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.

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It would appear that im a sucker for a bargain; somehow, Ills see past all the imperfections and think of the potential fun that can be had with something. I’ve done it with the 86, and I’ve done it with other cars over the years and items that I’ve wanted; when the opportunity presents itself, I’ll end up buying the item and justifying why I’ve needed it for years and time again to make myself feel better. I always had a thing for Jimny, at least for the last ten years. My friend Dave has always talked about his one and how it’s probably one of the most capable 4x4s out there. He’s also the guy who invited me that the Prus behind this Jimny is an excellent car, and he wasn’t wrong; I bought that from Dave at the start of Covid on a whim for work, and it turned out to be the best purchase ever.

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As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, delaying this content slightly is excellent for the brain, even if it is a year later. Im always living in the moment with this resto, and it takes looking back at these photos to see how far we have come. These photos are from this time last year, November 2022, when Jackie was deep in trying to chase the straightest panels on this car.

I had every faith in him; we have been friends for many years, and he has been at this craft for 18-plus years since he was 16 years old. I was fascinated to see the techniques he had picked up since the last time I had seen him in action: a light skim of filler on the panel, followed by large sanding blocks to block the car essentially; the big block would find all the high and low spots to try to give the straightest panels possible, probably better than how this thing rolled out of the factory.

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LZ Fest last year was a real eye-opener; we live in a bubble at the shed and rarely make it our thing to go to car events. The Drift games lads had organised LZ fest; it was the first time we had seen such a crowd. It shows how times have changed, and social media characters bring more of an experience than the usual drivers and professional car people.

Our weekend started with a bit of proper misery, with Josh blowing his gearbox at 5.40 in the morning after spending all his time getting the car ready for the event. Either way, LZ Fest was a real eye-opener; it made us realise what sort of following Juicebox has, putting faces to YouTube views and comments.

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Here are a few quick photos I took when I went to collect the 4age 20valve from the unexpected shed visit last year. I had an inbox message asking If I wanted to buy a black top 20, but I didn’t expect Tom and the family to have such an exciting selection—a restaurant model on a Cortina with a K20 and a selection of Hillman Imps.

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We uncover heavy rust on the Calsonic K11 March, leaving it at the point of diminishing returns.

It’s become an annual thing for us to throw cars and coffee, it’s basically a no-strings-attached free car show and if the weather lines up it turns out to be an incredible day. Here are a few photos from last year’s gathering, somehow we got lucky with the weather.

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This was probably the most significant change in the ae86 build. The car had sat in that strange maroon colour for so long in various shades, paired with primer and glimpses of restoration work; the car was essentially a patchwork quilt of misery. After years of tackling this without seeing any significant visual change, sanding the entire body down to bare metal and seeing the whole car uniform in silver was a moral boost.

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Night Drives, The Juicebox BBQ and AE86 festival. Car Life is a good life, and the culture still thrives here in Ireland.

The AE86 Trueno gets the doors and wings primed, and it’s all one colour. I’ve waited years for this!

We bought a Suzuki Jimny for 500 Euros. How bad is it?

Ireland is packed with sheds; when you think you’ve seen or heard about it all, something comes down the wire, and you must check it out. Paul Stryker and family have been in the scene for years, and Paul himself is a big Nissan guy. He asked us to look at the family collection some time ago, and it didn’t disappoint. The chicken sheds on the land were filled with cool cars like this Ex Uras R34 skyline, which survived the Ireland import boom in the 2010s.

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Some photos from the ultimate distraction night, when we got a call to see some action with an NZ-imported Corona on Star Sharks. This was happening near the shed, so we couldn’t resist the offer.

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Here are a few overdue photos from the first few days we took the 86 up to its new home, where the car still lives, as we begin to wrap up the paint process. This was a scenario I had anticipated since the start of the build, and honestly, I almost felt like this moment would never come. The car had a few lull periods, and I was worried it would never pull out of it. It sat as a bare shell for a little too long, and then we had a string of events that set things back. Thankfully, things came together at the start of 2022, and the progress car ramped up. It finally felt like we were on the home stretch.

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I’ve wanted to shoot this car for years, and we grabbed a quick chance to take some proper up-close photos on our visit to Paul Keenan and friends some time ago. Ever since this car popped up for sale years ago on Yahoo auctions, and then landed in the UK and finally into the hands of Paul, I was always invested in and loved the character this 81 has.

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