This unique Sprinter Trueno GT Apex was sourced to special order for a discerning customer who clearly appreciated the benefits of buying a well prepared AE86 with a rust-free shell. Unlike so many others who make the classic mistake of embarking on in buying a tired example that usually requires vast accumulative sums of cash bring up to similarly high standards, he wanted the best we could find within a realistically higher budget. We duly searched, letting a few lovely '86's pass us by over a couple of months till we came across this stunning '86!Although the choice of paint and perhaps the chrome wheels aren't what either the new owner nor we would have chosen to adourn this car with, it's important to look beyond these to the sum of all parts. Aside from the initial cost of buying the car, the previous owner invested over 3,500,000 Yen in rebuilding this '86 and subsequently always garaged it. It was immediately clear to us on inspection he cared well for it never drove it hard, as it's barely stone chipped! We bought it for a small fraction of what he'd spent just 2 years prior - passing all the saving onto our customer in the process. Bodywork Cosmetics: This is one of the first AE86's built, of model year 1983. The pre-previous owner ran a bodyshop spent around a month working on this car's body. The shell was first completely stripped to bare metal and rusted areas were cut out replaced before probably the most desirable of all 86 bodykits was fitted. Genuine Runfree (Type 1) parts consist of: Wide vented front fenders, rear wide arches, side skirts, front rear bumper. The Paint-work included stenciling patterns onto the side panels even the underside of the FRP (Crystal Body Yokohama) lightweight TRD style bootlid inside of the fuel filler cap, then making a different pattern on the upper panels using cling film, spraying in candy apple red metallic, finished with lots of coats of clear laquer.Note the leading and trailing faces of front and rear bumpers haven't received the same paint effects as the sides top of car. This is because in the event they receive stone chips or scratches - they can be easily repaired, although in 10,000km there aren't any scratches or stone chips - a testament of how carefully this car was used driven since being built! Note the racing tow hook also fitted.Door mirrors we've found are poor quality and difficult to adjust / use, so we have already sourced some used original electric mirrors which will be shipped with the car. The sunroof was sealed shut as part of the body-work and the Tec-Arts carbon vented bonnet received some coats of laquer too. Wheels are perfectly chosen Watanabe R Type with custom chromed finish. They include Watanabe wheel nuts locks.Front: 4H 114.3 15 x 9 -13 (195/50R15 Goodyear RS-02) Rear: 4H 114.3 15 x 9.5 - 19 (205/50R15 Falken ZE912)Note the rear lights are late model Trueno items (A number plate light has been fitted tofrom above, rather than each side). On some pictures the front glass has some patterns. This is a telltale the screen isn't original, but an aftermarket replacement.Engine Drivetrain: There's a Freedom AE111 Standalone ECU fitted. The base engine is a Silvertop AE101 complete with ITB's which was rebuilt 10,500km ago. Components include: A Garage Annex engine overhaul waterline kit, SP Tech distributor kit, TRD 0.8mm gasket, Toda Racing cams (Intake 272 / Exhaust 288), Toda Racing Slide Cam Pulleys (In/Ex), Toda Racing Forged pistons, Stainless steel intake funnels (No 4 slightly trimmed to clear the brake booster), Komizu Motorsports Services equal length manifold, Silicone radiator, vacuum, oil mist and coolant overflow tank hoses, 3 layer radiator, Trust NS1010G oil cooler kit with 8 inch cooling fan, uprated fuel pump, Cusco oil catch tank, Uprated alternator, TRD Engine and transmission mounts, Toda Racing lightweight flywheel uprated clutch. The gearbox contains a now discontinued 3 Speed TRD close ratio gear set (1st 2.630, 2nd 1.891, 3rd 1.384, 4th 1.00, 5th 0.861). Final drive is currently 4.556 (but for best results with this gearbox should be upgraded to 4.778). There is no mention of a 2-way differential in the original spec. and none is apparent when driving. Adding one would clearly be beneficial. Exhaust contains a single rear silencer and is loud (An additional silencer bung is included). Note there's no catalytic converter fitted, only a stainless cat replacement pipe at present. Suspension, Stability brake upgrades: At the front there's an SP-TEC coilover conversion using Cusco pillow upper mounts combined with 8kg/mm springs. Roll centre adjusters are also fitted to the bottom of each (front) unit. At the rear there's 5.5kg/mm springs with HTS shock absorbers (Same as TRD). The steering rack originally had power steering, but this was disabled and removed. The tie rod ends were changed, to give additional steering lock. TRD front and rear anti-roll bars reduce body roll to near zero when pushing hard. Cusco components include pillow tension rods and rear links combined with alloy traction brackets. A pair of large pillow lateral rods are also fitted. Front tower bar is by Beatrush, rear is by Techno Pro Spirit. Half cage is by Cusco there's an additional brace across the upper seatbelt mounting points. All these components combine to give a firm and sporty ride. Spring rates are ideal for drifting and will make for a very well balanced car for fast tarmac use / drifting.New slit rotors were fitted with upgraded brake pads at each corner and braided hoses replaced originals and all calipers were rebuilt. For good measure, a Cusco brake master cylinder stopper was also fitted. Brake performance is very good - none of the dramas usually associated with tired '86 brakes!Interior: On the dashboard passenger-side there's a trio of Greddy gauges displaying oil pressure, water temp and oil temp. Where tape casettes would originally have been stored there's a Tomei A/F meter (Doesn't seem overly accurate). There's a Momo Drift steering wheel mounted to a long boss kit. A Recaro seat with adjustable rail is fitted and there's a Sabelt 4 point harness too. Some nice floormats are included and we're in the process of locating a decent condition black carpet to send inside the car, for the new owner to fit as part of continued upgrades - as needed to the interior. Also, note that air conditioning is still retained in working order!Drive: We bought this car from Wakayama, so travelled to collect it and drive back to Shizuoka first, then onwards to Chiba in preparation for shipping. Pleasantly surprised to find the low suspension didn't cause the car to scrape on the ground when going over bumps, nor was there any interference between tyres and wheel arches. The previous owner had mentioned 3rd gear had a weak synchro. This was easily overcome by properly double-declutching / heel-toeing changes. We suspect this may also be cured with Redline 75W250 Heavy Shockproof gear oil. Idle was at between 1,300 - 1,500 to begin with, but has since settled to around 1,000. Car runs noticably lean at higher revs though - so at the customer's request we'll be are-tuning the fueling map as part of additional work before shipment. There are no screen wash jets fitted and the instruments show some signs of a weak earth connection (Common on older Toyotas) but these are minor faults only.
Exterior Condition: There's no rust and only a tiny peppering of stone chips on the rear arches. The top moulding above the windscreen has some signs of corrosion - but doesn't need changing as this doesn't affect the bodywork at all. Rear lights are a bit faded with age, but polish up OK. Basically there's nothing amis with the body. We'll be taking the front bumper off and securing it inside for shipping so it won't get damaged in transit.On the road price is only a guide, since this car will not be going to the UK - but should give some idea of what's possible with a realistic budget. Make no mistake - the sum of all parts labour spent on this car vastly exceeds what it's cost one delighted customer.Note that all available (but ever decreasing) tuning parts from Japan are available from www.neweraparts.com - both tuning OEM.Newera Imports - As recommended by magazines, tuners, owner's clubs and experienced enthusiasts as the no. 1 choice when it comes to sourcing rare top spec. cars from Japan.