Kiwi-Corolla

Hey guys,

This is my 1993 Toyota Corolla SE Limited. It's a Japanese import and has all of the features you would expect out of Japan.

It was completely standard when I bought it, but I've done a number of mods to it over the last 5-years of ownership so far, including a 4A-GE 20v Blacktop swap at the end of 2012. I've almost reached my goal of finding every single optional extra that was available from new, including some of the rarest items, such as the AirFantasy.

This first post will remain updated with all of the current modifications and photos. Photos of how the car looked originally/previously can be found on my CarDomain page.

The mods so far are:

Engine:
* 4A-GE 20v Blacktop engine conversion.
* 110mm trumpets (ram tubes/velocity stacks).
* Custom made 3" intake bellmouth.
* Fujitsubo (FGK) 4-2-1 stainless steel extractors.
* 5-speed C56 gearbox.
* Full 2.25" exhaust with Dynomax muffler.
* 2-core aluminium radiator.
* TRD spark plug leads.
* Catalytic converter removed.
* Oil catch can.

Exterior:
* OEM AE101 Toyota Corolla FX-GT front bumper.
* OEM ST215 Toyota Caldina custom fitted optional front lip.
* OEM ST195 Toyota Caldina custom fitted optional rear lip.
* OEM AE111 Toyota Carib BZ Touring sideskirts.
* Genuine OEM AE101 Koito Toyota Corolla BZ Touring headlights.
* BMW M3 style trunk lip spoiler.
* 35% "Night Rider" window tint.
* Front door locks eliminated.
* 17" Sport Max 962 alloy wheels.
* Front and rear guards rolled.
* 'SE Limited' badge removed.

Interior:
* Toyota Corolla GT seats + folding rear seat conversion.
* Reupholstered door cards with OEM Corolla GT fabric.
* Sound deadened front doors.
* AE101 Corolla FX-GT SuperStrut Momo leather steering wheel.
* 240kph speedometer.
* OEM Lexus IS200/Altezza RS200 aluminium foot pedals.
* OEM floor mats.
* TRD leather shift knob.
* Leather gear shift boot.
* Rare OEM factory option Graphics Equalizer.
* Rare OEM factory option 'Air Fantasy' fragrance control system.
* Rare OEM factory roof-mounted option Air Purifier unit.
* Rare OEM factory rear-mounted option Air Purifier unit.
* Rare OEM factory option motorised driver's seat rail.
* Rare OEM factory option key light.
* Rare OEM factory option floor lights.
* Rare OEM factory option velour extended armrest.
* Rare OEM factory option Burger Tray.
* Rare OEM factory option stock Box.
* Rare OEM factory option felt-lined ashtray coin holder/storage compartment.
* Rare OEM factory option under-seat storage tray.
* Rare OEM factory option tweeter pods and tweeters.
* Rare OEM factory option 'Conlight' automatic headlights.
* Rare OEM factory option A-pillar map light.

Brakes/Suspension:
* Lowered on BC Gold BR coilovers.
* OEM 24mm front swaybar conversion.
* TRD 3-point strut brace.
* Bendix brake pads.
* Nolathane rear swaybar bushes.

Audio:
* JVC Bluetooth USB head-unit.
* Pioneer 6.5" component front speakers (60w RMS each).
* Lanzar 6.5" 3-way rear speakers (95w RMS each).
* Sony Xplod 4-channel 444w amp.





































































Comments very welcome!!

__________________

Latest Entries that might interest you:

• Visit to Lamborghini Factory & Museum + Test Drive of LP570-4
• scooby... s204? spec-c? wrx sti?
• Fc3s
• Saab 93 has the say...
• Porsche 911 Carrera S

PocketRocket

too clean....love it!

__________________

kueytiow

Nice Car...

kennyyeoh

your engine bay is DDDDAAAYYUUUMMM clean. Car is clean, simplicity at its best

Kiwi-Corolla

Thanks for the comments. Glad you like it :D

Here are some older photos of the car (before the sideskirts etc) -

kennyyeoh

nice takes on the HDR.. surreal!

arturo

very nice shots. what sort of settings n lens filters were u using in the field n parking shots? i have to agree with kenny...you engine is so neat. looks like it's fresh out of the factory.

1 question tho...did u fit your air-filter in the fender well or what? oh n the cuts u made for the air-filter outlet could use some paint touch up.

Kiwi-Corolla

Thanks! I've been a huge fan of HDR for quite some time. Feel free to check out some of my non-automotive HDR shots in the photography forum :)

Thank you! I use a circular polarizer and a UV filter for all of my shots. The settings for the shot in the field was f/10 aperture with a 1/40s shutter speed (ISO 100) and the shots in the parking lot were f/11 aperture with a 2-second shutter speed (ISO 100).

Haha yeah, I took the photo of the cold air intake just after I made it. I have since touched up the marks where the hole was made bigger . They were from the Dremel as it kept slipping when grinding it bigger.

As for the air filter, it sits just inside the front bumper, away from any splashes but open enough to get the bulk of the airflow. Here's a pic (it sits a little higher than it looks in the photos, and the splash guard really isn't that close to the wheel, lol) -

arturo

my airfilter is also at about the same position as yours...but am a little hesitant about cutting thru that bracing bar since it is part of the chasis n crumple zone...maybe i'll just drill out some holes n place a CAI pipe to channel the air in. u dont get much flooding over there rite? over here, its a little risky placing the airfilter too low or before u know it, yr engine will drinking flood water...

Kiwi-Corolla

When you mention bracing are you talking about the hole in the metal next to the battery? Yeah we don't get much flooding here fortunately. I haven't come across any large puddles in years. If you had your pod filter sitting just through the hole then you should be fine (unless the flooding is 3-feet high, lol).

arturo

urrrm....by bracing i meant the part where u cut the hole to fit the air filter piping thru. isnt the metal there sort of like a hollow beam which is connected to the front suspension setup?

Kiwi-Corolla

There's actually a hole already there from factory, for the stock intake snorkel to connect to the stock intake resonator box that used to be where the pod filter is now. All I had to do was make the hole about half an inch bigger. Definitely shouldn't affect the structural integrity of the car in any way :)

autocrosser

What is the performance gain from the cold air intake? I have a AE 110 and have been considering something like this, just not this major. I was thinking I would just connect one of those cold air tubing thing into the stock intake.

BTW, nice photos. Especially the before shots.

Kiwi-Corolla

Thanks for the compliment. The top end power noticeably increased after I installed the cold air intake. It didn't seem to run out of power so quickly in the upper rev range. You may not see gains as good with some tubing going to the stock airbox, but it will certainly help. I did that with my old intake set-up when I was running a short ram. I used reinforced plastic tubing that was very flexible, with large bell-mouths on the ends so that the air could enter smoothly and directly. It would be better to use alloy piping so that you don't get as much turbulence, but unfortunately it's not manageable/flexible as the plastic tubing unless you have quite a few joins or welds.

Here's some pics of the old set-up (although yours will obviously be the airbox instead of the pod filter) -

autocrosser

That is the same thing i was thinking of using, except my idea was just to join it into the airbox piping after removing the portion near the bonnet. Thanks for the photos and the feedback. Very much appreciated!