Even though its really not cool to drive a boro car in Japan (unlike in the US), these two guys stand proudly behind their boro style and are not ashamed to call their AE86s like that. They wanted cheap cars for skids and these two coupes do the job so theres nothing to be embarrassed for.

There aren’t any specs available because these guys don’t really waste their time with writing up speclists and showing off on the internet. And by the looks of it they probably dont even know all the parts on their 86s. As long as it works then who cares, right?

There isn’t much to spot from the photos either. These 86s are obviously 2 doors but who knows how did they look like when they rolled out of factory. Both are running kouki Trueno rear lamps, kouki bumpers with a zenki lip and the Levin also has kouki headlights with Japanese spec kouki foglights.

Theres the classic combination of bolt-on rollcage and Bride seats in the interior together with desired electrical mirrors (we didn’t get them here in Europe). We have no idea whats under the bonnet nor what chassis setup they use but we’re pretty sure there’s a set of excessively hard coilovers and some LSD on both of them. The Levin owner evidently likes RS Watanabe wheels while the Trueno runs more distinctive SSR Mk.II wheels at the back and some meshes at the front.

We personally think both cars started life as kouki GT-Apex Truenos but, like we said, who knows what they were put together from. And thats one of the things that we really like about these boro bangers!

Keisukes 2door Levin is a great example of how close the Japanese and NZ scenes are. His 86 looks like it came straight from a Japanese mountain pass (well, it actually did) and it has all the things that you would see on other daily drifted 86s in Japan – a bit of dents and rust here and there, drivers bucket seat, a set of amazing oldschool Japanese wheels and the obligatory panda paintjob.

Keisuke is running a set of 14×8,5″ SSR Superstars with extremely low -22 ET (seen in the first picture). Just like many other street spec Corollas he left the engine more or less stock and focused on chassis and drivetrain instead. The typical coilovers are completed with all kinds of adjustable stuff like Nagisa Auto tension rods, panhard rod and stuff like that. The most noticeable change in the drivetrain is a 3,7kg Toda flywheel coupled with Silk Road 3puck clutch. Its all about the driving feel!

There are obviously dozens of other details that Keisuke added over time. Dont forget to check out his 86Fighters blog to see all he did on this ground up build since the day he bought it bone stock.

Heres more about this Levin from the words of his owner. Thanks for your time K!

Why did you pick the 86?
I picked the 86 as when I was younger and got introduced to drifting, I found that my father was friends with a local 86 Hero here in NZ, Reo Yoshimizu from Tama Autos and fell in love with the style and culture of the car (Option Videos, Initial D etc). Loved the uniqueness of each 86 and how they were driven and wanted to do the same.

Why this model and not a Trueno or a 3 door?
I’ve always been a fan of notchbacks no matter what type of car, originally the TA22 Celica was the first car that made the difference. I started off with a Trueno Notch, progressed to a Levin Notch which I regrettably had to sell on so thought to myself that I definitely had to get my hands on another one.

What do you like about your 86?
I have a mindset of “Its no fun without a challenge” and this car suits that phrase like bread and butter. The variety of styles and personality that makes each 86 individual is what I love and to become part of that culture is probably the best part of 86life. I love driving the car and working on it, its definitely a enthusiats car, and depending on what you do to the car, it either rewards you or tells you that its not working.

What do you hate about your 86?
Like all 86 and pre 80’s car owners, I hate rust. But thats all apart of it I guess.

How many times did it piss you off so much that you wanted to sell it?
I have never been so angry at my 86 so far. It has treated me well and I hope to have done the same for it haha.

How many times did you crash your 86?
Ive never crashed an 86, although I have taken off a rear bumper on a grass hedge before getting a bit wide.

Got a blog or a website where we can follow you?
I have been running the blog 86Fighters for a while now which follows the journeys of my friends and I through NZ and sometimes Japan when I have the chance to go back so check it out there.

One of the best things about Flyrat is that they dont sell only overpriced vintage cars like old GT-Rs and 240Zs but many reasonably priced and not-that-old-but-already-cool-as-hell models like this awesome KE70.

Here are some basic facts about this 1983 kouki Corolla DX: it has an obligatory 4AGE swap with 65.000 Km on the odometer, TRD 6/5,1 kg/mm coilovers made by Revolver with Tokico HTS inserts, 15×8 SSR XR4 Longchamp wheels with pretty agressive -14 offset. All yours for only 750k Yen or 7k Euros.

