1986 Toyota Corolla FX-GT review from Australia and New Zealand

Bought the car off a mechanic... car is great he says, just replaced the engine.

But no.

Replaced ignition leads as car missed badly.

Car had an issue where it would drive and then suddenly cut out which went on for a few months.

Head gasket then blew, spark plugs snapped and Toyota mechanics said head may be cracked. They said could cost around $2000. I replaced the head with one with 120000km myself for much cheaper.

Replaced many things to try and fix dieing problem, and now have replaced the main relay, and the car seems to go fine.

Electric windows stopped working.

Goes good for a 1600 with plenty of parts available cheaply, and plenty of performance parts available.

Handles well for a front wheel drive hatch, similar to a CRX or some such. Easy to catch in a slide and is fairly flat on corners. Wheels have been replaced with 15" mags and 205 tyres, but could do with suspension bushes replaced though.

Engine has nice exhaust note, and revs well with 7700 redline and 130hp. Gearbox is all good, only a slight notch into second on hard shifts and the throws aren't extremely long.

Makes a great first car to learn to drive hard. Cheap, without to much power and semi decent handling.