A Rare Carina GT-R Made To Drift

The popularity of Toyota’s AE86 in Japanese drifting circles isn’t showing any signs of waning, so I wasn’t at all surprised to see a massive 4A-G class at the recent Black Mark Day drift event.

It’s almost a resistance to the big-power builds that are slowly becoming the norm even at grassroots level, which is good, because it’s nice to have a variety of cars and driving styles. And we all know how hard you have to push yourself as a driver to keep up with powerful cars when you’re behind the wheel of something with 150hp at best!

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And it’s among the sea of these high-revving, screaming AE86s and KE70s that I came across this rarity – an AA63 Carina GT-R.

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The angular coupe was sitting on a set of Techno Phantoms, painted with a few coats of flat black and wearing appropriately-chunky rubber.

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Aside from a few bruises around the rear arches, probably caused by an attempt at persuading them to accept the tighter-fitting wheels, the car was pretty much spotless.

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I come across quite a few AA63 Carina sedans, but a two-door GT-R version… I really can’t remember the last time I saw one.

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These things are truly rare. They still maintain the boxy sedan look, but it’s stretched out over a more flowing coupe body.

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I stumbled on the car early in the morning, so the owner hadn’t yet had a chance to fit his drift tyres at the back – specifically stretched 14-inch budget rubber mounted on RS Watanabe wheels that look like they’ve seen a lot of action.

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Of course, little power means you don’t go through tyres anywhere near as quickly as owners of turbo cars do, and the guys in this class had one or two pairs of spares only. Drifting on a budget right here!

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Sticky Dunlop Direzzas take care of providing grip at the front.

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I really love how these cars require only a few simple touches to look their best.

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Throw on a front lip spoiler and roll the fenders are you’re ready to go.

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It’s not hard to see why there’s an ever-growing attraction to these rides from the ’80s. Given the sheer variety of body styles and the fact that they look nothing like the cars that manufacturers are churning out today, there’s a lot to love.

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This car had obviously been cared for during the first part of its life as it’s in great shape, right down to the various trim pieces. Either that or Toyota used to build cars a little better back then. A bit of both for sure.

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I asked the owner to give me a quick look under the bonnet and a swarm of Corolla owners came over, including Taku whose black KE70 we saw in the main event post. The 4A-G in this car has traded its fuel injection for a pair of Solex side-draught carbs, and with that added a totally unmistakable character and feel.

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Despite being obviously under-powered compared to the big JZX builds out at Nikko on Black Mark Day, the Carina looked great sliding through the twisty infield section. But it was the smile on the owner’s face that told the story – power isn’t everything!

Dino Dalle Carbonare
Instagram: speedhunters_dino
dino@speedhunters.com

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1

Great Post

2

AA63 Carina GT-R might be rare now cause that car is old, but in its day it was normal. The $AG engine was in everything then. The GT and GT-R Carina's were just too plain heavy for drifting. People opted for the GT-TR came with the 3T-GTEU. Turbo charged yamaha engine. Lots of my friends had them growing up. They were pretty fast. One has the ultra rare 4T-GTEU. Was made strictly for rally and only 228 ever made.

3
Chris 'Haffy' Hafner

It looks like a grown up 86. Super rare to a point where if you had this car in Australia, people would stab you if you even thought of taking it to a track.

4

Nice feature of a car I've never seen before.
ryukyustriker How heavy are these things? I guess by todays standards you wouldn't call them heavy but compared to the AE86 right?

5

Looks so good!

6

Great find, didn't even know a gt-r Version of the carina existed!

7

Honestly...she's a beauty and rare girl! Amazing. Real JDM culture.

8

GregoryS As real as it gets :)

9

@JDMjunkies She's a looker uh

10

Max @Ghettoporsche ryukyustriker Looked pretty nimble on track!

11

Chris 'Haffy' Hafner hahaha

12

TSLegendary How much does your S30 weigh?

13

No interior shot!? Those bride seats look quite nice sitting in there.

14

ryukyustriker *Yamaha designed head, much like the 4age and Beams 3sge

15

I own 2 carina GTR sedans. Yes they are definitely heavier than AE86. By how much not sure. Track width approx 150-200mm wider. Wheelbase also longer for sure. Brilliant chassis, celica based.

