This 1970 Toyota Crown is a rare coupe variant of the luxury flagship, and has received many interesting updates. While still in need of some tuning and other minor work before it can be considered finished, the heavily upgraded mechanicals beneath the distinctive sheet metal make this an enticing proposition. Find it here on eBay in Brownsville, Kentucky with reserve not met. Special thanks to BaT reader Anthony F. for this submission.

It’s a good-looking shape, particularly from the rear three quarter as seen below, and Japanese-spec flush-fit headlights clean up the front end considerably. The seller states that the car has an older repaint, and that there are some small signs of past rust repair, especially in the rear quarters, floors and around the front and rear windows.

The interior appears to be thoughtfully laid-out, but there are a couple of small issues including dirty carpets and the need for a new dashcap, but overall it looks perfectly usable. Aside from some small rips in the passenger’s seat, upholstery is in good shape, and the headliner and door panels are said to be good as well. Check out that standalone clock mounted on the center console–OEM Toyota clocks were made by Jeco, and so it is likely that that this is a factory piece.

Perhaps this car’s biggest draw are its mechanical upgrades. The most obvious of these is the engine–in place of the original single cam M-series straight six sits Toyota’s famous 2JZ, breathing here through triple side draft, twin choke Webers rather than turbo-fed EFI. We’ve never heard of such a build, but really dig what the builder’s done here. The seller also includes a sound clip of it running. The intake manifold is custom made and looks very well done, though the seller says the carbs \still have some tuning issues.

The seller states that they run an import business, and not a custom shop, so they have already overstretched themselves in this project. We can’t help but appreciate the builder’s vision, and so long as there are no other major issues, finishing this one out could be a rewarding experience.