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Marshall's '94 Corolla (SLOW going project!)

37K views 361 replies 26 participants last post by  75aces 
#1 ·
Hello all. Been spending (way too much) time on here, learning and gathering idea's. Thanks to all of you for posting so much good stuff.

The car is a 1994 DX with the 1.8 and an automatic.

Here is my little beauty on the day I drove her home last summer, leaky rad hose and all. I had to cut the corner off the bumper off to make it drivable.



I thought the damage was lighter than it was, and that I could straighten it out myself. I was wrong!





The frame rail was over pretty far, at least too far for a come-a-long and a tree. Had to take it to a frame shop. They did an OK job, but the rail is still pushed back an inch or so, which I can work with.

I thought about parting it out after discovering the extent of the damage, but with the mileage on this one owner car, I decided to put it back on the road.



It had only 74K when I bought it.
 
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#2 ·
I thought I would post how I got to the point that I decided to drive an older Corolla and also put my wife into one (I'm still working on the latter, she's not sold yet!). This will probably be long winded, and many might find this boring, so feel free to skip the story!


OK, to start, I'm probably older than most on here, and I've owned a lot of cars over the years (250+). I do most car repairs myself, but admit that I got lazy there for a number years, taking my car in more often than not. Although far from being at a 'mechanic' level do-it-yourself repairman, I've done my fair share. Just a few examples: rebuilt a 289 Mustang engine in my moms living room when I was 17 (MI winters are COLD!), completely frame-off restored a Jeep CJ-7 in 2000-2001 (my last full paint job), and converted and ran a Mercedes diesel on vegetable oil about 8 years ago.


A year or two ago, I decided to leave 'newer' cars behind in favor of 'older' cars. What tipped the scales and brought me to that decision was this: Back in the early 2000's, I got somewhat interested in fuel economy, so I bought a 1999.5 TDI Jetta. I liked the car, but the head blew up 3 times over the 10 years I owned it, so, after the third, I finally sold it for parts last year. I never felt confident enough to do the work on that car, so I was at the mercy of crappy mechanics, who apparently also didn't know how to work on those darn TDI's. No more of THAT! I wanted to own a car that I could repair virtually everything myself, without needing ridiculously expensive and complicated tools and equipment.


I decided I wanted to specialize in ONE car, so that I could become a “expert” on it, have tons of spare parts readily on hand, and maybe even make a few bucks on the side with car sales, parts sales, and repairs (I just built a 30x58 workshop). I REALLY love Crown Vic Police Interceptors, but decided against because of the poor fuel mileage. I narrowed my decision to the '93 - '95 Civic and Corolla. Both good quality cars, good fuel economy, readily available cheap parts, and they made a bunch of them. Where I live, emission inspections are not required for '95 and older vehicles, which is one of the big reasons I chose those years, while also having a few modern features like air bags. I bought a '93 Civic coupe and the '94 Corolla for evaluation. For a multitude of reasons, I decided on the Corolla.


So, here I am......Sold my '08 Mustang DD and have been driving around a partially finished Corolla for a year. My friends think I'm crazy, my wife thinks I'm crazy.....at least I don't, but I'm kinda biased.








 
#3 ·
I hope that by posting here I will be motivated to move forward more quickly on this project.

I've bought some of the common items already, such as cheap ebay headlights, taillights, and grille.

Oh, and I recently happened upon a tach cluster and picked it up for $45. Put it in and it works great, and looks pretty good too, with the new blue LCD's!

 
#4 ·
Hey and welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the story and pics. I appreciate where you're coming from as I have a somewhat similar story. I'm older too at 41 but I bet I can do more pull-ups than anyone on this forum! I've modded imports for years, owning most recently a paid-for '05 STi build at 340/400. But something happened and I simplified my life for a number of reasons and sold it and bought a $1500 Corolla. And I really am enjoying it as much as the Scooby but for different reasons. I plan to keep the Corolla for at least 3 years, which is my average. I've done a bunch of mods to the Corolla which has been lots of fun.

I think your choice of a Corolla over a civic is a good one, there are far more Corollas available for parts at the junkyard's, at least I have found here in Georgia.

Enjoy your tinkering. I think you will find as I have that there is something awesome about going from one of the fastest cars on the road to one of the slowest....it is more fun to drive a slow car fast than to drive a fast car fast, I am enjoying the change. Living under your means is a beautiful thing. 40 mpgs helps too!
 
#5 ·
Thanks green for the comments!

I am really enjoying this car, on many levels. I was so excited last month when we drove it on a trip, and it beat any prior MPG record (for me) by 3 MPG, getting over 34! That beats my own best, and it beat the .gov site by a silly amount. Since they revised the MPG stickers, for the vehicles I've owned, the revisions have been pretty accurate.....but not on this Corolla.....over 34 for a vehicle rated at 29?? I'm so damned amazed and happy about this. Yes, I understand that it doesn't take much to amaze me!

