1987 Toyota Corolla

FX Hatchback

1.6L 4 Cylinder Gasoline Fuel

Manual

1nxae82g0hz433123

Gasoline

This auction is for my wonderful 1987 Toyota Corolla FX hatchback. I love this car and am very sad to see it going. The following is a long description. Please be patient in reading it. This is a special car and I will try to tell you everything I can. I don't want the mileage to fool anyone! I think this car could get another 100thousand miles at least, no problem at all. The car is ready to go. Come drive it away today. I have no doubt it will pass inspection in any state. I stand behind that statement 100%. Please read my description and if you have any questions just let me know and I will be happy to answer anything I can as well as possible. When I got this Corolla FX several years ago it was in pretty beat up shape. The seats were terrible, the suspension was completely worn out and borderline dangerous, the radio didn't work, and it also had very dark tint on the side rear windows. I have since replaced all suspension and steering components, put in new seats from a different Corolla FX (they are mint, no stains or rips), installed a new radio, and I also acquired new windows that weren't tinted and simply replaced them. This car looks really nice and is back in action 100%. I regularly have people asking me A.) about the car and B.) if they can buy the car from me.. seriously all of the time. When I started dating my girlfriend and I told her about this, she didn't get it. Then I let her borrow my car for a few weeks one summer to go back and forth between school and where she was living. She was very amused that in the course of one week, she had three completely different people come up to her and ask her about the car.. a couple, a young girl her age, and a middle aged guy. I also had this car parked in my parents for several months while I was overseas for work. On two occasions my mom was home and had people knock on her door asking if the car was for sale. Two weeks ago right before I parked the car in my driveway and took the plates off it, I was pulling onto my street and I had some guy in an Acura holler at me out his window giving me props for my car. I have had people stop dead in busy traffic while I am a neighboring lane to ask me about this car, I have had utility service people try to buy this car from me after they install cable lines in my house. I have had people on the highway slow down and drop behind me with a nod of approval so I can drive in front of them. There are numerous other instances. I kid you not. There car get's a lot of attention. There really is something really special about driving one of these older Toyotas :) I love em. This car in short needs nothing and you could drive it for a long time just the way it is. It has tires that are in great shape and a perfect alignment along with many new components. Of course there are a few minor quirks so please read ahead. First, sitting in this car is very comfortable. I have driven this car back and forth and all around the east coast for many hours at a time. There is great support for your back and the steering wheel is at a nice height. The instrument panel is clear and easy to see and read. A+ all around. The fuel economy is good. I regularly add 3oz of two stroke oil to the gas every time I fill it up. 34mpg is pretty typical mileage that I get with this car... which I think is pretty good. I have been doing this for thousands of miles. Some people say this is nonsense, but in every car I have ever done this to I have seen significant increase in fuel economy and that it just overall ran better and smoother. I wouldn't say you have to do this, but I recommend that you at least give it a try. I have seen it makes a difference and sincerely endorse the concept. You don't have to continue doing this if you purchase the car. It will not harm it in any way whether or not you continue to do so. The interior of this car is in good shape and even has some extras from a Corolla FX16. No hanging headliner, fresh seats with no stains or rips. If you are familiar with these cars, in the pictures you will see that the interior has some things that are not standard in the typical FX trim level. The door panels are from the Corolla FX16 trim level and that there is also the additional center console cubby space. Very convenient if you travel a lot. I put sunglasses, cell phone, etc in it. I had someone in Ohio ship me these parts. It took a long time to track them down. The door panels are especially nice :) The only real problems with this car, which I see as being minor, are that when the gas tank is full, the gas gauge doesn't work. Once the tank gets to about halfway empty, then the gas gauge works fine... so you're never really at risk at running out of gas. You just don't know how close to full you are :) Also, the heater temperature lever doesn't work.. which I haven't found to be a problem. During the summer I never need to turn the heat on, and during the winter you can manually open or close the heating valve in the engine compartment which is the same valve the lever inside the car controls. It is very easy to do and I can show anyone who comes for the car how to do it. It could be fixed overall, but I have not taken the time to do it. The car definitely has heat. Also, the dome light does not turn on when the doors open. I think the switches are worn out that open and close the circuit when the door is opened. The light only turns on manually when you switch it on. The dash has a small "chip" missing and one crack in it. You might not even realize it if you got in the car and someone didn't point it out to you. The horn on the steering wheel doesn't work so a horn button was installed just under the instrument panel on the left side of the steering wheel. This is very common many people do this. It works perfect. You will pass inspection in all 50 states like this. It is something you could fix if you wanted to take the time to do so, but it was never something that was of concern to me. Lastly, the car has no air conditioning, the power steering has been removed, and the rear window at one point was tinted, but someone carefully scraped it off. You can see how it was at one point tinted, but now no more. The rear defroster works fine. My girlfriend and I both have driven this car a lot and because of it's size have never found the lack of power steering to be a problem. Also we just generally don't use air conditioning.. so it has never been an issue for us either. The only other minor detail I should mention is the passenger side headlight lens has a tiny chip and crack in it. It is hard to notice unless someone points it out to you. I just had the care inspected in March and the inspector didn't even take notice of it. The hatch release lever inside the car works fine, along with lever to open the gas tank door opening lever. All lights and signals work just as they should. The clutch is great and overall the car just drives really well. The engine is 95% completely stock with