It has been a while since I posted in the AE86 Wall of Shame. It’s not that I ran out of pictures, but rather more other interests took priority. Today I have another Dutch beauty for you: a white Corolla GT Twin Cam 16 AE86 including period-correct 1980s stickers and a Corolla FX AE82 front end! That surely looks goofy!
I presume the front has been swapped for the AE82 front end because of a minor front-end collision. As the left-hand-drive headlights are difficult to obtain, it would have been a very expensive accident. The much cheaper and more obtainable AE82 front end has been crafted onto the AE86.
Endless sales loop
This particular car has been for sale many times over the past five years since April 2019. The photos used in the opening post are sourced from an auction when it passed on an auction site called Troostwijk Auctions. Naturally, it didn’t sell. Neither did it sell when it was listed on the local classifieds. Neither did it sell when it was listed on the Facebook marketplace. But the first time it did sell when it was listed and that’s when the current owner got stuck with it. So what’s going on? Why doesn’t it sell? Well, let me explain why…
Ill fitted AE82 front end
The first reason is obvious: the AE82 front end doesn’t belong on an AE86. The components used are a mix-and-match as well. The headlights are AE82 and the bonnet has been extended to fit them.
The grill is an aftermarket E80 sedan grill with integrated fog lights. The bumper also has been sourced from an E80 sedan, but a large cutout has been made to mimic the AE86 air vents. The distance between the wheel arch on the front fender and the front of the AE86 bumper is just slightly shorter on the AE82 bumper, and this is visible as the bumper seems to have been stretched a bit.
But that can be solved, right? Yes, it could. Either by obtaining the correct LHD front end or by swapping a Trueno or GT-S front end on it.
No proof of ownership for this Dutch Corolla AE86
The next reason is also quite obvious. In the many listings, it always has been mentioned that the car is currently on Serbian registration. The fact that it hasn’t been registered into an import-lax country like the Netherlands means some important parts of the registration are missing. Probably the part which would grant you the ownership of the car. This means the car will not be road-legal for anyone.
Mould and mouse infestation
The third reason is a bit less obvious. The car is mould, mouse and/or rat-infested. If you look closely at the photos of the interior, you will notice mould on the steering wheel, the fabric of the seats and the seat belts. The aftermarket sunroof has a big piece of duct tape attached to it, indicating it’s probably leaking slightly. The car is dirty from the outside and you can see remains of sand/dirt on the windows. You can also notice mouse or rat droppings in the car. The strange thing is that someone polished the tyres to make them black and shine. If you are going to pass a car through auction, and have expensive photos taken, why not just wash and vacuum the car for 30 minutes to make it more presentable?
Knackered and tattered AE86
The final reason is only obvious if you look even closer. On the surface, the car appears to be in good condition. The interior looks okayish and there is no major rust to be found. However, if you then zoom in on certain aspects, you will see it’s tattered in several places: a fake sheepskin cover over the driver seat, the fabric of the rear seats has been torn, switches are missing or replaced by non-Toyota items, the paint has been damaged and the doors look wobbly.
Not much better under the bonnet
Under the bonnet things don’t look much better: on the firewall, there is a spot on the left-hand side where it looks like rust is bubbling, the left strut tower appears to be sprayed over, the intake is taped with duck tape, the radiator core support is all bent and the radiator is clearly not an AE86 item.
Conclusion on this Dutch AE86
As you can see, there are a lot of things amiss on this Dutch AE86. Last time it was listed for 11K euros, which should be a bargain price for an AE86! However, given that you can’t register it, means it’s not worth that amount of money. Also as a parts car, many parts are either knackered or non-transferable and the engine already did 250K kilometres. People simply don’t think it’s worth it.
So is this car fitting for the AE86 Wall of Shame? I honestly don’t think it belongs here. A simple swap of the headlights, grill and bumper would sort the front end out. With the 1980s stickers, it’s a perfect time machine! So someone should just stand up, buy it, sort out the registration and save this car!
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