Words and Photos: Richard Opie
For those of us who’ve been mucking about with cars for a while, it’s a fairly safe assumption that we’re all accumulating an expanding knowledge base. With experience comes wisdom, changes in taste and a greater understanding of what makes ourselves tick – in an automotive context, of course.
You’d think that with a steadily growing archive of expertise, the machine choices would progress, evolve, and grow newer, stronger, faster. However, human nature means that we’re also somewhat predisposed to yearning for the past. Nostalgia is a powerful drug, especially for the seasoned octane aficionado.
Occasionally, though, these two worlds collide. For West Auckland’s Joel Hedges – one half of C’s Garage – this retina-searing yellow AE86 Levin is the benchmark case in point
It’s the latest build to emerge, fresh from the C’s, er, Garage hideaway and represents an itch that just needed to be scratched again, with an infusion of contemporary engineering know-how. Not only that, but the C’s lads (that’s Joel, and his older bro, Adam) are the first to admit their driving style has become more nuanced, focused, and this is reflected in the way they’re screwing together a car in 2025.
To understand how the AE86 came to be, you have to know where C’s Garage, Joel, and Adam have come from.
Despite their notoriety stemming from their S-chassis antics, Joel fondly recalls faffing around in a Toyota, Adam’s first car. “It was a red two-door KP Starlet. He ended up swapping a ‘worked’ K-series into it, and it was just a car that he drove to school, work, and back every day,” he recalls. “We learned all that fun hoodrat stuff in it, welding the diff, doing skids, breaking axles… you know.”
As mentioned though, it was the move to a pair of S-chassis – a 180SX for Adam and an S13 for Joel – coupled with the rise of the online blog that brought the C’s Garage moniker to prominence. “The early days, we just kinda focused on slam, good paint, cool wheels, just turning up and looking the coolest at the track,” admits Joel., “I felt like I’d won if I turned up and achieved that.”
Documenting their Silvia-based mischief, was the C’s Garage blog, and somewhere along the way the brothers decided they’d deviate slightly from the Nissans. Enter a two-door KE70 Corolla wagon, again given a solid whack with the ‘cool’ stick. “We’d been drifting with a bunch of guys who drove older Toyotas, mostly with 4A-GE power, and I thought that low-power NA sorta thing looked fun to drive,” he explains.
With a carbed 16-valve 4A-GE under the bonnet, the KE70 was a fun thing to drive, but as Joel explains, “We didn’t really know how to make it drive well. It had no travel, stiff suspension – it was just a really slippery car to drive. It didn’t capture our interest enough to hang on to it!”
Fast forward to a gap year from uni – as well as moving the KE70 on – and Joel’s mission to the drifting motherland for a spell. Living in Osaka, camping out with Jesse Streeter, Joel would frequent Meihan Sportsland, among other drift hotspots scattered around the Kansai region. Japanese drift culture would be an eye-opener. “These guys drove super hard,” he says. “Their cars weren’t super-slammed, they had suspension that moved, they flicked the cars so aggressively.”
Call it an enlightenment if you will, but it rapidly dawned on Joel that his favoured ‘slammed’ setup wasn’t going to cut it if he wanted to hang onto a tandem at Meihan. Immersion in this culture meant priorities switched from looking slick, to driving hard. “All I wanted to do was drive good,” says Joel. “When you want to drive two or three times a week, you just forget about looking cool, that just becomes a bonus when the car really drives well.”
Those 18 months or so in Osaka became one big lesson on learning how to set up a car to drive hard. Grippy tyres, low Ackerman knuckles, and adequate suspension travel became paramount at the expense of tarmac-slapping ride heights and credit-card wheel fitment. Like the proverbial sponge, Joel absorbed as much as he could in the pursuit to drive faster, flick harder, and create a car setup to suit.
“I’d been watching Naoki Nakamura drive every other week while I was in Japan, and all I wanted to do was bring him to New Zealand to give everyone else the experience, the one that changed my whole direction when it comes to drifting,” says Joel.
