How did I end up with this car?

Since my first car was a Corolla AE92 (E9 for short) aswell, I already knew quite a lot about this type of cars and was pretty much a big fan of them.

It wasn't long after buying that first car, that I joined the Dutch CorollaClub and was a regular guest at the forum that goes with their website.

It was somewhere in the summer of 2005 that someone placed a tip on that forum about a special E9 that was up for sale.

Off course, I was very curious about what kind of E9 it would be. In the topic, the guy that placed the tip, included some information and pictures. I had never seen a E9 like that before. I didn't even know there was a coupe model as well!

At first, I thought it was a strange car, It didn't look anything like the Corolla's we were used to. But the more I looked at it, the more it began to appeal to me .

I had been playing with the idea of a project car long before that, and it seemed this car had a reasonable asking price.

At the time, I had to put those plans on hold. I didn't have the kind of money I would need to pull of such a project.

But I was already sure of a job with the Royal Dutch Navy in a few months, so that money wouldn't be an issue for long.

I made a deal with myself: If the car would still be there when I could afford it in a few months, I would take a better look at it.

I did realize that the chance of the car still being up for sale by the time I had the money for it, was pretty slim. But in my mind, I had already stripped the car and made all the plans for what I was going to do with it. I just couldn't get it out of my mind anymore!

September 2005 was the moment everybody remembers later on: My first paycheck!

College's of mine bought all kinds of great new stuff with it. Laptops, mobile phone's, game consoles etc. And what did I want to buy?

I had set my mind on a 17 year old car in unknown state! 

Through the guy that placed the tip on the forum before, I tried to get in touch with the man selling it. It turned out, it belonged to a small car dealer. But the dealer had just moved to another town with his company. The guy from the tip didn't know where he went at that time.

Luckily for me, CorollaClub members gladly help each other, and the guy from the tip asked around a bit and was able to tell me where the dealer went . He moved to Enschede, a few dozen km's away from where he was.

The internet and the phonebook didn't produce any results yet though.

But the guy from the tip was able to get me a phone number.

It was time to make a call. A foreign voice on the other end told me he had a Corolla from the year that had been in the tip.

But was it the coupe I had been looking for? I couldn't quite make that out from our conversation, and after talking to him a bit longer, I figured the guy was probably better in selling cars than that he really knew anything about them. It could just as easily been a European Corolla. But since this was my only lead, I made an appointment to come and have a look at the car.

Somewhere in November I was on weekend leave, took a detour home and drove all the way across the country to Enschede. After searching for a while, I found a shed with a sign on it from the car dealer on a desolated industrial area. And what did I find among the other bangers behind the fence: 

I was a very happy man! Finally I faced the car I had been thinking about for months.

In real life the car looked fantastic, better than in the pictures. I had to own it!

Unfortunately the Corolla was in poor shape and probably neglected for years. The guy from the tip had already told me that the car had stood still for months, maybe even years.

Meanwhile, the car dealer had arrived and he opened it up for me so I could take a better look.  He proved to be a friendly and helpful man.

I quickly did a thorough inspection on the car for any sign of rust and other problems. The dealer had already popped the hood for me so I could have a look around there as well. It all looked a bit scruffy, bit it seemed like it was all there and it was the famous 4A-GE!

While I was busy  with the car, the dealer went inside and came out with a battery and some jumper cables. While I was still thinking about, it being a good idea to try and start the car, he already took the key and the car started immediately!

After all that time, that could only be a Toyota!

The engine was running a bit rough and didn't really sound as it should, but hey, it was running, so how bad could it be?

All in all, the car had some minor problems.

But I was looking for a project car, so that wouldn't be to much of an issue for me.

So I decided I would buy it. I negotiated with the dealer and paid a small deposit for it. Made an appointment to pick it up and went home filled with joy.

Two weeks later I was on the road early with my dad and younger brother to help me, in my dads car with a rented trailer hooked to it.

 After a 3 hour drive we arrived in Enschede, where I paid the dealer the remaining amount for the car and he handed us the papers.

All we had to do now was to register it to my name at a local post office. I had already asked the dealer if the post office would still be open that morning and he assured me it would. After a long search, we finally found it...closed off course...

I was really pissed!

Back at the dealers, he naturally didn't want me to take the car, without the proper paperwork.

It took us a whole lot of time, a little persuasion of my father and the dealer was feeling a little guilty about the closed post office, but eventually we were allowed to take the car home. We had to promise him though that we would fax en send him the proper paperwork first thing on Monday morning. Off course we did.

That really made my day, and the car was driven (under it's own power) on to the trailer. Time to go home!

Officially, the car and trailer were way to heavy for my dads 1600cc Toyota Carina E. But it proved to be up for the task and we arrived home safely.

Looking back, I was very happy the police didn't stop us that day!

Finally, the car was home! The next day I was up early and turned the whole car inside out to have a good look at everything. I even drove it for a few meters (It would be the last meters I would drive in it up to now.)

You wouldn't expect it by looking at them, but underneath they are the same!

Like I said before, the car had it's problems. But I was convinced it would be a good car to start from and turn it into something fantastic again.

I had the car suspended from taxes and such in a few days, and the first thing I had to do now was to find myself a good place to work on it.

Sadly, that wasn't as simple as I thought it would be.

 After a very long search, I found a place that was bigger than I had ever imagined and not to expensive to rent. It was ideal!

Next thing I had to do, was to get myself some proper tools for the job. So I bought myself a good sized compressor, some air tools, a lot of hand tools, you name it.

I fabricated my own workstation and after dreaming for six months, I could finally start the project.

The car was towed to my workshop, I took off the wheels and placed the whole car on axle stands. It wouldn't be coming off for quite some time.

That's the beginning of this project.

It's a pretty long story, but I wanted to tell you anyway. It shows that you never know how you might end up with a car like this.

You can read everything that happened after this story on the rest of this website.