Differences between 1985/1986 AE86?

[Mr.AE86]

Hi all... my name is Simon and i'm the big brother of Aaron (Project Trueno), well my family is going to sell the 1990 auto SR5 coupe for either a 1985 or 1986 AE86 corolla GTS... i'm just wondering does anyone know the difference between the two years? in terms of engine/body/chasis stuff like that...
thx in advance :smile:

[goodcookiedrift]

engine and chassis are the same. suspension is the same. the differences are in the body and som interior and exterior trimmings.

this is for the hatch backs

85: no sun roof, larger tailights, rear hatch wing, larger front grill, larger head light casing, no fender trimmings and shorter but wider sized decals.

85 interior: one piece door pannels, no cup holder (although i could be wrong and its reversed with the 86), gauge face is slightly diffferent in design, seats are slightly different (adj arm on rails is located on the inside part of the seat) and colours are usually light grey.

86: everything opposite of 85

Nick

[neil85AE86]

my '85 has sun-roof.

Neil

[mr_sinister]

also, the rear end is slightly different.. different sized rear axles, and also the diff is different to accomodate the different axle sizes.. ('86-87 had bigger ones), but i believe the axle housing is the same

i also think i read somewhere that the drive shaft could be a different size, but I could be wrong on that one..

[goodcookiedrift]

what??? thats crazy!! i've never seen an 85 witha sunroof!!! is it stock or is it an aftermarket one though?

thats right the axles are different...forgot that.

Nick

[mr_sinister]

my '85 also has a sunroof.. not sure if it still works tho.. never tried it.. mine looks stock..

but then I thnk my 85 is a late '85 model because the door panels are slightly different from the pics i've seen on the net.. but they're still not the same as '86 door panels tho.. weird..

[varietta]

Some 1985 models came with sunroof. Have a friend who drives one. Not sure if it's stock though

Kevin

[bondobondo]

door stickers are different, but the panels themselves are identical.

thanks
andrew

[neil85AE86]

yup, my sunroof is factory.

I replaced the old rusty one with a nice rust-free one from an '87, so it's identical.

Neil

[neil85AE86]

I must add that the fenders and quarter panels are slightly different, since the '86/87 have mounts for the fender trim.

You can stuff a little more rubber under the '85 wheel wells because they don't have the trim. Without the trim you are less likely to get condensation trapped under their too, so less likely to rust.

'85's also have a problematic clutch master cylinder, this was fixed on '86 and '87 models. So if you need to replace it make sure you get the newer one, it's a direct replacement.

'85's also have a differnt brake line setup, make sure if you buy stainless lines you get the correct setup, can't remember which is which right now, just know they are different.

Did they '86-'87 have the stock rear spoiler?

Colours, the '85 has black rockers, and black spoiler, also black on the bottoms of the bumpers and across the full grille and the inserts on the headlight doors beside the grill, all this was body color on later models.

That's about all I can think of right now.

Neil

[bondobondo]

so true..

that is always something i noticed, that little strip of fender trim, but never really paid attention to!!

thanks
andrew

[4Aaron GE]

I just remembered something. The trim that goes along the side of the car is also a different size. I forget which was bigger though.