Ah, where to begin…. if you didn’t know this by know, Ireland has a very very impressive AE86 following, when the flood gates from Japan opened back around 00, we pretty much imported any type of AE86 we could get our hands on and this continued for about eight years, right up until the country’s economy shat itself. Any proper day like the one that is somewhat annually held at Mondello brings some of the most awesome pieces of Japanese steel from around the country and this was as good as it gets.
It’s obvious to many just how strong the AE86 following is here in Ireland, there was such a ridiculous amount of these cars brought into our little country over the last ten years. Nicky’s 86 was one of these cars; it came in as a slag from Japan, with a collection of desirable goodies. Somehow he managed to build on what many would have called an already awesome car. I have to admit, like many who have seen this car in the flesh, it just makes you smile, it could easily be one of the best looking Trueno’s this little green isle has ever seen.
It was a pretty surreal sight, with so much love these days for the AE86 all around the world, especially with the launch of the FT-86, its pretty obvious by now what kind of a status this chassis has amongst car enthusiasts. Seeing an N2 arched GT Apex left for dead in a field is something you dont come across that often. This one ended its faith with the front end colliding with something twisting the entire right chassis leg shock tower and bulkhead.
We found a nice piece of abandoned road, a perfect location that Takumi himself would be happy with, this car will be completely different soon so we decided it was right to feature the Trueno as it looks now, sporting an Iconic attire. The car is almost looked like a perfect replica of Takumi’s car from the infamous Initial D, a manga cartoon which Takumi Fujiwara, an eighteen year old who helps his father run a tofu shop by making deliveries every morning, the deliveries are made in the AE86 and have spawned an array of stages where illegal street racers challenge Takumi in his humble Trueno. Initial D is one of the reasons why the AE86 has become so popular over the last ten years across the world. The Panda colour scheme of a Zenki Trueno sporting some Watanabe wheels instantly reminds people of Initial D.
The life not too many people understand or get outside of the car world.
What I love about Japfest is the amount of racing and activities that are on throughout the day as well as the show thats inside the paddock. It can be a somewhat overhwleming task to cover everything as you have time attack, Prodrift, drag racing and track time on all at the same time. There’s something for everyone.
So we decided to get a bunch of friends together and have a Juicebox BBQ, a sort of thank you to everyone who has been down for the website and what we are doing over the last year or so. Things have been growing strongly with the site and its scary to think of just many people are down with the Box. The weather was on our side in what has to have been the worst summer in a very long time but we managed to get a good cross section of cars which that pretty much represented what the website is all about. As someone stated in the comments from the heatwave coverage, here at Juicebox were all about Photoshopped wheels on second hand cars from a dealership. Take a look and you will see what we mean.
This is complete madness, no janspeed or superlite shit here. Turn up and enjoy the insanity that is Japan….
The one thing that never gets old about Ireland, is the quality of cars that are hiding in this country. Just when you think you’ve seen most of them you always hear about something new and are amazed and want to know more. I’m glad we could bring you another installment of yes another shed filled with awesomeness. Heading up a back road in the middle of nowhere and then watching the door slide across to reveal an n2 arched 2 door Levin really is something. The iconic look of an 86 wearing a Dunlop sticker up front is the first thing to hit you. Its great to see true enthusiasts and the place where they pretty much spend most of their free time. Here is another peek into a shed packed with more Toyota goodness.
Today was the launch of D-Mac’s ae86 and the new NFS shift. The car definitely didn’t disappoint when it rolled in after finally being completed just the night before!
Everybody who has been in the car scene for a long time either has some sort of place to keep stuff they have hoarded over the years or work on their cars. The first time I got a chance to go out to this shed I was amazed at how much was going on. There was just such an interesting collection of random bits and bobs and that was before you even started to look at the cars.
With the weather being so crazy lately it was nice that on the day this meet was organized, there was a cold winter sun on a nice crisp day. This meet was held in Portlaoise. They had set up a Gymkhana course where you could have a little fun if you wanted. Its great to see that Ireland still has a strong following of the 86 and other early RWD chassis from Toyota and a decent amount of cars made an appearance.
Only one snap of this, but one is good enough. Only in Japan would you find this type of epic creation. A KE wagon with a trueno front complete with some funky fender mirror’s.