Boso'55: ...and so it begins

First off, I am Michael, this is my 1981 KE55E Toyota Corolla "Casey", and this is the journey to bring her back to a respectable standard...

I originally bought her as a daily driver to drive to Uni and work whilst I work on my JZZ30 Soarer, but I saw some old school pimp potential in her, and the modification bug bit. Upon purchase, the Corolla was, simply put, a rusty old snotbox in dire need of some TLC.

That being said, the '55 had a reasonably good interior (the caveat being a torn/warped lower section on the passenger seat), a decent 4K, original logbooks, owners manual and service history, and moderately low kms for its age (159,000). I picked it up for a very nice price with 6 months registration.

The rolla was apparently purchased and owned by a 'little old lady', reflected in the original purchase receipt still intact within the owners manual. The subsequent owner, from who I purchased Casey, had installed an immobiliser, had hacked away at the dash to install an aftermarket stereo (much to my disappointment), and had slapped on a set of 'jellybeans', and had evidently enjoyed some slideways action and general hoonery, evidenced by the crooked front chrome bar, stone damage to the front lip, and repaired/primered front passenger quarter panel. My only addition upon purchase was the application of a "JDM as F#ck" sticker (a sign of things to come), and the removal of the shocking camo steering wheel cover. In the glovebox I also found an old thermostat and a genuine Toyota rear main seal, still in packaging - great for inspiring mechanical confidence. Later on I saw why - the thermostat needed replacing (in fact it just needed a thermostat), and it wept oil like a fountain - these were the first things to be rectified, as well as a full cooling system flush with Tectaloy, some new radiator hoses, some fresh coolant, and oil and filter change, and new spark plugs.

My toys - beauty and "the beast"

A little later on during ownership, having viewed some HPi DVDs, a particular style of modification, featured at Daikoku futo (a popular Japanese cruise/meet spot for car enthusiasts) caught my eye - "Bosozoku" style, or more correctly "Kaido Racer", with styling derived from 70's jap racers / bosozoku motorbike gang styling (young jap punks with yakuza ambitions).

I figure this style of modification is a love or hate thing, but in an uncanny way, I find boso cars very cool (within reason, when modified somewhat tastefully). Fact of the matter is, its intended as daily, so whilst the rolla won't be as extreme as most bosozoku rides (I'll be taking cues from both bosozoku and JDM styling), low'n'slow is the name of the game - I like to think of Casey as my cruiser, and my Soarer as my performance powerhouse :)

Modifications so far: