How did you get your 4ac powered car

Ill start it off

I got my ae86 sr5 coupe from an old lady here in colorado in mostly mint stock condition seen it in a stores parking lot and left a note on the windshield stating i was interested in buying it from them (she wasnt for sale) i left my name and number they called me and said if i wanted to buy it i could for $600 so i jumped on it the only thing it needed was new paint it was faded chipped and had minor surface rust (not any damage that a piece of sand paper couldnt take care of) it has no rust anywhere on the car even the chassy is in perfect condition now im just in the process of keeping it looking good and doing minor upgrades to keep her running at top notch the engine has 146,000 original miles plus they were the original owners and this car has never been in an accident (did a carfax report) had no dents just i tiny lil ding they also gave me the original car lot window sticker stating new, the original sales brochure, the original car lot key tag (stating new), and the little metal toyota key identification tag (for ordering replacements), and they kept it pefectly maintained the motor even was clean just had to rinse off the dust it looks like a brand new engine

Now its mine and plan on doing the same as they did

it just goes to show you can buy a car thats not for sale and get a great daily driver

My grandmothers older cousin bought it new in 1985. About 2 years ago she had became too elderly to drive, and my grandmother bought it for $500. My grandmother got married last year and gave the car to my aunt, who sold it to me for $200. At first I didn't think much of it, just transportation until I got my other car back on the road. But I quickly became attached to it (and classic Japanese cars in general). Now I would have to be offered a unreasonable amount before I ever sold it.

I was with my buddy at his dads house for a visit. We're in the backyard looking at all the cars and junk he has when I spotted my 87 coupe. It was the most complete car in the yard. Only thing it needs to get on the road is tires, clutch and reg. I replaced the battery, fuel pump and filter and she started right up. I did a water pump on a Honda Civic for the car. Not 100% sure what direction I'm going to take the car. Well keep you all posted though.

I went to work at a Toyota dealer and the shop forman had my 83 sitting in the back lot with a fresh rebuild on the engine and just left it sitting. I asked what he planned to do with it and he asked me if I wanted it, he would let it go cheap. I asked how cheap since people definitions of cheap is different. I got it for 200 bucks put plates on it and autocrossed it that weekend and for about a year after that every chance I could. after about 3 years of abuse it popped the rings from a predetination in all 4 cylinders. put new rings in it and my failure when putting it back together the number one bearings popped out of the connecting rod.. well things all said, six months later a nice little rod knock.
I did a complete rebuild and a year later drove it from raleigh, NC to eau clair Wi to Pueblo Co and back to Raleigh NC in febuary and March. and only had one minor problem. wouldn't idle due to one of the wires going to the idle switch on the aisin carb had backed out of the holder. was a good little tour of the country in an old school corolla. 296K miles on the original automatic tranny which is about to come out and be replaced with a nice t50. overall I haven't done much to the car except drive it and minor maintenance items like carb rebuilds, tune ups and the like.

Plans? I'm thinking cutting out the trunk floorpan (which is a tad see through) and install a 15 gallon fuel cell, possibly a roll cage, gettting some new springs(Mine are worn out) and shocks of course. been working on the body since it was very rough when I got the car. redoing the interior some. my plan is to keep it looking much like stock on the inside with a few newer ammenities.

Currently this car is my daily driver. earlier in the year I was driving 120 miles a day for work now it's 60 miles a day. always fun rolling the old rolla.

i seen my car rolling around town for a few months for sale for 800, wich i thought was a bit much, cause she was rusty and had alot of bondo. some were along the line my cuz bought it for 500. about 3 months after they bought it the slave cylinder went out and the alternator was going out. it was just sitting there after the slave cyl popped. i told them if they ever sell it i want first dibs on her, not even a week later they called me and said if i wanted her, come over, 200 bucks and its mine. just got the alt rebuild after she finally quite, put in a new slave cylinder after getting a month long run around from cmorganae86. but its all good, shes running, and i got some huge plans for her

August 12th 2007
Being bored, driving around wasting gas (i had a job so i had money to put in the tank). At a stop light I look left and see what looks like a bluish Toyota sitting on a repair lot. I pull over and look at it. It had everything but two items met by what I was looking for RWD, and carbed, but non the less I planned on coming back.

