This Is My 1997 Toyota Corolla

Theres a raw, unfiltered honesty in old Toyotas.

This is my 1997 AE100 XLi Corolla and I've had it for the last 7 years or so. I picked it up from my friend Derek as a non-runner. The same Derek I bought the Pajero from last year. He’d planned to 20-valve swap it, but once the engine was out, he bought a Japanese Corolla and dropped the 20-valve 4AGE into that instead. So this poor thing sat outside his shed, heartless, for a little while… until I had an itch that needed scratching. That metaphorical itch went back as far as I can remember.

I grew up in a Toyota dominated household. Everyone had one — cousins, aunts, uncles — even my grandad’s company car at the time was a wine-coloured XLi Plus saloon, complete with head rests with the holes in them. And the iconic grill with the built in fog lights. We weren’t Toyota fanatics or anything like that — it was just a brand that represented reliability and practicality.My mam worked for Toyota for nearly twenty years, so I spent a lot of time surrounded by them — all the models, shapes, trims, and options you could imagine. I’d wander the showrooms after school, checking out whatever new bit of tech or trim had just come out.

I've got dealership keychains and models from various eras of rally cars and standard road machines stashed away in boxes, which I've dug out for the first time in probably 10 or 15 years. I was also gifted some of these brochures by Cormac from the 50to70 podcast, thanks again! This video has brought me back down a very sunny memory lane.

The XLi was one of the backbones of 90s Ireland. Builders, farmers, salesmen, schoolteachers — everyone knew someone with one and that’s what I love about them. They were sincere. Dependable. And came at a time when things were built to last. When I bought mine, it came with a Japanese 4EFE and a 4-speed box, which I had to fit myself. I got it running over the course of the following weeks, not entirely sure what I was doing with the car — I just knew it cost me very little and I always wanted to say I owned one, just like my dad and grandad before me.

After a couple weeks of bouncing ideas around with some friends, I came to the conclusion that it’d make a funny little track car. There was something about the idea of a humble Irish commuter — one that probably delivered boxes or bags of calf nuts in a past life — flying around a racetrack that just made me chuckle in an unusual way. I've often spoken of my love for the juxtaposition of a Japanese car in Ireland. Cars built on the other side of the world, by people who are absolutely nothing like the irish. And yet we brought them here in their thousands for the last 30-ish years. Driving them through rural villages, parking them in ditches going to rallies or even passing a field full of cows.

These cars were never built for this environment. And my Corolla wasn't built to be track car, yet here we are. So I booked a trackday for the following month and got to work. I knew from past experience that stock brakes would last maybe two laps before they cooked themselves. Stock suspension? No thanks. Stock drivers seat? Only on Sundays when I'm heading to mass. I fitted discs, pads, stainless lines, coilovers, and a red Bride Zeta II. Then I started doing trackdays.

The learnings were immediate. You can drive the absolute life out of a 75-horsepower Corolla and you'll learn more than any 500 plus BHP 180sx will ever teach you. I’d made a lot of the right upgrades from the get go, but the 4-speed box wasn’t cutting it for me. Third and fourth were way too long to be any fun or quick around a slippery circuit like Mondello Park.

Now, I could’ve just swapped in a 5-speed from an Irish car for a hundred quid… but that's not entirely interesting or original and more often than not, having a car with a couple of quirks is a good thing. A few nights on old UK Starlet forums led me to the C160 box from a 20-valve Levin. Apparently, it would fit with a bellhousing swap. One phone call to my friend Andrew and a handy trip to Mayo and I had one sitting on the shed floor. I fitted it with a new clutch and flywheel, and it absolutely transformed the car. The gear ratios being much closer together made for a much improved machine and the new clutch was certainly an improvement on the well-beaten unit I removed.

