It seems the supply of escort gt/protege lx, civics, and integras is wearing pretty thin in my region any more, but I did see a bunch of prism lsi and corollas for cheap lately.
Do these cars have an ounce of fun built into them or am I better off finding something with more potential? Just looking for a fun beater with a 4cyl/5spd and good mpgs.
i think it would be fun to hit one repeatedly with a sledgehammer..
I drive one every day. 96 DX 5 speed. Black.
Cons:
Beige in every way.. will not stand out.. ever Most had AWFUL clearcoat and the paint is all shot no mods available except your standard springs and wheels.. maybe a ricer air intake here or there. NOT a sports car. Will not handle flat if you stick with stock springs.. however...
Pros:
First and foremost.. more than anything else.. you can get one for $1500.. or $1000 if you are as lucky as I am.. or are willing to take what you can get for $1k..with 150k on it and it will run great.. and maybe need a tune up and new shocks.
You will not care about the wellbeing of the finish on this vehicle.. therefore you will seek out every dirt road you can find. This is where this car really gets fun. It's got a bit of weight in the rear but not as much as the front so it will slide slide slide on that gravel. You just need a good set of tires and shocks like I said.
Get good (enough) tires and it will handle pretty well on pavement too. Enough to surprise you.. did I mention new shocks? Did I mention that rockauto.com sells non adjustable KYBs for this thing for about $70 a piece? I did now. Get new sway bar end links at the same time.. you'll break them getting the old ones off.
I flog this thing every day. Really quick runs to 65 up to the 6500 redline in 1st and 2nd.. the 1.8 carries it's weight. I'd recommend going with a DX to get the 1.8 if you can get it.. you also get power windows and locks too.. but its just more stuff to break.. where was I .. ah yes.. this thing is just as fast to 60 as an NA Miata. I had one.. sold it to get into this.. this is not a Miata but it is more practical and gets better mileage.. again.. beating the crap out of it in the corners every day and maybe coasting down the occasional hill I get 35+ mpg every time.
So I say.. do it. Get some 15x7s off craigs with the right offset.. stress on the right offset part. Maybe grab some eibachs and the non adjustable KYBs, check the bushings.. replace the shifter bushings on the posts on the trans with some solid brass ones (someone sells them for $40) and most importantly...
drive the living hell out of the thing.
Da Beast 
my supervisor has a Prizm that he thinks isn't worth more than about $300.. and it actually runs and drives and it's only issue is that it uses an incredible amount of oil- doesn't leak, no smoke, and a quart disappears with every tank of gas. no rust, nice interior, paint isn't falling off.. and it's an auto..
I'm looking into these now as well, only slightly newer models. 99-2002ish, with <150k miles. I want to be able to get a few years out of one before worrying about any sort of repairs. I know the cars run forever, but at some point you will have to work on them... and that's not what I want to be doing with my daily.
Based on my searching:
They run forever
They don't depreciate. A 99 with 180k will still go for well over $3K around here.
(as gearhead said) Nobody cares about the aesthetic well being of them.
Since this handy thread popped up, I do have a few questions:
-What type of rear suspension do they have?
It seems that my generation.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Corolla_(E100).. is the only one I have seen here in CO with the EXACT same paint issues.
Rear suspension is MacPherson.
Get an LSi with the 7afe (1.8L). Throw a blacktop head on it, and figure out what transmission has good gear ratios. Get the sucker tuned and make some serious fun powah.
I've got an AE95 (All-Trac) Corolla as my daily... just rebuilt the bottom end with some special parts that should allow me a few interesting options - supercharger, or NO2, or cam mods.
she pulls 28mpg while @ speeds around 80mph 
LUCKY! I would love to have an alltrac. Dig those AW11 wheels.
There's a local guy running a '94 Corolla with a Silvertop 20V swap. He's consistently in the top 10, normally 2-3 seconds off FTD, and we've got some pretty quick drivers in our club - one finished 2nd at Nationals this year in an STR S2000.
Just switched to some 15x9 wheels with 225/45/15 RS3s, it looks awesome now. He just finished putting them on, going from 195/55/15 Star Specs so once he adjusts to them he'll be even faster.
Jeebus.. 15x9s.. insane.. Seems like a lot of work to make a not-as-fast-as-another-car-would-be-with-similar-effort auto-x car but to each his own I guess.
15x9s are fun though. I tested the same concept on my Saturn... but was smart enough to go no further.
Speaking of wheel fitment, what is the factory size/offset of the corolla wheels? Hub bore?
I want to make sure my snows will work on one. I plan on sticking with the factory wheels for the other 3 seasons.
