Seeing a rusty AE86 is always sad, but seeing five makes me wonder whether this place in Japan is AE86 heaven or hell. Welcome to another Japanese Rustoseum post!
Let’s start with the first one. This is a presumably late-1984 or early-1985 white panda zenki Trueno GT Apex 3-door that has suffered from some accident damage. The front has been caved in, which means it’s probably a write-off. I think it’s a GT Apex as it does feature the bucket sports seats, and panda paint and doesn’t seem to have an areal on the right fender.
The bumper lacks panda paint, but that could be due to being a replacement bumper. The side skirts have been scavenged and you can see where it used to be mounted on the bodywork as it left its contours. Also the rear features a (genuine?) TRD wing.
Rusty two-door Levin GT Apex
The second AE86 is a 1983 or early 1984 2-door white panda Levin GT Apex that has been rusting for quite a while. I’m fairly certain this is a GT Apex as it features the bucket sports seats, panda paint and a flip-open grill. It features a set of deep-dished SSR Mk 2 wheels. This must have been a lovely car when it was still roadworthy!
Pair of Levin GL and Trueno SE AE85
The third AE86 isn’t an AE86 at all: it’s a kouki white Levin GL AE85! The bootlid boasts the GL trim level and you can make out the lesser AE85 seats through the rear window. What you can also see in the rear window is a set of period-correct speakers on the rear parcel shelf.
The fourth AE86 isn’t an AE86 either: it’s presumably a 2-door kouki Trueno SE AE85. You can barely make out the E on the far left of the boot lid. You can also see in the first overview photo that it lacks the side lamp in the bumper, and this side lamp was only available on the AE86 models. Another confirmation is the chromed window mouldings as the SE trim level was the only trim level that featured chromed window mouldings. Or actually, I should rephrase that as it’s the only trim level of the Levin and Trueno that didn’t get black coating on the window mouldings. It’s a common issue on these 35 to 40-year-old AE86es that the coating comes loose and you will end up with a similar look to the SE trim level. I love the big original Trueno decal on the rear window. This was one of the accessories in the accessories brochure I found a few years ago.
Track toy Trueno GT Apex
The fifth and final AE86 is an AE86 again. This time it’s a 1983 or early 1984 3-door zenki Trueno, but I wouldn’t be sure of the trim level. I would assume a GT Apex as it features the white panda paint scheme. You can just make out the contours of bucket seats and a roll cage and this must have been someone’s track toy.
Conclusion
Seeing five AE86es (and AE85s) rusting away is a terrible shame. I think all of these cars, except the Levin GL AE85, are beyond saving. Like I said in the beginning: I’m really wondering whether this is AE86 heaven or hell. It’s heaven because we have gathered five in total, but at the same time, these five are rotting in hell.
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