We’ve said it time and time again here on this site, but it probably bears repeating once more: restoring old cars is no small undertaking. It’s a big job that requires patience, planning, and most importantly: time. When Toyota Canada approached us to restore an AE86 to commemorate Toyota’s adoption of the Toyota GT86 (formerly the Scion FR-S), we were of course excited to jump at the opportunity! Toyota had a little challenge for us though: the ground up build would have to start and finish in the span of 86 days. Completing a full build can often take anywhere from 6 months to a year, so this would be a challenge indeed! Rather than just do a straight restoration, however, Pat decided that he wanted to build the AE86 he’s always wanted: clean, tastefully modified, and ready to rip at a moment’s notice. To really tell the story of this car however, we’re gonna have to roll back the calendar by a few years…
This particular vehicle had been around for quite some time. Pat purchased the 1985 Toyota Corolla SR5 at a bargain with the intention of it being the back-up race car chassis in case the original Corolla coupe race car got destroyed (spoiler: it didn’t). As a result, this car has spent the last 10 or so years in various storage locations and stages of disrepair as parts would be picked and plucked for other builds when they were needed. At our old shop in Mississauga, this car actually gained somewhat of a reputation as one of the “shelved AE86s” that we used to keep at the back of the shop. We would always say: “One day that car will see glory!” but were unsure of when or how that would actually be happening…
…fast forward a few years, and here we are! It was kind of a funny experience pulling this car in to the shop after all this time. In the past we would look at this car as “that thing we have to push around when it’s in the way”, but now it was being seen in a totally different light. Finally, the “shelf 86” would see glory. There was a lot of work to do to get there though, and with the deadline being so tight at 86 days it was even tough for our photographer to catch the build in its entirety, with work being done on the car at all hours of those 86 days. We did manage to take some snaps while hands weren’t on tools though, so let’s have a look!
First things first, that old roof had to go. Sunroofs just don’t look great on these cars (depending who you ask), and this one didn’t have the sunroof mechanism to go along with it. Time for a lid transplant! The thing that many people may not realize is that when it comes to restoring old cars, especially a cult classic as opposed to a popular model, parts like roof skins, door panels, and fenders aren’t things that are readily available anymore. The AE86 Corolla, though popular now, didn’t receive a lot of attention during it’s 3 year production run from 1985 to 1987. It wasn’t until the 2000’s that people all over the world began to notice just how awesome the plucky little AE86 really is, and that was long after Toyota had ceased production of many of the OEM parts. What that means for the people wanting to restore their AE86 is that those rare parts now can only be found in one place: on another car. A restoration of this scope will sometimes be the amalgamation of 2 or 3 different cars worth of parts to make 1 good car. Some people might frown when we take in a rusty car and cut it up for the good bits, but it’s those same cars that make a build like this possible. That is, unfortunately, the grim reality of restoring a car that is a bit more rare than others: some will have to be sacrificed for the betterment of one.