4cylndrfury wrote:
93-97 'Rolla (AE101)
Parts grow on trees, more reliable than gravity, not much difference between a Rolla and a Civic aside from aftermarket support. Because theyre not Civics, theres no rice tax. Crafty parts binning can do fun things with other 'yota A engine parts. Simple things like timing advances and stiff bushings and mounts will go far. Best shifter feel Ive ever experienced. Could rotate well, easy to lighten, bulletproof suspension. The one I owned never once even whimpered when I beat up on it, always started, always went. The fuel lines and ancillaries in the model I owned suffered terminal cancer, hence our separation, but she was still running and driving well when we parted ways. Great car, would buy again
x2.
Don't forget that the 93-97 Geo Prizm is the same exact car, and usually comes even cheaper than the Corolla.
I dailied one for a few years, before selling it to a buddy who had it for a few more years. In the 7+ years combined that we had the car, I think it took barely over a grand to keep it on the road. That includes a set of tires...
When I had the car, it was kept stock and returned dead on 30MPG's putzing around town, while netting over 40 on cross state road trips. I was able to get four adult males of varied size into it comfortably on many occasions, and the trunk was rather roomy.
When I sold it to my buddy, that's when the real test began. The car was given a few eBay goodies meant for a Corolla (header, catback, intake, sleeved coilovers, etc.) that were an obvious direct fit, got a little weight reduction and the afore mentioned timing advance, and the car took an absolute thrashing. I'm talking repeated daily trips to rev limiter, power shifts and violent attempts to get the car to chirp going into the 3rd gear...
The car never once complained about the beating. If I recall, the only problems my buddy ever had were: a rear strut that suddenly blew out (right after it was lowered on the struts already on the car), a broken tie rod end and a couple of brake caliper pins that got dry and stuck. It also stood up very well to t-boning an Escort that turned left in front of it at about 30MPH, needing only a hood and headlight. By the time my buddy got rid of it, the only complaint was that it puffed a bit of blue smoke, which is common for even elderly driven high mile 4AFE/7AFE cars.
The car was simple as Lego's to diagnose and fix. Along with two helpers, I did a motor swap in the thing in under 8 hours at an extremely leiserly pace. Parts are dirt cheap and readily available at all parts store, and there's always an abundance of Prizrolla's at pick a part yards. I rolled around in the thing with PLPD insurance, and it was something like $300/year...
My only complaints were:
-Some cheap plastics. Door handles and window cranks like to frequently break.
-Awful tendency to rust in the rear quarters and on the rocker panels.
I'm keeping my eyes open for a clean 5-speed example that I can daily.
I really like your Protege, and I look for them frequently, but nothing so far. I called on one a while back but got no return to my message.
