It was an honour to be part of Paddy’s mission to rebuild the Yuasa AE86 and bring it to his wedding; the determination amongst a group of friends to achieve the dream was utterly infectious. Here are a few behind-the-scenes photos from the few months leading up to the wedding, both at the lad’s workshop and on the big day; as always with these, ill let the photos do most of the talking.
I had wanted to see this place for years. We are going to call this Person Mr X as this is what was requested. Being friends with MR X on facebook for a very long time and chatting back and forth about various cars he had imported, we already had a solid relationship. I had shot a few of his cars for the website at various track days over the years but never had the chance to visit his house, I had only seen photos of stuff for sale on Facebook. I was originally going to get a shell from MR X and build on it from there but then a whole other thing happened with the Trueno from Dans Garden.
I remember when Flip moved home from Australia and told me his automotive plans. He was a die-hard Honda fan, and I was expecting something along those lines. The idea to build an RX8 struck me by surprise, I really didn’t know what way to take it.
A few months back, Dan a good friend of some of the OG Waterford guys called down to Waterford for a visit. After a few conversations, I told him I was after buying an AE86 shell and was looking to go down the path of misery chasing parts and doing a restore.
The owner of this car is a bit of a solo character, solo in the sense that he built this beauty out of the watching eyes of social media lost on his own hunt for perfection. Another Irish build once again leaving me in awe.
Almost hidden in the corner of the Toyota gathering a few months back was this AE86. The owner was a little taken back by my interest in it. I tend to obsess over cars with a little character; cars we wish could only speak and share their tales, with faded team stickers, dents holes and scuffs.
Intended for nothing more than commuting, the “boxy” starlet as its known here in Ireland was a cheap and cheerful run around from Toyota. Up until a few years ago, these were actually quite a common sight Irish roads, putting up a tough fight with newer cars until the scrappage scheme and insurance companies started to clamp down on the resilient old starlet.
Another absolute beauty of a car, tucked away alongside the Cruise AE111 we featured last week is this Kazama Auto RPS13. I love these stories, this car has been in hiding for quite some time, bought in the boom for over fifteen grand and then hidden away as the owner was forced to head to the upside down land of work outside of our failing country. This car is pretty amazing in the flesh, and in the right hands, an immaculate white time capsule of Japanese built goodness, unmolested by the usual unaware Irish man.
Ive always been a huge fan of the Original Miata/mx5 or roadster as it was known in Japan. With such a subtle collection of modifications they can become such an amazing little car to both drive and look at. I got an email a couple of months back about one that was being put together, due to the rise in popularity of these cars (which is always a good thing) I was intrigued as to what pictures lay inside the message.
You just can’t get enough of a good looking 180sx. I don’t care what anyone says but when there is a perfectly styled example in front of your eyes it brings the same amount of excitement as anything else. Over the years Ireland has robbed its fair share of these from Japan, many have been drifted, and others have been butchered, others have been stored away and others have been done like this. The ones which have been styled this good are always a treat.
Dave’s car is well known amongst the 86 community in Ireland. Being one of the founding members of Garage Hachi, quite a hot blog up until a year ago, the guys have always had a serious eye for the right parts and have a true love for the 86 chassis.
This car is awesome…. The Toyota popped up once or twice over the years since it was imported in various magazines and forums and I had always wanted to see it in the flesh. The car just looks gangster like it’s up to no good… but for all the right reasons. I’ve always been a huge fan of the Jzx90 Cresta… it is considered the more gangster of the x90 collection and when Ireland had its import boom not too many of these were snatched from the auctions. Any that actually made it to Ireland were either stock or had light modifications. This one is loaded with goodies, and for a good reason, a nice properly used pimp machine.
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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.
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.
Most of you should know this car by know, in my eyes its one of the best EG6s this country has ever seen, with its unique front end conversion from a DC2 to its brown paint job which was unheard of in Ireland when car was sprayed, sparking others to go down a similar route. The car has always been progressing towards the perfect car, daily driven on some of the most horrible roads in Ireland and sitting low enough to look amazing, I have nothing but respect for Jackie and his quest to build his ultimate Civic. Wr put this video together, just to showcase how it looks at present, but believe me this will just keep evolving and help push the car scene in the right direction.
