Since transferring to Japan simply two brief years in the past, buying an AE86 was #1 on my bucket checklist. However proudly owning a automotive in Japan is tough, so ticking this dream off was simpler stated than achieved.
AE86s are dumb, and as somebody who’s now owned three of them, I can fortunately affirm that dumb automobiles are the perfect automobiles. Again dwelling in Australia, a number of different JDM automobiles have referred to as my storage dwelling. However from Silvias to Civics, a Forester STI and even a GT86, the need to get again in a Hachiroku all the time lingered.
Nothing fairly tickles the mind the identical manner an AE86 does, one thing I don’t imagine many individuals perceive till they’ve had the possibility to expertise one. However are you able to blame them? It’s a 40-year-old Corolla with 130hp on an ideal day. Not a lot about that combo sounds attractive. However as quickly as you’re behind the wheel, all preconceptions are thrown out the window. Practically everybody I’ve ever thrown my AE86 keys to has responded with ‘I get it now’ post-drive.
Even after constructing my first AE86 in Australia from the bottom up, blowing the motor, after which promoting the automotive to fund two Silvias, I couldn’t shake the Hachiroku possession urge. So late-2019 I stated farewell to the S13 and S14 and jumped again behind the wheel of one other sub-150hp Corolla. It was essentially the most satisfying 150hp ever.
After I moved to Japan, I held onto my Australian AE86 at dwelling, fearing being unable to interchange such an excellent instance and costs getting too excessive. However come 2023, it was time to let it go and hunt for one thing on this facet of the world that might be pushed and loved, not parked as much as gather mud.
Discovering the proper automotive in Japan was arduous. I used to be initially chasing a Trueno hatchback – the one variant of AE86 I’ve but to personal. However after six months of looking, and the market seemingly getting dryer and costlier by the week, a message from AE86 specialist store Storage Infinity landed in my inbox.
Accountable for a number of AE86 occasions and drift days, Storage Infinity is among the pillars of Japan’s Hachiroku neighborhood.
With such a excessive status, saying no to one among their automobiles was arduous. Albeit the exact opposite variation of a Trueno hatch, the Levin notch is one among my favourites.
The automotive offered nicely so far as AE86s go and ticked most of my containers. With the assistance of Google Translate and Storage Infinity’s endurance, I turned the Levin’s new proprietor.
It’s normally straightforward to know what kind of particular person owned a automotive earlier than you. This one, nonetheless, I nonetheless couldn’t let you know. It had little to no rust, a whole inside with working air-con, and meticulous consideration to element with most of its modifications. However there was one caveat.
Whereas it might look OK on digicam, the paintwork left a lot to be desired. Initially a white automotive, someday in its possession historical past, somebody seemingly obtained carried away with an at-home paint set-up and a container of glitter. It’s a salmon pink/pink with sufficient rainbow sparkle to cowl your complete Toyota manufacturing line. However hey, that’s why it’s a undertaking automotive.
Beneath the bonnet, the Levin retains its manufacturing facility 1.6L DOHC 16V 4A-GE with the addition of an ITB setup, Toda 288-degree cams, a steel head gasket, port and polish, and a Freedom ECU. And whereas my neighbours would possibly disagree, the automotive makes all the proper sounds, particularly with its Kakimoto Racing straight-through exhaust.
The Levin sits on a sq. set of RS Watanabe wheels, 15×9-inch -13 in any respect 4 corners. With Yokohama Advan AD08R semi-slicks, it has extra grip than you’d ever want, besides on Tokyo’s annual day of snow…
I’ve owned the automotive for round six months now, and it’s been an virtually seamless expertise. Moreover a gasoline pump failure and an ECU that doesn’t take pleasure in Tokyo summers, the Levin has survived each day by day duties and highway journeys.
So what’s subsequent for Mission AE86? Having been on the opposite facet of the digicam at drifting occasions for years, I believe it’s about time I soar behind the wheel. I additionally plan on making this automotive a bit extra of my very own. Working with well-known retailers in Japan, eliminating that ‘pink’ and swapping the archaic ECU will likely be an excellent begin.
For now, although, a fast journey as much as Ebisu Circuit is so as…
Alec Pender
Instagram: noplansco
