After spending a full year driving my AE86 on the road, I wanted to share the honest truth about what it’s like to actually live with one of these Truenos.
After years of searching, we finally found Reuben at the shed. Working on his C33 Laurel.
It’s hard to convey here just how happy he was to finish his seven-year itch finally. I’m not going into great detail here. I think we covered it perfectly in the video on the 86, but being able to finally do a shoot like this on an unusual April evening in the same spot I had shot this car seven years before. I don’t think the vehicle will even look this good again, but either way, I wanted to get these photos on the website for some time.
As sad as this sounds, and I know there won’t be a lot of people looking at these, I never thought a time would come when I could finally post my build on Juicebox; doing this blog since 2009, I was always out of capture whatever I thought was cool in Ireland and beyond. I hope to get my car to be proud of up here. By the time I got to it, blogs were essentially dead, so we’ve moved the story to YouTube, but it’s a real sense of achievement to shoot this car and post it on the blog. Please enjoy a generous amount of images from that evening. And as always, thanks for looking.
Barry is back to hack out some surprise rust under the AE86 arches. We also launched Patreon and Discord!
Here is a rather sizable photo dump from AE86 fest back in 2021. This event is one of the best days out in Ireland and attracts much more than the 86 chassis. Every year it grows a little further thanks to the organisers and the overall love for this car in Ireland and beyond, with people making the trip from all over the world as in the last few years. You’ll see what I mean when you scroll through the images.
I’ve been slacking lately, updating this side of Juicebox with articles. Years ago, it used the website, everything was about getting an excellent piece up with photos, and I enjoyed that pace. Lately, I feel like im playing catchup on youtube and Instagram trying to keep the algorithms happy. It’s weird being so far behind with the videos, too. I have to make sure im releasing the content that matches the episodes’ dates.
Since July, the weather has been good. It was hard to sit inside and find time to make it happen. Hopefully, over the winter months, I can double down on the content, as there are considerable gaps in the backlog due to japan in a van and other bits.
We fit the new exhaust, but it doesn’t go to plan. To save the day, we repair the new AE86 dashboard.
Jumping over 4A-GE’s and the Trueno wiring begins. There is plenty of immature action in this episode, with some interesting information about AE86 production numbers.
A Hidden shed Tour! We take a look at a freshly built AE86 Levin and a shed full of Japanese classics.
I’m very fortunate to work in a place that imports parts from Japan. It’s as much a blessing as it is a curse. Most of our monthly wages never really leave JDM Distro but working here has enabled me to source some of the best parts for my AE86 build over the last few years.
Being able to drop parts at the depot in Japan was once in a lifetime stuff. Here was a Goodline 86 hood, which I had listed after for many, many years. We barely snugged it into the back of the Alphard and drove halfway across Japan to drop it off just outside of Tokyo.
YES! Parts and magazines Arrive at JDM Distro from our Japan in a Van trip, making it one of the best days ever at work.
We are very fortunate to have people like MR X in the car community. For years, he has been supplying the AE86 community with much sought after parts. He has been breaking Corollas for parts for well over ten years, and it is a necessary evil, sometimes it’s sad to see cool cars he has killed, but most of the time, every last piece of that car ends helping another.
We go AE86 parts hunting at MR X’s stash to find the missing bits for the Trueno build. We also get a quick look at MR X’s private collection.
If my younger self could see me now! That young freckly fucker obsessing over Gran Turismo 2, sitting in his room listening to that smooth jazz menu music, looking at cars he had never heard of in the used car garage. Here I am, many years later, still chasing the dream, still into the same stuff I was back then! I think my younger self would be buzzing to see the space I have in the shed with sound friends, a few rusty Japanese shit heaps, a few bikes, skateboards and silly bits pushing on into my 30s. It’s not much, but I try not to take it for granted, best to enjoy the ride. This night made me incredibly happy.