When it comes to all things awesome, I work off what I like to call my 'blind faith’ ethos. It’s fairly simple: if it seems like it’s a very bad idea, you are probably just being a sissy and it is most likely a very good one. Think along the lines of the first time you dropped into a half pipe at the local skate park, or those 21 shots you probably shouldn’t have downed at your 21st birthday party but you did anyway because, well, you are awesome.

It was this theory that instantly sprang to mind when I first came across Carl Thompson and his 1984 Toyota Corolla station wagon sitting high up on a hoist at Warkworth’s Speedsource workshop. Taking a quick peak underneath, it was a veritable treasure chest of hard-tuned engineering that had me frothing at the mouth. Since it was not finished at the time, the promise was made to return for a closer look once things were more complete. Two or so months down the track, the dirty old Corolla was spotted down at Fram Autolite Dragway reeling off some seriously quick passes.

Catching up with Carl, I remarked on the speed with which he finished the car. “Truth be told, the Toyota would probably still be sitting in my shed if it wasn’t for Kent, Nyle and Logan at Speedsource,” he replied. “Those guys have all helped me out immensely, so the car is a huge credit to them.”

Surprisingly, this boxy mid-’80s shopping trolley is Carl’s very first car, and he has owned and modified it with much love ever since. It is almost as though the KE has grown up with him, starting off standard, then evolving into a hard-tuned, naturally aspirated 4K setup, to a soft-tuned, turbo 4A-GZE arrangement to this, the latest flame-belching, big-boosting 1.6-litre build.

You’ll note in our 'Driver Profile’ that Carl’s owned plenty of other cars since getting this one, but still he remains faithful to the Corolla. That’s no surprise, given what the thing can do. In Warkworth for the photoshoot, Carl handed me a dyno sheet showing a peak power of 331kW (440hp) at the rear wheels. All that grunt from a 1600cc motor is very impressive, so imagine my surprise when Carl mentioned the motor was internally factory standard. I asked Kent (Carl’s cousin, by the way) exactly how this was achieved. “It is a 4A-GZE of course, which comes with a supercharger bolted on the side from factory,” he explained. “Toyota has always over engineered its motors for extra strength, so all we did was pull the second-hand motor down, rebuilt it with new factory rods, pistons, seals and all that, then chucked in a set of ARP studs for added strength.” It’s not quite that simple. These sorts of power figures need to be supported with the right amount of fuel, and for that twin Bosch pumps sit in a custom fuel cell and feed RX-7 injectors. You also need spark, so there’s an MSD CDi unit controlling MSD coils and NGK plugs.

Kent and Speedsource are huge fans of the EMS brand of computers, so this was the logical choice when it came to controlling Carl’s engine package. It does a good job of it, too, with all the features you would expect from a top-level standalone engine management system. You might expect it to make for a very highly strung setup, but Carl’s car has been running at this power figure for a good while now. And he doesn’t exactly treat it kindly, either. The 10 or so W-series gearboxes that have been smashed sitting behind this motor can attest to that. I was able to vouch for Carl’s animal-like behaviour soon after jumping in the passenger seat of the Corolla for a quick burn around Warkworth. There is surprisingly little lag from the large GT3582R turbocharger, sitting on a custom steampipe manifold, as Carl buries his foot to the floor just massive amounts of induction noise as boost peaks at 26psi through the custom-built intercooler and piping. The little wagon bucks forward at a brutally fast rate, forcefully pushing you into the back of your seat as the rear Goodyear rubber struggles for traction.

Heading up to a little patch of private concrete owned by the family, Carl decided to show us exactly what this angry little beast could fry as he switched on the line locker and hit the nitrous arming system. Bringing up the revs and popping the Tilton clutch, Carl initiated one of the scarier burnouts I’ve ever been in. Carl, myself and the car disappeared in a cloud of thick white smoke and we began to hook huge 'O’s around staff photographer Hamill. Luckily for Quinn, Carl has done this a few times before.

I watched the temps on a set of Auto Meter gauges as we continued to shred through a set of brand new tyres. The needles barely moved during the whole two-minute process.

That’s thanks to a big custom Speedsource radiator and accompanying oil cooler. The Tial 44mm wastegate howled in unison with the custom-made three-inch exhaust system as the Corolla sat surprisingly flat on its adjustable coil-overs and custom four-link rear during our sweeping third gear skids. In the back, the coil-overs are custom made and mount directly to a Speedsource four-point roll cage which goes a long way to stiffening the tired old chassis. In the front, the Koni struts were originally intended for a Nissan Silvia. These were used because Carl has installed the entire front hub assembly from an R33 Skyline 25T, including the big four-pot disc brakes. Externally, the old Corolla is, well, not the sleekest shape of car ever made. However, it does have a certain charm to it when resprayed in Ford Vixen Red and dumped out on very cool, JDM-tight 16×8-inch Black Racing Pro N1 rims. The interior is a real no-nonsense affair, sporting a pair of Sparco Evo III seats, a Sparco harness and a host of carbon fibre gauges from Auto Meter. Behind the extra-wide seats you will find a NOS bottle, which is used in a very small dose purely to help the engine spool up to full boost.

Ever since the current build was completed, Carl has chased that elusive 10-second time slip. He has come very close, too, with an 11.07-second ET, often lifting the front wheels on launch in the process. The car and driver definitely have the ability, so for Carl, joining the NZPC 10-Second Club is one good, gearbox-saving blind faith run away. Fingers crossed.

1984 Toyota Corolla – Specifications

Engine: Toyota 4A-GZE 1.6-litre DOHC 16V, factory pistons, factory rods, factory crankshaft, ARP studs, modified head studs, custom port/polished head, GT3582R turbocharger, steampipe exhaust manifold, Tial 44mm wastegate, custom intercooler, alloy fuel cell, 2x Bosch 979 fuel pumps, Malpassi fuel pressure regulator, Mazda RX-7 FD3S injectors, MSD CDi, MSD coils, NGK plugs, 3-inch custom exhaust system, NOS nitrous system, custom alloy radiator, custom oil cooler, EMS engine management system

Driveline: Toyota W-series 5-speed gearbox, Tilton twin-plate clutch, custom flywheel, Hilux LSD differential

Suspension/Brakes: Front — Nissan Silvia S14 Koni coil-overs, R33 Nissan Skyline GTS25T callipers/rotors, Rear — custom 4-link, custom Koni coil-overs, Mazda RX-7 FC3S callipers/rotors

Wheels/Tyres: 16×8-inch Black Racing Pro-N1 alloys, Goodyear GSG3 215/40R16 tyres

Body: Factory Corolla, PPG Ford Vixen Red paint

Interior: Custom-built 4-point roll cage, Sparco Evo front seats, Sparco harness belts, Auto Meter gauges, line-lock switch

Performance: Dyno Power — 331kW @ wheels (26psi boost, no nitrous), 0-400m — 11.07-seconds

Carl Thompson – Owner Details

Age: 18

Occupation: Man of leisure

Previously owned cars: Toyota Aristo twin turbo, Toyota Corolla KE70, Mitsubishi Lancer EX, Mazda RX808

Build time: 6 months

Length of ownership: 4.5 years

Carl Thanks: Kent, Nyle and Logan @ Speedsource, Advanced Auto Refinishers, Kaz Customs and all the boys. Also a big thanks to the Warkworth police for their on-going support.

Words: Peter Kelly Photos: Quinn Hamill