Getting 'deep' here......I believe that we form relationships with our vehicles in a similar way we develop relationships with significant others. We fall in love with what we get close to. Just like when you meet a girl (I'm assuming we're all straight guys here), and you're not attracted to her.....but as you get to know her, she becomes more attractive to you.....and eventually, you may find her to be among the sexiest women on the planet. This is how my relationship with the 7th Gen Corolla is playing out.....Back in the day, if my neighbor bought my (current) 94 Corolla new, I would've felt bad that they could only afford a budget foreign car. NOW, after coming to know the 94 Corolla, I love her, and even think she's beautiful! (don't bother commenting on how that sounds creepy, because I know it does!)
 
#7 ·
Thanks green for the comments!

This is how my relationship with the 7th Gen Corolla is playing out.....Back in the day, if my neighbor bought my (current) 94 Corolla new, I would've felt bad that they could only afford a budget foreign car. NOW, after coming to know the 94 Corolla, I love her, and even think she's beautiful! (don't bother commenting on how that sounds creepy, because I know it does!)
This is very interesting because I bought my car from my neighbor 3 doors up. He took care of it mechanically but it was painful to look at....had 2 fender benders that went unaddressed, interior hadn't been cleaned in years, probably had not been washed in years. It had one scuffed hubcap on each side (2 of 4). Anyhow, it drove by my house daily and I'd be out in my driveway washing my nice car as it drove by, and feel pity for it and the owner. So now it is crazy that I own that exact car and feel pride for it. Most of that has to do with my heart changing.

A funny thing about that is that the previous owner always turns his head and looks at it when he drives by now (in his brand new TOyota). A few weeks ago he was out for a walk and stopped to comment about how nice the car was looking, as I have cleaned it, painted a bunch of spots, added spoiler and tint and wheels and more, and shined it up real nice.
 
#6 ·
I think all guys are just a little creepy like that on the inside. The 7th gen Corolla is an absolutely wonderful car I can't get enough of. Most people don't get it, but this community does.

Subscribed, can't wait to see more! Looks like the poor girl has lived a tough life, but that just means a lot of potential and a lot of room for improvement.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Thanks for the reply's guys!

So far, I've bought 2 parts cars. The beige one on the right is very clean, just pumps white smoke from the exhaust after about 30 seconds. I would assume its a head gasket? It came with 4 brand new Michelin's and a brand new radiator, also. I hate to part it out, being it's so straight. Maybe this should be my wife's next car?

The black one is pretty junky, and it's only possible use is as a parts car, although it does run well.



The black one probably has 100 pounds of bondo in it. Take a look at the roof. This is how NOT to perform a body repair! It's nearly a 1/2" thick in spots (sorry for the blurry pic).

 
#9 ·
How's the hood of the gold one? If it's decent I might buy it from you, I'm very serious, I come to Charlotte on occasion and it would be easy to swap that hood with mine next time I'm around, if it's in good shape. I mean no dents and good paint. My hood paint is bubbling bad, it gets worse each week when I wash it. I thought about painting it but too expensive.

Let me know. Pic would be awesome.
 
#11 ·
I'll take a close look at it and get you a pic if I feel it looks good enough. You do know that, even if it is in good enough shape, the paint almost for sure won't match yours. For now, I do have a shot from when I bought it last fall.

 
#12 ·
I'll be going the aftermarket wheel route, so I don't need the covers. How good do they need to be? I know the ones on my car are scuffed up, but haven't really looked at the others. I will, though, when I get over there.
 
#25 ·
Thanks man. That's the color. Very appreciative of your generosity and enjoyed talking on the phone....I'll call you in the next day or so and make a plan.

See? This forum has definitely got me motivated (and, at least for today, the fact that the Panthers game isn't on until 8:30)! It took a lot of "tweaking" and "engineering," but I got the front end put on. Still needs some more of the tweaking, but it's pretty close now. My wife now thinks that hell has frozen over.



That looks great! Great job can't wait to see this in person.
 
#21 ·
See? This forum has definitely got me motivated (and, at least for today, the fact that the Panthers game isn't on until 8:30)! It took a lot of "tweaking" and "engineering," but I got the front end put on. Still needs some more of the tweaking, but it's pretty close now. My wife now thinks that hell has frozen over.



 
#22 ·
I have a question.....when working with my parts car, I noticed some sort of holding tank behind the drivers fender, in front of the wheel, which is not present on the white car (which is where it got hit). What the heck is that? Something to do with emissions, like the old charcoal canisters?
 
#24 ·
Yes they call that a snorkel, it is basically a baffle that creates a maze for the air to travel through before it hits your filter, one to reduce noise and two it will keep water out of your engine. I have removed them in other cars for weight reduction plus if you do a CAI or SRI the baffle is bypassed so it is unneeded. Never removed it from Old Clunky.....yet.
 
#30 ·
Kinda like Mighty Car Mods dropping a brand new Subie flat 6, along with all new electronics and fancy stuff like an electronic throttle body and all, into an old Legacy wagon. Then of course slapping a turbo on it. It ain't a bad idea. I love the classic American trucks with the LS1 engines.
 
