Remember When Corollas Were Cool?
More Than Transportation

If you’re reading this, it’s pretty much a given that you know someone who has owned a Toyota Corolla at some point. It’s the world’s best-selling car after all, and in its nearly 50 years of existence it’s been built, sold and driven by millions in countries on every corner of the planet. The Corolla is the ultimate manifestation of Toyota’s philosophy of building affordable automobiles that will last a lifetime.

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I don’t think there’s any way you could call today’s Corolla a bad car. Go buy one and you’ll be sure to get hundreds of thousands miles of reliable service out of it. It’s probably the car you’d recommend to someone who doesn’t know anything about them.

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However, if you are looking for excitement during your daily commute a new Corolla probably isn’t the car for you. It, like many of the other cars in the current Toyota lineup, is something you buy with your brain and not with your heart. It’s for people who consider resale value, fuel economy and reliability scores over performance or emotional appeal.

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It hasn’t always been like that though. Sure, the Corolla has always been about value above all – but within just a few years of it’s debut in the late 1960s Toyota was already offering the car with its advanced DOHC four-cylinder engines, and they were starting to pop up in various motorsport competitions around the world.

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It might not have been the car that young boys dreamed of, but with the right options it was a car that aspiring enthusiasts could buy and enjoy on a daily basis. It was a perfect mix of Toyota’s famous reliability and a driving character that was similar to more temperamental European machinery.

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Things got even better in the early 1980s when the AE86 debuted and went on to become a cult icon – not just in Japan – but around the world. Even after the Corolla moved on to a front-wheel drive platform, Toyota continued to offer the car with with hot engines – namely the 20-valve variant of the 4A-GE with factory quad throttle bodies.

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As the years went on and new millennium came, the Corolla lost its luster and seemed to become strictly a vehicle for basic transportation. Today you are more likely to see a unicorn than a Corolla equipped with a manual transmission, and you certainly won’t find many sporting aspirations in the current model, despite badges that try to tell you otherwise.

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So while current car buyers will probably be looking elsewhere for fun, the passion that people have for old Corollas seems to be growing stronger everyday. Which brings me to one enthusiast from Japan named Manabu Mitsumori.

From Turbo To NA
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If Manabu’s name surrounds familiar, it might because of his affiliation from the Spirant drift team. A few years ago he could be found drifting a rather badass high-powered JZX100 Chaser, but after having his fun with the big turbocharged four-door sedan he wanted to do something different.

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So he traded heavy six-cylinder turbo power for lightweight four-cylinderr NA response in the form of the good old Toyota Corolla. In the time since he’s become a bit of a Corolla maniac.

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Manabu’s owned an AE86 and also has a beat-up Corolla sedan that he trashes on the track, but his pride and joy is this AE70 Sprinter coupe built with the help of N-Style.

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That brings me to another great thing about old Corollas – you could get them in all sorts of body styles. If you were to go the dealer in the early ’80s you could have yourself a Corolla sedan, a hatchback, a wagon – with the rarest of the bunch being the sleek looking coupe you see here.

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After getting his hands on the rare Corolla few years ago, Mitsumori-san has proceeded to create one of the coolest examples of the 70-chassis Corolla that we’ve ever seen.

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While this particular car left the factory with Toyota’s modest 1.5-liter 3A-U engine, it’s now equipped with the proven second-gen ‘Black Top’ 20-valve 4A-GE sourced from an AE111 Corolla.

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The 4A-GE has never been known as a powerhouse engine, but if you are looking for lots of revs and the ability to drift with your foot firmly planted on the floor, this is the way to go.

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Engine modifications are limited and have been made with response and reliability in mind rather than raw horsepower. There’s a stainless header running into a custom exhaust system, and an upgraded radiator and Trust oil cooler to keep things cool during those long drift sessions.

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The AE70 shares most of its chassis design with the popular AE86, so that means there’s no shortage of options when it comes to suspension. Up front are Kassou Kurabu coilovers with Swift springs, and there’s a custom short-stroke shock setup in the rear with 6kg springs.

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Other chassis modifications include adjustable lower arms, tension rods, roll center adjusters and custom knuckles to provide maximum steering angle when the Corolla heads out to places like Nikko Circuit.

Corolla Otaku
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Owning multiple Corollas, Mitsumori-san swaps wheels often. In these photos the car is seen wearing 15×9-inch -9 offset SSR Longchamp XR-4s on each corner with some serious hippari tire fitment. More recently, though, he’s changed over to flat-black Work Meisters for an RWB-esque look.

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The sleek look of the Corolla’s body was a big reason why Mitsumori-san was drawn to this particular car in the first place, so it’s not surprising that exterior changes have been kept to a minimum. The front lights and grille are from a TE71 Levin; the front and rear fenders have both been widened by two centimeters and there’s also the requisite front chin spoiler.

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Finally, the Corolla has been coated in a unique shade of dark green with a few added custom pinstripes that give it a bit of a hot rod vibe.

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Open the AE70’s doors and you’ll find a cockpit that’s a nice mix of old school styling and functional upgrades for those frequent drift meets.

