ae86 levin Archives - Juiceboxforyou

The post will be the final instalment from our Japan with a Plan series. There’s probably no reason to get too deep here, as I covered it in the video, but this was perhaps the best and most terrifying 24 hours I’ve ever had. As we slowly got closer to the realisation that I was going to be driving an 86 at Bihoku, my nerves were in overdrive.

The day before, we washed Robs Te37 and then went to collect the 86 and load them on the truck. It was such a surreal experience with this Levin; it still hadn’t hit me that this was mine, and we were about to go and use it. The whole trip had this cloud hanging over us because it was disaster after disaster on the 86, from Covid to the whole quarantine and then things going wrong with the car. It felt like I would wake up from a dream at any moment.

With the last few of these features, this is photo heavy; I shot as many pictures in fantastic Japanese scenarios as I could, as these would be the very photos I would save online if I found them. I hope you enjoy the pictures from this event. I didn’t shoot as much as I had hoped on the day, as I was shitting myself until it was all over. It’s a severe bucket list thing to do, a situation I could have only thought about as a fantasy a few years ago. To be honest, I’d love to go back and do it again.

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We head to Meihan for an AE86, 4A-GE-only drift battle cup and collect an R34 GTR from the USS Tokyo auctions.

The next stop on our adventure was Weld, a shop we had wanted to see for years. We had a reason to go there, as we would buy some TC stuff. Weld has a huge RC drift presence with its brand Overdose, and we wanted to check out its workshop and pick up some small parts, too. They do officially licensed wheels from work and other companies and brands like Voltex, so it was super cool to see this place in real life.

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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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Following our special on this D1 AE86 Resurrection, we take a closer look at this legendary build, with a bonus history of Ryota Yuasa’s Levin throughout the years. Happy New year, everyone!

We take a closer look at this very cool street style AE86 Levin, inspired by the millennium era of Japanese drifting.

We visit our friend Mikey’s house, to see my old AE86 shell, chat about the Corolla addiction and check out his pride and joy.

Barry is back to cut the rust out of the AE86. Jackie calls down to apply fresh seam-seal the vulnerable parts of the Trueno! More progress and fewer distractions with this one.

We head to Irelands largest gathering of Japanese cars. An annual event held at Mondello Raceway, Japfest is the largest gathering of Japanese cars in Ireland and usually brings out some unexpected treats.

In this episode, we fall down the rabbit hole, trying to find out how many AE86’s Toyota produced worldwide. This episode started because two of our Truenos were 40 cars between each other on the assembly line in 1987 and now they live in the same shed. We also uncover some rare photos and interviews with the head designers and engineers on the AE86 chassis.

I had been meaning to shoot these cars for quite some time now. During the week when I’m working up in JDMDistro, I’ve been trying to make my way out to certain cars or groups of mates with interesting sheds. These lads are all local to where I’m living midweek so we managed to lock in a date after work last year and head for the hills.

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Shed distractions, rings, A31 Cefiro’s and old stories with very strong Irish accents.

With the freshly painted Calsonic March, a few AE86’s, a couple of Nissans and a pair of starlets, we hit the road for the Irish Motor festival. This episode was supposed to be uploaded last week but Japanese Jet lag won the battle.

The Trueno gets neglected as we give the k11 March its final form. Rob has a Mitsubishi BBQ and we go off-roading.

The Trueno enjoys a little progress until we are distracted and rip apart the daily driver K11 March to unleash its final form!