There’s no shortage of AE86 Toyota Corolla fans in our scene, thanks in no small part to Formula D driver Taka Aono as well as the Drift King himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya. But even with no popularity of drifting and Tsuchiya’s Hot Version Hachiroku video antics, the AE86 would still have a particular allure all of its own, perhaps because it’s an analog driving machine in an increasingly digital world, or maybe it’s more a case of nostalgia and affordability in an increasingly bankrupt world.
Whatever the case might be, it’s hard not to fall in love with Luis Colon’s ’85 GTS hatchback, thanks to its impeccably clean presentation and perfect blend of period-correct modifications along with a few more modern touches. To construct an AE86 this true to its roots, it should come as not surprising that Luis has a lifelong appreciation for theseTo The Roots
My love for Toyotas started as a child at the age of 7 or 8, when I was introduced to my first 1980 Toyota Corolla SR5 with the man who raised me as a father. I grew up helping him fix his Corolla, exactly like you’d expect in Puerto Rican culture. My mind was set with an old-school Toyota, and at age of 13, believe it or not, I came into possession of my first Toyota, an ’81 Corolla four-door given to me as a gift by my parents, when i grew older. This car turned my childhood/teenage years around.
Raised in Chicago’s Humboldt Park area, which is, as Luis use it, where Puerto Ricans attend, it might have been easy for him to have run wild about the streets and gotten mixed up with the incorrect crowd. But thanks to his ’80 Corolla and his selection of friends that shared his passion for old-school Toyotas, Luis instead directed his energy into cars, including buying his first AE86.
One always stayed by my side, this ’85 GTS, though I’ve owned about a total of 12 Corollas. I built a relationship with this car, and she did what I knew she would, keeping me off the streets and away from trouble. A colleague and I even started a car club in Chicago called Team_Nostalgic. Our company is about 14 cars deep now, mostly AE86s as well as other older Corollas [along with a Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V], and we’re all family in this game. This is where my Hachi caught the nickname the Silver Surfer. I really like it and yes it fits her look.
Difficult to argue with all the nickname, given just how sharp Luis’ Corolla looks in Silver, particularly with a spotless set of period-correct SSR Mk II wheels wrapped in Falken rubber. The ride height is aggressively functional due to Techno Toy Tuning rear coilovers plus an eBay coilover setup in advance, plus its ground clearance has been visually dropped by the addition of a Blood Line body kit. This suspension setup rides superior to a 2012 Corolla, as Luis jokingly told us!To The Roots
What isn’t a joke, though, is the significant weight reduction of the Seibon carbon-fiber hood and rear hatch, a very modern material that looks surprisingly at home on this 28-year-old classic hunk of J-tin. The Trueno front badge and Sprinter taillights may be relatively minor details, but they represent a meaningful link to the car’s JDM roots.
The inner of this timeless little Corolla features a similarly tasteful and subtle blend of old and new, for example the spotless black and gray seats and interior trim out of an ’86 GTS. The pattern in the OE seat fabric looks a bit like carbon fiber, perhaps another reason the Seibon hood and trunk suit the vehicle so well, as Luis pointed out. A deep-dish MOMO steering wheel takes center stage in an otherwise stock-looking cockpit, a couple of A-pillar-mounted Auto Meter gauges being just about the only giveaway that the Corolla has something tasty under the hood.
For the solid bump in horsepower without upsetting the high-revving, naturally aspirated character of the Luis, his and car crew swapped in the higher-compression silver-top 20V 4A-GE, to which they added a black-top wiring harness, ECU, and individual throttle-bodies, though not that there’s anything wrong with a 16V 4A-GE engine like this AE86 was originally equipped with. This 20V hybrid should be good for at least 50 hp greater than the original 16V motor, in addition to a screaming 8,200-rpm redline as well as the sensational induction noise of peopleto the drivetrain by raiding the Toyota parts bin, swapping in the much beefier rearend off an ’86 Toyovan (strong enough to support the power of a 10-second 2JZ-swapped Corolla) together with a Mk II Supra LSD-equipped pumpkin. They have added a TRD short shifter for improved precision and speed while banging through the gears, even though the original T50 transmission still calls Luis’ Hachi home.
Sure, we’ve featured more powerful and more radically modified AE86s before, but there’s an undeniable appeal to a clean and simple approach like Luis’, which includes stayed true to his Corolla’s roots. What he does know is this, though not too Luis considers his AE86 anywhere near complete: I found myself told when I was younger, ‘Never involve yourself with cars-they are a complete waste of time,’ but my Corolla has kept me out of gangs and from drugs. It’s not just a car to me. It’s a part of me. It’s a way of lifeC and bar-pillar strut tower bar
Exterior Andy’s Auto Blood Line body kit; Seibon carbon-fiber hood and rear hatch; Trueno front grille badge; JDM Sprinter taillights
Interior ’86 Corolla GTS black and gray interior; MOMO controls and quick-release hub; Auto Meter Pro-Comp Ultralite vacuum and voltage gauges
Special As A Result Of my wife for supporting me in my expensive hobby, and my friends and team members at Team_Nostalgic.