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THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
SUPER BEELIEVER
While it may be somewhat of a surprise that muscle cars have become some of the most highly prized cars on the market today, the prices people are paying for them really have enthusiasts reeling. With some cars easily surpassing the million-dollar mark at the Barrett-Jackson auctions and others swelling in value in the wake of it all—well beyond the prices paid for the most treasured of European exotics—muscle cars have been transformed into commodities. That’s a good thing and a bad thing.
BACK TO BASICS
Simplicity is the key here, as this ’55 Chevy perfectly embodies the sleeper theme with a no-frills look and monster power. It doesn’t even feature all the stainless Bel Air or 210 trim you normally find on most tri-5 models; but even though this is a plain-Jane 150 devoid of trim, Ernie Lankford’s all-black ’55 certainly doesn’t get overlooked.
Beyond the Lift: Navigating New Heights with Upgraded Steering
Steering is one of the two most important systems on any vehicle, along with the brakes. Unfortunately, steering is often neglected for modifications that yield more visual impact, such as suspension lifts and larger tires. These are the exact modifications, however, that make attention to steering so important. Suspension lifts can alter steering geometry while big, heavy tires may cause increased wear to steering components, particularly if the tires are out of balance.
After a springover conversion was performed on the Dana 44 front axle in our ’67 Toyota Land Cruiser, the new spring location interfered with the steering geometry. The draglink was then bent as a temporary fix, but this sacrificed strength and resulted in poor steering angles.
Spotlighter
’80s FLASHBACK
This Is One Bad-Ass, Old-School Hatchi
Everyone is talking about old-school-this and old-school-that, but we here at The Auto Builder don’t really care about old school, true school or new school. What we do care about is bringing our readers the best damn cars from around the world. Whether we are featuring drift, show, street or drag cars, one thing is certain: we will bring you the best cars that are out there. And sometimes the best is simple and to the point, as if you built the whole car in your garage.
Author
Neil Tjin
Photos: Justin Saiki & Lance Akagi
Even though Brandon Lee’s ’85 Toyota Corolla has been featured in two mainland magazines, that hasn’t discouraged us from presenting it to you AutoBuilder-style. We’re going to provide you guys a different twist and explore this great drift machine in a way that many readers have never seen. In this article, we break down the car from top to bottom, showcase the drift suspension and unbelievable motor, and share the details that make this Corolla such an impressive show car and daily driver.
Dominating the Show Scene
While it’s important to note that this car is a very impressive drift machine and has been burning up some serious rubber, it has also taken Hawaii’s show scene by storm, becoming one of the top Toyotas on the show circuit. The suspension and wheel and tire combo found on Lee’s Hatchi are some of the best that we have ever seen on a car of this caliber. However, drifting is not the only thing that Lee’s Corolla is good at. A rare mixture of show, go and drift is what makes this car exceptional—not to mention that it’s older than some of the enthusiasts competing against Lee! From the one-of-a-kind exterior to the wicked motor setup, this Hatchi is definitely a work of art.
Eye-Catching Exterior
The first thing that caught our eyes was the beautiful exterior. The custom blue paint screams for attention and is the perfect shade to accent the Jubiride accessories. Lee’s Corolla sports a Jubiride front bumper, rear bumper, side skirts and fender flares, plus a j-blood vented hood, Japanese OEM rear taillights, Crystal Body side mirrors and H4 crystal headlight housings. Before the car was sprayed with the custom hue, Lee had the bodyshop shave the door locks and side marker lights.
Rare Wheels and Suspension Makeover
To accent the Hatchi’s new exterior, Lee decided on some pretty rare wheels. A set of SSR MK III rims matched with SSR spacers were bolted onto the car. Next, it was time for the suspension to get its makeover. Here’s where Lee went with some of the sickest components around, starting with the Endless Garage custom chrome-moly rollcage, all the way down to the J-spec rear coilover kit. He also had Battle Version coilovers installed in front and a set of Tokico front and rear adjustable shocks and struts. Next was a Battle Version camber kit, negative roll blocks, rear traction brackets, adjustable traction bars and lateral, Cusco adjustable front and rear stress bars, and Suspension Techniques front and rear sway bars. Once all the suspension components were completed, Lee upgraded the brakes with Brembo front and rear cross-drilled rotors.
Wild Interior Upgrades
Then it was time for the man to go wild on the interior. The Endless rollcage already scored major show points, but Lee wanted some more goodies to really spice it up. For starters, he installed a set of Sparco racing seats, harnesses, steering wheel, pedals and shift knob. A TRD short shifter and Japanese drift e-brake button go along with the Sparco shift knob. The rest of the interior has been done up in a custom black finish and features an Eclipse head unit, HKS turbo timer and an assortment of Auto Meter gauges in a custom pod.
Extreme Motor Buildup
Lee decided not to go crazy on his motor buildup—he went wild! The Spearco intercooler is only a slight indication of what lies underneath the vented hood. Moving on to the car’s performance side, you can see that it’s received its fair share of modifications as well. The main weapon of choice is a Garret T3 turbo mounted on a J-spec 4-into-1 exhaust manifold. For increased airflow, Lee had a one-off, one-piece aluminum intake manifold made, as well as a one-off air box housing the 20-volt individual throttle bodies. A TiAL blow-off valve was used with the custom turbo and the gases are released via a GReddy exhaust unit.
Long Block and Cooling Enhancements
Moving on to the long block, Lee had a mild 85mm port job done. Up top he added a set of HKS cams matched with a pair of Jubiride cam gears. Of course, not to be forgotten are the 440cc Supra injectors Lee had installed. For cooling purposes, a Koyo radiator and an FAL electric fan were used. Lee also had a Permacool oil filter relocation kit/cooler installed. Transmission upgrades include a Cusco two-way differential and 20-volt flywheel with a TRD three-puck clutch. All of this is kept in check by the SDS standalone computer system.
Final Performance Touches
To complete the performance aspect of things, Lee got himself a MagnaFlow fuel regulator, a set of Hyper ground control wires and MSD spark plug wires. Miscellaneous goods added for aesthetics include a GReddy oil catch can, TRD oil and radiator caps, and yards of Battle Version steel-braided lines matched up with Earl’s fittings.
Wow, what a car! Now you see why we had to feature Lee’s Corolla here on The Auto Builder. Not only does this car deserve respect in Hawaii, we think it deserves respect everywhere.