August 13th 2007, after work I haul ass over there and ask about the car. Its for sale but he wants a grand, I said will you take 300 its all I have, he said deal. So I was gonna pick the car up the next day. That was the day I found out it was RWD. I drive to the bank drain my bank account, Then I stop and say "Oh shit what the hell am I gonna tell my parents!?!" I got home and just my luck they are both sitting at the kitchen table. I say the most ballzy thing I ever said to my parents "I bought a car and that's it,I pick it up tomorrow its a 1984 Toyota corolla" both looked at each other and to my surprise they say OK. I couldn't sleep that night.

August 14th 2007 5:45 PM, After work I go home and collect my parents (I wasn't good at manual) (dad hasn't driven a manual car since 1957) we make the deal and I see the passenger side, but I don't care. Its the 1st car I ever bought with MY OWN MONEY. Dad drives it home and then I notice the firewall saying AE86. I started to cry tears of joy, I got a car of my dreams. Mileage when buying: 133xxx miles.

my car insurance was too high on my 98 honda prelude so i found my 85 coupe sitting at a mutual friends garage, did a straight trade but then came to find out the woodruff key was broken and ate my harmonic balancer.

i actually went with one of my old coworkers to but my hatchi(for him to buy it for himself actually) well he bought it 2400 dollars wich i thought was crazy. anyway he bought the car and a year later he is getting kicked out of the military article 15 sent straight back home. i asked him what he was gonna do with the 86 he said he was just gonna leave it on the side of the road because he couldnt take it with him that and he could get it to start (beig that it sat in a parking lot for 6 months because he went parking lot drifting and driving suspension) any way i knew enough to get it running refilled the fluids jumped it and took it home anyway the only thing i paid for it was tittle tags and a new battery and my current mission is full engine rebuild

I got my for my 18th christmas in 2007 for $1300 off of craigslist probley over paid a bit but it ran really good (wish it ran like that now) and only had 92,xxx miles on it. I was actully going to get a 77 corolla with a 2tc but it requried work the AE-82 dident

hella nice feedback coming through keep it up

well currently I'm on my fourth 4a-c, and third 4ac powered car.

First was an ae71 butchers van which that I bought straight from the butcher when he "down graded" to a combo van. The 4ac on that was on its last legs so I have now swapped a bigport 4age into that.

my second one is a ke70 corolla wagon this is my daily car. I found this for cheap on some forums and originally wanted it to wreck but the body was so mint I kept it. In this I have pretty much changed it to full ae71 spec with bits and pieces I had left over.

and my third one is a crashed ae82 corolla which I bought for the rebuilt engine to put in my ke70 :)

I got mine for X-mas year before last. I traded in my MazdaSpeed 6 two months later.

My dad brought a AE82 in 1987 brand new, family owned. My dad gave it to me as my first car, in 2008 when I first received my license. I've been driving it ever since.

oddly i know the whole story on my car found it out over time. ok i got my ae-86 cause my brothers friend owed my parents money $500. cause he bought are blazer (which he traded for the corolla) so after he had the car for 2 years (everytime i seen him asked if i could have it or drive cause i loved it) he told me i could have the car if i got my parents to drop the $500 i hauled ass got the ok got the car that night now i have had the car for about three years now.

now the car story. we had a bunch of work at the shop so we had to get a mechanic from one of the other stores that was slow to help knock of some of the work. he asked me if it was a 85 corolla. told him it was then he said it use to be mine it was sliver got it for my daughter but she didnt want it so i sold it then that guy (old guy) traded it for a blazer i found out. i had got it from the first owner (old lady)

so it was old lady, mechanic, old guy, brothers friend, me yay!

now how the car look in the five orders 1st owner mint, 2nd mint (rebuilt carb car had set), 3rd mint/paint going to crap( just sat there most of the time in the sun for i dont know how long)

