[BeemerBug_06]

The car mainly was in need of cosmetic attention and bodywork. Considering it is now 17 years old and in a coastal city like Mumbai. Rust had begun to eat into the metal above the front windscreen and formed holes. At the rear, the boot channel was all rusted too. These two areas were the worst affected among other places on the car. Mechanically it remained fit.

Furthermore, the interior had also dulled out and had developed a musty smell that refused to go due to a leakage that was caused because of the rust near the windscreen. The original fabric seats too had gone all discolored and needed attention.

The headlights had both yellowed out and the lenses were scratched beyond repair. A few bulbs too had stopped working.

As for the icing on the cake, the car looked dulled out overall and the paint had lost its gloss. So we thought to give it an overcoat.

I live by a simple philosophy, if I am to keep and use a car, I will keep it well maintained, else I will not keep it. With that thought, we sent the car in for some much-needed TLC.


The rust above the windscreen. Other parts too had developed such bad corrosion.









While it might still look good in these pictures, on close examination one would be able to make out the need for that gloss once again !

[BeemerBug_06]

My aim was to bring the car back into the state of freshness that it would have been on the day it came home in 2005!


For starters, I put the original Toyota Headunit back and threw out the tacky and ugly Pioneer touchscreen unit which had been fitted aftermarket a few years ago. With regard to retaining the Bluetooth facility in the car, I purchased a RD201D dongle that goes into the cigarette lighter and syncs with a blank radio station. It works brilliantly!

The job of restoring the car was entrusted to an FNG by the name of CRK AUTOMOBILES which happens to be in my neighborhood. I have dealt with them earlier as well and have been impressed with their quality of work and pricing.

I dropped the car off to CRK on the 28th of August and was given an estimate of about 8-10 days which was met as I took delivery on the 7th of September.

[BeemerBug_06]

Work in Progress

The folks at CRK were very professional throughout the period they had the car there and I received regular updates with regard to it. Very impressed.
Now let the pics do the talking



















The tinwork was the first job that was ticked off the list. It took a good 2-3 days for the tinwork and denting to be completed. Over time, rust and tiny dings had made their way into the car's body. The work was done by a gent named Ajaz Bhai who is the in-house bodywork specialist at CRK and I am highly satisfied by it.

Once that was completed, the car was all set for fresh new paint !



































Once the car received its new paint, cutting and polishing was underway. The entire job took about 5 days and was done impeccably with proper attention to detail and workmanship.

[BeemerBug_06]

With the exterior and bodywork being taken care of, it was time to move on to the interior. Since the leakage was plugged, I knew I wouldn't face the problem of that dirty odor in the car again. However, the original fabric seats had become rather discolored and did not feel as supportive as before. My first thought was to entirely reupholster the seats since putting covers over them would make them fat and further uncomfortable.

However, reupholstering is a tedious job and I wasn't sure if it would be done up to the mark. I was then suggested to put seat covers however covers that would be stitched onto the seat and not merely put over them. That did not sound like a bad idea.

When asked about my preference for the covers, I showed a brochure image of the 2003 Corolla interior which featured the leather interior of the 1.8 G top variant. The fact that my car had accidentally received a leather trim on the driver's side door pad proved to be a blessing after all those many years as it provided a perfect sample for the upholstery and the pattern I wanted.











Another brilliantly done job. The covers sit flush with the seats and make the seats extremely comfortable. The matching job has also been spot on. And yes, the interior now smells as good as it looks

[BeemerBug_06]

Some final touches before completion






The horizontal IND plate was added temporarily. However, I feel a Square plate suits that slot the best.


On go the new headlights!




New headlights really make a hell of a difference to the look of the car. The car genuinely began looking young again.

I would also like to thank BHPian vigsom who has a good amount of knowledge and experience regarding Corollas for suggesting me to go for DEPO company headlights as the OEM ones were too costly. The Depo lights are brilliant.

[BeemerBug_06]

She's Home!!

With all the work completed, I received the car back on the 7th of September. It was delivered with a garland tied to the front grill and I was instantly taken back to the day I was 4 years old and remember seeing it all new and fresh in the driveway the day it came home.















As they say, some cars are just meant to stay and they were damn right indeed. Here on, this car shall see much more running and care. Seeing the car all done up and fresh once again was a joyous moment indeed. I am glad we have decided to hold onto it.