Ok, thats a bit more then you would pay for a rusty KE from some old guy from countryside but dont forget whats included in this package. Just take a look how much XR4s in this offset sell for…

Another thing that makes us love this 70 so much is that the owner didnt swap the headlights for the more popular 4 eye ones. We know why everyone loves them so much but you have to admit that this setup looks way smoother.

If you follow the world of AE86s closely then you certainly noticed how very specific the British and Irish scene is. Partially thanks to the right hand drive that makes importing cars from Japan so much easier, partially thanks to their automotive and motorsport history, the northern islands have probably the second most raw Corolla scene there is after Japan (being on par only with the Aussies). For us Europeans this is as close to Japan we can get without traveling to the other side of our planet.

While we continental Europeans tend to make our Levins look pretty much stock (on the wheel and height side) and most of the US Truenos have the burden of USDM bumpers, the Brits and Irishman can freely enjoy all the good stuff from Japan first hand and its pretty apparent. Ben’s Corolla is a perfect representative of that as he takes the best Japan can offer and adds a little bit of typical British straightforwardness thats usually reserved for Caterhams and Mark I Escorts.

There are no unnecessary mods over here, just the most basic stuff that every 86 needs when you plan to drive it hard on the roads – refreshed and more firm suspension, a Nardi steering wheel for better grip and a 1.5way LSD for extra throttle response in the corners. No silly engine setup that revs to 12.000 RPM, no super wide wheels – a street spec 86 doesnt need any of that. Check out The Corolla Brotherhood feature for more detailed specs and photos.

We’ll let Ben introduce his Levin a bit more and explain why he loves it so much using his own words. And we cant forget to give credits to Daniel Bridle for these amazing photos! Bens thanks goes to Damien O’Neill as well for supplying the car and parts.

Why did you pick the 86?
I picked the AE86 due to videos of them on the touge. The Best Motoring video of Keiichi Tsuchiya outrunning an R34 on the mountain roads first made me take note of the 86, I never got into Initial D so this was my first exposure to one. It showed me that with enough balls and skill you can drive them right on the edge. I still watch the video now and again to inspire me to either fix the car or take it out.

Why this model and not a Trueno or a 3 door?
I’ve always promised myself that I’d own a Trueno at one point. I LOVE the Run Free Truenos, they are my favourite eight sixs in the world with the exception of Team Mouse cars. After owning and selling a 3 door Levin, I wanted something different so when the 2 door Levin was offered to me I did all I could to own it so much so that I convinced the ex owner to let me have it and pay him off monthly!! I still aim to own a Trueno one day.

What do you like about your 86?
I love that the 2 door is much rarer than the hatchback. Eight six’s are a common sight at UK drift events now but very rarely is there a 2 door. The 2 door shell is far more responsive in corners and when drifted than my hatchback was but that may be down to suspension setup. I love that you HAVE to drive the car, you cannot rely on power to compensate for mistakes in corners, so satisfying to catch much more powerful cars on tight and twisty tracks/roads.

What do you hate about your 86?
Rust, bane of any hachi. It also has the little problems that make all eight sixs unique.

How many times did it piss you off so much that you wanted to sell it?
My hatch pissed me off so much that I swapped it for an RX7 which was the worst mistake I’ve ever made. I hated the rotary engine, which is a shame because they are stunning looking cars. I’d own another RX7 if it had a proper piston engine like James Deanes Prodrift SRX7. With the 2 door, i’ve learnt to except its little flaws and appreciate that nothing i’ve driven before or since has put a smile on my face like wringing the neck of the little 4AGE all the way to 8000rpm!

How many times did you crash your 86?
I’ve never “crashed” any car I’ve owned, I’ve had the odd drift related bump but never crashed properly. I wouldn’t want too either! the metal is so thin on them I probably wouldn’t survive. eeesh!!

Got a blog or a website where we can follow you?
No blog or website, I just drive my car daily and drive it hard. The way I think all Corollas should be driven, flat out.

Hidden deep in the English version of JDM Options website lies a translated article featuring many details of Ueo’s legendary Trueno. It won’t be fair to simply copy and paste the whole article though, we will just pick our most favourite part and let you enjoy the entire Engrish piece on the original site over here.