the only modification made is that a larger cam was installed which gave the car a few extra hp. It was installed by a professional mechanic and has helped fuel economy significantly. All original emission equipment is there and functioning. The only other modification that has been done to the car is when the suspension components were replaced different springs from a company in Australia were installed. This gave the car a lower stance by about 1.5inches. A very modest change. The car received new KYB GR2 struts at this time.. that was about a year and a half ago. Going over very big bumps the car can feel rough, but otherwise it is totally fine. It definitely looks nice and drives well. Lastly, the stereo is a Balupunkt tape deck with an Aux input cord.. so if you want to plug an ipod or any other type of MP3 player or cd player into this car, you can no problem. Sometimes the stereo makes funny "digital" sounds when it is on, but I don't pay much attention to it and it doesn't bother me. The speakers in this car are either Infinity Kapa or JL Audio.. I can't remember which. They sound good and work well. Lastly, this car has wiring installed for an amp and sub if that is something that you are into. All wiring runs under the carpet of the car and are installed as professionally as any wiring job can be done and protected by a fuse. I never use a sub and everything is tucked away neatly. It is there if you wanted to use it. So to summarize, the car has a few minor dinks and dings and a minor amount of rust, no power steering and air condition, but overall is in great shape with all fresh steering, suspension, and brake components. Good tires and a clean interior. This car is good to go. It also has a magnetic drain plug installed in the oil pan. That in itself can increase the life of an engine by 40% which was proven by GM. Every car should have one. Obviously this car is not new, but it has some life left. This is a great car and I am going to miss it. Good luck and happy bidding. If you have any questions at all, please let me know and I will be happy to answer best I can. If you would like to come look at the car send me a message and it can be arranged, I will not be available until this coming Monday the 18th. Currently the car is in Old Forge, PA zip 18518 which is just outside of Scranton. This is where the car must be picked up. I will not transport this car for anyone under any circumstances. Shipping and transport of the vehicle is totally up to the buyer. If you decide to ship this vehicle, it is up to you to arrange it. The only contribution I will make is to promise to meet the driver when they come to get the car. The title is free and clear. The winning bidder will receive the title, a bill of sale, and two keys for the car. Lastly, a $200 non refundable deposit is due with 24 hours of the end of the auction. The car must be picked up within 3 weeks of the end of the auction unless prior arrangements are made with me. If deposit is not made within 24hours, the car will be offered to the runner up. Also, if you have less than 5 feedback, please contact me before bidding, otherwise I will cancel your bid and block you from my auctions. I really need to sell this car soon and I don't want to encounter any non paying bidders. If you think you would like to win this car, but have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with me first! I love cars and will be happy to help you however I can. Best wishes and happy bidding!! On Jul-16-11 at 06:34:28 PDT, seller added the following information: Hi, just a few updates/clarifications. First, the car has a new windshield less than a year old. When I got the car it had a massive chip in the windshield. The new windshield was professionally installed and looks perfect. Also, in my description I state the head liner is not hanging. This is true, however I would like to mention that the headliner is begining to delaminate a VERY small amount just over the drivers side door. It is not major in anyway, but just wanted to tell you every detail I can. Another thing that is good to know is the car has a new timing belt less than 20,000miles ago :) When the timing belt was installed an adjustable cam gear was also installed, but all settings/adjustments are still in their stock position. It just there if you ever wanted to change it. Also the best part! ..all of the exhaust components on this car are new within the past 24months. New muffler, flex pipe, gaskets, etc. The exhaust system in this car is perfect. You won't have to worry about it any point in the near future. Lastly, I just want to say to prospective bidders, this is NOT a race car. I make this statement because I want to be clear that even though this car is in good shape and mechanically sound/reliable, it is still an older car with 200,000miles on it. If buy this car and drive it crazily, it probably won't last.. but if you buy this car and drive it normally, it probably will last for a very long time. All maintenance on the car has been performed regularly. The car has new spark plugs, transmission oil, valve adjustment, alignment, fresh coolant, new thermostat, and water pump... I can't think of anything else right now, but if anything else comes up, I'll be sure to post it. I really have gone though excruciating efforts maintaining this car. Good luck! On Jul-18-11 at 15:24:32 PDT, seller added the following information: So, this is the last revision I will make. I realized there are a few things I should clarify before the auction ends. First, this car is still what I am using for transportation as the auction runs, so there will be additional miles from what is stated in the description. I am still taking very good care of it and can assure you it is great. Second, I drove up to Massachusetts and back this weekend. On my way up with 6oz of two stroke oil added to a full tank of gas, I got 39mpg. On the way back, I decided to try just a tiny bit more and added 8oz to a full tank before I left. I got just under 46mpg!!! I kid you not! I drove exactly the speed limit the whole way and just took my time. I had never added that much two stroke oil to the gas before but figured it was worth a try. Now after seeing how good of gas mileage this car can get I am almost feeling like I don't want to get rid of the car... The auction will still run. I am just feeling increasingly sad about parting with it now :( Grab this opportunity while you can! For the record I work as an engineer in a prestigious research environment. I do math for a living and work with machines all day long. There is no chance I have made a mistake! I am really amazed by this finding. Anyway, best wishes and happy bidding. Up for grabs is a really great car that has some serious potential. Lastly, I realize it is hard to see in the pictures, put there is a small crack in the lower part of the front bumper lip on the passenger side of the car. It is purely cosmetic and has been there since I have owned the car. Just wanted to let you know. Any other questions, just let me know :)