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.

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.

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!

境様、お忙しい中でのご回答誠に有難う御座います。

Sakai-san: My name is Sakai and I run the auto shop motorFIX in Japan. Thank you very much for taking a look at our website and approaching us.

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86ers.org: Thank you for your time. First question that comes to most peoples mind is how you got into modifying old Corollas and what is it that most attracts you to them? Japan is full of powerful turbocharged cars and finding these days someone who still drives cars like the 86 on race tracks is more and more difficult.

Sakai-san: Theres still a lot of AE86s around us. But there are less and less cars with chassis in good condition. MotorFIX is an ordinary auto shop and I like the KE70 so naturally a group of people who like the same things gathered around this place over time.

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86ers.org: The AE86 is considered one of the biggest japanese drifting legends but you like the KE70 more. Why do you prefer this Corolla generation?

Sakai-san: The 70 appeals to me because its unique and you can use most of the AE86 parts. The chassis is completely identical.

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86ers.org: A lot of people around us asks why are your cars so rusty at first glance. Is there a special reason to that?

Sakai-san: Unfourtunetly humidity is very high in Japan and cars rust in this enviroment very easily. Exterior parts are very hard to find for the 70 and repairs are more expensive then with the AE86. Even though its boro these 70s have a lot of milage ahead of them… and I also like the typical atmosphere which the rusty chassis evokes. I think that there is a lot of young people these days who cannot afford tires or gas because they buy exterior mods or pointless crashes. “Even though its boro the ride is cool!”… Thats one of motorFIXs motto.

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86ers.org: We can find the Blacktop 4AGE under the bonnet of many of your cars, what is the reason why you prefer this engine?

Sakai-san: Since the 70 has more or less the same chassis as the AE86 then swaping any kind of 4AG is very simple. However an engine that has more then 20 years of work behind it requires many repairs and a lot of money. Thats the reason why we choose the 5 valve Blacktop which is also a 4A but newer and less problematic. Even in stock form it produces 165hp which used to be the power oh modified 4 valve 4AGs and thats enough power for the light 70.

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86ers.org: We heard that the Japanese police has become very strict these days and modifications are more limited then before. Does it happen to you that you recieve fines for illegal mods? Or do the police officers say stuff like “Oh hey look, its an old Corolla, I remember having one back in the days”?

Sakai-san: Modified cars with road registration have an authorization technical check so modifications are without problems. AE86s are being pulled over often because they are something as a symbol of modified cars but the 70 was never pulled over.

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86ers.org: How is the AE86 being seen today in Japan in your opinion? Do the people still see it as the same car it was 15 years ago when drifting was just becoming popular and when it was cheap and affordable? Its been more then 25 years now and a well preserved piece is more expensive then an avarage S13 or R32 and so many beginners in drifting tend to choose these newer turbo platforms over the Corolla…

Sakai-san: Corollas in good condition are expensive but  you can buy acceptable pieces cheap. But as you say todays young generation tends to buy turbocharged cars that are cheaper and more powerful then the AE86.

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86ers.org: This is a more general question but how do you Japanese who showed the world professional drifting see drifting in the rest of the world? What do you think about the evolution of drifting in the US and in Europe?

Sakai-san: I think that just like with Judo and other sports the rules will change and the form and directions will be set by America and Europe. I personally think that the ideal state is when normal people can enjoy drifting as a normal, simple hobby.

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86ers.org: When it comes to professional drifting, everyone immediately thinks of D1GP. What do you think about this racing series? Cars are becomming faster every year and it all cost more and more money.

Sakai-san: Tracks like Fuji and Suzuka dominate in the series and there you need power under the hood at all costs. The speed and dynamics of this drifting is logicaly redeemed with huge money. But I guess you cant do anything about this growing level when you as a professional recieve money from your customers (sponsors).

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86ers.org: We are from the exact opposite end of the world but is there still something you would like to tell our readers at the end?

Sakai-san: I still remember the amazing feeling when I first drifted my car and I got blown by the “drift wind”. Ever since then I am poisoned with drifting! LOL

motorFIX
堺　望
〒501-1106
岐阜県岐阜市石谷429-14
TEL&FAX – 058-235-7776
http://www.motorfix.jp
info (at) motorfix.jp

ｍ（．＿．）ｍ アリガト