So how did Ueo managed to destroy others who had twice the horspepower? This might give you a hint…

“One of the secrets to the fact that Ueo hardly ever spins out is in the front tires. Since his debut, Ueo had always used 14 inch rims with 185 spec tires. The key setting in this setup is when the machine is drifting and the throttle is depressed, the front tires begin to slide as well. As result of this, when the countersteer is maxed out and the drift angle is at its peak, the vehicle still resists spinning out. If wider tires are installed on this setup, the deep angles that are currently exhibited would not be possible.”

See? We keep saying it over and over again, it’s all about balance and sometimes less is actually more. Keep that it mind!

Remember to visit Options site for the whole article, it’s definitely worth reading over if you haven’t seen it before. If you have the time then take a look at HR.com.au’s comprehensive post on Ueo too, it gives you an insight into his career like noone else does. Also, Super Street featured Ueo’s machine in 2009 as well.

Toms car started life as a regular kouki Levin that was rebuild to do some rallying. As you can see though it barely resembles a rally car these days thanks to its genuine Origin bodykit, although some parts like the Compomotive wheels or the huge rollcage are something that you can still see on almost every European rally machine.

It doesnt really stop with the usual “coilovers, LSD and wheels” mods this time. This car is a serious track machine with Wilwood brake kit, Whiteline swaybars and a fully built engine with standalone ECU waiting to be mounted in the engine bay. If you have places like the Spa Francorchamps and the infamous Nurburgring less then 100 miles away from home you know you have to take it seriously.

We gave Tom our standard set of questions so that he can tell you more about his 86 in his own way. Dont forget to check out his team-mates monkeymagic86 blog for a full speclist and hi-res photos!

Why did you pick the 86?
Long long time ago when I first noticed the hachiroku , I guess it was in an old bmi video, I felt like I should have one. I just loved the looks and the performance of it. Lightwheigt n/a rwd just sounded soo good. But being very unknown in my country and with almost no examples left I never considered buying one, especially not one out of my country. So after having sold my Honda S2000 this year (2011) and a mate having almost totally restored his ’86 Levin 2 door, who by the way teased me all the time that I should buy it, I finally bought that 86. Another factor was that a good mate owns a pumpkin orange Levin 2 door and showed me several times the pleasure of driving an 86.

Why this model and not a Trueno or a 3 door?
Pure coincidence, I never preferred a model! Every model got its own style and soul, every model can be made very beautiful. For now I feel like a 2 door is more like a man’s car. And it’s lighter too.

What do you like about your 86?
The smell of the interior, it smells like the cars has given a lot of smiles. I love that my 86 is very stiff and raw. I love that the 86 is a car from the 80s. The 80s and 90s are just my favorite production years. Another thing I love about the 86 is that is easy to work on.

What do you hate about your 86?
I hate that I love the car. Otherwise I would just missile it to junk like a lot of people are doing it over the world. But a LHD 86 in good shape just became too rare to do so.

How many times did it piss you off so much that you wanted to sell it?
Almost after every trackday some bits had to be replaced or serviced but it never came into my mind to sell it. That doesn’t means that it hasn’t pissed me off!

How many times did you crash your 86?
Went off the track several times but never crashed it. Well I only drove it for one season until now.

Got a blog or a website where we can follow you?
You can follow team NBU on my mate’s blog with the orange Levin – monkeymagic86.wordpress.com

Thanks for your time Tom! To all you out there: if you want your car to be featured on our blog, dont be shy and email us or send us a message on Facebook!

No matter if you love the series or hate all the hype around it, you have to admit that this is one really well build AE86. And as you probably noticed its an exact replica of the famous tofu supplier.

And when we say exact replica we mean it. It obviously doesnt have a race spec Silvertop that revs to 12.000 rpm but otherwise it has absolutely everything taken from the cartoon version.

The base is of course a zenki GT-Apex Trueno that sits on 14×6.5 Watanabe RS (just like in the series, right?). The car was build by Carland 86, one of the most respected AE86 specialists in Japan. They added a few bits and pieces that make this Trueno not only look good but go pretty fast too.

Like we said earlier its not a race-spec Silvertop but were sure this slightly tuned Blacktop can make the drive interesting too. Naturally theres a TRD LSD and a set of Carland 86s own suspension too. The Type-D exhaust is also from Carland 86 and amogst others there are parts like Custo sway bars, Endless CC-X brake pads, KOYO cooler and many more.