16

Now we like to see the Crown & Cressida 2 door GTs make some smoke

17

Max @Ghettoporsche ryukyustriker There are several variants, because the factory 4AGE/3TGTE versions had independent rear suspension which made them a bit heavier than live axle.
Lower spec models had live axle (panhard and 4 link like AE86)
I've got a live axle version with beams motor and 6 speed box that's 970kg with an empty tank of gas, full interior but no sound deadening.
There arent many 4AGE versions left, because most of them rusted out and the motor and box were worth more than the car. Carinas and Celicas  were a large source of parts for AE85>AE86 conversions.
My car is painted the same colour as the car pictured, but twin headlights from a wagon.
I use it for trackdays, it's pretty good fun. Slowly getting quicker lap times as I get more confident driving it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=127&v=DBGYkttBwq8

18

Max @Ghettoporsche ryukyustriker There are several variants, because the factory 4AGE/3TGTE versions had independent rear suspension which made them a bit heavier than live axle.
Lower spec models had live axle (panhard and 4 link like AE86)
I've got a live axle version with beams motor and 6 speed box that's 970kg with an empty tank of gas, full interior but no sound deadening.
There arent many 4AGE versions left, because most of them rusted out and the motor and box were worth more than the car. Carinas and Celicas  were a large source of parts for AE85>AE86 conversions.
My car is painted the same colour as the car pictured, but twin headlights from a wagon.
I use it for trackdays, it's pretty good fun. Slowly getting quicker lap times as I get more confident driving it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=127&v=DBGYkttBwq8

19

@Roman 
Oh man I could talk cars for days =D
I really like your Carina! I can't watch the video at work but will do that in the evening!
Do you have a buildthread or anything about the car?

20

@Roman 
Oh man I could talk cars for days =D
I really like your Carina! I can't watch the video at work but will do that in the evening!
Do you have a buildthread or anything about the car?

21

@JDMjunkies And also a GT, GT-S and GT-TR

22

I've gone threw great lenths to bring her down as much as possible but remain my daily driver.
Last time i wieghted her she was at about 2100lb without me in it. 1/4 tank in. Replaced almost every component with either fiberglass or chromoly steel. I actually removed the original dash board and gauges and installed a custom PDK race dashboard and intellitronix gauges because they were about 5 oz lighter then most gauges i found. Im a bit of a wieght freak.

23

2255* Edit that. Sorry about this.

24

@JDMjunkies same platform as contemporary Celicas (you probably knew that, sorry!) and these are actually better looking IMO than the A60 Celica notchback.  Definitely a unicorn/dream car for me just because.  So cool.

25

@JDMjunkies same platform as contemporary Celicas (you probably knew that, sorry!) and these are actually better looking IMO than the A60 Celica notchback.  Definitely a unicorn/dream car for me just because.  So cool.

26

@JDMjunkies same platform as contemporary Celicas (you probably knew that, sorry!) and these are actually better looking IMO than the A60 Celica notchback.  Definitely a unicorn/dream car for me just because.  So cool.

27

Max @Ghettoporsche Yes please I'd also love to know more about your Carina :)

28

ryukyustriker From what I understood the 3T-GTEU was quite difficult to tune and it is much heavier than the 4A-GE powered Carina.

The Carina coupe and Celica AA63 weight 1095kg and 1140kg while the AE86 weighs 960kg. That is quite a lot of weight difference. But the TA63 version of the Carina coupe weighs 1160kg mostly due to the W series transmission and the heavier engine. So the 3T has to haul even more weight nevertheless it should not matter as the Turbo should have a lot more torque.

29

Max @Ghettoporsche ryukyustriker 
Coupe versions:

GT: 1085
GT-R: 1095
GT-T: 1145
GT-TR: 1160

30

Leofred2000 For this generation no GT-S version existed. But it did feature indeed the GT, GT-R, GT-T and GT-TR

31

Thanks for sharing Dino!
You made me a very happy Carina owner today and it was a nice way to get fully awake after opening up Feedly and seeing a Carina GT-R on the first feature. :)
The grille badge suggests the grille got swapped as the rest of the car seem to be original. There is no difference between the kouki SE and GT/GT-R grille apart from the badge though.

32

phil morrison from driftworks once said that a common mistake with people who get into drifting is that they think you need a lot of power to drift a car when really you don't need a high hp car and that some people who are really bad at driving use high powered cars to cover up their terrible driving skills.
I've always love grassroot drifting because most of the cars are lower in power but you end up having way more fun and you really have to get better at driving in order to have better control and style

33

@Tom Agreed.  The over-powered and pro-drifting guys just create big smoke shows.  Basically, just maintaining an extended burnout.

34

@Tom Agreed.  The over-powered and pro-drifting guys just create big smoke shows.  Basically, just maintaining an extended burnout.

35

There are crappy builds all over the world...including in Japan.

However, it seems that in Japan most fall into two categories:
1-Doesn't try too hard and creates a seemingly effortless aesthetic.
2-Tries SUPER hard with a resultant incredible execution.

This car is definitely in the "not trying too hard"...but in a good way category.


Sooo many US and Euro builds seem to fall in the murky middle.  Usually, with tons of stickers...yet still trying too hard.

LOL

36

There are crappy builds all over the world...including in Japan.

However, it seems that in Japan most fall into two categories:
1-Doesn't try too hard and creates a seemingly effortless aesthetic.
2-Tries SUPER hard with a resultant incredible execution.

This car is definitely in the "not trying too hard"...but in a good way category.


