The Long Road To No Compromise: Ben’s K24 AE86

There’s an authenticity to an AE86 Toyota Corolla that hasn’t been diluted by nostalgia. No cosplay, no borrowed identity, no chasing Instagram approval.

Ben Walker’s Corolla has its tires firmly on the ground. It’s not a big-money restoration, and it’s not a tribute to any other iconic AE86. It’s the natural end point for someone who grew up watching underdog cars punch above their weight and decided – early on – that this would be the one for him.

That clarity makes more sense once you understand who Ben is. A fabricator by trade and widely regarded as one of the best in Australia, Ben owns and runs Third Strike Fabrication. Precision, aesthetics, and perfection aren’t just Ben’s hobbies, they’re his day-to-day work. The AE86 isn’t just a project car built by a fabricator, but a rolling reflection of his life’s work.

Ben bought the AE86 in 2009 as his first car; a completely standard, Australian-delivered example, at a time when AE86s were still just economy sports cars rather than highly sought-after artifacts. Ben’s choice wasn’t random, though. Like a lot of people who came up watching early 2000s drifting, the D1GP era left a lasting impression. Lightweight Toyotas would battle against bigger, more powerful chassis; not always winning, but always in the fight. 

Over time, the Corolla had become a dedicated track car. Ben ran both 4A-GE and even 7A-GE engine combinations, but eventually hit the ceiling of what those engines could offer. The goal never changed, as whatever engine had to be naturally aspirated, responsive and characterful, but the execution needed to evolve. A Honda K24 motor was the answer.

Built with forged pistons and rods, head work and then tuned on E85, the engine made 257 horsepower – and you should keep in mind this particular AE86 weighs less than 1000kg. It breathes through a custom BMW E92 M3 individual throttle body setup, converted to drive-by-wire with twin fuel rails. Engine control comes via an Emtron KV8 ECU, mil-spec wiring throughout, and a Motec C127 dashboard; a modern motorsport brain dropped into a car conceived in the mid 80s.

Power travels through a J160 transmission into a G-series differential with TRD two-way limited slip internals, backed up by Nissan Skyline rear brakes. Up front, Wilwood four-pot calipers handle stopping duties.

The suspension is equally uncompromising. Parts Shop Max Pro coilovers all round, custom lower control arms and castor arms, and a reworked rear end with bespoke trailing arms and an equal-length upper arm modification. The chassis rails have been cut and raised 20mm, the boot floor re-engineered to house a custom fuel cell, and the whole thing tied together with a full roll cage and tubular front end.

Then there’s the exhaust. Titanium headers feed into a twin-pipe system that sounds exactly like you’d expect a high-revving, naturally aspirated K24 to sound. It screams.

Visually, the car looks just as rowdy as its engine setup. At the front is a kouki bumper with a zenki lip, matching kouki rear bar and skirts, East Bear style aero mirrors and a custom ducktail wing moulded directly into the FRP hatch. The steel bonnet retains an OEM-style silhouette, subtly reworked with a formed hump and spaced slightly to clear the K24’s height. Wheel arch flares are welded onto all four corners, housing 14x10J wheels, with -35 front and -31 rear offsets.

Inside you’ll find Bride Zeta III seats and a Vertex Ten Star steering wheel, the latter holding particular significance. Ben tracked it down with help from Ueno-san (founder of Vertex) himself through Hypertune while Ben was working there. It was a part he’d dreamed about long before he even owned a car, and it remains one of the most personal details in the entire build.

For all the fabrication, engineering, and planning, the most meaningful memory tied to the Corolla has nothing to do with drift days or parts lists. When Ben and his dad first bought the car, Ben couldn’t even drive a manual. Ben’s dad picked him up from a midnight shift at his part-time job and taught him how to drive it on the way home. That moment, in hindsight, defines the car more than any number or part ever could.

Ben will tell you he’s obsessive about details, and the car proves it. Every bracket, every weld and every component looks like it belongs in a gallery. The downside, by his own admission, is that he ends up leaving no part of the car untouched…repeatedly.

What’s next for the car is fitting, too. The AE86 is heading to Japan as Ben relocates, with plans to finally drive the tracks he’s been watching online for more than 15 years. Beyond that, it’s time for refinement; experimenting with different steering knuckles and rack setups, chasing steering feel rather than numbers. There’s also talk of a full Trueno front end, simply for some variation when the Levin look starts to feel too familiar.

Ben’s AE86 will forever be the golden standard of the chassis for me. Sure, there are concours examples and tribute cars that will please the masses, but very few of these cars have had an A-Z transformation – all done in house and with a killer story to match.