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Like a lot of cars in Japan this one gets used on both the street and the track, so along with the functional audio system you’ll also find a single Bride bucket seat with a Takata harness for Manabu to buckle up in.

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The back seat has been completely removed and from this view you can also spot the full bolt-in roll cage to keep things safe and rigid.

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What I especially like though, is the way that so much of the car’s original blue interior has been left intact. You gotta love those old school striped seats!

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This car is stylish, unique and gets driven to the limit. Most importantly, it has a ton of passion behind it – there’s really nothing else you can ask for.

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So while the Toyota Corolla of 2014 might be for those who think of driving as an annoying chore, there will – thankfully – always be people like Mitsumori-san out there to remind us of the nameplate’s younger, more exciting days.

Mike Garrett
Instagram: speedhunters_mike
mike@speedhunters.com

Photos by Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com

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1

I'm not so sure the 90's corollas will get the same attention.

2

are those rear speakers literally just floating around back there, not attached to anything?  lol.

3

Love the extra tyres in the boot! Neat car!

4

own one of this... in the process making it look like this :)

5

My son has been waiting months for this feature!  This car is the reason he bought one in January.  We're currently doing a manual swap with later plans for a real 4age.  Thanks for posting this guys!  This car has more mojo than a majority of the AE86's I see all the time!  Here's a pic:
[URL=http://s566.photobucket.com/user/jasonbringle/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpg.htmlIMGhttp://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss101/jasonbringle/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpg/IMG/URL]

6

I love the Hotrod style writing on the rear with the words: "Fuckin ECOcar". It's so badass, hahaha!
It isn't a makover of this car is it? http://www.speedhunters.com/2011/12/random_snap_gt_gt_tough_ae70/

7

I love this car. I remember us having a family car like this 10 or so years ago. It was a lift back though. It was dark blue, brown interior, a very cramped rear seat and a carb'ed engine. I believe it had a 4K in it. It was my first pedal to the metal, and I remember it throwing flames when I let off the accelerator. LOL! I wish my parents didn't sell it.

8

Corollas have always been cool and still are...heres mine

9

About time this post came up!

10

Finally...

11

the cool factor stopped after the castrol rally corolla. after that everything went to more "grocery getters". but much respect to toyota for building top quality cars and taking inspiration from the ae86 corolla for building the frs/gt86/brz.

12

Been waiting for a post on this car for so long. Been following him for a while. I do love my E7 corolla.

13

Corolla have always been a soft spot. The sound the smell. Arr cant get much better!

14

Do want.

15

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17

So I saw a Corolla AE70 just like this on my parents street the other day. It's that really rare this car? That one was very beat up, looking really bad, rust, almost no paint (I guess it was red), but working, engine inside, all windows in good shape, interior was really damaged.
Do you think that is worth save it from death? I guess I can buy it for less than 400 euro.
The only thing that is keeps me for thinking about this project is the fact that I already have one project in garage.
Any advice?

18

Lol they just attached by the magnet

19

greenroadster What country do you live in? You should consider the prices of parts and scrap, as well as how many of these were brought in. Maybe the struggle for parts (if you desire the OEM look).

20

"Toyota continued to offer the car with with hot engines – namely the 20-valve variant of the 4A-GE with factory quad throttle bodies."
20 valve engines with FACTORY quad throttle bodies!  Toyota, what happend to you, I dont know who you are anymore lol

21

Where is the Corolla? All I can see is a Sprinter?

22

when my wife and I were still dating, I convinced her to buy an 03 corolla with a manual transmission. we have been together for four years and drive it every day. Still no unicorn sightings.

23

KE70 are still famous in here. Even my grandfather had it (sold 8 months before he passed away).

24

JakWhite 90's rolla is already fwd

25
CharlesChris15

anyone know where i could buy one of these? i checked google but not alot of help on there.

26

Ryen Miller That's hilarious.  haha.

27

xExx chassis love

28

Corollas are still cool!!! Ah... i'm so tempted to get a 20v.
Damn you guys!!!!

29

Love these old cars. So enjoyable.

30

CharlesChris15 I'm selling my blue AE70 Sprinter in Melbourne if you're after a big project, it's on Gumtree.

31
Slappy Pistons

corollas were never not cool!

32

I know right! Wel at least qe got the proud Prius right now!

33

I should post mine here too, but she isn't ready yet.

34

I love the 4way tire wrench in the passenger door-

35

the profile and the proportions of this car is just so perfect

36

@Saame greenroadster  I live in Romania. And any car older than 15-20 years is considered museum piece or junk. So, sourcing and kind of parts will have to be from internet.

38

Ae71 wagon 20V silvertop

39

cheers!

40

They still are cool! Still have mine 23 years later, though time to move on....

42

Absolutely love this car, it has more cool and character in one wheel nut than my DC5 has altogether, suffice to say its now my favourite desktop slideshow.  Why cant I find any 80's corollas in the UK for sale!

43

Hello Engine 3 sge between age 4 Bhtrn Which? In terms of efficiency and power?

44

Corollas will always be cool! Levin & Trueno all the way!! ^^

45

CharlesChris15 AE70 in Philippines USD5000.  We ship worldwide.  Visit: http://www.c-autoperformance.webs.com

Thanks
Philip

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