Charlene the AE102. This is my Corolla - there are many like it but this one is mine

[Hiro Protagonist]

So I figured it was time that I started putting a build thread together (well, basically just pulling all the best bits from my half-dozen build threads scattered around various Toyota forums"

History of the car: Bought brand new from Charlestown Toyota in December 1997 by my dad, he drove it for the first 230,000km before I got my Ps and basically took over ownership of it (was still in their name, I just paid for petrol/rego/insurance/repairs/servicing etc). Since then I've tried to keep the mods modest, understated but effective.

Anyway, some details:
1997 Toyota Corolla Conquest sedan (mid-range, probably equivalent to a US DX)
7AFE, C52 5-speed manual
4-wheel discs, 14" wheels
Air-con
Remote central locking
Power mirrors
Power steering

Here's the humble photo of it the first day I started driving it:





And over the years, the following has happened:

Engine-elated
CAI with K&N pod mounted in front guard where stock resonator sat
TRD ignition-leads
HPC coated extractor
2" engine pipe to stainless cat
2.25" mandrel-bent exhaust through hotdog resonator
Stainless Lukey Ultraflow rear muffler, 3" dump tip
Painted cam-cover

Suspension/driveline
KYB Excel-G shocks
Lovells low springs all-round
Stock sway-bars front and rear
AE101 Levin front strut tower brace
EBC Greenstuff pads (fronts have recently worn flat and replaced by Bendix Ultimates)

Exterior
eBay-spec angel-eye headlights + grille
16x6.5 BSA Au229 (Volk TE37 copies) wheels in gunmetal/polished lip
205/45/R16 Yokohama S-drive tyres
Uber-cool 1.8 badges from a ZZE on front guards
Sticker-age: Twincam.org reppage on front windscreen (will be replaced by .org.au), Toymods on the rear window, Toyota Owners Club Australia (TOCAU) on drivers-side rear quarter window

Interior/ICE
AE101 FXGT factory-option Momo leather steering wheel
AE101 Levin front bucket seats
Custom short shifter with TRD leather gearknob
Pioneer DEH-P5650MP head-unit
VDO Dayton 5-1/4" front splits, tweeters on the side-mirror covers
JL Audio 6" rear 2-ways
Cadence Z1000 mono-block amp
Twin JL Audio 12" 12W0-4 Subs in ported box

Still in the garage
FXGT front bar with foglights and lip extension fresh from Japan, indicators courtesy of LG Nova (same part number, just found on an Aus-delivered car for ease of sourcing)


Plans for the future:
Redtop BEAMS or blacktop 20v 7AGE build
Front and rear aftermarket sway bars
Semi-stripped interior for occasional track day and hillclimb.

[Hiro Protagonist]

Pictures of mods in the approximate order in which they occurred:


Wheels



Headlights


First attempt at cam-cover


Second attempt, also showing exhaust


Exhaust tip


CAI pipe


Where the pod sits is visible on the right-hand side


Third and final attempt at cam-cover (actually didn't attempt this one, just got it off a mate)


Springs and shocks



Levin front seats


FXGT Momo steering wheel


Subs


Bare FXGT front bar


Brand-new fresh-out-of-the-mould made-especially-for-me Genuine Toyota FXGT front lip extension


One foglight in (the other one is there too, don't worry)

No photos of the fully assembled bar yet, not going to bother with that until I get it painted which should be within the next month or two.


Dyno results



On display at the 2010 TOCAU Annual Meet


Enjoy!

[miib14]

very nice corolla ...

[Corollajoe]

sweet ride, wished mine was a 5-speed

[cipher93]

Wow, very nice done. Subtle mods but they all look great.

[topnotch]

nice ride bro, cant wait for the front bumber to go on, are you also adding sideskirts into the mix?

[Hiro Protagonist]

Originally Posted by topnotch

nice ride bro, cant wait for the front bumber to go on, are you also adding sideskirts into the mix?

