I have a '77 toyota liftback that I bought recently. at 65 mph the tach is at 3500 rpm. this does not seem right. In previous research I have noticed that sellers of this same model always note “transmission numbers all match”. What does this mean and how can I check mine?
Back in 1977, Toyotas had really small engines, of–at most—1.6 liters displacement.
A really small engine will indeed run at very high RPMs when the car is driven at high speed.
I don’t think it is unusual that this tiny engine would be churning at 3,500 RPMs at 65 mph. For that reason, as well as the fact that you are driving a 32 year old vehicle with front end components that may also be 32 years old, and the fact that these cars were not noted for having really good brakes, I recommend that you avoid driving that car at 65 mph.
Thank you for the note on safety. All brake/steering components are in top notch order. I still feel that there is a connection with the high rpms and “transmission numbers matching” where are they located and of what significance are they. Where are those numbers found so I may check them?
I have a 1979 Toyota Celica, which I routinely drive at 65 mph. The ingine is a 2.2 Liter 20R The engine RPM is aprox 2300 at 65 (W50 tranny in 5th gear-overdrive).
They mean it is The trans that came with the car and that makes it worth more.
If it is a auto it is only a 3 speed without overdrive If I remember right and 3500rpms is about right.
I drove a '74 Corolla for a while and 3500 at 65 sounds completely normal for a 4-speed (manual, auto?).
As for the transmission numbers match thing, it might be related to the fact that the “performance” package offered in Toyotas of this vintage was the SR5 package, with the 5-speed transmission being the centerpiece. I’d be surprised if there’s really enough interest in vintage Toyotas for anyone to be going around making fake SR5’s, but who knows.
EDIT: to clarify, “numbers matching” usually means that the serial numbers on the engine and transmission match the numbers on the body of the car. This is important especially for muscle cars where people make clones of rare and valuable options by dropping engines into one of the ho-hum versions of the same car. Again, though, I doubt this should be an issue with a freakin’ '77 Toyota.
A car like that was optimized to be a frugal city car. I don’t think back then there were any roads in Japan like our interstates or autobahns.
I had a 75 Civic with a 4 speed manual that hummed a high pitch on the highway (no tach), but it was a hum of precision.