I would like to thank the good folks at CRK AUTOMOBILES for all their hard work and effort put into the job. I would personally also wish to extend my thanks to Mr.Rajeev of CRK, my good friend Aakash (BHPian aakashk8300) who was an important part of this project, and Ajaz Bhai without whom the project would not succeed.

I will hence 10/10 recommend CRK AUTOMOBILES for all kinds of automotive work. The way they handled this project was awesome and I am a happy customer.

Contact details :- +91 93222 20042
C.R.K Automobiles, 135-148, Senapati Bapat Marg, next to vastu vaibhav, Mahalaxmi Sindhi Colony, Matunga West, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400016

Side note : Toyotas of this generation are truly well built and can withstand an apocalypse. Many of them are sadly in bad condition nowadays. However, I urge owners who look after their cars and own such iterations of the Corolla to hold onto their cars and I promise they will continue to be satisfied.

[BeemerBug_06]

Misson Accomplished

History repeats itself!
Here is a comparison of one of the initial images of the car from 2005 and a picture of the car from today

Hope you enjoyed the update, here's to many more
Signing off,
BeemerBug_06

[pedrolourenco]

Beautiful write up. If only it had a more exciting engine. With the current prices of this model, it's worth buying as a project car. If you don't mind, how much did the respray cost?

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by pedrolourenco

Beautiful write up. If only it had a more exciting engine. With the current prices of this model, it's worth buying as a project car. If you don't mind, how much did the respray cost?

I wouldn't exactly recommend this as a project car to someone unless it's for something like throwing in a turbocharger or the likes. These cars are best left stock and original and trust me they will serve. A Honda Civic would make a much nicer project car.

As for the respray, it came to around 42k
Well worth every penny.

[v12]

100% agree with you Beemerbug. Nothing in the market today matches the build quality of this generation of the Toyota Corolla. We have had 2 Corolla's (bought used) for a very short period of time. And even though one of them had done almost 1.4 lakh kms, believe me or not - it felt just like a new car. No rattles, no squeaks, heck even the dashboard and seats had not lost their shine.

Here is a pic of one of them.

[arjunrudra]

Hi Guys,

Awesome Stuff. I have a 2006 Corolla H4 Automatic version. The car is as good as new and it will remain in my garage for eternity.

Just gave her a midlife spruce.

Quick Question: Can you share with me what are these new headlights and where did you get them from ?

Also, How much did they cost.

This is my Beauty.

[Sandy Damodaran]

Great stuff! although I use Mitsubishi's, I just love the way Toyota engineers their vehicles, Fuss free, reliable and over engineered.

On a random note, I was recently talking about how easy, secure and fuss free QR codes are and are being used for everything from UPI to certificates, to VR demos in mall and logging into whatsapp desktop client etc. I remember trying to scan a barcode with phone back in 2012-3 and that was not a great experience. Piqued by that, I googled up the history of QR codes and was surprised that this was invented by Denso (A part of the Toyota group). Which probably explains its durability in surviving from 1994.

[arnieshwartz]

Amazing work by the team at CRK Automobiles! The pic from 2005 serves as an excellent yardstick to measure how well the vehicle has been restored, and your words do convey your sentiments. Wishing you many more happy miles with your steed.

[BeemerBug_06]

Originally Posted by v12

Here is a pic of one of them.

Absolutely right! These cars will just keep going and going and there will be no end to it. 1.4 lakh km is nothing for one of these, I have personally seen a car which has done north of 2 lakh km and still sounds and drives like new. By that logic my sub 40k km car is still stuck in its run in period LOL. I have plans to put it to good and extensive use from now on .

Originally Posted by arjunrudra

This is my Beauty.

The car looks absolutely stately in black, especially the facelift like yours. Kudos to maintaining the colour so well. The headlights cost me around 8 grand for the pair which I thought was a great deal, considering OEM Toyota lights would be like 7 grand for one. They were ordered by CRK automobiles from the wholesale market at Opera House in Mumbai.

[TurboKat]

Originally Posted by BeemerBug_06

Hope you enjoyed the update, here's to many more

CRK automobiles did a splendid job in restoring the beauty to its former glory. I think it's time to let the Zen rest for some days and increase the usage of the Corolla.