Photos Of My 93' Corolla

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Thanks!!

I recently bought a Dual Action polisher and decided to test it out yesterday by giving the Corolla a good polish. I used Meguiar's Ultimate Polish, followed by Meguiar's Deep Crystal Carnauba Wax. Took a couple of hours from start to finish but I was very happy with the result :)

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

I'm very proud to announce that my Corolla is featured in the 'Daily Driven' section of this month's NZ Performance Car magazine . It's available in stores nationwide here in New Zealand and read by hundreds of thousands of people, so when I saw that it had come out a day early yesterday I immediately bought two copies. I've scanned the page and uploaded it below. The quality isn't 100% due to the scanner but still easily readable. To view it, simply click on the image below and press the zoom button (magnifying glass symbol) in the bottom right hand corner and then once more when the image pops up:

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

I got my car certified last week and it's now 100% legal :D. You only have to get a cert done if you install coilovers or do an engine swap etc, so when I had mine done I got the engine, coilovers, brakes and a couple of other things put on the cert plate to avoid any trouble with the cops in the future.

I also scored a genuine TRD fuel cap yesterday. I've always wanted one but had other things to spend money on for the car instead, so when I managed to get my hands on this one for free I was pretty happy:

 

[ShamBlur]

Verrrrrrry nicely done..

 

[VTEC LoVeR]

Speechless....

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Cheers guys!

A few small updates from me:

I installed these aftermarket Denso Japanese "J Horn Power'd" horns. Here's a video/sound clip comparing them to my original OEM dual horns:
http://vid32.photobucket.com/albums/d2/tokeitup/tokeitup180/MyMovie.mp4

These Rays wheel nuts turned up yesterday from Japan:

Annnnd I bought a leaf blower to dry the cars after washing. Turns a half hour job into a 5-minute job and gets into all of the cracks and crevices, leaving the car bone dry. Wish I had started doing it years ago!

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

I took the sedan for a bit of a drive today, before stopping off for a few obligatory photos on the way home:

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

I didn't have a whole lot to on Sunday so when I realized that it had been 3-years since I had taken some actual interior photos I decided to whip out my camera and post a much needed update. It was quite tricky getting even lighting inside the cabin, without the use of any studio lighting etc, but these photos didn't come out too bad :)

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

I just finished installing these pillow ball spherical bearings into the stock shifter cables and after a road test, the difference is very noticeable. Previously the gears used to slop into place due to the factory rubber bushings, but now the gears have a much tighter feeling, clicking into place during each shift. The benefit of using spherical bearings over solid brass bushings or skateboard bearings is that the natural twist of the cable as it's going through the range of motion isn't lost, so you get the same effect as the solid bushings except without any of the additional effort required to change gears.

Earlier today I also removed the original rubber shifter base bushings from inside the car, along with the metal sleeves, and bolted the shifter housing directly to the floor. This also gave the gears more of a "snik-snik" feeling, with no more mushiness at the end of each shift or when hitting the shift gate to go into 1st or 2nd.

As a result of both modifications there is no longer a squishy, sloppy, floaty feeling when changing gears, but instead something that really makes you feel more connected to the car and improves the overall driving experience :)

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

After running 110mm velocity stacks (trumpets) for almost 2-years I decided it was time to try a set of 100mm stacks instead, in an effort to gain more clearance between the clutch master cylinder and gain slightly more top-end power. So after a short wait these shiny new billet velocity stacks arrived from Australia, made by SQ Engineering. Let me start by saying that the build quality of these are AMAZING. They're machined from a single piece of aluminum alloy and this set is designed especially for the 20v Blacktop. For anyone who'd like to watch a set getting made (50mm shown in the video) check out this YouTube video: Machining of Billet Velocity Stacks - YouTube

I now have more clearance between the #1 stack and the clutch master cylinder, the sound they emit doesn't sound so raspy like my old ones due to the much thicker alloy construction (spun vs billet) and the pull from 6,000rpm-8,500rpm is noticeable stronger than my previous 110's. You sacrifice a little bit of earlier/low-end power due to being 10mm shorter in length, but it more than makes up for it in the top-end. As an added bonus, these new stacks are incredibly shiny and resist scratches and fingerprints really well. If anybody wants a set, contact SQ Engineering on Facebook or through the website as they do a number of different sizes for both the Silvertop & Blacktop engines, and also offer an equally impressive spun/rolled type for slightly less $$$.