I have the exact car you want and no, its not for sale. :) 2001 corolla S (which only gets you fogs and a black interior thats different from the other models) with the manual. I autocrossed it for four years. here is my experience: if you are going to autocross it, buy the moroso oil pan. oil starvation is real on these cars in autocross. that being said, the only damage caused was slightly burnt rings on #4 cyl with compression down to 125 on that cyl. ymmv. If its just for the street, here is the setup that gave me the regional championships for two of those four years. killer tires (one year azenis 215's the other kumho 710's) both used btw. and the real key-koni yellow sports. buy them. love them. trust me. Im going on eleven years with this car with the first repair 9 years after I first bought it. (driver door window motor.) It is not a sports car for sure. it is a momentum car. it is electronically limited to 118 mph. with the right setup and driver it can outhandle anything in H stock except for the MINI. (hey, its the truth.) It will NEVER be fast but it can be FUN. not just for grandmas :) oh yeah, reliability. this is no record, but 182k miles on the original clutch and still going is something to crow about. (yes after 4 years of autocross) also I only use synthetic fluids(for everything). but I figure 400k miles out of this car at least. They are a good buy. good luck. I almost forgot so I had to edit the post. monkeywrenchracing.com has performance stuff that no one else will. Also tirerack.com carries the konis but they are not listed. you have to call them with the part #'s. fun times.
20V 4AGE merely drops in, was built for that body style.. they're independent suspension at all 4 corners, typical toyota reliabilty, conservative but cool looks in my books.. Don't need awesome JDM parts to look kickass.. Fastbrakes.com has a wilwood kit for them too, i'd say a fair aftermarket for them.
Had a '94 Prizm as a DD last year. Mine was a 5spd. Was it "fun"? No, not really. But it was good transportation. Somewhat tossable in the corners but nothing to write home about. If you need solid transportation, you can't go wrong.
In stock form, those cars will bore you to tears. I've seen a few that have been boosted (200-250hp), and they certainly haul, but are still boring. But I have seen a couple on coilovers and good tires that did really well at auto-x events I've attended. Combine boost with coilovers and good tires and I think you'd have quite a killer sleeper.
Klayfish wrote: Had a '94 Prizm as a DD last year. Mine was a 5spd. Was it "fun"? No, not really. But it was good transportation. Somewhat tossable in the corners but nothing to write home about. If you need solid transportation, you can't go wrong.
Im going to disagree. I love the family Prizm. But the family Prizm is an LSi with the 1.8L. I don't know why, but it loves to be flogged, and I love to flog it.
many years ago I almost bought one of these (5 spd) from a coworker, but instead decided if i was going to spend some hard earned money, i might as well get something fun. so i got a miata.
it was a 2nd car and the DD. best decision ever.
god i love that wagon, ProDarwin
Taiden wrote:Klayfish wrote: Had a '94 Prizm as a DD last year. Mine was a 5spd. Was it "fun"? No, not really. But it was good transportation. Somewhat tossable in the corners but nothing to write home about. If you need solid transportation, you can't go wrong.Im going to disagree. I love the family Prizm. But the family Prizm is an LSi with the 1.8L. I don't know why, but it loves to be flogged, and I love to flog it.
Yep, the LSi was a different car than the base model. I had the 1.6L. It didn't mind being flogged, but it didn't invite you to do it.
The 1.8 had anywhere from 105 to 125hp (depending on year). In a ~2400lb car I'd say its going to no more "fun" than any other economy car from the mid 90s. Depends how you define fun.
failboat wrote: god i love that wagon, ProDarwin
Come buy it from me!
ProDarwin wrote: The 1.8 had anywhere from 105 to 125hp (depending on year). In a ~2400lb car I'd say its going to no more "fun" than any other economy car from the mid 90s. Depends how you define fun.
Well on that note a 100 hp hatch from the 80s that weighs 2200 lbs shouldn't be fun either but.. civic anyone?
~110 hp with 2100 lbs. Miata? ~100 hp with 2600 lbs. 318i?
Fun is based (in my mind) on character and feel. You can't quantify these things with two separate integers.
(Forgive me if my weights from the top of my head are wrong)
Run_Away wrote: There's a local guy running a '94 Corolla with a Silvertop 20V swap. He's consistently in the top 10, normally 2-3 seconds off FTD, and we've got some pretty quick drivers in our club - one finished 2nd at Nationals this year in an STR S2000. Just switched to some 15x9 wheels with 225/45/15 RS3s, it looks awesome now. He just finished putting them on, going from 195/55/15 Star Specs so once he adjusts to them he'll be even faster.
LOVE IT.
And that's a VERY easy swap, too. These cars have a lot of potential, but are overlooked because well.... they're FWD Corollas.
But remember, overseas... the Levin BZR was really... just a Corolla.
Also, if you go a little older, like... early 90s, you can get these and the Prism both with the 4age. And well... i don't think i need to say more.
I had a 95 with the 4afe. 1.4 liters is not much to work with, especially in a sedan. But to be honest, a set of wrapped fleabay headers, an axleback muffler, some good rubber, brakes, a strut tower bar, and advancing the timing made the thing fun as hell. Momentum driving to be sure, but very rewarding for very cheap. I had planned on a lighter flywheel and lighter valve retainers to help it rev. But before I got a chance, the thing began to leak fuel from the tank and several of the hard lines, ad it was gonna cost too much to fix. A 4ag swap with the rest of what I mentioned in a 90s body would lead to hoonage on the finest level. The later 98-02 body was better looking IMHO than the 93-97 in the AE101 iteration, and also had better corrosion resistance - if you can find one cheap (and you really should), Id go that route...
I've had both, currently own a 99 Prizm, had a 93 Corolla. I miss that Corolla. Bone stock but I loved it.
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