Every year on 8/6 Day I can’t help but search all of America’s local Craigslists to see what fun, cheap, rusty, crusty 86 project cars are out there. This year, though, there’s not a lot to be seen on that front.
Actually, there is just one — one! — 86 on Craigslist right now, and it is a long way from a cheap fuckaround nostalgia project. This is an imported from Japan, right-hand drive classic, stripped, caged, and ready for the track. I guess all the cheap 86s are either dead or restored by now.
Here is how the seller opens the listing, which really reminds you Craigslist is a culture not just a for-sale site:
First off, I’m in no rush to sell this
This car was imported in 08/09 by a retired veteran, and other than the original owner, has only been owned by myself and another enthusiast. The car has always been a Sunday car, with occasional track appearances, and maintained fastidiously. It is 100% a resto-mod with backbreaking attention to detail. Only OEM Toyota, TRD, and period-correct parts or components have been installed. Has some cosmetic defects, and was resprayed when it was imported, but there’s no other 1983 Trueno GTV in the US - it’s one of a kind, and the first year it was made in it’s homeland.
There is indeed a long list of modifications, covering everything from bigger Toda cams down to a rebuilt and shielded distributor.
This isn’t exactly a perfect car, and you can see cracks on the dash, and the cage itself is “welded/bolted to chasis [sic]” when you’d rather see something fully welded all around. But hey, it’s got Longchamps! Any sins against 86-dom are forgiven when those six spoke wheels are present. These are 15x7s.
There are other cheapo 86-style cars out there for sale if you’re looking, like this wonderful 70-series hatch with a very-questionable looking set of velocity trumpets, 193,000 miles, and an asking price of just $3,100. If you want some project car hell, there’s your ticket. Spending $7,500 gets you basically the same car with twin side-draft Webers in good condition, if you want to skip the build process. Also it doesn’t have a broken axle.
Do I still long for finding basket-case 86s on Craigslist? Idle dreams of low-buck drifting and too-loud exhausts? A part of me says yes, but I’ve also been in a totally restored AE86 and now I just want to fast forward past repairing rust and chasing electrical gremlins, to skip to the good part.