While you have to be Akira Iida to get the same engine as in the series you wont have any big issues with replicating the interior. This 86 has it all – red zenki interior, obligatory cup holders and a tiny rev counter on the steering wheel column. And dont forget the ItalVolanti wheel.

And thats it. Were still not sure if we should love it or hate it but we have to say that this is one damn well build Corollas. What do you guys think?

Garage Hachi’s Kev and Dave built a pair of absolutely amazing Corollas and we’re not saying that just because we have a soft spot for Trueno Coupes and biege 3-door Levins. Lets take a look at Dave’s Trueno first…

The 2-door chassis with a Trueno front is something that can really divide AE86’s fans. Some see it as an ultimate representation of the 80’s futuristic design and love it above everything else, others think its a hideous abomination and can’t get over it. We weren’t sure about it when we started learning about AE86s too but as time passed and we were getting older and more mature (haha), we couldn’t ressist and fell in love with its boxy shape as well.

Dave’s 86 started life as a Kouki reverse-panda in Japan before it was imported to Ireland with the help of Powervehicles. After having a lot of fun with it over the time Dave gave the chassis a full restoration this summer and added a few goods to that to get his car where it is now. Amongh them was a complete grey metallic paintjob and a set of bronze Rays TE37Vs.

And as you can see the combination works great. Here’s more detailed info Dave sent us about his ride..

Early front splitter combo with Runfree aero, flared steel arches, full respray in special colour
Original 16v T-VIS 4A-GE
Standard T50 and LSD drum axle (for now!)
Fujitsubo Super Ex Header, stainless decat into Fujitsubo Legalis R muffler
Complete ARC super intake system;
Coilovers all round with 6kg front, 5kg rear MCN springs, all MCN/AVO dampers;
Volk TE37V: front 14×8.5 -5 with 185/55 Yokohama, 14×9 -15 with 195/60 Falken
C’s shifter, works bell rapfix, Nardi, And some other interior comforts

We can’t help it but in our eyes this is the perfect way to build a Corolla. While it has some decent parts here and there (we especially dig the Fujitsubo catback and ARC intake), its not overdone with unnecessary mods. This should be an example to everyone who wants to mod their 86s!

Just like in Derryl’s case we asked Dave and Kev to tell us a bit more about their Corollas. Here are Dave’s answers.

Why did you pick the 86?
Its a small, lightweight, rear wheel drive car with almost videogame inspired 80’s boxy looks, and lots of tuning parts available. Also I saw how much fun two of my good friends were having with them while I was struggling with an overweight and underpowered rwd euro project.

Why this model and not a Levin or a 3 door?
I just loved the shape of the two door Trueno, the sloping angulare lines and pop up lights are awesome, plus its the rarest body type in Ireland and I wanted something a little different to what most 86ers had here.

What do you like about your 86?
The handling, the character of the 4AGE, the pure fun of driving it everywhere, endless modifications and improvements.

What do you hate about your 86?
Noisy drivetrain, gear ratios are a bit impractical sometimes, and the endless modifications and improvements…

How many times did it piss you off so much that you wanted to sell it?
Never! Although sometimes I think about having a second, more practical companion car, but the 86 will never go. I can always take the motorbike if I need a break from 4 wheels.

How many times did you crash your 86?
Crash is a strong word, splitter eating roundabout in the rain, and quarter panel hitting a fence in the snow are about the worst of it ;)

Got a blog or a website where we can follow you?
yep, www.garagehachi.com
cheers!

Next up is Kev’s tough looking Levin!

Well this one is a little more special then the other ones we’ve featured before.

You see, the real magic happens over here, in the back…

See what we mean?

Thats right! Might not be the prettiest setup around but it sure does the job.

Heres a shot from another angle. Whats you opinion people, is it awesome or is it failing hard?

The interior setup is pretty tough too. Driving seat moved further back, hydraulic pedals, easily accesible ECU and relocated battery… and just look at that shifter!

We don’t have any specs so its pretty hard to guess whats underneath these cam covers but no matter what setup it is running we’re pretty sure it has to be amazing behind the wheel. Besides we all know that the 4AG can be pretty alive even with few basic mods…

One last shot from different angle reveals this 86’s cooling setup. We’ve seen a few track ready Corollas in our lives but this has to be one of the toughest ones ever.

