1983 toyota corolla 168k miles looks bad runs great! realiable daily driver.

1983 Toyota Corolla Additional Info:

Car can be test driven and or checked out in Chicago or elk grove village IL. You must have a valid drivers license to take it for a drive. now lets get to the description.
I bought this car 8 years ago on eBay and it was in mint condition. it had around 130k(ish) miles at the time and I drove it home 2,000 miles from Las Vegas to Chicago without any problems. as a mater of fact after 8 years of ownership, it still has not gave me any problems. its runs great, but looks bad. i have never been broken down, stuck, had to call for a tow, nothing. all i really ever had to do was general maintenance. if you remember the old corolla commercials from back way when, they boasted the cars would go over 300k miles. it looks like hell is why i am selling the car. keep in mind i have been driving the car lately like 200-300 miles per week as a daily driver so there might be more miles by the time you get it.
this car was a dedicated winter car in one of the worst places for winter, Chicago. 8 years, 8 winters including the winter of February 2011 that had us see over 20 inches in one evening. i remember working that night and coming out and the engine was full of snow and ice. the car was buried in snow and started right up. All the winter driving is why there is rust everywhere, as you can see its pretty bad, but i have seen worse.
here is the good..
-car runs great. starts right up (video included)
-drives really well (video included)
-great on gas. around 30 miles per gallon mixed with city stop and go, and expressway driving. lots of new cars don't get this kind of gas mileage.
-high powered alternator custom made from Wagner alternators left over from the stereo install. cost me over $600.
-new exhaust and muffler done within the last year.
-new tires within the last year (snow tires)
-new brakes all around within the last 6 months. front pads and rotors, and read pads (shoes were not needed)
-new radiator and flush within the last 6 months
-changed transmission fluid within the last 6 months
-weather-tech brand winter floor mats
here is the bad.
-looks like hell, lots of rust, but looks pretty good underneath.
- the car leaks engine oil. not worth doing the engine labor to replace a $5 gasket. i just add extra oil in from time to time. sucks if you have a garage, you will have to throw some cardboard under there or it will mess up your floor.
-problem with the title (wrong year). when i registered the car 8 years ago, they put my car down as a 1993. its an 1983. i only now noticed because i had to take the title out of storage to sell the car. i went to the DMV (department of motor vehicles) and they said it will cost $95 to get a new title (re register the car) which i decided im not going to bother with. they told me i could get a police report and inspection of the car to verify it was in fact an 1983 and i have this paperwork ready for the next buyer. IL residents will have no problem, but your state may be different so you might want to get this checked out before you buy.
-car was hit while parked one winter in the drivers rear. no witness or note, just came out of work to a huge dent. this cause the trunk to shift and some rain will get in depending on how hard it rains. trunk does open and close fine though, so it is functional. just lets some water in. I'm not sure how its getting in or I'd stop by home depot to seal the leak.
-also in the winter i took a corner too fast and hit some black ice. this caused my rear passenger wheel to hit the curb in a spin. this bent the frame a little (pictures included)
the car drives straight, and the wheel is straight ( no uneven wear on the tires). i took it to a couple of body shops and had it inspected and they told me its not worth trying to fix it, and the car is too old to even try. i have about 3k miles on since it happened and no issues. you can see compared to the drivers side the wheel is pushed in a little more than the other side.
-the heater works one way only. something about a cable or something being broken. i was only able to choose for it to be blowing heat one way only, so i chose towards the windshield because i needed to defrost it. the cool thing is the car is so small that it gets warm very fast so it really doesn't matter anyway.
-there is no AC. it lights up, but no cold air. never bothered to try and fix it because it was a dedicated winter car.
-holes in both front doors where i removed a stereo system i had installed. this also left a void where the radio was because i can not find the factory radio or the factory speakers. i had them about 6 years ago when i did the stereo, but they since have become lost. i suggest just covering the holes with some vinyl wrap. there is about a box of Dynamat sound deadening placed throughout the car that i am leaving in. Dynamat keeps the sound in the car if you are wondering what that silver stuff is. also with there being a stereo, you may notice a little extra wiring that was left in.
not bad, but i thought I'd mention
-nothing was ever done to the suspension the whole time i owned it, so it does make some creaks and sounds from time to time, especially when the car is cold.
-interior light does not illuminate when you open and close the door. so its dark when you open the doors at night. only light work on the dash.
-the carburetor has not been adjusted for as long as i remember. it could use a tweak in my opinion. when its cold i have to pump the gas a few extra times to get it going, but it gets going.
Cashier's Check (certified from US bank) or money order or cash if picking it up in person. i will assist with shipping, but the shipping is your responsibility to pay for and set up. $200 deposit must be made through PayPal with in 48 hours of winning auction or car will be relisted. car is sold as is with no guarantees or warranties implied. description was made to the best of my knowledge. I have owned the car for 8 years, so i feel i know it pretty well.