I t l i v e s
Good as new!
So, since the above engine mess and head gasket replacement job again, and arrival of the Blade, the Corolla had pretty much been sat outside, ran around a couple of times but not very far due to trust issues in my own work. After noticing that sitting outside wasnāt really doing that rust in the rear end any good, I cleared some space in my garage and stuck it inside.
Fast forward to today. Got a nice reminder last week that the MOT was due. Last year emissions had been borderline, so was expecting a fail based on the catalyst having had a ton of coolant dumped through it since then, and the car having just been stood.
I have been considering getting rid of it in favour of something else daft, and expected the worst. The clutch is still a bit iffy, the battery was dead, the tyres had lost some air, the brakes were sticking on, I wasnāt exactly in a hopeful position and was expecting a massive fail sheet, sort of cementing the decision I had been trying to hold off on for as long as I could.
I usually have some sort of prep when a carās going in for MOT, but in this instance I just jumped it, put some air in the tyres and made sure the handbrake had freed itself off. I played it some of the music of itās people - Eurobeat - on the way to the garage, and was reminded that even with itās sometimes questionable downshifting and worrying engine I put together, it is a really light fun thing to drive.
Parked it up, dropped off the keys and went on my merry way to find a burger, trying to not worry about it, resigned to the fact it was probably at the end of itās reasonable life and then some.
Erm, wrong. Itās still a Toyota Corolla you prune.
The exhaust apparently is not leaking gas, but thereās a small dribble of condensation coming out of it at times - I canāt feel too aggrieved as itās still the original put on there in 1998. Bulb was a huge 40 pence.
The problem this leaves me with now is itās still in a state where itās got enough annoying bits to not use it everyday, and that if I run it through another salty winter it really will be itās last. What to do? Iāve tried a few body shops and not sure any of them want the work, most have said they just wonāt do it or have quoted 4 figures, and even if I went with that Iād be at a point where I was still left with a slightly higher mileage, not interesting to most if extremely rare Corolla.
A close friend has also bought another E11 Corolla which Iāve had a few drives of recently and after driving this properly again, itās reminded me why I like them so much, but I think even the most dedicated would be close to giving up with this one by now. This will probably go quiet again while it sits and I decide what to do come the salt in the winter. I still havenāt had all the E11 variants just yetā¦
So - it has been 9 months, the Corolla has not moved. I go in and start it now and then, but the brakes are stuck, itās SORN, and I still havenāt decided what to do with it. Someone agreed to buy it but that might change now with whatās going on, Iām not sure yet.
As Iāve recently started restoring old stuff again, Iāve been getting back into cassettes a bit, and decided to see today if the 22 year old cassette player would still work with real cassettes. Iāve done a few Sony Walkmans recently and all have had the same expected issues - rotted belts, leaked caps, battery damage etc.
I have a sacrificial Human League cassette that I used for testing as it doesnāt work in most players, and in the best ones so far it barely worked at all, and then a good Duran Duran cassette that works fine in everything.
Went for the Human League first incase it chewed it, as like I say, it already didnāt work - or so I thoughtā¦
Best song of the 80s right there
Honestly this is the first time Iād heard this tape work, Iād been using this as a test tape for mullered walkmans. Quite the coincidental point in the tape for it to play as well.
I still really canāt decide what to do with it - I donāt think itās right enough to just carry on using because I have worries with the engine and rust, nobody is ever going to see a 90s 1.3 Corolla with plastic bumpers as a classic besides me, and I just donāt really have a purpose for it being here. Itās very much a head vs heart thing, I could try and get it restored to a usable level, or I could make space for something else I can experience, like perhaps buying an MGF, getting some track instruction and upgrade my competition license, or I hear thereās a Trabant with a dodgy paintjob goingā¦
I donāt know - I would say time will tell, but after 15 months it still hasnāt. For those of you who know this car, imagine if the rest of the car had given me as much luck and reliability as this 22 year old cassette deck?
So without wanting to speak too soon - this might have another life in it with me just yet.
Short summary of where it currently sits:
- One year ago yesterday was the last time it turned a wheel (the above MOT post).
- Rear arch rust is bad, mostly rest of the car is still very solid.
- Engine still a bit dubious with my head gasket job but appears happy enough.
Itās been sold twice now but both times that has not happened for whatever reason. Itās at the bottom of itās curve monetary value wise, and if I sell it on the open market it will be killed off for parts. Itās still in that weird bit between a retro/classic and just an old car.
