AE82 Corolla
This is my 1985 Toyota Corolla. I bought the car in August 2022 with help from my dad. When I bought the car, it had 140,000 miles, a bad master cylinder, a bad alternator, no radio wiring, a weak battery, and bald tires. The trunk would not stay open, it could not go over 60 mph, and it had a bad carburetor. The inside and exterior were also caked in dirt and grime. I got the car because it looked cool and was at a good price, but I did not realize how much work it needed.
I already had experience fixing cars from working on a Nissan 240SX the previous year. My dad wanted to turn the Corolla into a rally car, but I convinced him to keep it as a street car. I started working on it right away.
The first thing I did was replace the alternator and master cylinder so it could run smoother and have working brakes. Then I put on new tires as the old ones were worn down to the cords. I installed a cheap radio and speakers, and later upgraded it to a touchscreen with CarPlay and installed a subwoofer. I also put in a new carburetor, spark plugs, and spark plug wires. I added coilovers, fender mirrors, LED lights, a new steering wheel, and a new shifter assembly.
After this, unfortunately, a truck carrying dye for wood chips spilled its contents on the highway, and I drove over it, staining the underside, paint, tires, and more. With hard work and lots of soap, I was able to get the stains out before they became permanent.
At the start of 2024, I pulled the car into the garage to rebuild the engine. I replaced the top-end seals, all the fluids, and the ground wires because they were corroded. I added fog lights, gas struts for the trunk, a tachometer, an HKS muffler, and a heat shroud for the carburetor intake, then changed the steering wheel to match the shift boot.
In 2025, I competed in the High School Challenge at the Portland Roadster Show and won my class. Since then, I have gotten new tires, a new CB radio, a new steering wheel, and rebuilt the carburetor.
My favorite thing about my car is its original upholstery. I love how it handles, how light it feels, and how it sounds, as well as its great gas mileage.
Some of the things I want to do in the future include finishing my engine swap of a 4AFE from a 1992 Toyota Corolla, as well as converting it to EFI. Next, I will repaint it the original color, Toyota 147 "Silver Metallic." I will also replace all the bushings and suspension components, along with adding bucket seats, new rims, a full exhaust system, and a carbon-fiber or fiberglass hood. I will also swap out the rear drum brakes for disc brakes from a Toyota FX16 and find a matching instrument cluster. Finally, I will replace the front and rear bumpers with ones from a Toyota FX16 and its matching side skirts.
I love working on this car and have gone many places with it. I am excited to keep improving it, especially as I continue my college education in aviation maintenance technology.
- Alternator: Nippondenso 70A alternator
- Master Cylinder: Nippondenso master cylinder
- Tires: General Tire AltiMAX RT45, 195/60R14
- Original Radio / Head Unit: Pyle Bluetooth head unit
- Current Head Unit: KENWOOD CarPlay touchscreen head unit
- Speakers: KENWOOD 4-inch front speakers and 6-inch rear speakers
- Subwoofer: 15-inch MTX Audio subwoofer
- Amplifier: Pyle 200W amplifier
- Carburetor: Weber 32/36 carburetor
- Spark Plugs: NGK Iridium spark plugs
- Spark Plug Wires: NGK spark plug wires
- Coilovers: MaXpeedingRods coilovers
- Fender Mirrors: Victory fender mirrors
- LED Lights: Amazon-brand LED lights
- Steering Wheel: NRG Innovations steering wheel
- Shifter Assembly: Toyota OEM shifter assembly
- Top-End Engine Seals: Toyota OEM top-end engine seals
- Ground Wires: 0-gauge oxygen-free copper ground wires
- Fog Lights: Nilight fog lights
- Trunk Gas Struts: Amazon-brand trunk gas struts
- Tachometer: GReddy tachometer
- Muffler: HKS muffler
- Carburetor Intake Heat Shroud: Custom-made carburetor intake heat shroud
- Shift Boot: Custom-made shift boot
- CB Radio: Uniden 40-channel CB radio
- Carburetor Rebuild Kit: Weber 32/36 rebuild kit
Status: Running
Bought At: 140,000 miles
Odometer: About to hit 250,000 miles
Miles Together: Almost 110,000
Miles per Month: 2,100
Smiles per Gallon: Unlimited
Next: Keep on Hauling
Photo Albums
Car stuff and photos I've taken.
AE82
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Submit Your Car
Want your car on ae82.net? Send me a few photos and a short write-up, and I can add the Corollas that fit the site.
Email Must Contain
- One front view photo, one side view photo, one rear view photo, and one under-hood photo.
- Photos must be JPEG/JPG or PNG files.
- Any submitted videos must be MP4 files.
- At least one sentence about the car. This will be the description shown when someone clicks on the car.
- Year, make, model, and AE82 chassis/model code.
- Social media handles written as platform and handle only, with no links. Example: Instagram: @your_handle.
- Permission to post the car on ae82.net.
File Size
Please keep the whole email under 20 MB if you can. Send JPEG/JPG or PNG photos and MP4 videos as email attachments, not through Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox, or other file-sharing services. If the files are too large to email, please resize or compress them first.
- iPhone: share the photos through Mail and choose a smaller image size if it asks.
- Android: use the Photos or Gallery app to resize, crop, or export a smaller copy.
- Mac: open the photo in Preview, choose Export, then lower the JPEG quality.
- Windows: open the photo editor, resize the image, then save a JPEG copy.
- Linux: use an image viewer or editor like Gwenview, Shotwell, or GIMP to export a smaller JPEG.
Video Format
Videos are optional, but they need to be MP4 files if you send them. Keep them short and compressed enough to fit in the email.
- iPhone: record normally, then use Photos or iMovie to export a smaller MP4 if needed.
- Android: record normally, then use Gallery, Photos, or a video editor to export as MP4.
- Mac: open the video in QuickTime Player, choose Export As, and pick a smaller size.
- Windows: use Clipchamp or Photos to export the video as an MP4.
- Linux: use HandBrake or a video editor like Kdenlive to export an MP4.
Email Apps
- Gmail: use the paperclip attachment button. If it turns the photos into Drive links, compress them and try again.
- Apple Mail: attach the photos directly and choose a smaller image size if Mail asks.
- Outlook: attach the files directly, not as a OneDrive link.
- Thunderbird or other mail apps: attach the JPEG/JPG, PNG, or MP4 files directly. If the email is too large, compress the files first.
Eligible Cars
Toyota AE82-chassis cars only. That generally means 1600 E80 Corolla and Sprinter front-wheel-drive sedans/liftbacks, plus the Corolla FX/FX16 hatchback. If the chassis/model plate says AE82, send it.
By sending photos, you are saying I can post them on ae82.net with the name, car info, and social link you include.
No viewer cars submitted yet.