4th here comes the oh god no part... seen it when he first got it all good beside the paint. spray can paint job... little to big and messy for the car.. there went the carpet and the seats.... messeup d with the carb and vac line ran super rich.... started pulling out all the stuff in side... all that was left was a passager seat for the driver seat (he broke it) and the dash nothing on the dash work cause he burnt up the wiring messing with stuff and other random things that happen to the car.. like hitting a dog..

me... cleaned the whole car..... in side and out... took a week.... to get the smells out.........sanded and repainted. rebuild the carb took all the vac line off, tuned no longer running rich. new toyo tires. differental seal. took the seats had them recovered. spend alot of quarters at the car wash on the carpet. fixed the wiring.. and alot more... been driving.... 6months later rings cracked rebuild engine

trueno_85 wrote:

. 6months later rings cracked rebuild engine

A little off topic, but I had the same thing happen, after researching I figure it was running "cheap" unleaded that cause a "predet" and broke the rings (since it was running at 55mph when they broke.) after all that money rebuilding, I wouldn't run anything but 92-93 octane. just my thoughts.

wow where do i start... from the beginning i guess...
my first 4 series engine car..how could i get my 85 nova...this was my first tast of 4ac power then i got the car below...

my second 4 series car was a 85 gts i got for my 18th b-day from my old man it was his and he like all his cars handed it down to me... and boy was that b-day i will never forget...
i moved to Florida and brought it with from Detroit had it here for about 2years.......
then that saga ended due to some people i thought were FRIENDS..(ass holes i sure would like to bump into them ..thats a whole different forum though....lol..)

Then i got my first 85 sr5.. drove it for like 4 months till the cops got me for driving with a suspended license and no registration or plates... and i lost it to them yea i was young a dumb and not knowing any better...

them i got my 83 wagon 4ac powered baby seen it setting in a yard and talked the guy into selling it to me for 700.. and six years and about 5grand later it still looked the same but different...lol until i totaled it last ,month 06/16/10 to be exact

now im on my 4th a series engine car my new 86 sr5....thats i found a craigs list and that what i have now...till i get to find another wagon .. then its by by for the sr5....lol

Beginning:
In 2004, an older couple were driving through Idaho on I-84 south. While cruising through Jerome county, their 1984 Toyota Corolla SR5 broke down on them. They pulled over on the side of a road, called a tow truck, and were taken into Twin Falls, Idaho. The tow truck driver hauled the car to a repair shop, where they were quoted on what it would take to put the car back on the road.

After hearing about the time and money to fix their little Toyota, the couple decided it was time to move on. Calling Wills Toyota Dealership, they explained their situation and asked if a shuttle could pick them up from the repair shop. Within an hour, they were signing papers to a brand new Toyota Corolla and ready to set out again on their journey.

The tow company returned to haul away the old Corolla, taking it to their fenced tow yard across town where it would it spend the next two years of its life.

2 Years Later:
After doing some clearing of the tow yard, the owner of the towing company noticed a little Toyota sitting in the back of the lot, and seemed to remember that it had been there for a long time. He brought the truck in, hooked up to the little abandoned hatchback and towed it to a little used car lot that he also owned, hoping that the car could be reconditioned and sold. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the car running and, not wanting to hassle with a repair shop, called the junk yard to see what they could get for crushing the little 4-banger.

Luckily for the little AE86, one college student was home for spring break. While driving to lunch with my father one afternoon, I looked over to see the taillights of a old Corolla sticking out from behind the office of a used car lot and almost had a heart attack from the excitement. My father, a hot rod builder and old street racer himself, understands the excitement and whips our car onto the lot.

After talking to the manager of the lot, he explains the car and says that they are just going to take it to the junk yard for a few hundred dollars. I tell him that I am willing to pay him whatever the crusher is willing to give him and I'll have it off the lot that afternoon, after a quick call he agrees to my terms. I yank out my checkbook, write out a check for $200 and tell the manager that I'll be back in a couple of hours with a trailer.

