Feature: Plain and Simple
For Ireland, a car like this is somewhat ahead of its time… It’s almost a vision of what someone will do in twenty years from now, when there won’t be a whole amount of these Nissans on the road… Everything about this car is not the ordinary guise for an s14 Silvia… The car is not covered in cable ties, doesn’t have ropey panels and isn’t what you would call a drift slag, which by all means is awesome, don’t get me wrong, but what is awesome about this car is how it was planned out and built, everything is super subtle and looks almost factory.
Feature: Lone Soldier
The one thing that always gets me excited about running this website is the amount of surprise cars which pop up that I just have to see in person. Ireland is action packed full of surprise builds. Owners who really build cars for themselves are what get me excited the most. Similar to the KE70 we featured a few months back, this RX7 appeared on the internet out of nowhere and when it appeared in my news feed I had to find out its story. Throughout the boom Ireland purchased its fair share of these beauties but the common feeling amongst people towards these cars is fear, due to the Rotary engine set-ups which was a relatively new thing to Ireland… Most car enthusiasts would have a fear of these cars because of the high maintenance which would steer people most of them away from ever really touching such an incredible looking chassis.
Feature: Five Star Rating
Ah yes, the Rps13….. a chassis know to pretty much any person who has an interest in Japanese cars, otherwise referred to as the 180sx or the 200sx/240 depending on where you are reading this from. This chassis was made for ten years and has dominated the drift scene for pretty much the same amount of time. I have no doubts that the RPs13 will have as much of a cult following for the next thirty years as the AE86 following has shaped into at the minute, both cars are perfect mascots for the activity we love so much…. The s13 chassis is easily one of the best FR platforms to ever come out of Japan.
Feature: Blister Fit
Some of the stuff over the last two decades to come out of Japan has left far more of an impact than others. For instance the s13 itself has had such a powerful following pretty much anywhere around the globe that people could get their hands on one. I’ve always been a massive fan of the late 90′s early 00′s drift style, personally I felt that drift car style peaked around this era.. big wheels, over fenders and the perfect stance, if you don’t believe me Google the BN s13 or the 326 power FC that Haraguchi drove or even the works 9 auto salon 13, or even take a look at any of the old D1 option videos on you tube from the turn of the millennium The BN Defend kit was one of those ideas that to quite a few, didn’t sound good on paper, but somehow it ended up being easily one of the best wide body kits for any of the Drift super star cars we know today.
Feature: Take Two
It’s always impressive to see Volkswagens in the south of Ireland which push the scene forward, one of the biggest things we tried to do since the site was created was to showcase cars which hopefully are a sort of a milestone or marker for others to follow or be influenced by. Tommy’s wagon is certainly one of these cars, the first wagon he built which we featured a few months back was his first test, having somewhat of a soft spot for the wagon he managed to make the perfect blend of clean and simple.
Feature: Man Crush
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.
Feature: Without the hole…
There is a new breed of car enthusiasts, some of you may be reading this and laughing while others might agree, as Ireland experiences some sort of melt down, which we won’t go on about, a new collection of enthusiasts who are armed with the websites, blogs, and forums are starting to come up through the ranks pretty quickly. The Polo has always been a car which has mostly taken a back seat to the rest of the Volkswagen family, most of the time when these were “modified”… well you can probably picture what it would have looked like…..
More>>>
Feature: Freshly Squeezed
The owner of this car over thinks, but this is possibly one of his best qualities, the attention to detail in this car is stunning, and only get better. It takes Barry a long time to think about where a sticker should be placed, what colour, if it will stick out too much, clash with other colours on the car, look right and be in the right place. I love this about Barry and his perception of how a car should look. The amount of thought that goes into each part of the car would scare most people but it’s what has helped him to slowly craft one of the best EK9′s in Ireland.
Feature: Subtleties
This car was something of a rumour, not a whole lot spoken about it amongst the forums or between people, the owner Jason wanted to unveil the car at the right time when he felt it was ready. The car is just another one of these reasons why Ireland can be awesome, sure it rains quite a lot and everyone is miserable, but aside from all this Jason went and built one of the coolest two door KE70′s I’ve ever come across on both the internet and in the real world. I took a trip with a friend to see this car, we drove for miles along tiny little back roads and I wasn’t really expecting anything, which was a good thing. In Ireland you never really know what to expect when someone tells you about a car, as we rolled up to Jason’s house which is pretty much on the side of a mountain, my jaw dropped, I was truly speechless, I hope you can share the same feeling by checking out this feature on one of the coolest well executed Corolla builds this country has ever seen.