My personal circumstances have changed so Iāve gone from doing mad miles per year to waaaay less than average. This means I no longer really need the Yaris as it was bought to do the hard commute miles. I had tried getting bodywork quotes but was getting mad prices or people just didnāt want to do the work, and Iāve now had a good friend who I trust will do great work offer to take the job on.
Itās not a G6R or anything but the numbers are steadily going looking at the rough values on HowManyLeft:
Iām starting to do my own head in with this car but it doesnāt seem to want to leave. And anyway, who else is gonna save it?
Pointless artsy photo time!
Not really, more to illustrate it hasnāt moved an inch for over a year til today. Suspect I may have annoyed some creatures doing this just so I could blow the tyres up. These almost look like tiny nests, and they are all over the sodding thing.
So, the dust and cobwebs didnāt magically disappear on the way to the garage this morning, itās first drive in ages. Brakes made all the happy noises but, apparently they must have cleared up.
Again, same technique as last time - do absolutely sod all prep or checking, use the revs on the way there to clear the tubes and apparently everyoneās a winner. Despite itās own best efforts, it appears it still isnāt dead yet.
I agree - it may not seem like the most attractive shape around at first glance, and the six-speed gearbox seems overkill with just 85 bhp on tap, but itās an underrated thing now. After all the work youāve done to it just to preserve its roadworthiness ever since you bought it, it has refused to throw in the towel so far.
And I remember the time when, in an audacious attempt to bring Toyota back to the BTCC, Andy Rouse tried to create a Super Tourer out of it, only to have his bold plans undone by lack of funding:
That particular car, unlike yours, has since been campaigned in New Zealand as a historic touring car, and resides there to this day.
For those of you still following this old thing four and a half years later, there is an update. Events have finally conspired against the Corolla. No no, not to finish it off, to drag it kicking and screaming back onto the road where it doesnāt seem to want to belong.
As you can see above itās done 180 miles since the first start from the least confidence inspiring engine repair ever. As youāve probably seen in my other post, my job has changed due to some ongoing thing I think is called COVID that you may have heard of. My miles will now drastically reduce, and my storage situation changed a bit ago so the Yaris was surplus, and has now gone.
For the princely sum of 5 quid, I changed the insurance onto this thing, and have taxed it today for the first of the month. Iāve got it a new battery, a nice Mann oil filter, some of Shellās finest 5w30 Helix and even lashed out on a set of NGK plugs. To be fair it still contained the plugs that suffered the head gasket failure, can you tell which cylinders took the hit? (No cheating scrolling up)
Cylinder 1 at the bottom, 4 at the top. Clues: coolant is pink. You win nothing if you get it right, Iām just being an arse.
That said, all of that together and it sounds raring to go, just compare this to that first start after the head gasket above:
Itās still a bit crusty in places but I aim to tidy what I can. Itās been sat for two years now, and I donāt see the point in that, even if it does something daft itāll be doing much less miles now, and I donāt get any enjoyment from not driving it. It is still wearing itās Garage Dust Racing livery but thatāll come off at the weekend, or if I get chance before then.
It almost seems fitting that itās return to the road is 3 years to the day since this episode:
Well, been a while since Iāve been on the forums. For any other people whoāve been around for a while and had a passing interest in this (all one of you) I bring sad news.
Itās gone. Left the fleet.
Itās not under terrible circumstances at least. Space was conspiring against me and at some point you have to be sensible and not be able to keep them all. I havenāt got the skills to give this car what was starting to be needed on the body, but I gave it a new life at least twice where most would have just sacked it off to the scrappers as an old Corolla that wasnāt worth doing the head gasket on. Iām very sad, the car had a lot of value to me personally and we went through a lot of stuff.
Itās gone off to live in Northern Ireland, Toyota country, with a family into other old Toyotas. Hopefully that means it carries on improving and sticks around for years to come.
Just to note though, it smashed another MOT with just a cracked CV boot wanting doing. For something I only intended keeping a year when I first got it until it was knackered, it was great 5.5 years down the line. Probably the best itās been for years when I sold it. 
Hi
I have the same car in metallic black, same reg but 3 letters laterā¦ V116NAL
Garage kept, 60k, 27 service stamps, totally original and immaculate
FULL MOT
Electric sunroof
Ice cold air conditioning
Where do you find cars this nice, this old!
No way!
I wanted that one when I got the red one, it was available for sale at the same garage but sold the day before I could get down, so I ended up with the red one.
If you read from the start of my thread, Iād reckon you got the better one of the two at the time. 
Amazing
Itās immaculate.
Iām a dealer and took it in part exchange.
Local guy cherished it for years.