The Smoking Tire’s latest one-take features an unassuming 1995 Toyota Corolla with a period correct swap that will elicit more than a few grins to whoever watches the video.
Think 1995 Toyota Corolla and the adjectives boring, slow, and pedestrian usually come to mind. But according to this owner’s take on a 1995 Toyota Corolla that popped up on The Smoking Tire’s one take earlier yesterday (Dec 12, 2017) the seventh generation Toyota Corolla can be one fun canyon carver with the right motivation under the hood and a decent suspension setup. Check out the video of this uncommon swap below and do yourself a solid and turn your computer speakers volume knob all the way up to hear this baby sing.
According to the owner, he bought this car in pretty much the same condition you see it in the video. As mentioned, underneath the hood is Toyota’s magnum opus for the 4A engine, the blacktop 4A-GE. Stock, the blacktop 4AGE will do 160 HP at the crank but thanks to a couple of bolt-ons, the owner reckons 170 HP is probably where it’s at. Around the back, this Corolla’s stopping power benefits from rear discs out of a Lexus ES300. Suspensionwise, there are KW coilovers around each corner, whiteline bushings to make noises a tad quieter and frame stiffeners to make the chassis that much tighter.
From the factory, the 1995 Toyota Corolla was as dull as can be. For the North American market, a few lucky Corollas came with 7A-FE engines with a whopping 115 HP but most came with the 4A-FE engine with just 105 HP. It was basic transportation at its best.
But thanks to some bright minds over at Toyota who continuously developed the 4A engine through multiple, more powerful iterations, out came the blacktop 4AGE engine in 1995. This engine benefited from higher compression, 20 valves from four cylinders, and individual throttle bodies. As mentioned, final power numbers were around 160 HP and 119 lb-ft putting it on par with some of the best Japanese four-cylinders of the time.
The video speaks for itself. With an 8,000 RPM redline, the little Corolla really comes alive and Matt Farah certainly has a blast taking that engine to its fullest potential on Calfornia’s canyons.
It’s really a great enthusiast build that’ll see plenty more fun miles put on it thanks to such a willing engine.