One year is a lot of time so we messaged Derryl to find out if theres anything new and it turned out that a lot happened since 2010. First thing to mension is definitely the conversion from USDM bumpers to JDM kouki ones. And then back to USDM… We cant blame him for that, ever since we saw our friends USDM Trueno in real life (dont laugh, theyre impossible to get in Europe) we kinda started to like them too.

Derryl also went for a bit different wheel setup. He had a pair of his awesome Impul Hoshinos widened from 7,5″ ET-1 to 9″ with ET -22. Honestly we didnt expect them to fit this well in the back.

Few more upgrades include a 4,77 final drive with Weir Performance spool and a RS Yasu induction box for his 20 valve. If you want to know Derryls entire setup you can chack his build thread at Club4AG.

But this 86 isnt really meant to impress with its spec list. Its build to drive and that exactly what it did this year. Derryl even took it to All Star Bash at Willow Springs this summer (which makes us pretty jealous). And as a true 86er hes not afraid to take it out when everyone else should be in bed…

Oh and one more thing.

We thought it might be a good idea to spice up these features a little bit by letting the owners tell about their 86s their own way. So from now on we will try to give everyone this set of questions to see how they personally feel about their cars. Derryl was really open with his answers and we thank him for that!

Why did you pick the 86?

What inspired me to get an ae86 was influenced by my older brother. He bought a kouki corolla hatchback back in 2002 when I was only a sophomore in high school. I helped him and did a lot of work on that car and thought it was the coolest thing ever. When it came to my 16th birthday my dad bought me my first car, a red 1985 toyota corolla gt-s hatchback for 400 dollars. It was beat and needed a ton of work since it sat in a junkyard for seven years. From those experiences is how my obsession started.

Why this model and not a Levin or a 2 door?

In the United states we didn’t get the levin or fixed headlight corollas due to strict safety standards regarding headlight size and crash regulations. We were only sold the trueno version with the retractable pop up headlights and 5mph crash bumpers. I owned a kouki coupe that was two tone red and black but I was rear ended by a careless driver only four months after GT-S swapping the chassis.

What do you like about your 86?

What I like about my 86 is the individualism about it. Unlike a s-chassis where you can buy a bunch of parts off eBay and everyone has the same mods a 86 is more personal since there are a lot of one off parts that have been discontinued, are hard to obtain, but mostly that you have to fabricate parts to work.

What do you hate about your 86?

The thing I hate the most about my 86 is that it makes me feel guilty. By guilty I don’t mean because almost all of my money goes into a car; by guilt it is because I bought this car from the original owner who kept it in it’s original form unmolested. I feel like drifting, hard driving, and being driven daily (by me) is destroying this car. But on the other hand I hate seeing cars that are built and are just admired by looking at them. My ae86 has over 35x,xxx miles and I bought it at 300!

How many times did it piss you off so much that you wanted to sell it?

My car always pisses me off but it’s never the car that makes me want to sell it, it’s always me who wants to start with a new chassis. For a while I went through a Cressida stage which I bought a mx83 (and resold) and even a mk2 supra which I rebuilt the engine on and made coilovers for and also sold the car. If you look online you’ll see that I’ve tried to sell this car five times over the years and actually have had a buyer that was willing to give me 6 grand the next day. But the thought of seeing someone else own my car is heartbreaking and through even the worst situations I will hold onto this car.

How many times did you crash your 86?

I’ve crashed this car a few times. I drifted at all star bash XI this year and hit a hay bale with my passenger side door. It caved in pretty bad but I was able to pop it out with my palm after taking off the door panel. Video to repair -> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivgaZG25PTk . I’ve also put this chassis half way off a mountain pass road and have gone backwards up a curb. As I mentioned before it does make me feel guilty but drifting and driving this car is so much fun. My first corolla had it way worse when I totaled it doing manjis in the rain. I spun out, hit a curb and slid on top of the curb. I flattened every frame rail on the car, broke a control arm, bent a spindle, bent a axle, bent two wheels, and kinked my exhaust.

Got a blog or a website where we can follow you?

I do have a blog but rarely blog onelungderryl.blogspot.com. But I do have a build thread that I update regularly on both club4ag and norcaldrift.

Thanks again Derryl!