Feature: From Rags to Riches
The phrase “from rags to riches” was the last thing I wanted to call this feature, but the more Peter told me the story I couldn’t believe how the car had turned out. Eventually I realised after trying to come up with something a little bit more imaginative, this car truly earned the title. The common build we see in the United States of a bog standard civic being converted into a flawless masterpiece in both the exterior and interior is really something that has only started to come around over here in Ireland over the last few years.
Feature: Iconic Attire
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.
Feature: The Once Over
I’m certain quite a lot of people know this car by now, maybe in its former blue attire, or maybe from a recent video which we put together for Juicebox called “The Night Life”, either way this is the first time we have done a re feature of a car. We decided that the car deserved a second chance to be talked about on the website, and at this time probably wont understand.
Feature: That Works 9 s14
Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming when you think back at all the cars that were bought through auction from one small enough country and sent to another little country. The fact that Japan still has enough of its own cars to enjoy and smash makes you wonder just how many cars they really have. From roughly around the start of the millennium right up until about two years ago the Japanese import business was booming in Ireland. So many snippets of Japanese culture flooded the docks of Dublin. Pieces of someone else life their history, something they had worked hard on and shared memories in right across the other side of the world. So much of what came into Ireland was shrouded with mystery, where I would often finding myself sitting with friends and someone will say ” you would really wonder what happened in this car back in Japan, where it went, what it done” its a piece of conversation that comes up at least once a month.
Feature: Mission Accomplished
Happy AE86 day! What better way to celebrate this day then with a car like this. The Levin you are looking at is probably one of the most impressive builds I have ever witnessed with an AE86. These days people seem to have the mentality of adding a set of wheels to a car and stance and a couple of stickers and suddenly there car is something special or different. What I love about this car is the fact that pretty much every inch of the car has been changed, replaced or refurbished. This car wasn’t built to be put on a stand at a car show or to be king of the internet. Many people didn’t even know this 2 door even existed, for the people that did it was like an urban myth hearing what was being done and how much was being spent. The biggest thing I love about this Levin is how it was built to be driven and personally enjoyed, the fact Jerry wasn’t bothered if it was exposed to the world or not is pretty awesome.
Feature: Come Clean
Eddy’s MK4 is the perfect example of a clean daily driver done right. Using a formula which has been tried and tested in the US and Europe it pretty much works like a charm when executed correctly. Like we have mentioned here before Juicebox the Mk4 Golf is in plentiful supply throughout Ireland, finding one that makes you look twice in the south is another challenge. Take a look at the MK4 pictured here. Holding it down for MK4′s in the south east of Ireland Eddy’s Golf turns heads, and for the right reasons.
Feature: Wolf in wolfs clothing
The R32 is by far one of the most popular cars to come out of Japan. The BNR32GTR is by far one of the best cars ever made; it was almost unbeaten in the N1 category in Japan during its reign of terror. The car really pushed what was possible handling and electronics wise at that time. What is so good about this R32 Skyline is that it started life as an a lower base model, the GTS-T sporting an RB20DET and a Rear wheel drive setup. The lower model R32′s always lived in the shadow of the higher spec GTR model amongst hardcore Skyline Fans, but that didn’t stop anyone’s visions of creating the perfect R32 without having a GTR. This GTS-T was torn down and rebuilt from the ground up.
Feature: Raising DA Standard
Darren’s DA6 needs no introduction at this stage. I’m sure most people throughout the Irish car scene know this car. It’s just one of those cars which goes beyond many people’s expectations of what a DA6 Integra or even a Honda for that matter should look like in Ireland. I have a personal love for cars like this because when Darren was building this car he aimed beyond the standard many people set for themselves here in Ireland which was the same goal with this website. Don’t get me wrong, we have some great cars in this country, but quite a few of the country’s population when it comes to cars are quite reserved, and most usually settle for a clean looking “tidy” example, or something similar rarely venturing outside the box. When Darren was building this car he looked towards the land of opportunity aka the United States. A country where by chasing the JDM style over the years and perfecting their version of what they thought was JDM they essentially created their own off style which is mostly now referred to as USDM by the rest of the world. Now we could get all technical about the term USDM but that would be just sidetracking.
