My AE86 is all one colour
For some reason, I didn’t take as many photos of the car in this state as expected. I was mainly shocked to see it look like this after so many years of looking the same. It felt like it wasn’t mine; the only indication was the dented eyelid covers with the original paint. I had waited years to see the car in this silhouette, and when it finally happened, it was like I wasn’t ready for it.
Jackie bolted all the panels on because he reckoned it the safest place for them; you can see the 1/4 looking a little crumpled in this picture, but looking past this, the beautiful silhouette of the car was finally revealed, the arches the simplistic look of the car, finally things were starting to take shape. I took the same photo four or five times from each angle, but I didn’t have much to say that night; I just stood back to admire one of my all-time favourite shapes. I love the trueno version of the hatch as I feel that’s the best balance for these cars. Don’t get me wrong, I love a Levin hatch, but something about that Trueno hatch does it for me.
This site looked excellent. Finally, we got to see Barry’s arches in one colour against the rest of the car; all that work was finally hidden under one uniform look the metal work, the grinding, the roof replacement, everything seamlessly blended.
Jackie would move onto more fille work here on the arches and the wings over the next few months, trying to get the doors and the rest of the car as straight as possible.
I love looking at these photos; the off-white from the Epoxy paint was such a lovely colour; if that were paired with black bumpers, it would have been such an epic look with the TE37s, probably one of my all-time favourite looks for these cars.
How good is that silhouette? I also love these cars without the rub strips; they look perfect and somewhat straight here; all the misery with the wings is gone. The last piece to do was the rear 1/4 panel, which I dreaded, but I knew the car was in good hands.
We pushed her back into the corner where it has lived for the last year, ready to tackle the bonnet, the headlight covers, and the filler work over the coming weeks.