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About this blog

My quest to buy and restore one.

Entries in this blog

Nate

Visiting a garage in Sri Lanka


Corolla 110

I thought I'll talk about what it's like to visit a garage In Sri Lanka. Interestingly, like most experiences here, there's a way things are done.

The test drive

Where the owner of the garage identifies what problems exist, and how to mask them while maximizing his earnings.

Pole position

Depending on how screwed you are, you'll be asked to sandwich your car in a corner of a garage. Between the wrecked insurance write-offs usually. If it's a serious issue, you are parked deep inside so you can't escape.

Kota uda phase

Here, they disable the car. It is symbolic to remove a tire and or a part of the engine. Ostensibly to remove the part to be fixed or find spares, but mostly to prevent the customer from escaping. 

Spares

You'll be given a few unidentified components and asked to go find them. If the owner feels charitable, he will take the spares on his morning drive.

The other work phase

Here, everyone forgets your car, and works on other things. Your engine remains open. Crows defecate on your cam shaft, thereby ensuring better lubrication.

4:45pm

If your vehicle is a day job, at 4:45 PM, the tired staff will suddenly remember it. Grease monkeys will put everything together at warp speed.

What's an extra nut between friends? Something old, something new broken

When everything is put together, you will discover one extra nut. You know your engine needs that nut. You'll discover what that nut did, 3 months later, on the highway at 7:54PM

It is tradition at this late stage to break something. Cynical people say it's so you return to the garage, but it's actually to remind you of how everything is impermanent (and so you can drive home with a broken AC) and remind yourself to feel gratitude.

 

 

 

Nate

Step 1 - service and suspension


Corolla 110

The owner of the car was a traditional Sri Lankan - cheap, lazy and ignorant. He was kind enough to not empty the fuel tank, so I was able to make my way to a fuel station and top up the car. A few ghosts had to leave the fuel tank as it had not been filled fully since Chandika was president.

The next port of call was the service station. Here we emptied the dark tarry engine oil and put in some fresh (hopefully real) Toyota oil. We next replaced the oil, air, and other filters).

After that it was off to the garage to do the suspension and brakes. I can't remember exactly what was done (have to look at the paperwork) but all 4 struts, front CV joints and a lot of odds and ends were replaced. The brakes were overhauled and front rotors (is that the correct term?) polished. I forgot to get the wheel bearings replaced so there's a continuous hum. Need to do that.

Total, I think it was 150-200k

Nate

Corolla AE110


Corolla 110

It is my humble belief that Japanese automakers may have perfected their craft in the late 90s. None more so than Toyota themselves. I have always been a fan of Toyota and my family owned many (though I didn't personally), so when I was looking at cars I paid particular attention to this corolla (I believe it's the 8th generation JDM corolla?)

I saw a few sprinter equivalents, I liked them as they included an RPM meter.

Along the way, I chances upon and e110 which was (in my opinion) in passable condition.

When I say passable, I mean the vehicle could be restored, Vs most other cars which I would consider in salvage/write-off status.

In my nontechnical assessment, I graded the car as follows

- body - passable/repairable. No major signs of visible rust or structural damage.

- engine - average condition for age but serviceable -i felt a tuneup plus replacing belts, electricals etc could do.

-suspension - unsurprisingly, 30 years on Sri Lankan roads meant replace everything.

-interior - passable, cleanable. 

- transmission - functional.

The next step was to take it to an inspection company. There are two, so I tossed a coin. I had my heart set on the simian variety but I landed on the other.

The inspection was very interesting. I expected a 5 minute check, but they really took their time, which I appreciated. At Rs7,500 I considered this good value. 

The inspection confirmed my assessment. For me, the biggest relief was that the chassis appeared to be reasonable, with no major accidents (usual fender benders etc) - I consider chassis issues to be mostly unfixable. 

Suspension, as I suspected, was gone, so they advised replacing the basics - struts and bits, which seemed reasonable. 

Engine and transmission, they did a test drive and agreed with me that it was Ok, could do with a service. An understatement, as suspect the current owner hasn't serviced it in 50k km

The owner has the vehicle under "open papers" registered in the previous owners name. I told them that if they transfer it to their name, I can buy it. The owner was able to do this, so I went ahead and purchased the car.

 

 

Nate

Buying an "inexpensive" car in 2025


Corolla 110

Last year, I decided to purchase a second vehicle for travelling around Sri Lanka, as well as regular use.

I set a modest (by Sri Lankan standards) budget of LKR 3m + 10%++ for restoration.

In this price range, I had a choice between Indian and Japanese vehicles

I ruled out the Indian ones, because I wasn't satisfied with build quality and comfort in this price range. I could have got an Alto but I don't consider them safe (too small).

This left a few Japanese and Korean vehicles.

I steered clear of the Korean ones, not for any bad reason, but because I simply don't understand them. I suspect there may have been some excellent vehicles by Hyundai/Kia.

Among Japanese vehicles, I steered clear of Mitsubishi as I have seen rust issues with these cars (older ones).

One of the most important things for me was the availability of spares and body parts, as well as the simplicity of the vehicle.

I shortlisted the following vehicles:

- Toyota corolla - AE100/110, Carina, Camry, Corona etc.

- Toyota Station Wagon (90s-2000s) mostly the van variants.

- Nissan FB14/15 and N16s

- Cefiro/Bluebird/etc

I decided not to go with a Carina/Corona simply because I couldn't find a good example, also, being rarer cars, I figured out the body parts may not be available (internals are mostly shared so I didn't foresee major issues there).

With Nissans, the FB14s I saw were mostly salvage grade, I saw a few decent fb15s but most had absurd prices in the 3.5-4.5m range. 

I looked at quite a few N16s but they were either wrecked or the owners wanted high prices. 

To expand on pricing, I preferred to buy a simple corolla Vs one of the more exotic cars, as I believe these are simpler to maintain.

I saw a few corolla vans (wagons) but these were in poor condition.

The ae100s I saw were in poor condition.

I finally found an ae110 and selected it, as I felt it was in reparable condition.

I'll provide more updates on the car here soon.

I want to sincerely thank a number of people in this community for their mind help and advice. In particular, @iRage and @matroska

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