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

My latest additions - OEM metallic black stereo and driver's vent surrounds. These were only available in Japan for the late model facelift AE101 Corolla BZ Touring wagons from 1998-2001. They're not an overlay or sticker, but the effect is actually 'painted' onto the actual plastic, likely using a hydrographic printing process (the same process Toyota used to achieve the wood-grain effect on other models). I've wanted these for quite some time but it was only a couple of weeks ago that I had the chance to get my hands on a set in good condition. They were a direct swap with my existing flat black ones and look amazing in direct sunlight due to the metallic flecks underneath the clearcoat. They don't add functionality or anything like that, but it's the small details like this in the build which sometimes make the biggest difference :)

 

[gunnerzz]

I am.....speechless.
Your car wont be out of olace even if park i a showroom beside a new car just rolled out of the factory.

with any old car....the smallest detail is the hardest part.
This and that plastic trim,switches,knob...

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Thank you very much. I completely agree with you. Finding interior parts in good condition these days is easier said than done. To last 20+ years they have to be taken care of, and sadly that's no longer very common anymore, especially as the cars get cheaper. I'm glad people like you can appreciate the effort that goes into getting some of these parts which to others look like nothing out of the ordinary


Insanely Rare JDM AE101 Optional Rain Sensor

In Japan they had all sorts of crazy and quirky optional extras for the AE101 Corolla, and this optional rain sensor is definitely in the top 3 in terms of it's rarity. For almost 6-years I've only ever been able to see a tiny picture in the original sales brochure of the rain sensor and have never come across one in real-life, until early last week when I stumbled across one myself! . The only other one I've ever heard of was back in 2005 on eBay so the rarity of these are truly off the scale. It works by sensing the intensity of rainfall and automatically controls your windscreen wipers, varying the speed without the driver having to even touch the wiper stalk. For a full and very interesting read-up on how it works check out this link: http://www.fujitsu-ten.com/business/technicaljournal/pdf/2-7E.pdf

It was made in Japan by Fujitsu Ten for Toyota Motor Corporation back in the early 90's as an optional extra for a small selection of Toyotas and likely would have been a fairly expensive add-on. It simply plugs into the existing wiper connector for the combination switch and 'watches' for rainfall, while still allowing you full control over the wiper speed using the stalk if you prefer.

I very rarely drive my Corolla in the rain, so I'm still deciding whether I'll install this or sell it to someone who will get more use out of it, but either way it's a really cool thing to have found and another thing to cross off my 'optional extra bucket list' . The photos showing the sensor on the hood are how it's intended to be installed by Toyota, but if I was to install it on my Corolla I'd mount it on the cowling as seen in the other photos, as I feel it'd look a lot cleaner that way.

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Here's something else a little bit different, and as usual, very rare - These are optional AE101 ultrasonic sonar parking sensors, available as an optional extra for the AE101 Corolla SE-G in Japan back in the 90's. I've had these sitting in a box for over a year, complete with the computer module, matching display/clock and all of the clips/wiring. I personally don't like the look of them being fitted to the corners of the front/rear bumper as intended by Toyota, but in future I hope to discretely mount them underneath the bumpers instead. This is only the second set I've ever seen outside of the factory JDM sales brochure and I haven't had the heart to sell them due to how rare they are, but one of these days I'll put them to good use :)

 

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Here's some latest photos. The first two were taken today (about 4-hours ago) and the last one is a cellphone shot from last Sunday :)