Remembering Japanese cars from the past

Tag: corolla levin (Page 1 of 16)

What’s up with this Suzuka Carol Levin AE86 wheels? – Commercial Time – WTF?!

I’m sure you must have a couple of WTFs in your head by now: a Suzuka Carol Levin AE86? Isn’t that supposed to be a Mazda Carol or a Toyota Corolla Levin AE86? No, it isn’t in this advertisement:

Suzuka Sangyo Carol wheels advertisement with a Corolla Levin AE86
Suzuka Sangyo Carol wheels advertisement with a Corolla Levin AE86

Whacky advertisement text

The Japanese writing reads:
You might call it a space technology
but this wheel holds the
“romance of driving” of a new era
.
Right, so these Suzuka Carol wheels are supposed to be space technology that holds the romance of driving in a new era?

What are Suzuka Sangyo Carol wheels?

When I searched for Suzuka wheels, I could only find cheap knock-off wheels that are called Suzuka. I found via Kyusha Shoes that Suzuka Sangyo is the brand that made the Carol wheel. What I also found out is that Suzuka Sangyo actually was the brand behind the Long Champ XR4 wheel and the wheel was manufactured by SSR. This really surprised me as I was under the impression it was SSR who manufactured and sold it. Anyway, I digress…

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It’s been 7300 days since I last heard your 4A-GE scream – Friday Video

Today’s video features a Finnish two-door Toyota Corolla GT Twin Cam 16 AE86 in Supra White and, unlike the title suggests, no 4A-GE screams in this video. Nevertheless, this video is a must-see! Let me explain why!

7300 päivää - Toyota Corolla GT AE86
7300 päivää – Toyota Corolla GT AE86

A rapper, a DJ, a tango dancer and a singer

The song itself was written by Finnish rap artist HesaÄijä (Marios Kleovoulou) and DJ Oku Luukkainen. The song itself is about HesaÄijä’s first love Korhosen Taina. Also, I don’t speak Finnish, so I have to admit I first wrongly assumed the title 7300 Päivää meant something like 7300 rpm screaming 4A-GE. But that turned out to be a very wrong assumption as it translates to 7300 days. You can find the full lyrics of 7300 Päivää here.

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Double rally monster Levin Delta Integrale – AE86 Wall of Shame

Someone sent me a picture of this Lancia Delta Integrale with a Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 front end crafted on it. I don’t remember who sent it and I’ve searched to no avail through my WhatsApp history. So if you are the person who sent it to me: very much appreciated and you deserve all the credit!

Lancia Delta Integrale with Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 front swap
Lancia Delta Integrale with Toyota Corolla Levin AE86 front swap

The Delta Integrale is about the same red as the panda-red AE86 colour scheme. I love the previous owner retained the panda-paint scheme on the front bumper. It would have been even more radical if the whole Delta Integrale had received some panda-paint as well. However, the Delta Integrale doesn’t feature the necessary lines to support that.

The photo is a typical Japanese car auction photo, so my guess is that it went through auctions some time ago. I’m not a big enough expert to distinguish the 8V from the 16V Integrale. All that I know is that it looks mad enough! So, what do you think? Blasmephy or the perfect marriage?

Pre-production Corolla Levin SE AE85 – Friday Video

One of the highlights of this year was a WhatsApp call from Daniel ‘O Grady out of the blue about an early Corolla Levin SE AE85 he found. I was doing my usual Saturday groceries and just parked my car in a parking garage. Daniel was very agitated about this car as it had such a low frame number.

6600 kilometer Toyota Corolla Levin SE AE85
6600 kilometer Toyota Corolla Levin SE AE85

During the call, it dawned on me that such a low frame number meant it was actually a pre-production run. Last year I created an overview of the AE86 and AE85 frame numbers and a lookup function. One of the things that surprised me was that the AE85 production in May 1983 started at 180, while AE86 production started at 1. There are no records of the pre-180 frame numbers in the EPC either. This means these cars have been assembled in pre-production.

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This RHD Levin AE86 suits me well in LHD! – Family Album Treasures

There are so many questions I have about this Levin AE86:

This Levin AE86 suits me fine!
This Levin AE86 suits me fine!
  • It has a GT-S door sticker. Where did it come from?
  • It has correction stickers for the headlights going from LHD to RHD while the dashboard is on the RHD side. If it were a RHD car I would expect it to be the other way around!
  • There seem to be traditional Chinese writings on the wall of this garage / gas station
  • It has a kouki grill and zenki bumper and the car appears to be a kouki model.

So what’s going on here? The traditional Chinese writing on the wall would place this car either in Taiwan, Macau or Hong Kong. Cars drive on the right side (so LHD) in China and Taiwan and on the left side (RHD) in Hong Kong and Macau. I could explain the LHD headlights if this person lived in mainland China or Taiwan. So my best guess would be that this Levin used to be owned by someone living in China mainland or Taiwan and he was visiting Hong Kong or Macau.

That still doesn’t explain the GT-S door sticker and the zenki bumper though.

This Levin AE86 got one up to 87 in 88! – Family Album Treasures

What is the most comfortable place of your Levin AE86? What’s the best intake on your Levin AE86? Flat out in your engine bay of course!

Sorry for these bad puns, but I just had to make them!

Kouki AE86 is one up 87 in 1988!
Kouki AE86 is one up 87 in 1988!

License plate

This nearly brand new kouki (facelift) AE86 from Osaka is one up with its 87 license plate in February 1988! Now the big mystery is whether it’s a 1987 car or that the 87 license plate is a coincidence. Next to the license plate, it has got a double set of fog lights: über rare OEM GT Apex fog lights in the grill and two Cibié 35 / Airport.

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