TORC Featured Vehicle - Toyota Owners and Restorers Club

It was definitely an honor to be recognized by judges (TORC and J's Tipo) who know their Toyotas and from your peers (who also had some nice looking cars at the meet). I would like to thank everyone involved who gave me recognition for all the effort and hard work I put into the car and not to mention the money (looks in the back to see if wife is watching). By the way, if you see Boggie, please don't rub it in too much about the trade. He's already regretting it. See you all at the next meet.

Tiny Panganiban Te27sprinter@aol.com

My interest in these cars started when my friend, Boggie, introduced me to TE27's back in the mid-80s. I traded in my 1980's Crown for a 1972 Corolla that was already fixed up. It had a mix of Corolla and Trueno parts, which was the way people fixed up cars back then.

As I started to learn more about the TE27's I knew I wanted to do something more challenging that just putting random "JDM" parts together that don't even match. In the late 80's, I was able to acquire a complete Trueno front grille kit from Ichiban Motor Parts in the Philippines.

Since then I was hooked into trying to complete all the parts needed to do a total Trueno conversion less it being RHD. Little did I know what I was getting into and the cost involved in tackling such a project. Throughout the 90's, all I did was collect parts through contacts I've made here and in Japan. Sometimes I ended up buying multiples of certain parts since I would see one that was in better condition than the one I have and sometimes I would have to buy parts in lots so I ended up with quite a few extras. I even had to buy a complete RHD dash just to get the small "Sprinter" emblem for the Glove Box Cover.

It took over 10 years to acquire the parts that I needed since Toyota has already discontinued most of the parts. It is not like I can walk into the Toyota Parts Department and get all the parts I need. Some of the parts I acquired through auctions but most came from individuals that were willing or were selling those parts that I needed. Luckily, my contacts in Japan were very patient with me.

Then in the early 2000's, while talking about cars over some beer, Boggie and I decided to trade cars on a whim. I was driving a 1989 BMW 325iX and he had a 1974 Corolla SR5 that was a perfect platform to do the conversion. I already had a stock 1972 Corolla as a base car for the conversion but when the trade happened, I knew converting the 74 would be easier since some upgrades were already done which meant I could devote more time into the actual Trueno conversion.

In July of 2002, I relocated from the Bay Area to Arizona at the same time the car went into my friend's body shop (A.J.Ferraer's Body and Paint) in Oakland to start work on the car. I had to fly back and forth several times to check up on the progress as work continued on the car for the next five months.

In February of 2003, I finally brought the car down to Arizona where I finished putting all the parts together and all the detailing needed to get the car to where it is. Then, while inquiring about parts from Joji Luz, he invited me to join TORC and to bring my car over to the Toyotafest they were having in Long Beach and the rest as you know is history.

Future plans: I have finally located an original hood in Japan and is probably somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on its way here. This is the one item that has eluded me the most. Most of you who attended the meet may have noticed that I had a fiberglass hood on.

I also have plans to upgrade the suspension so Robert New won't deduct too many points on me on the next meet and install some of the little pieces that did not make it here in time from Japan.

I also have finally located a set of original weatherstrips for the front and back windshield so that still needs to be installed.

Would I do it again? I definitely would since locating those hard-to-find parts and putting them all together on a car is what I love doing. So if anyone needs help in locating parts, you can email me at te27sprinter@aol.com. I would be more than happy to help you out as I have made quite a number of contacts both here and in Japan for part for TE27 plus all the extras I have filling up my garage. I know my wife would love nothing better than to see all those parts out of the garage.

What often comes to mind when we hear the word Trueno, we think of the sister of the Corolla that never landed on our shores. One such version of the Trueno that we never had here in the states is the TE27 Trueno.