Mature Taste
Ah, the Toyota starlet. Every single person into cars in Ireland is well aware of the starlet. I’m sure many others from around the world know all about these quirky little machines also. For many it was a first car, a gateway into something fast and fun. For others, the starlet was a car many people aspired to have at one point or another. The stigma that came with these is often negative. But lets be honest, the fact that Japan decided to make such an angry, interesting version of a pretty mediocre little Toyota is what makes us love the place so much. There is almost no reason for it to exist, but we are glad it does.
I must admit, and not being biased, I think Sean’s execution of the EP82 is probably one of the best in the world that we have come across. This was his first real car, and as his taste matured over the years, his hunt for rare goodies, and that never ending Yahoo auctions quest led him deeper into Japanese car culture. It was exciting seeing this car change over time. I’ve always been a huge fan of the two limited edition versions of the EP82, the GT Limited and the GT Advance, mainly because of the pretty badass two-tone colourways, and fuck look at those decals running on the side!
The car just looks like a little fist, its hard to make one of these extremely aggressive but somehow Sean nailed it. Exterior wise, the car is fitted with a full Toms kit which further enhances the blocky shape. The toms Grille along with the head light covers, further added to the Dark aggressive angry look this little EP wears.
The side exit accompanied by the small Canards compliment the tough little two-tone Toyota. To be really honest, its hard to make one of these pop out the crowd, as our country managed to acquire so many of these, most of them usually look quite similar, aside from a colour change. Bodykits, Spoilers and accessories are quite limited and hard to track down, Sean managed to keep the Original look but differentiate the starlet from others.
Inside there a nice collection of enjoyable gems that catch the eye, Seans attention to detail comes across when you see some of the subtle extras.
Its impossible to grow tired of A good old fashioned fishnet Recaro, the Optional extra seats and door cards couldn’t be a better match.
The interior is well thought out, everything compliments the overall style of the car.
Under the bonnet lurks a trusty 4e-fte engine, with a collection of modifications. A WEPR external waste gate manifold mated to a Tial 28mm waste can be spotted along with a CT9 Hybrid Turbo. Sean fitted a HDI front mount and a few other helpful mods. The Advance has the optional extra LSD which is quite nice.
A Toms Ecu powers the mighty little heart. There is quite a number of chassis stiffening aids hiding around the starlet, a Cusco adjustable panhard rod and brace under car in front of axle, H brace in front at wishbones and fender bars behind the wings…
The wheel choice was debated for a long long time. Having made his way through a sea of wheels with the starlet, Sean decided to push the little Toyota to a more blocky little stance fitting a set of 15 x 100 SSR Professors in meaty offset he poached from Japan.
Its not too often you will come across a wheel setup like this on a starlet, the 8.5’s were almost impossible to fit. A little arch pull it worked out, and it just about worked. The look is almost a nod to the late 90s’s drift style packed into a little angry box, and it works. Chrome and two tone just works.
I have to hand it to Sean, he managed to create one of the coolest little starlet packages we have ever come across. A journey that began with this car, one he may have been unaware of, but that’s the beauty of these things we pour money into.
As I write this, the car has gone under the knife once again. The idea was to create a giddy little well handing fun car to drive, and it ticks a lot more boxes than that. Taste matures with age, it was great to see the many guises this car has pulled off and we can’t wait to see where it goes next.
Wheels/Tires/Suspension/Handling
SSR professor SP1 wheels in 4×100, 15×8 and 8.5
Meister R Coilovers
Braided brake lines
Grooved front discs
Cusco 6 point rol cage,
Optional rear 3 point strut brace,
C pillar bar,
B pillar bars,
Floor strut behind front seats
Whiteline rear antiroll bar
Cusco adjustable panhard rod
Fender bars behind the wings
H brace in front at wishbones
Exterior
Full Toms Exteior.
Toyota Rear Mid spoiler
Optional Wind deflectors
Sneaky Canards
Engine
264 cams
WEPR external wastegate manifold
Tial 28mm wastegate
CT9 Hybrid turbo
Custom side exit exhaust
Sard feul pressure regulator
Hdi front mount intercooler
Optional extra LSD gearbox
Toms Tec’s plug and play ecu
Apexi RSM
Apexi AVCR boost controler
Interior
TRD 280km speedo
Optional extra dash variety tray
Optional arm rest
Optional Recaro door cards with speaker pods
Optional Recaro fishet interior