The goal became reality in June 2017, with Nakamura gracing Kiwi soil for the Pink Style GP. But he needed some wheels – and C’s Garage obliged. “We built the shop car for him,” explains Joel, “and he specified a few things – grippy 265 rear tyres, specially valved Stance suspension, his ‘B’ knuckle for lower Ackermn. Just those little things, and we’d never driven a car set up like that.”
Naoki arrived, laid it down, and demolished the New Zealand tarmac, at both Meremere and Hampton Downs club circuits. He was flicking harder, getting on the gas sooner, and driving faster. “Obviously we had that car to drive, and realised you can just do the craziest things with that set up, so applied that to our own cars, in some areas taking it a bit further,” says Joel.
The obsession then, was to just drive hard. While the slammed, stylish drift car will always hold a place in Joel’s heart, the aesthetic of a chassis created to wheel hard takes on its own appeal. “A functional ride height, big meaty tyres front and back – you look at it as a tool, as something that’s built to drive hard and it starts to visually look great,” he says laughing. It’s a direction the C’s Garage fleet has wholly adopted, including the freshest build to roll out of the workshop, an ’86 Toyota Corolla Levin.
“Everyone here we’d kind of seen driving lower-powered Toyotas had them set up like we had back in the day,” explains Joel. “Slippery, super slammed, stiff suspension, wide wheels with stiff tyres.” Naturally, this kind of approach was at odds with the evolution of C’s Garage driving.
Finding the right AE86 wasn’t really much of a task, actually, the car pretty much just fell into Joel’s lap. You could even call it fate – the Levin’s shade of yellow was damn near identical to the colour the C’s boys already had on their Silvias.
“It was the kind of the thing that real serious 86 people didn’t look for,” Joel says. “Caged, bright yellow, 3S-GE swapped, and far from ever being street legal.” Suffice to say, the price was right, especially for a car that was going to be used to drift.
“I did what everyone does when they get a new car,” says Joel. “I sat on the internet and read stuff, watched YouTube, and learned as much as I could about the car and what I could do with it.”
It was footage of the AE86 Champions Cup in Japan that ignited a plan to move forward with the car. “It was footage of the 2022 event at Bihoku,” Joel recalls. “It’s not a car show, it’s dudes showing up with AE86s and just driving them hard.” In short, driving them in a manner akin to Joel’s progression behind the wheel of the Silvia. Perhaps old NA Toyotas didn’t have to be slammed, stiff, and slippery after all?
Further research on both drivers and their cars – thanks to the magic of reaching throughout the world wide web – would lead Joel and Adam to develop a recipe to ensure the AE86 would drive appropriately.
“We looked at Instagram profiles, we even messaged these guys in Japan and asked questions. We merged what they were doing with what we’d learned on the Silvias, then applied that to the AE86,” Joel explains.
The chassis showcases some of the key Silva learnings. Stance suspension, custom valved with Swift springs, sitting at a thoroughly respectable ride height, Zegrace Type-5 knuckles, with Orange Planning LCA/castor arms. Cusco sway bar and tension rod brackets handle the front end. In the rear, a KAAZ LSD equipped T-code stick diff benefits from a set of Cusco rose-jointed arms, beneficial in fine-tuning rear-end squat.
With the beams still sitting between the struts, Joel took the car to Hampton Downs. “I jumped in the car, hooked fourth gear down the straight, flicked it in, chopped back to third, got on the gas early, and it just locked in like our Silvias do,” he recalls. “I thought, ‘hole-lee-crap, this is going to be more fun than I thought it would be!’”
But, the experience needed tweaking. The beams needed to go, primarily due to weight reasons. “It’s a good torquey engine, but when you’re trying to chuck it in really hard, a heavy front end just makes it push, and the car won’t change direction as fast as you want it to when you go to do that flick,” Joel explains.
But this is C’s Garage. A smoky, oily old bigport 4A-GE was never going to cut it. Add to this, the purist aspect. The AE86 was built around the 4A-GE, and that distinctive exhaust twang is as integral to the ’86 experience as any other aspect.
