God I love AE86s!

Lets get down to business then. We already featured this immaculate Levin on our Czech blog once but we love it some much that we cant miss it out over here too. We featured it mainly to show how amazing zenki Levins can look because theres too many Levin owners who blindly convert to kouki frontends without really giving the zenki look any chances… but heres a proof that it works too!

And to be honest we dont think you can get any cleaner then this. Our jaws dropped from many 86s over time but this is a whole different level. This is the embodiment of perfection. And it also shows that simple things are often the most beautiful ones. At first glance this car looks solid, natural and smooth.

There are no unnecessarily wide and provocative fenders and the XR4 SSRs show that 14″ inch wheels are just right for the AE86. It all seems JUST right. Oh and by the way these 6.5″ wide Longchamps costed about 200 USD.

This coupe isnt perfect only because of its looks though, the technical side isnt far behind. Theres a 20 valve blacktop under the bonnet with no silly mods, its all focused on balance.

Same goes for the interior, the balance between the Nardi wheel, Bride seat and air con combines both maximum driver imput and a decent amount of comfort for the trip to the local track or hills in hot summer evenings.

Well, thats how a usual post would end. But we have a small bonus for you this time because we found these amazing sketches when digging through the owners blog. Pretty amazing, isnt it?

The fact that the AE86 is the last sporty rear wheel drive Corolla is known even amongst people who arent interested in Toyotas that much. The number of versions in which it was produced might confuse even people who own an 86 though. This article should help you if youre lost in all those models like most of us were at some point.

Lets start with the “AE86″ code itself and its meaning. Toyota terminology says that the first letter marks the engine type, second letter marks the model code and third marks the generation of that model. The A then stands for the 4A-GE engine, E is the letter used for the Corolla model range and 8 marks the fifth generation of this model (E8). The last number 6 should stand for the sixth revision of the Corolla model. So the “AE86″ can be translated as “sixth revision of the fifth generation of Corolla model range with A series engine.” But we dont really recommend saying it like that in public since you wont get any more girls in your life after that.

Hatchback vs. Coupe

Corolla AE86 came in two body versions: three-door hatchback and two-door coupe. While the coupe was about 10 to 15 kilograms lighter and had a slightly more rigit chassis, the hatchback was more popular and also much more practical. While there are plenty of 86s available in the US and Japan, finding a nice example in the rest of the world is pretty hard. If youre planning to buy an AE86, we recommend picking the one thats in better shape even if its not the body type you want.

Levin vs. Trueno

There are some big differences in the 86s front too. There were two versions of AE86s front made: one with fixed headlights known as “Levin” and one with pup-up headlights known as “Trueno“. However only the Japanese buyers could choose between these two versions, other markets recieved only one model. While the North American buyers had only pop-up Truenos, European markets offered only the fixed Levin version. There are more differences in each region but we will talk about that in a separate article.

GT vs. SR

There are some significant differences under the 86s hood too. Not every AE86 was powered by the legendary 4A-GE twincam engine. A less powerful model with a a single cam and a carburetor 4A-C engine was offered too. This 70bhp model is known as SR in Europe and SR-5 in North America. This model had a different rear axle with drum brakes and an open differential instead of a limited slip unit. The Japanese version was offered with a slightly different 1500cc 3A-U engine and is reffered to as an AE85. While the American and European buyers could only choose between the GT and SR model, the Japanese recieved many more trim versions like GT-Apex or GTV.

The 4A-GE version was equipped with a mechanical LSD from the factory, had disc brakes on all four wheels and a more sporty interior.

Zenki vs. Kouki

The last major difference between AE86s is the one  between models that came before and after the facelift which it recieved in the middle of 1985. Early models are reffered to as “zenki” and late models are known as “kouki” like with most other Japanse cars. Revised models recieved mainly cosmetic changes. The only techincal change that you should be aware of was the slight enlargement of rear driveshafts which make the zenki and kouki LSDs not interchangable. Slight changes were also made to the brake booster.

The easiest way tell apart between zenki and kouki models is by the head and tail lights and front bumper (except the US model which used the same bumpers even after 1985). Facelifted bumpers had larger turn signals that were extended into corners (check out the left photo). Kouki Levins also recieved little headlight eyelids and a lexan mask instead of a regular black plastic grille. Many 86 owners however like to mix things up and its pretty regular to see kouki Levins with zenki radiator masks and so on…

The thing that will really confuse you however are the tailKapitolou samou pro sebe jsou pak zadní světla. Každá modelová variace dostala svůj vlastní design světel a tyto designy se navíc měnili i u regionálních verzí. Proto můžete na evropských kouki Levinech vidět japonská zenki světla a na amerických Truenech zase japonská Levin kouki světla. Více o těchto rozdílech se dočtete ZDE.

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!

PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5
PART 6

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.