Feature: Minty Freshness
The phrase “built not bought” is a common collection of words thrown around in today’s car scene. Many cars proudly wear the sticker and it’s become almost a trend in itself to say your car was built not bought. This car is the true definition of that phrase. The owner of this car Neil wanted to go his own route, always being interested in the JDM/US hatch scene he decided to make his purchase. A 01 Mitsubishi Colt would become his canvas. Ireland has a great deal of love for the Honda and the Toyota, and it’s no lie that these dominate the hatch scene here whilst Honda dominates the Hatch scene in the US. I’ve always wondered what it would be like if an American Honda owner got his hands on a Colt/Mirage and built one with the same love and enthusiasm they seem to have for the Civic, carefully selecting a mixture of performance and OEM parts to build a flawless clean hatch.
Feature: Daily Static
One of the best parts of taking photos for a website like this is the variety of cars that you to feature. I remember seeing this Golf Variant at the Portlaoise meet at the start of 2011, amongst many of the cars that attended the meet this white wagon stuck out like a sore thumb. The owner of this car decided after having one of the nicest mk5′s in the country to go ahead and try something different. His canvas of choice was a 1.9 diesel MK4 Golf variant estate.
Feature: Mass Appeal
This s13 certainly wears a look that appeals the masses. What’s funny is, its a look which isn’t practiced by all that many. Finding an s13 like this in Ireland has started to get rare. Years ago the streets were flooded with s-bodies; everyone and their friend drove a Silvia or a 180sx. This all sounds like ancient history to some but it was only a few years ago when the country and its import business was booming. I’m exaggerating for effect just a little bit, but its true, it has become a reality that there just isn’t as many nice street drift cars around anymore. The recession kicked in and many people who drove these cars were out of work and money, so quite a lot of these Silvia’s had to be broken or taken off the road to make ends meet. Ask yourself, how many nice s13′s are on the road today? On top of that how many of these cars are still daily driven/drifted and hold it down in the looks department also? This is one comes to mind instantly, its not that hard to notice. This s-body is one of those cars you will be finding yourself taking a second look at and even a third, it ticks all the boxes for being a tasty looking street s13. It just looks correct.
Feature: The J’s Racing CRX
Most people in the Honda scene all over the world know this car, its just one of those cars that has been passed around and talked about for years on forum’s and such via photos. After a long and healthy career tearing up race circuits in Japan, this car is now fortunate enough to reside in the extremely capable hands of the Tuning Factory. And where better to shoot this N/A monster than in the workshop that famously maintains it. This car has the most amazing history of a track car hailing all the way from the land of the rising sun and now the people of Ireland get to witness this amazing spectacle as it sets record times on our home soil.
Feature: Face/Off
This EG6 has definitely come along way since the day it was purchased at the Primo dealership in Japan. Most of these changes have happened in the last 3 years when Someone with an idea to go against the norm and try something different got their hands on it. The car started it life out as a Blue EG6 SIR, at the time of purchase Jackie had already intended to do this front end change. I know what your thinking about the title, I’m sure your thinking of that film with Nicholas Cage and John Travolta trading faces and all that jazz. Despite the title usually being associated to the Action Flick, it has taken on a whole new meaning in my eyes when it comes to a car like this.
Feature: Keeping it in the Family
It was only about 20 or so years ago when quite a few of the E70 chassis Corolla’s were a common sight on our streets. These days finding one can be as rare as a decent Irish summer. Lets face it back in the day these cars didn’t look this appealing. In fact they were pretty basic. They got people from A to B and back again in a reliable Toyota fashion. As time went on, the great Irish weather and general wear and tear took its tole on the E70 and many of its old friends. Most of which now lay in scrapyards slowly returning to the soil and the rest have been crushed in scrappage schemes.
More>>>
Feature: Few and Far Between
Freddie’s Golf is definitely a rare breed around the south of Ireland. While the MK5 Golf is in plentiful supply, its rare to find one which had been perfectly executed with such clean style. Its true that in Ireland, the Euro scene is nowhere near as big as the Japanese scene. I’m going to go ahead and say that for two reasons: Number one, because it may just be true. Its hard to find a Golf or another Euro car for that matter that has been done to this kind of standard. Hopefully Reason two is because I want people who may have something along the lines of this golf to read this and get angry and contact the site for a feature because its damn near impossible to find you out there! More>>>
