough.

A rising tide lifts all boats, they say, and that seems to be the case with old car prices. In these days when bona-fide classic cars are fetching five, six, and even seven figures, everything more than forty years old is suddenly triple the price it used to be. It sucks, but that’s the way it is. You can save a little money by picking something that needs a bit of work, and that’s what we’re going to do today.

1978 Toyota Corona – $3,500

Engine/drivetrain: 2.2-liter OHC inline 4, three-speed automatic, RWD

Location: Zebulon, GA

Odometer reading: 200,000 miles

Operational status: “Runs and drives but not well”

Here once again we have our old friend the Corona, Toyota’s family sedan offering before the Camry. This is the car that helped make Toyota’s fortunes in the US, way back in the early 1960s. By the time this Corona was built in 1978, the nameplate was in its fifth generation, though still using the same basic rear-wheel-drive layout. It was a common car in its day, but the vast majority of them were recycled into toasters or snow shovels decades ago, making this a rare sight on the road today.

Toyota’s 20R four-cylinder engine needs no introduction. It’s the engine that powered countless Toyota pickups, not to mention an army of RWD Celicas. It’s a reliable and durable engine, not known for high-revving antics, but just about bomb-proof. This one is backed by a three-speed automatic, which slows forward progress a bit. It has been sitting for a while, the seller says, and while it still starts up and drives, it needs some work. It might be as simple as old gas, or it might need some more extensive cleaning and reconditioning to bring it back up to snuff.

You can tell Toyota was really trying hard to appease US buyers, with a bench seat and a column-mounted shifter like it’s a Malibu or something. The interior is in reasonably good condition, but the carpet could use a cleaning and there’s a crack in the top of the dash.

Most of it is in good condition outside, but there is a pretty good wrinkle by the right headlight, and the plastic headlight surround is broken. The windshield needs replacing too; it’s a spiderweb of cracks. It looks rust-free and complete, though.

1979 Volkswagen Rabbit L Diesel – $3,000

Engine/drivetrain: 1.5-liter OHC diesel inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Fernley, NV

Odometer reading: 92,000 miles (probably rolled over)

Operational status: Runs and drives well, but needs an alignment

Volkswagen’s great shift from rear-engined air-cooled cars to front-engined and water-cooled began in the early 1970s, with the introduction of the first-generation Passat, which came to the US as the Dasher. A year later, the first-generation Golf arrived here, sold under the name Rabbit. Beginning in 1978, Volkswagen built Rabbits for US consumption in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania instead of Germany – unless you ordered one with a diesel engine. This ’79 Rabbit L diesel is a German-built car, therefore retaining the round headlights, smaller taillights, and nicer interior trim so prized by discerning Volkswagen enthusiasts.

A normal gasoline-powered Rabbit was not exactly a performance car, but the diesel engine slowed things down dramatically. This car’s naturally aspirated 1.5-liter diesel engine makes just 48 horsepower and 59 pound-feet of torque, giving it a 0-60 time longer than most Mark Knopfler guitar solos. It’s enough to climb Pikes Peak, though, as my dad proved in a Dasher diesel back in 1981, and it can flirt with fifty miles per gallon if you’re careful. This one shows just 91,879 miles on its five-digit odometer, but I imagine it has gone around at least once. It runs and drives well, but it just had a bunch of suspension work done and hasn’t yet been aligned. It will probably drive even better after that.

The seller says the seats are “very worn,” but honestly, they look better than I’d expect. The padding seems to have been beaten out of them, but the vinyl is holding up pretty well. It has a dash cover that’s probably hiding a multitude of cracks. I had no idea those dash covers were so common until I started writing this column. It seems like about every fourth car I look at has one.

Outside, it’s rust-free, missing its front bumper, and wearing the rear bumper of a later Cabriolet. The seller says the car comes with “many goodies,” but I don’t know if that includes a front bumper. No matter; my ’79 Scirocco didn’t have a front bumper for about half the time I owned it, either. It’s refreshing to see a Rabbit still at its stock ride height, too. Far too many of them have been lowered.

So from the sounds of it, you could drive either one of these home, and then plan to do some tinkering to whip them into shape. Neither one needs anything major, though, and with a little work, you could have an interesting conversation piece for Cars & Coffee. Who needs a fast car anyway? Just kick back and take it easy in the slow lane for a while, let everyone else jockey for position. Which one of these would you take?