My 88SC has a factory rear swaybar as well Mrskylighter

Hi forum
 
Great to see this much activity on my post  Thanks for the positive feed back as well. I look forward to the day she is ready.
 
I had a look and I also have a rear sway bar wiso? It also looked rather original, mind you the suspension on mine is far from original. It does look original but who knows?
 
The discussion of suspension set up and the like is a big talking point in Japanese car mags and forums. I have a mate over in Japan at the moment and I regularly get him to send me mags and ask for help with translating certain articles and the like. This is a topic that is discussed a fair bit over there as well.
 
The snap oversteer issue was down to many characteristics with these cars. My understanding is that the combination of stiff suspension and general setup was the reason for the MK1a issue. The original AW11 had issues transferring its weight to the front of the car during braking and cornering. The combination of a mid ship power plant, stiff chassis and suspension all contributed. This is predominantly what let to its snap oversteering.
 
To try and resolve this Toyota softened up the suspension in the MK1b. With other suspension tweeks they mitigated the effect as there was much better weight transfer as a result. This however did lead to a bit more body roll.
 
My research then led me to many a interesting discussion in Japan. The consensus over there is if your after a cheap mod that retains some of the cars original characteristics (eg: ride hight, harshness, cornering feel, etc), go with the option I laid out above. 
 
My understanding is that even though the later model suspension is designed to take the extra weight, the MK1a's stiffer suspension can also deal with the load. This then combined with the MK1b's softer suspension in the front helps with weight transfer and helps curb some of the body roll found in the stock MK1b. This setup does give the car a slight favour towards understeer. This however is better I feel for road use anyway.
 
I will admit that I am also a little sceptical of this setup, it seems to good to be true. Thats why I also have a set of AW11 SC rear struts and springs. That way if I see that the Mk1a parts aren't copping I can switch them out. 
 
Ill keep the forum posted on my findings

I read somewhere that in '89 they started readding the swaybar, but I can't remember if it was JDM or USDM. Mine is a late 87 model, last few months before they moved onto the 88 spec with the spoiler brake light (not LED though, that was '89) and mine never had a rear sway.
 
What Wiso said is 100% correct though; by removing the rear sway it settled the suspension for the everyday driver. I can contest to this where I have on on occasion pushed my car beyond the limit around the corner, deliberately so I can pull a stupid little skid. I have managed to get it slightly sideways in the process, but not even oversteer at all.
 
My current aim for suspension is the more traditional method of beefing up the front sway (whiteline) and tower strut (Cusco), adding the rear sway (SW20 turbo) and adding rear tower strut (Cusco). At the same time going for a lowering spring (Eibach) and adjustable suspension (Koni). Toe changes and more rear camber should settle the car so it has a much higher point of grip before giving way, so when I manage to get it to the track it should handle how I want, but also very friendly on the street. If you're driving a car that can snap oversteer on the street, you really shouldn't be driving it at all.
 
The HKS exhausts are quite louder than stock, but they are not quite as loud as the Fujitsubo's. I'm actually very interested in Mrskylighters exhaust and have messaged him about it. I have an OEM replacement that's very quiet but not that restrictive, I don't mind it but want a bit more noise since this ain't my daily driver.

Well then we have the potential for a three way deal here (no euphemism intended ).
 
As I want mine more set up at this point as a gran tourer your OEM system sounds like what im after maj. If you decide to go with the HKS muffler let me know and ill take your one. Every one wins then :)

G'day mate,
 
Welcome to the club. I should have looked at the pics before reading the rundown as I recognised the car instantly. You bought this on the central coast from my mate Lije. He had the car for at least the couple years, though I can confirm none of the aforementioned 'mods' were his handywork! I had always wished he would do something to fix it up, but didn't seem to have the time between his other projects. Looks like you're on the right path though.
 
Does this have the big pulley on it? I know that he ran a NST on it at one point, but not sure if he stuck with it.

Hey spike 10000
 
You would be correct in your assumption, this is the car from the central coast. Sorry for waisting your time with my huge write up .
 
The fine gentleman i bought the car from said he didnt do any of the half baked interior mods. It was either one of its jap owners or the guy he got it from. The guy I bought it from seemed very down to earth and had an appreciation for these motors, so I couldn't imagine he being the one that did these mods.
 
It is running a higher rated boost pulley, I can't see many other mods. There was a boost gauge installed that was causing a monumental boost leak. The pipping leading to the gauge was cracking in multiple locations. The guy that owned the car previous to your mate really did a hack job on this thing. 
 
Ill be posting soon all the work I have done on the cars mechanics, so keep an eye out on this space.

Yep three way swap is definitely an option, I'll be in contact once I know what's happening.

Awesome, sounds like a plan. This means I could organise the suspension and exhaust through you. look forward to doing business.

Not a waste of time at all. Always happy to read about new and enthusiastic owners!
Lije definitely knows his way around the 4A's. Every time I go to his place I am blown away by the shear amount of spares he has. I need to work on convincing him to buy another one now!

Respect for restoration! Love AW11's with a passion. I know you've decided to go another way, but after owning a 87 SC & driving a 89, I couldn't see any need to stray away from the original OEM parts (with exception of adjustable sways, springs/shocks/coilovers, strut braces). Correctly aligned, I really couldn't fault them even with hard driving.
 
Can't wait to see this thing progress. Blue AW11's are ugly as hek when the paint's faded etc, but are one of the best looking when fresh.