That’s the beauty of these things — the parts are still everywhere, still cheap(mostly), and somehow, Toyota still has stock of quite a few of them. If you're looking for some small bits, you'd be surprised what your local Toyota dealership can still supply, if you've got the part numbers. That’s pretty much been the car’s story up to now. It’s had its share of trackdays, it sat parked for a few years while I finished the 180SX and then chased raccoons across the streets of Toronto. But now I'm back, it’s back and I'm keen to add a few more personal touches to make sure that everyone knows that its mine.

I’ve picked up some new parts for it over the last few months — a set of Wedssport TC05s, which, having bought sight unseen for a good price, I later realised were 4x114.3 and not multi-fitment like I initially thought. Fortunately, my P1s, which were wrapped in Nankang NS2Rs don't look half bad under the car. Thanks to Tadhg, I was able to get a fresh set of Uniroyal Rainsport 5s fitted to save me ice skating on the slippery Mondello Tarmac. I'm sure the NS2Rs will reappear for a trackday that isn't during the wettest January we've seen in years.

I'd also acquired a DTM-inspired rear spoiler, which I'm yet to apply, a MK3 GTI front lip, which sort of fits and a pair of Craft Square mirrors that simply transform the visual appeal of the car compared to the bulky stock mirrors. I can confirm, I cant see anything out of them, but they look cool as fuck. I've also removed about 25kg worth of tow bar from the rear of the car which took about as much hammering and heating of bolts as you might expect. I imagine it was fitted straight after purchase and the sticker from the company in Laois who supplied it can still be seen, barely.

I really wanted to give this car some edge, it is a trackcar for the most part, at least until it becomes 30 years old. It was pointed out to me that on a few occasions that I design and make a lot of stickers and liveries for people, but I didn't have any on my own machines. I've been hugely inspired by JTCC and Super Touring ever since I became involved with cars and even more so after befriending my good buddy Nathan many years ago and what better way to give this car a more personal touch than to pay homage to the 1994 JTCC Corona/Carina driven by Masanori Sekiya and doing a full ESSO/ZENT inspired livery. Having a red base made life easy, the larger white segments though, were far from it. But we got there in the end and the final result is something I'm incredibly proud of.

The whole reason behind this venture was a JDM Classics trackday in Mondello Park on January 31st. Where myself and Sean Sean had booked in to drive our Corollas for the day and take part in round 3 of what is now affectionately known as the XLi Cup. There was approximately 10 Corollas booked in for the same day and with some trophies and bragging rights to be won, it was certainly a day I didn't want to miss.

Some of the final touches included adding the front lip, complete with go fast duct-tape. Followed by some definitely legal and not sketchy at all backroad testing, just to make sure everything was functioning just as well as it did in April 2022, when I last did a trackday in this joyful machine.

Before I knew it, the big day was right around the corner and with the Pajero full to neck with tools, Blaas and various other food items, it was time to get the car loaded on the trailer and set a very early alarm. It being my first time out in nearly 4 years, I was slightly more anxious than normal before a trackday. Alas, my Corolla has always had my back and once again, the whole went off without a hitch.

I had endless tools in the jeep and didn't require a single one. If that isn't the sign of a good car, I'm not sure what is. I'd like to spend this year improving the pleb behind the wheel before I start chasing any more nice-to-haves or performance improvements. I did see a set of throttle bodies for sale for one a while back. If this video doesn't do atrociously bad, I might just buy some.

A few finishing touches and a 2-inch drop all-round has this car mostly complete from an aesthetic perspective. Also, big thanks to Dave for the trailer and Nikki for the incredibly well run day and getting us a pit garage at late notice. I'd love to wax lyrical about the community JDM Classics has built here, but I'll save that for another time.

What was once a 200 euro Corolla is now something that, due to its own success, reliability and availability, has now become a commodity fewer people can justify. But none of that truly matters. I certainly couldn't care less whats it worth. That's not the point. These machines should be celebrated, loved and cherished. One of the last machines ever made where reliability and longevity were listed on the spec sheet.

The best built car in the world.

Thanks for watchin'

Mind Yourself.