When I got back that afternoon, I ran across the street to a gas station, get a little gas in a small can I brought with me, and dump it into the Corolla. After a jump and LOTS of ether, the little engine that could sputters to life, knocking and making one helluva racket, but enough that I have a few moments of elation as I back up the car and manage to get it onto the trailer before the engine dies.

I drive the trailer to one of my families shops, unload my prize, and back it into a corner where it'll be safe.

Ending:
Unfortunately, the ending isn't really a happy story. I had to leave the Corolla back in my home town when I went back to College for 3 years. I see it for a couple of days a year, but it is just sitting... waiting...

But finally, I have arranged for it to be stored in a shop in Portland where I can work on it and it will be here in September. The car I have been waiting for over 4 years since I purchased it, will finally be here for me to work on. For the last 4 years I have had to watch my other friends drive, race, and swap engines in their GTS's, while I haven't been able to touch my car, so I have some time to make up. It's going to be epic.

Its great to know that you saved a 86 from the scrap heap and keeping her on the road

After crashing my first car (integra...i know i know) in the beginning of 2008 i got a nice settlement check from the insurance company of the smart young lady who doesn't know how to yield to through traffic. It was my senior year in high school and since my dad had bought me the Integra the money was his and i couldnt really ask for it so i was left carless my whole senior year. Then at the very end of the school year my buddy sends me a craigslist ad for an AE86 for sale in my area, i freaked called my dad and told him i wanted it and he had more than enough from the insurance settlement so we went to go look at it. I fell in love with it off the bat and my dad was pretty fond of it as well so we agreed to pick it up the following day. The dude told me it was a GTS and it had the 4AG 16V motor. Me not looking for myself came to find out later that i had purchased an SR5 at first i was super pissed and wanted to do a 4ag swap ASAP. I looked into the 4agze for a turbo set up then went on to say i would one day do a SR5 to GTS conversion and a 4ag 20V swap but after driving it for about a year and doing minor repairs the 4ac really grew on me. I became less and less interested in doing a swap. After seeing an 86 SR5 coupe with a fat "I Can't Believe Its Not A 4AG" sticker on his rear windshield kill S13s and S14s at my local track i knew that i was to build the eff out of my lil 4ac. Now two years, a completely destroyed 3ac and a blown 4ac later i have my 4ac completely rebuilt and looking to save up some cash to make it fly. Rebuilding my motor really taught me a lot about my car and i feel way more attached to it now. Im proud to say that my 86 is 4ac powered!

Sucks what happened to you, but at least you are making the best of a shitty situation

Glock30 wrote:

Sucks what happened to you, but at least you are making the best of a shitty situation

Agreed i still say i love my 4a-c im not trading it for nothing to me its as discover card says priceless

hehehe. I don't even have a 4AC car yet. All I have is a set of 1920s Oldsmobile headlights, a 4AC head and intake manifold, and a few odds and ends. I figure I'll eventually have an entire car..

As the mechanic from MAD MAX famously said:

"You know.. a piece from here, a piece from there... "

Well, I decided to do a turbo swap on my supra so I borrowed my grandmothers 92 sunbird until I got the supra running, then once it was running the block cracked so I went back to driving the sunbird. I work for Domino's pizza as a delivery driver so I drive a lot and the sunbird finaly gave out on me. Looked on craigslist the next day saw an 88 corolla for sale and went to look at it but it was in crappy shape. The guy said he had another one in the back and it was the 86 rolla with 203,xxxkms on it, owned by a toyota mechanic since new, and pretty much mint except for needing a muffler and a bit of rust fixed. He wanted $800 I said all I have on me is $500 and he took it. Unfortunately the car is getting a ton of kms put on it as it now has 210,xxx and ive only had it for a month and a bit...But all I need it for is to work so I can get my supra up and running again. Still running strong though

I was looking for something 4-cylinder and rear-wheel drive. Economical fun. I actually had my eyes on a Mustang but this was in much better condition.

And a better decision imo