Yesterday, Stately Wayne Manor's garage sale elicited squeals of joy and an 80% Nice Price vote in hopes that someone would pick up the mantle of Gotham defender for another dark night. While thatmobile was ostentatious in its presentation, and unremarkable in its practical manifestation, today we have a car that is the exact opposite.

The number of desirable older Japanese cars sold in the U.S. can pretty much be counted on one's fingers- S2000, NSX, Fairlady, Miata, RX-7, WRX, Evo. . . and from Toyota, the 2000GT, Supra and Corolla. 2000GT, Supra and. . . Corolla? (Cue Moe Sizlack- Wha...?!) The Corolla today represents one of life's duller choices for keeping your ass from scraping the pavement while plying the roads, but that wasn't always true, and this mid-eighties example is one of the cars that keeps the flame alive for the hoontastic nature of the brand.

A favorite of the drifter crowd, the rear-wheel drive AE86 - sold as the Levin and Trueno in the land of the rising Yen - represents a high-point in Corolla evolution, and there are few Jalopnikadians unfamiliar with these 4AGE-powered coupes and hatches. Today we have an '85 Levin (fixed lights) GTS coupe with the JDM front clip and a ricer body kit. The seller claims that it's a real GTS, and not a converted SR-5, and further says that, while the car has 170K on the clock, the rebuilt Blue Top has only turned about 80K.

That 112-bhp 1587-cc iron block four is backed up by the T50 5-speed manual, and this car has the desirable LSD rearend. TRD suspension upgrades, cross-drilled rotors and a JDM cat-back are other mods that make the $6,500 asking price something worth ruminating over.

That $6,500 is more than what you would reasonably consider paying for a 24 year old Japanese tin box, but this car isn't your average Corolla. That factor, the mods, plus the general condition (these things are hard to kill) may make it a compelling choice, and as the FT-86 is still a few years away, one of these will have to suffice if you're jonsing for some Toyota rowdiness.

So, does $6,500 for this Corolla make you want to drift over and check it out? Or, is that oversteering into Crack Pipe territory?

You decide! And remember- Zip Ties Save Lives!

Los Angeles Craigslist or go here if the ad disappears.

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As we now know, the 80s were the last gasp for lengthened, four-door hatchback versions of Japanese subcompacts; once the minivans and SUVs took charge, the cold-eyed accountants at Toyota knew they wouldn't be making these things in quantity for much longer. In this case we've got a four-door hatch Corolla, fairly well beat up but still getting the groceries.


Chevrolet sold a badge-engineered version of this car, built about 25 miles south of here and given the Nova name. You could also get a Fremont- built Corolla FX in the mid-to-late 80s.

It's been lowered a bit and sports the obligatory large exhaust tip, but overall it looks quite intact. Perhaps it spent the first 20 or so years of its life as a sedate daily driver.


I saw quite a few of these emblems at the Motoring J Style show a month ago. Hey, do you think we'll start seeing Echos with Platz emblems? Avalons with Pronard badging?


Yes, that's a NorCal Drift Academy T-shirt being used as a seat cover; let's hope the owner of this car keeps the body in one piece and the engine block unventilated as he slides around the track.