Five years ago, Toyota started the GR Heritage Parts program to make new parts for some of its most popular collector cars, like the rare 2000GT, old Land Cruisers, and third and fourth-generation Supras. At first, the plan only covered certain chassis parts for a short time. Eventually, it expanded to include the brand’s more fuel-efficient sports cars, such as the AE86 Corolla Levin and Sprinter Trueno. Toyota said this week that it will include copy engine parts for the AE86’s 1.6-liter, 16-valve 4A-GE four-cylinder engine, which is very popular. People who own AE86s and need new cylinder heads and block subassemblies are in luck. Toyota says that it has not only carefully copied historical statues using modern materials, but it has also listened to what people have to say. As an example, engineers made the intake and exhaust holes in the new block sub-assembly thicker to meet the needs of the event. Toyota says that the current way of making these parts will make them much better. For instance, “additional machining” in the combustion tanks of the cylinder head sub-assembly should make engines with slightly different compression ratios work as well as they should. With a coating method, flaws on the entry port’s surface that could hurt performance will be less noticeable. More cam cap knock pins have also been added for “better assembly workability.” It is now possible to make the block’s bores with more accuracy than it was forty years ago. The item should also last longer because the crank-cap structure was redesigned with the help of simulations and stronger cast iron. Because bosses and ribs are built into the design, the engine can be placed transversely in cars that don’t have rear-wheel drive, like the RWD AE86 twins. This weekend, at Fuji Speedway, Toyota’s Initial D 30th Anniversary event, these parts will be sold for the first time in Japan. If not, it might be harder to get them, and that’s before we even talk about the problems with foreign shipping right now. Toyota said it has more than 200 parts for eight classic cars in stock right now, including the new AE86 parts.
