Price: SOLD
Mileage: 121,000 Miles
Transmission: 5-Speed Manual
Drive: All-Trac AWD
Exterior color: Grey Metallic Exterior with Black and Red Trim
Interior: Grey Cloth Interior
Additional features:
Center Locking Differential
Zero Rust
Air Conditioning
Factory Clock
Factory Mud Flaps
Pioneer Stereo with iPod Input
At Glen Shelly Auto Brokers we are old-school Toyota fanatics. It is our pleasure to present one of the cleanest, lowest mileage AE95 Corolla All-Trac wagons in the country. Best of all it is a proper 5-speed manual! This Corolla All-Trac wagon was purchased new in December of 1990 in Charlotte, Tennessee. It spent its entire life in Tennessee until the spring of this year when it was sold in Florida. We purchased it there at auction and shipped it to Colorado. The beauty of the E90 generation Corolla All-Trac is that it comes from a time before Toyota ceded the AWD car market to Fuji Heavy Industry affiliate Subaru. The center locking differential gives it the ability to claw its way out of the worst traction situations. It also comes from a time before our roads were clogged with bloated cross-over vehicles festooned with stylish blind spots and riddled with complicated safety aids to compensate for their inherent deficiencies. The Corolla All-Trac is a small, light, and efficient AWD wagon that offers a fun and pure driving experience along with the ability to go anywhere and bring your dog too!
AE95 Corolla All-Trac’s have been thoroughly used and enjoyed by their owners. Finding one in this condition is rare, very rare! I have certainly enjoyed my short time with this one, and despite several arguments with my business partner over who gets to keep it I am listing it for sale. The grey metallic paint and red trim are a fantastic color combo. The grey cloth interior is wonderfully simple, and the wagon-specific raised roof line blending into narrow C-pillar windows are awkward design elements that somehow just work. I find myself looking over my shoulder in the parking lot at it just as much as any of my old BMW’s. It’s certainly not beautiful, but I don’t care. The 16-valve AG-FE engine has the same legendary reliability that all early ‘90’s Toyota’s do. Powering four wheels in wagon form, it is no speed rocket, but its peppy high-strung nature rewards the driver with smiles. I put it to good use to outdrive an angry yoga-matt-wielding lady in an Outback on a decreasing radius on-ramp a few weeks ago. I have no doubt that the Corolla’s light weight was what allowed that to happen, but a slow car fast is always fun. Enough of my impressions and opinions, though, here is a full description.
The mechanical condition of this Corolla All-Trac is excellent. I gave it a full inspection when I took delivery and have put several hundred miles on it since then with no glaring mechanical issues. I own a 4A-GE powered MR2 racecar that shares a similar architecture to the Corolla and have seen almost every type of failure possible in the platform. The 4A-FE engine idles, runs, and pulls to redline smoothly (where that occurs you will have to guess since there is no tachometer). There are no oil or coolant leaks. I pulled the upper timing belt cover and rotated the engine a few times to inspect the full circumference of the timing belt. There were no cracks or indications of stretching. I have included pictures. There was no evidence of water pump leakage either. There is no excessive drive train or wheel bearing vibration. The clutch engages smoothly and does not slip. The transmission shifts smoothly, the gearshift knob centers in neutral, and the syncro’s do not grind. The AWD works and the center-locking differential engages on command. I’ve included a jack test video. The heat blows warm and the air conditioning blows cold. The lights, horn, turn signals, wipers, and cruise control all work as they should. Even the rear hatch shocks open smoothly and support the weight of the hatch.
I did find a few issues that needed correcting. The bald tires were the most glaring. I replaced them with fresh Kumho Solus all season rubber. They have less than 300 miles on them as I write this. The brake fluid was as dark as coffee, and the pedal was accordingly soft. I flushed and bled the system with Toyota DOT 3 brake fluid resulting in a firm pedal. I changed the engine oil with Castrol 10w-30 synthetic blend oil and a Toyota filter. I replaced the spark plugs and flushed the coolant with Toyota plugs and Toyota red fluid while I was at it. Rolling the passenger door window down would hilariously open the door. Hilarity turned to frustration after a few times, though, because it was the only way to open the door. A broken exterior door handle was the culprit. The right rear seatbelt has a few tears in the webbing. It is no longer available from Toyota, but I am searching for a color matching replacement.
AE95 Corolla mechanicals usually outlast their bodies. All-Trac’s, in particular, get exposed to harsh winter conditions and eventually succumb to rust. Our All-Trac has been spared that fate due to its low mileage and the fact that it spent its life well below the rust belt. It has no significant rust. I have included pictures of the underbody. Even the fastener heads, which usually show superficial rust, are clean. The exhaust, driveshaft, and rear solid axle housing have superficial spots, but they are just that – superficial. The fenders, floor pans, front and rear subframe, and trunk floor are completely clean. The grey metallic exterior paint and bodywork are in good condition, but do show imperfections when examined. I tried to document the worst of these in the photos (a complete album is on our website if you are reading this elsewhere). There are mixture of small dents and paint blemishes. The title is clean and the Carfax shows no accidents, but the passenger rear door is missing its VIN sticker. I had a friend who owns a repair shop specializing in older Toyota’s look at the car and he suspected that it and the joining panels had some paintwork at some point. There is no obvious paint or orange peel miss-match. The rear quarter panel still has its VIN sticker, as does the front passenger door and front fender. The frame rails are straight, the panel gaps are consistent, and there is no evidence of damage. All other VIN stickers are also present, which I have photographed. The black-work and red accent trim are in good condition. The plastic front bumper cover is slightly wavy, but much better than most E90 Corollas. All glass is free of excess pitting or cracks. The All-Trac specific mud flaps are in good condition. The 13” steel wheels have non-OEM hubcaps, but they are in good condition. If I were keeping the car I would mount up a set of 14” BMW bottle cap alloy wheels, a popular mod. It’s not perfect, but compared to most remaining AE95 All-Tracs, this one is exceptional!
The grey cloth interior is also in great condition. It is wonderfully simple, well organized, and quintessentially early 90’s era Toyota. The separate pull from the middle front shoulder belt and pull from the outside lap belt are curiosities that will confound passengers who are too young to remember such novelties. There are no rips, tears, or odors. The dashboard has no cracks and the driver’s seat is not torn. The carpet under the front floor mats is a little shaggier than is should be, but the floor mats are in good condition. All buttons, controls, and switches work as they should. The stereo is an aftermarket Pioneer Unit that has an iPod input and remote. With the simple pull of two knobs, the rear seats fold flat opening up a cavernous cargo compartment. The rear hatch cargo cover is missing, but shouldn’t be terribly difficult to find. The spare tire is present under the rear hatch floor.
This is an exceptional and rare example of a once normal car. It is efficient, capable, and fun to drive. Corolla All-Trac wagons have a fanatic following by those who know what they are. They are especially at home in the mountain towns of the West. If it is maintained properly, this could be the last car you ever own. I want to find it a good home, where it will be enjoyed, cared for, and appreciated by its new owner!
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