The Silvia power plants had always focused on a solid mid-range thump, and a serious response under the right foot. Again, why not apply this preference to an ’80s Toyota?
The brothers started investigating high-powered NA 4A-GE setups. Attention turned to the 7A-GE – essentially a 1.8-litre 7A block, topped with the 4A-GE 16-valve head – in particular, D1GP star Tetsuya Hibino, and his 7A-GE equipped machine. “We watched some in-car and external footage of him driving it, and realised he’d set it up similar to how we liked it. The car looked to have a lot of mid range, and looked super driveable – really good for tandems.”
In stock form though, the 7A bottom end isn’t designed to endure the rigours of drift. It’d be kind to describe the crank and rods as inadequate, not to mention the rod to stroke ratio not exactly lending itself well to high revving. And revving is kind of why you have a 4A-GE equipped AE86!
Joel and Adam went right down the Toyota A-series rabbit hole. Let’s build a torquey, usable, fun, and revvy 7A, they decided.
Addressing the RPM situation was key, and MRP came to the rescue in this case. Their ‘long rod’ kit slots neatly into the 7A block, the longer conrod effectively spacing the gudgeon pin and piston upwards, helping the 7A rev more efficiently. Of course, the stock crank wasn’t going to handle the forecast RPM, so you’ll find an MRP billet crank nestled in the bottom of the block, all held together with ARP hardware and assembled by HRB.
“We’re lucky there’s some talented people in New Zealand who’ve been playing with 4A-GEs for years,” says Joel, “and one of those guys is Kris who runs the Garage 4age YouTube channel.”
Joel and Adam knew what ingredients the head needed, and sent the smallport to Kris for a tickle up. Supertech Atlantic-spec valves sit in massaged combustion chambers, actuated by Kelford 300/294 degree cams and underbucket shims, essential for being wailed on.
Taking cues from Kris, induction comes courtesy of half a BMW M5 V8’s 52mm ITB arrangement, adapted to the Toyota inlet ports thanks to a CAD modelled adapter by Adam. In fact, Joel reckons Adam’s fabrication and modelling know-how has ensured the 7As have turned out ‘gnarlier’ than expected.
With the 7A-GE under the bonnet and running on a start-up tune, the AE86 was trailered all the way to Wellington for Chris Wall at Prestige Tuning to work his magic. The net result is 141kW at the hub – not a wild number in 2025, but compared to a 1.6-litre 4A-GE it’s the torque number that hits. At peak, it’s 198nm, with a big fat surge from 4000 all the way to 8000rpm hitting the goal and proving the long rod concept.
Aesthetically, the AE86 is pure Japan. “It’s a throwback to the 86s I grew up looking at in the early 2000s really,” says Joel. “The Tec-Arts kit is, in my opinion, the coolest you can buy.” Parts like the TBO vented bonnet, and Winds Auto mirrors are ‘old-school’ AE86 styling cues.
The graphics? Another throwback. In an age of fully printed wraps, Joel’s self-designed scheme harks back to the golden era of Japanese drifting. It’s constructed of individual stickers, all applied in-house at the C’s Garage shop. It showcases a time when chrome vinyl was cutting edge, reversed schemes were peak style, and sponsor logos were numerous. “I stood back after I’d stuck the stickers on, and thought, ‘This car literally looks like it came out of an Option or Doriten video,’” says Joel.
With an impending trip Stateside with the Silvias churning through all of Joel’s available time, he’s been unable to belt himself into the carbon-kevlar bucket seat, grasp the Key’s Racing wheel, and throw the car at Hampton Downs club circuit.
But standing resplendent in the C’s Garage workshop, being looked over by its Silvia shed-fellows, the AE86 joins the dots in Joel’s drifting journey. It’s a bit of a full circle moment, redemption of the abandonment of a past concept, revived with the kind of sage tenacity and considered enthusiasm that only comes with experience.
