1986 Toyota Corolla Levin 2dr GT-Apex

[banpei]

Nice! That's an upgrade I might consider doing in the future. I'm so used to central locking in my daily car, this weekend I forgot to unlock the door for my daughter, and she had this look on her face...

[ondafly]

Its been awhile ! but making hay while it shines. I don't have as many pictures as I hoped either.

Since last update I've done the following:

-replaced front disks/pads with Toyota OEM
-replaced all four shocks/springs with GroupD combo kit Medium level
-replaced all four tyres with Yokohama Advan Fleva V701 195/50 R15
-fitted runfree light covers (top only for now)
-fitted HKS induction kit
-fitted new hella horns

The kit consists of BC-racing front shocks with spindles and GroupDs own rear coilover (married) setup


Tyres in the boot for fitting !


As the car is so low - I brought ramps, but they also let me jack the car up etc. I wanted to make sure there was no sill jacking being done. The guys were very obliging.


Fitted - and you can see I raised the car up a bit also

[Koen]

Nice updates! Do you know the spring diameter of those group-d rear coils? I've bought a different brand, but they don't fit (spring hits the body). My guess is that group-d uses a narrower spring to avoid this. I have to get a new top spring holder, so I'd like to know what wide these can be

[ondafly]

good question - I don't but I will be taking the rear wheels off in the next while, as I have new inner face bolts/nuts for the advans, but also need to replace the rear disk/pads. If I remember I'll take a measurement for you. They do have a smaller helper spring at the top also.

[ondafly]

(05-12-2026 04:25 PM)Koen Wrote:  Nice updates! Do you know the spring diameter of those group-d rear coils? I've bought a different brand, but they don't fit (spring hits the body). My guess is that group-d uses a narrower spring to avoid this. I have to get a new top spring holder, so I'd like to know what wide these can be

they looked to be approximately 67mm give or take. My digital caliper was acting up.

[Koen]

Thanks! Reiger offers longer 105mm springseats with a diameter of 59mm so that will probably work for me then.

How do the Advans look now?

[ondafly]

so its been awhile since my last update - but I think I'm progressing semi-ok with this car, and I've gotten alot done in the 8 months or so.

I spent a month away on the other side of Ireland - during this time the AE86 went to my Evo guy to get a few bits done. I provided the parts and he got stuck in. We ordered stuff from Flos.ie as he worked through, thankfully the fast deliveries were a great help.

So while I was here (Strandhill, Sligo)

messing on Spanish galleons

and replacing xenon headlight bulbs on my GTI; yes the whole bumper has to come off


The following was being done on the AE86
Mileage at this point was 186,000km
-Remove sump and fit new replacement ; I didn't like the look of the sump on the car since day one, its all crusty looking and a replacement is reasonable money.
-Remove oil pick up pipe, clean & replace new gasket
-Change engine oil
-Change oil filter
-Replace alternator belt
-Replace power steering/aircon belt
-Replace bearing on tensioner for above ; this was fun as it was a different bearing to OEM, however we were able to source a replacement bearing locally
-Replace front crank shaft oil seal
-Replace inlet cam oil seal
-Replace exahaust cam seal
-Replace cam belt
-Replace cam belt tensioner and spring
-Replace inlet & exhaust cam pulley bolts
-Replace timing belt guide on crankshaft
-Replace viscous coupling on water pump
-Replace 4 x spark plugs ; funnily enough the old ones that came out were race spec, so I've hung onto them
-Remove 4 broken studs from bottom of block and rethread for new sump bols
-Replace all sump bolts with Evo sump bolts ; yes he replaced them with Evo 8 sump bolts
-Loosen and retighten steering rack connection
-Top up coolant
-Clean and renew protection tubing on starter wire ; This had been wrapped in a sort of asbestos wrap (see vid!)
-Front wheel alignment abd cgecj canmber and tracking front/rear ; this was my original job for him but the work grew legs !!!
-Clean up earth connection on gearbox and tighten.
-Fit new adjustable panhard rod and re-align ; this was my bad ! I should have provided this at the start, but while the car was on the ramp I ordered it from Flos for next day delivery

So enough words - here are some pictures and videos of the before and afters

Crusty belts, crusty oily buildup, all needing a tidy


Old pan removed; pickup looking fairly healthy


Video of the parts

Video of the belts all working !

Panhard rod installed


All buttoned up


Overhead - looking at this picture though, makes me feel there is so much more to do.

[Koen]

That's some extensive maintenance! Hopefully this keeps the car reliable.

Your panhard from Flos.ie is a GRP4 item. Good product the engine bay looks nice in my opinion. Maybe a repaint of the valve-cover and some cleaning/painting around the drivers side strut tower. Everything else looks tidy (especially for a 186.000km car!)

[ondafly]

thanks Koen, good to know the source ! Replacement rocker cover is indeed on the cards, also would love to go with a runfree kit or goodline front bumper. I've also tried to change the door mirrors out, but no success so far. Will have to post about that too!

Overall just getting these bits done now rather than later ! Plus a few small bits to make it semi presentable for AE86 in Mondello. I'll be then putting the car away till next year, as I'm going to focus on the Evo 5 next.


Latest pics now - added stickers for AE86 day !