Fensport AE86 Turbo

Dan's 1984 Corolla AE86 was imported from Japan to the UK back in the summer of 2015. For a 31 year old car, it was very clean and rust free - a fine example of the iconic Japanese legend. Dreams soon turned to reality and work was quickly underway to create the perfect Hachiroku.

The below build thread is in order of past > current.

2015

The car was imported with the standard 4AGE 16v engine along with a Sard exhaust system, custom manifold, TRD quickshift, and a Toda flywheel. Exterior wise, the car has a Vertex body kit with Origin rear arches, FRP front wings and a carbon bonnet. The suspension was made up of TRD struts and Blitz springs which lowered the car nicely on the classic 14x8" SSR Mk2 wheels. Cusco rear control arms, front and rear link bars and a front anti-roll bar was also fitted by the previous owner in Japan to help with the handling.

Modifications soon started and straight away SuperPro bushes were installed all round along with TRD engine mounts and a Whiteline panhard rod. The carbon bonnet had definitely seen better days, so it was sanded back and re-lacquered to bring it up looking like new! As the car was built in 1984, the car had the 'early spec' front slatted grill, which we replaced with the 'late spec' one. A HKS speed limit defencer was also wired in to remove the 180kmph speed limit that all Japanese import cars have.

Next up was wheels and suspension. The SSR Mk2's really suit the car so the choice was made to just get them freshened up with a colour change and a polish. Due to our UK roads being a little rougher than those over in Japan, the old TRD shocks and Blitz springs were removed and replaced with a new BC BR Series coilover kit. With the ride hide and dampening being fully adjustable, the car now handled much better and looked the part!

 

2016

The beginning of 2016 welcomed Dan to the reality of owning a classic car - the bottom end went on what we can only assume was the original engine! A replacement 4AGE from an AE92 Corolla was found at the back of the workshop so was stripped down, cleaned, tested and put back together with ARP bolts and a TRD head gasket. There was no history on this engine either, so it was a quick and cheap fix to get the car back up and running... for now. A Mishimoto radiator, Fensport lightweight pulley's and a Helix cerametallic clutch was also installed and a custom front upper strut brace was kindly supplied by Summit.

The interior of the AE86 was pretty tatty and was in desperate need of tidying up to match the looks of the exterior. First up was to strip the interior completely and spray the inside Audi Havana Black. At the same time, the roll cage was freshened up with a coat of custom metal flake white. Continuing with the interior makeover, new Bride Low Max bucket seats were bolted in along with Takata 4 point harness's to keep with the jap import look. An old school Mooneye's dashboard cover and floor mats were ordered in from Japan and the front door cards were covered with Bride material using spray glue and lots of patience!

Keeping with the carbon style from the front of the car, Dan opted for a Seibon carbon boot lid. Then at a later date, a TRD boot lid spoiler and Origin roof spoiler was sprayed and fitted. 2016 show season was well underway and the Corolla was getting a LOT of love!

June 2016 was the last time the Corolla see the road, after the "temporary" replacement 4AGE started knocking. Dan was now on engine number 3! But this time the approach was slightly different. Rather than just dropping another 4AGE in and hoping for the best, Dan took this opportunity to improve and build a one-off turbocharged Hachiroku using a 4AGZE engine from the Mk1 supercharged MR2.

 

2017

Winter soon came and went and the hard work and late nights had definitely paid off! So, what's been included in this stage of the AE86's transformation?

The 4AGZE engine was stripped, checked over, cleaned up and looked to be almost new with signs of extremely low mileage. New gaskets were used all round along with a new water pump, oil pump and alternator. The air con unit was removed from the engine to save weight.

Whilst the engine was out, the engine bay was completely smoothed and resprayed in Audi Havana Black and the battery, fuse box and washer bottle was moved to inside the car. Engine installation commenced with the following: Garrett GT25 Turbo mounted on to a HKS cast manifold, small port intake plenum with an Evo 3 billet throttle body, Mishimoto twin fan mounted to the Mishimoto radiator, TRD thermostat, Mishimoto coolant tank, Forge front mounted intercooler, Setrab oil cooler, Mishimoto oil catch can, Invo cone filter, 4AGZE injectors, 255 l/hr fuel pump, 1ZZ coil packs, custom exhaust, Red Top 30 battery and Prosport gauges. The car is now running on a Link G4+ ECU with a full custom wiring loom and tuck.

The build was finished at 2am one Thursday night/morning back in March and driven out of the workshop and straight to Belgium for the reveal of the car at the GR8 International show! The car didn't miss a beat and it performs even better than expected. Currently still running on a base map but we estimate the car is around the 200bhp mark - A rolling road session is much needed! A few more additions to the styling side of things and the car was ready for this years UK shows.

With all the major shows attended in the UK as well as the GR8 show in Belgium and 100% Tuning Show in Holland, this year has been a great success taking home 11 trophies! Before the car get's tucked away for the winter, we took the car over to Hudson Speed Shop for some additional mapping on the rolling road to see what power it's actually producing.... 285BHP! Not bad for a little 1600 turbo :)