SPEC LIST
1986 Toyota Corolla Levin (AE85)
Heart:
ENGINE: 7AGE, 1800cc four-cylinder
BLOCK: 7A-FE block, MRP long rod conversion kit, MRP rods, Traum pistons, ARP2000 rod bolts, billet MRP crank, ACL bearings, Toda billet oil pump gears, ARP main studs, MRP main cap straps, Ross harmonic damper
HEAD: Garage 4age-built 16-valve smallport head, custom port work, Kelford 300/294 cams, Kelford beehive valve springs, Kelford beehive titanium retainers, underbucket shim conversion, Supertech Atlantic intake and exhaust valves, ARP head studs, TRD head gasket
INTAKE: BMW 52MM individual throttle bodies (ITBs), C’s Garage billet throttle manifold, C’s Garage trumpet set, Pipercross filter
EXHAUST: CBY stainless headers, C’s Garage three-inch stainless exhaust, false rear muffler
FUEL: C’s Garage billet fuel rail, Bosch 731cc injectors, Turbosmart fuel pressure regulator, BA Falcon in-tank fuel pump conversion
IGNITION: 1NZ coils, SQ Engineering coil adaptor, C’s Garage crank and cam trigger kit.
ECU: Link Monsoon GX4, C’s Garage engine harness, MoTeC PDM15, C’s Garage body loom.
COOLING: Koyorad radiator, HPI oil cooler
EXTRA: N2 belt stabiliser
Drive
GEARBOX: Toyota J160 six-speed, Niteparts adaptor plate, Niteparts gearbox Mount, SQ Engineering shifter kit
CLUTCH: Exedy five-puk
FLYWHEEL: Exedy
DIFF: T-series rear end, Weir 28mm axles and side gears, KAAZ 2-way centre, Weir solid pinion spacer
Support:
STRUTS: Stance USA custom-valved coilovers, Swift springs.
BRAKES: (F) Toyota Vitz front callipers, modified Honda Civic rotor, Project Mu B-Spec pads, C’s Garage adaptor kit, Key West braided lines (R) S13 Silvia callipers and slotted rotors, Project Mu D1-spec pads, Toyota Techno Tuning adaptor brackets, Key West braided lines
ARMS/KNUCKLES: (F) Zegrace Type-5 knuckles, Orange Planning lower and caster arms, Cusco tension rod brackets, Cusco S8 way bar, three-point strut brace (R) Cusco junior upper and lower arms, adjustable panhard rod, factory sway bar
Shoes:
WHEELS: (F) 15×7.5-inch (-10) Rays Volk Racing TE37V (R) 15×9-inch (-15) Rays Volk Racing TE37V
TYRES: (F) 195/50R15 Toyo R1R (R) 195/50R15 Toyo R1R
Exterior:
PAINT: C’s Garage yellow paint, C’s Garage x Hero Prints vinyl livery
ENHANCEMENTS: Tec-Arts front bumper, side skirts, and rear bumper; RunFree front and rear flares, TBO Japan fibreglass bonnet, Mikeshaw TRD-style fibreglass hatch, Winds Auto mirrors, RunFree headlamp eyeline rims
Interior:
SEATS: C’s Garage carbon Kevlar seat, Bride FG rail, Cusco harness
STEERING WHEEL: Keys Racing steering wheel, Works Bell quick release
INSTRUMENTATION: Defi 115mm tachometer, AIM MXS Strada race dash, MoTeC keypad
EXTRA: Carbon dash, Bee R carbon door cards, C’s Garage extended handbrake, six-point roll cage
Performance:
POWER: 141kW
TORQUE: 198Nm
FUEL TYPE: 98 Octane
TUNER: Chris Wall at Prestige Tuning And Motorsport
Driver Profile:
DRIVER/OWNER: C’s Garage
LOCATION: Waimauku, Auckland
BUILD TIME: Two years
LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: Two years
THANKS: Thanks to Chris Wall at Prestige Tuning & Motorsport, Garage 4AGE for the head work, Hughes Race Built for the help with the bottom end, Stance Suspension USA, Dillon Grant, Jesse Streeter, Cam Ward, Mike Shaw, and everyone else who helped out with parts and bits to get the car to this point.
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This article originally appeared in New Zealand Performance Car issue 315