#32 ·
Im liking this build! Parts cars FTW!


A buddy of mine is working on a 60's challenger, hes putting the 5.7 hemi from a 2013 RAM 1500 in it. along with bi-xenon projectors and LED tails. His plan is to make all the interior original, with all new updated engine, suspension, and body/lighting. I really like the concept.
 
#36 ·
I've got a lot of questions, but let me just throw this one out for now, since it seems to be what I spend a bunch of time looking at.

Wheels......

First, can't decide between 15", 16", or 17". I am leaning toward the 17" (because of reasons I'll list below).

My first choice was the 15" Enkei 92's with the +38 offset (for old times sake!). The thing about those is, the lip is very small, and all the advertising shots show the lower offset wheel with a nice wide lip. Haha! Not sure why I typed that, since visuals are a strictly personal thing, but it's been something I've been struggling with. Leaning toward 17" because of the "fuller" look it provides, which I like.

So, how much ride softness do you lose by going to a 16 or 17 inch wheel (combined with coilovers, which will be a later question!)? I will be staying within the stock ballpark, in regards to overall diameter, so how much does the increase in width, and change of offset, affect the interference with the cars metal surfaces. I've contacted several wheel sellers, but none seem to have any experience with Corolla's, and just go by the book specs. I would like to go with the 92's with the +25 offset (for the look of the actual wheel), but don't want to deal with serious rubbing. Some wheels sites won't even show wheels that don't fit close to factory specs (like the +25 92's). It's very confusing!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking at new and used, so I guess that proves I'm not committed to anything yet. I obviously can replace something I may happen to buy that I'm not happy with, or put it on my SECOND Corolla!
 
#37 ·
if you have 6" wide rims and 195mm tyres, you can get away with the +25mm offset.

Wider 7" rims and 205mm tyres need the stock +38mm offset.

On 7" rims and 225mm tyres, you need to increase offset to +50mm.

Personally, I think the ride-quality on 16" wheels and above to be too harsh from the heavier wheels and stiffer tyre sidewalls.
 
#38 ·
I'm enjoying the build thread.

As far as wheels - it's personal preference, but for the goals (that I think) you have in mind, I wouldn't go with 17's.

The car came with 14's.

I could see running 15's on it, and maybe going with a slightly taller tire for better ride and filling out the wheel wells, but those are some of my biases.

The 1994 can be a really nice clean and practical car, but it's never going to really be or look like a sports car. Putting 17's on it would (IMHO) look out of place - unless you were doing something like a CAFE body kit, but even then - there aren't really interior upgrades and such to make that practical. In addition, tires are more expensive, - http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/3...913746-another-tire-question.html#post7980441 - basically, the reasons listed here - other than TPMS issues.

I know where you are coming from on the Enkei 92's (in gold - I assume), but personally, I wouldn't go with them either. They look good on Celica's, but they really date the car and if you are going to go with that, you might as well stay with the 1994 Hubcaps - just my opinion.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/Whee...lse&filterNew=All&filterWeight=All&sort=Brand

TireRack has the view on vehicle option so you can get an idea of what the wheels will look like.

Persoanally, I'm liking the Anzio Vision's for that year car, but I also somewhat like:

Andros N3.
Enkei Ammodo
MSW 25
Sport Tuning T6 (I tend to like this whatever vehicle I am looking at - although I like some of the other choices better for your particular car).

You have some 200 wheels to choose from in 15's and likely more in 16 and 17's and your preferences might not be mine and that's okay too.
 
#39 ·
Going from 14s to 17s I didn't notice a big difference in ride quality. Same for my MR2, going from 17s to 15s I didn't notice a big improvement.

Danno is right though, high offset and 7" wide won't work without rubbing, even if you roll the fenders. You'll need camber. With +40mm offset and 7" wide wheel and 205mm tire, the front wheel is entirely flush with the fender and will rub when hitting potholes (though it's not a big deal). Going any wider/higher offset would be detrimental.

EDIT: Replace high with low. Accidentally mixed up the two.
 
#40 ·
Danno is right though, high offset and 7" wide won't work without rubbing, even if you roll the fenders. You'll need camber. With +40mm offset and 7" wide wheel and 205mm tire, the front wheel is entirely flush with the fender and will rub when hitting potholes (though it's not a big deal). Going any wider/higher offset would be detrimental.
Higher offset moves the wheel inwards and prevents rubbing. Lower offset moves the wheel outwards and gives that hella-flush look a lot of people like. But you end up rubbing the front-tyres if you hit bumps while going through corners.
 
#43 ·
I mentioned, in another thread, an '83 Mustang GT I owned. Inspired me to go pull a picture, for old times sake...............



First insurance wreck I ever fixed up. First full paint job (single stage lacquer). 5.0 w/ 5 speed, 32K miles. I bought it in '84 or '85. Front end was messed up. I added the air dam, wheels/tires, and taillight blackout.
 
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