The road to old school, naturally aspirated nirvana can be a long, hard and expensive one. Throwing some oversized slugs, some bumpy cams and a pair of a wide-mouthed carbs into the equation can be a good start, but only if you know what you’re doing. But if you’re hell-bent on generating real power, it’s no secret you need some serious engineering.

Twenty-five-year-old shipping consultant Gareth Thode is someone who knows what it takes. Having already owned a hard-tuned N/A KP61 Toyota Starlet, and another atmo’ sucking AE86, the Aucklander’s latest project — this 1984 Trueno GT Apex — was always destined to follow a similar path.

His goal was simple. “I built this car to have a clean, well performing 86”

His goal was simple. “I built this car to have a clean, well performing 86,” Gareth told us. As it ripped past, throttle wide open in third gear, deep-dish rims gleaming beneath a widened body it became pretty obvious that he has achieved exactly what he set out to do! and a whole lot more. Gareth picked up the car four years ago. It was red over black back then, and factory standard in pretty much all respects. Looking back now, it was the perfect starting pointing for his project.

Why? Well, anyone who has tried finding one will attest that clean, unmolested AE86s are now all but extinct in New Zealand. With a clear vision in mind, Gareth knew he was onto something good. The build didn’t kick off for a year, in which time one of the key facets fell into place. Having already had long-time Kiwi N/A engine guru Lynn Rogers do some work on one of his previous rides, Gareth was keen to have the all-motor maestro wave his wand over the Trueno’s new engine — a later model small-port 4A-GE to replace the factory-fitted big-port version.

While it might sound a little strange to swap out something 'big’ for something 'small’, it’s actually quite logical. The small port redtop engine is the last of the 16Vs before Toyota made the switch to a five-valve per cylinder (20V) 4A-GE.

A number of key elements make them the perfect base for a performance build. For starters there’s the tougher seven-rib engine block and tougher internals. Up top, Toyota got rid of the 4A-GE’s TVIS injection and, with a revised porting design, managed to wind some extra wick out of the engine and achieved a nice, round 100kW.

A 12kW improvement over the AE86’s engine was obviously a good start, but Gareth wanted more — much more. And that’s when Lynn sprung it on him. Another small-port redtop cylinder head, just like one he had, but shall we say 'a little more modified’.

The key to making 4A-GEs — or any engine for that matter — hum is to make them breathe. And having already proven itself on a Lotus 7 race car, the head, complete with 45mm side-draught Weber carburettors seemed like a good proposition. Lynn had already done all the work — big porting, 300-degree race cams with adjustable gears, double valve springs and under-bucket shims. With a re-worked bottom end, its power-making potential was nothing short of a sure thing.

Although Lynn was gunning for a 14:1 compression ratio that would relegate the AE86 to a strict diet of high octane race fuel, Gareth was a little more conservative in his thinking — and I do stress the word 'little’ here. With Wiseco forged pistons, 20V rods, TRD bearings and a 0.5mm metal head gasket thrown into the mix, when sandwiched back to the head, the engine was good for a whopping 12.7:1 compression! That’s a big number, and one that literally ended the life of the 4A-GE’s factory starter motor. On a special adapter from Japan, the engine now runs a Supra 1G number for 1kW of cranking power.

With a Facet high-flow pump supplying the fuel, and an ERD ignition computer taking care of the spark, all Gareth needed now was a decent exhaust. For this he turned to Soichi Tate of ST Hi-Tec, who hooked him up with a set of stunning headers from Japanese AE86 maestros Techno Pro Spirit. A 5Zigen stainless system runs the rest of the journey underneath the car and at an angle under the rear bumper.

As impressive as the engine’s specs may sound, it wasn’t until Gareth got the car on the dyno that it’s worth could truly be appreciated. While a standard 16V 4A-GE may struggle to muster 60kW at the rear treads, this one’s pulls a whopping 132kW. On paper, that equates to around 170kW at the engine or in old school numbers: a super-fit 225hp.

To aid in turning all this grunt into forward motion, the 4A-GE runs through the 86’s factory T50 gearbox. It’s widely assumed that these five-speed trans’ can’t handle the heat when things start to cook in the engine department, but Gareth has had no trouble at all. The Toyota box drives through a custom 3.5kg flywheel and Kevlar clutch, with a 1.5-way TRD limited slip differential evenly splitting the load between the two back wheels.

Fittingly, the 86’s suspension has had a tune up too, with the factory front struts first being modified to take shortened Koni adjustable shocks and TRD springs on height adjustable platforms. Down the slippery end, short TRD eight-way adjustable shocks and low springs from the same maker gives the Trueno some serious squat. Look even closer and you’ll spot a beefed-up front sway bar and a full, under-car course of Nolathane bushes.

Brake-wise the car was already factory outfitted with four-wheel discs, so a full set of Mintex competition pads was all that was needed to give it a little extra stopping power. With the performance side of Gareth’s vision complete, his attention turned the 86’s looks. Having been blessed with some reasonable lines from the Toyota drawing boards, the Trueno wasn’t in need of a full makeover, but to get the look he was after Gareth needed to send some more money to Japan. In return for the yen transfer he got himself some genuine FRP goodies from 86 body specialists J-Blood — not some cheap knock-off.

The kit included a new front bumper, side skirts, rear hatch with an integrated wing and a bonnet. Wanting to squeeze a decent rim and tyre combo under the car, Gareth also shelled out for some pumped and vented front fenders, and a pair of wide rivet-on guards for the rear end. With a facelift factory rear bumper and matching 'redline’ tail lights along for the ride, the car was coming together nicely.

Reo and the crew at West Auckland’s Tama Autos took care of the Toyota Super White re-spray and some tints went on. The car was ready to roll! nearly. Old school wheels aren’t all that easy to come by in New Zealand, especially if the credentials are: Japanese made, small, but super-wide, deep-dished and shiny. There was only one thing to do, so Gareth made another trip to ST Hi-Tec to look through a few catalogues.

The rims were chosen from the Work Wheels catalogue, and a couple of months later (they were custom made) arrived in the country. Measuring 15×8.5-inch with a -32 offset, Gareth had his fingers crossed that they would fit nice and snug under the blistered front and rear arches. They did and, shod with 195/45R15 Toyo rubber, are certainly one of the finer points of the ride. Inside, Gareth kept it simple with a Momo racing seat, Nardi wheel, Pioneer CD player and not much else.

The rear-end interior and carpet has been stripped out in an effort to up the power-to-weight stakes even further. The road may have been a long and sometimes expensive one for Gareth in his quest to build the ultimate N/A-tuned street AE86, but it was all well worth it. This ’84 old-schooler may look tough, but don’t let appearances fool you. Trust us — it goes even harder!