Sooo many US and Euro builds seem to fall in the murky middle.  Usually, with tons of stickers...yet still trying too hard.

LOL

37

Really nice car, reminds me of my childhood. My dad had a red Carina GTR back in the day with a nice bodykit, the car was really spacious. Sadly he sold it to one of my uncles and he didnt take care of it at all, the car literally ended in a trashcan.

38
speedhunters_dino

@CRR That's terrible :(

39
speedhunters_dino

@CRR That's terrible :(

40
speedhunters_dino

@KRACKEN Released LOL you are pretty right there

41
speedhunters_dino

banpei_net Cool a Carina owner! Thanks for sharing your knowledge :)

42

@KRACKEN Released And your comment falls into category of trying too hard to be a JDM fan boy :D

43
speedhunters_dino

ColeReeb It's a spotlight so a general and quick look at cars I spot

44
speedhunters_dino

@Roman Max @Ghettoporsche ryukyustriker Very cool!!

45
speedhunters_dino

@Roman Max @Ghettoporsche ryukyustriker Very cool!!

46
Chris 'Haffy' Hafner

@Vittorio Jano
Not really, he seems to know what is actually going on in the scene. Too many try hard builds, trying too hard to be JDM.

47
Chris 'Haffy' Hafner

@Vittorio Jano
Not really, he seems to know what is actually going on in the scene. Too many try hard builds, trying too hard to be JDM.

48

@KRACKEN Released  I agree. big burnouts and smoke is cool for some but not for me. team BURST and team Magician. those guys, along with other teams are so great at controlling their cars that its art to me. its beautiful and challenging all at the same time.  i'm glad I was introduced to grassroots drifting :)

49

@CRR What? OMG! That's bad! :o
Do you have any photos of your dads Carina GT-R?

50

@CRR What? OMG! That's bad! :o
Do you have any photos of your dads Carina GT-R?

51

@CRR What? OMG! That's bad! :o
Do you have any photos of your dads Carina GT-R?

52
Tasos Papazachariou

@CRR Totally feel you,my dad had a w123 Benz which he gave away(not even sold...) to one of his friends.The car ended up a huge flowerpot.

53

Slappy_Pistons Max @Ghettoporsche 
A long time ago I had a beams motor that I had rebuilt that had no home. Decided that something front engined RWD would be much easier to maintain as a track car than my beams powered MR2 which was giving me grief all of the time.
So I did some research, and found out that an early 80s Celica, Carina, or Corona came out with a 1S engine. Which means you could get engine mounts that bolt a 3S engine in very easily. Decided that I liked the Carina coupe the best out of the easy options.
So engine sits on factory crossmember and mounts, the 6 speed box slots into a factory driveshaft, and there's a larger diff which fits an Altezza LSD straight into it. (Using a Cusco unit which I've set to 1 way, on softest settings)
I spoke with someone who races a Carina, about opinions on live axle vs IRS. And whether getting an IRS model would be worth the hassle. Said that the trailing arm IRS gives lots of toe and camber change through it's travel so isnt necessarily any better than live axle for handling. So the goal from there was to find the least rustiest car available as all of the drivetrain/brakes/etc were going to get binned anyway.
Took the car back to bare metal and resprayed it in what coincidentally looked to be a factory Carina colour.
As the car currently stands:
Standard VVTI 3SGE engine with staged injection spinning to 8200rpm.
Link G4+ Xtreme ECU with Ethrottle, knock sensing, launch control, other fun stuff currently in progress.
6 speed Altezza gearbox
4.3 ratio F series live axle with Cusco 1 way LSD
Nissan 4 pot front brakes with Citreon Xantia disks
SW20 MR2 rear calipers with Primera wagon disks
Wilwood proportioning valve
Approx 6kgmm front 3.5kgmm rear spring rates
15x7 -2 offset Impul Prospoke wheels
205/50/15 Toyo Proxy T1R tires (Not good on the track, they melt really quickly)
I need some semislicks in my life! haha.
It's lots of fun to drive though.
A few pics below.
http://iforce.co.nz/i/ymgqbebg.3lp.jpg
http://iforce.co.nz/i/rxckmp3m.inu.jpg
http://iforce.co.nz/i/gz3ppcdx.wch.jpg

54

@Roman Slappy_Pistons Max @Ghettoporsche Awesome, thanks for sharing.

55

AA63 CARINA GT-R SILVERTOP  20V

56
AnuradhaAbeysinghe

wow supper and this is mine with 3SGTE!

57

AnuradhaAbeysinghe Oh wow! Your TA63 looks amazing! I see you got yourself a Carina Van front end and stripped the rear bumper. Looking smart!

58
AnuradhaAbeysinghe

banpei_net AnuradhaAbeysinghe thanks bro and i am running with 3sgte 4th gen engine

59
AnuradhaAbeysinghe

Max @Ghettoporsche ryukyustriker my aa60 is 990kg's

60

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