Not at this stage, side-skirts look a little out of place if you don't have the rear bumper to go with them, plus I don't think the GT sedans (kind of my inspiration, just with the FXGT front end) had either side-skirts or a different rear bumper (apart from the cut-out on the left side for the second exhaust).

[Corollajoe]

I would like to know more about this FXGT you are talking about. I have never heard of such a thing here in the states. Will any of these parts fit on my 93 corolla, what are the costs of such items(i know shipping will be high) any info would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Looking great man. Our cars are almost twins . Looking forward to when you get the FX-GT front bumper on . Those fog lights were difficult to find so I'm looking forward to seeing those up and running too

Originally Posted by Corollajoe

I would like to know more about this FXGT you are talking about. I have never heard of such a thing here in the states. Will any of these parts fit on my 93 corolla, what are the costs of such items(i know shipping will be high) any info would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

The AE101 Corolla FX-GT is a Japanese Corolla 3-door hatchback. Some of them came with SuperStrut suspension and they all came equipped with a 4A-GE 20 valve Silvertop engine. It's the same shape as the base model Corolla hatchbacks, but has a front splitter/lip, round fog lights, "FX" badge on the grille, sideskirts, boot spoiler, colour coded door handles and mirrors, upgraded seats, dark grey instrument cluster, and dual exhausts. They also came with the same features as the Corolla SE Limited and GT sedan, such as the power folding mirrors (although the GT sedan never had these), push-button air conditioning with climate air, power windows etc. The SuperStrut models of the FX-GT (which were only made between 91-95) also had an OEM Momo leather steering wheel.

As for the parts that will fit your sedan, the front bumper will, but the sideskirts and rear bumper won't. The headlights are the same as the other JDM models so the grille won't fit yours properly either unless you do a JDM headlight conversion (the grille will still fit, but it's made for the JDM lights so there'll be a small gap on each side if you used it in conjunction with your USDM lights).

Here's a few auctions for some over here so you can see what they look like:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-323210229.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-318051295.htm
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Mo...-326684612.htm

[Corollajoe]

I am in search for a FXGT front bumper if I can find one, and will probably try to track down a TRD or JDM grille, still looking at swaps, silvertop or black( which one revs quicker) all motor will probably be my goal, maybe 250 hp

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by Corollajoe

I am in search for a FXGT front bumper if I can find one, and will probably try to track down a TRD or JDM grille, still looking at swaps, silvertop or black( which one revs quicker) all motor will probably be my goal, maybe 250 hp

There was a guy in Canada selling one on the forums the other week, but it's already been snapped up. Your best bet would be to try a JDM importer (such as an engine importer) as they may be able to ship one straight from Japan on their next order. I'd send you one from over here but I've had quotes before and it costs around $700 NZD just in shipping alone . I can however help you with the JDM grille when the times comes

[Corollajoe]

ok will deinitely let you know when the time comes, wow 700 that is very pricey I will check with a Japanese source maybe in California

[Hiro Protagonist]

Originally Posted by Kiwi-Corolla

I'd send you one from over here but I've had quotes before and it costs around $700 NZD just in shipping alone .

Ouch. Mine cost me about $350 total delivered to my door, bought it off Yahoo Japan for something like $70 and the rest was commission, postage, shipping (via container) and then courier to my door.

It did take about 2 months from Japan via container though (should have been 6 weeks but the ship got delayed when one of the engines died)

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Originally Posted by Hiro Protagonist

Ouch. Mine cost me about $350 total delivered to my door, bought it off Yahoo Japan for something like $70 and the rest was commission, postage, shipping (via container) and then courier to my door.

It did take about 2 months from Japan via container though (should have been 6 weeks but the ship got delayed when one of the engines died)

Yeah that's the beauty of container shipping. If I had the money and demand I'd fill up a massive container full of parts and ship it overseas. NZ Post actually quoted me $2400 just to send the bumper in a box . You can guess where I told them to stick it

[Corollajoe]

2400 the car better be with it