Toyotathon? Nope—This Is All Toyotafest, Which Attracts Tons of Classic Toyotas Every Year
The Toyota Owners and Restorers Club hosts its 26th annual All Toyotafest mega car show.
0:00 / 0:00
It's unlikely that way back in 1995 when Stuart Resor founded the Toyota Owners and Restorers Club (T.O.R.C.) after purchasing a Toyota Corona to restore with his daughter that he had any idea the club would swell and become the definitive online source for old school Toyota enthusiasts to meet, share ideas, and appreciate pre-1985 Toyota chassis. But here we are.
Today, T.O.R.C. is bigger than ever, and the organization hosts the annual All Toyotafest, a car show that just celebrated its 26th event. Though old-school Toyota restoration and modification wasn't a popular market among the masses a few decades ago, things have changed dramatically in all that time, with the pre-'85 chassis demanding a premium and multiple generations, old and young, working to get their hands on salvageable versions to revitalize.
Along with the classics, the All Toyotafest event has welcomed modern Toyotas and included Lexus and Scion builds. The influx of new blood has helped push the large-scale annual gathering to new heights, attracting a younger audience through a relatively natural expansion, in turn putting classic Toyotas in front of those that might not have been privy.
Returning to its home base, the group's 26th gathering took place at Marina Green Park along Long Beach's Shoreline drive. The long strand of grassy real estate offers plenty of space for the hundreds of Toyotas that typically make their way to the celebration, and this year absolutely delivered with row after row of vintage and modern display vehicles and a surging vendor row.
Free to walk into and enjoy, the event benefits from organizers who do a great job of parking the vehicles in groups, so that if you're on a mission to gawk at a specific model, you'll find multiple examples to pore over situated in one section. Or, if you're there to enjoy everything that Toyotafest has to offer, your stroll along the Marina Green Park's lawn reveals a different vehicle type every few hundred feet. Here are some highlights from our visit:
We've witnessed our fair share of old school Corolla and Corona builds, but this is by far one of the cleanest Toyota Carina we've ever come across.
The interesting color that was laid down perfectly over tasteful fender flares works nicely with the Longchamp rollers. Someone certainly thought this build through, and it shows.
Ariel Espanola's Levin GT-V was the focus of a Super Streetfeature back in March, and if you missed it, it's worth your time to drool over.
There are a number of themes you can pick to go with when building out the 2JZ-GTE of a JZA80 Supra, and @2jzpwer chose intricate fabrication combined with the glow of burnt titanium - the sum of which pops against the engine bay's black paintwork.
Think back to the last time you saw a supercharged RAV4. If you're drawing a blank, you're not alone, but Toyota long offered a TRD supercharger option from the factory on its 3.5-liter V-6-powered rides.
Based on a Rotrex unit, this HKS supercharger kit is not that factory TRD offering. It was originally intended for an Alphard—a Toyota minivan offered overseas. The top-mount intercooler isn't the most efficient but even with the airflow shortcomings, it should still offer a significant bump in useable torque and power.
With all of the attention on the MkIV Supra and its modern successor's BMW collaboration and the debates and mug slinging that come with it mean gems like this Mk2 model are sometimes forgotten.
This one sits perfectly atop SSR EX-C fins and is entirely draped in yellow. It's been given a more modern heart transplant by way of a much younger, 2JZ-powered sibling. Neatly organized with plenty of attention to detail, it's done so well that it takes on an almost OEM-Plus appearance.
This purple mid-'80s Corolla went with a "big engine, little car" layout, relying on Toyota's 1UZ-FE for motivation.
The compact, 90-degree V-8 mill fits snugly in the coupe's chest cavity, allowing just enough space to mount a radiator within the upper core support thanks to some minor trimming.
Don't let the clean, VIP-style outward appearance fool you, under the hood of this Lexus GS300 is a 2JZ-GTE plucked from a Toyota Aristo and treated to a single 62-mm Precision turbo.
You should start seeing more and more current model GR86 and BRZ examples popping up as the mods start rolling in. This blue 86 which was parked at the Cusco booth in vendor row featured Work Emotion wheels with Falken RT-615K, complete Tom's lip kit, Cusco body bracing, and the brand's collaborative seat campaign with Bride of Japan.
