The quarter panel repair was one of the most deflating parts of the 86 build. I knew I was in great hands with the lads, but it felt like a massive step back; we had got the car into the primer, and progress was chugging along, but it was utterly overwhelming to see the entire side of the vehicle hacked off. As much as it bummed me out knowing this needed tackling, I didn’t let it get to me.
The AE86 progress takes a step backwards as we replace the rear 1/4 panel.
We check out a Polonez AE86, a Polish car built like a Japanese Corolla and Adam from Nightrides Garage. Happy New Year, everyone!
Here is a little photo dump from our Nightride trip in December. This was a random mission, but it was such a blast. Seeing the Nightride set up and hanging out with the guys for a few days was incredible. It was nice to see a different perspective on things. The journey was a mission and a half, and the Essen Motor Show was a little treat. I made new friends out of this and memories that will last forever. I can’t wait to return to Poland. Im sure you have all seen the video, so I’ll let this little photo dump do the rest.
After helping Sam buy his Dream AE86, I hung out with the Nightride guys in Poland for a week to see their slice of the car world.
This was such a fun experience. Sam from Nightride reached out and asked me to help him find an AE86. He told me it had been his dream car for a long time and that they were scarce in Poland, so naturally, I had to help out. I, too, share the love for these cars and know what it’s like to chase the dream, so I went looking, and this popped up for the right price, exceptionally cheaper than the market value.
You’ve probably seen the videos by now as Im playing catch-up with the content, but I did this little shoot after we cleaned it up as photos I could send to Sam to get him excited about the purchase. On a rare winter sunny day, I took the car to the end of our business park and grabbed these photos, which I’ll leave below. The Trueno is such a charming little car, and this thing inspired me to get cracking with my build.
Here’s a little photo dump from the recent video on Drift Bashes: Looking back, the E36 was heaps of fun to drift in. I loved every second of it; it’s just a very tiring car. It’s ideal for someone else to do what I did, and if they wanted to, they could throw some serious effort at it to make it look right.
Ironically, for a channel and blog that talks about “Ireland’s Finest” and style, this car doesn’t represent much of that, if im being honest. When we posted this, we had our hands on the cheap-ish 350z and tried our best to make it as presentable as possible. I’ll always have fond memories of this machine, but the time has come to let it go to the next guy. Im always very grateful for the Club Loose guys and the Drift Games lads for letting us come up and throw ourselves around the track.
Anyway, here are a few photos we took from that weekend; I always take very little as I’m mostly petrified of driving, which hopefully will subside as I get the hang of going sideways—massive shout-out to Niall for replacing the wiper linkage on Sunday morning. Good times!
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.
It would appear that im a sucker for a bargain; somehow, Ills see past all the imperfections and think of the potential fun that can be had with something. I’ve done it with the 86, and I’ve done it with other cars over the years and items that I’ve wanted; when the opportunity presents itself, I’ll end up buying the item and justifying why I’ve needed it for years and time again to make myself feel better. I always had a thing for Jimny, at least for the last ten years. My friend Dave has always talked about his one and how it’s probably one of the most capable 4x4s out there. He’s also the guy who invited me that the Prus behind this Jimny is an excellent car, and he wasn’t wrong; I bought that from Dave at the start of Covid on a whim for work, and it turned out to be the best purchase ever.
As I’ve mentioned in previous blog posts, delaying this content slightly is excellent for the brain, even if it is a year later. Im always living in the moment with this resto, and it takes looking back at these photos to see how far we have come. These photos are from this time last year, November 2022, when Jackie was deep in trying to chase the straightest panels on this car.
I had every faith in him; we have been friends for many years, and he has been at this craft for 18-plus years since he was 16 years old. I was fascinated to see the techniques he had picked up since the last time I had seen him in action: a light skim of filler on the panel, followed by large sanding blocks to block the car essentially; the big block would find all the high and low spots to try to give the straightest panels possible, probably better than how this thing rolled out of the factory.
LZ Fest last year was a real eye-opener; we live in a bubble at the shed and rarely make it our thing to go to car events. The Drift games lads had organised LZ fest; it was the first time we had seen such a crowd. It shows how times have changed, and social media characters bring more of an experience than the usual drivers and professional car people.
Our weekend started with a bit of proper misery, with Josh blowing his gearbox at 5.40 in the morning after spending all his time getting the car ready for the event. Either way, LZ Fest was a real eye-opener; it made us realise what sort of following Juicebox has, putting faces to YouTube views and comments.
It’s become an annual thing for us to throw cars and coffee, it’s basically a no-strings-attached free car show and if the weather lines up it turns out to be an incredible day. Here are a few photos from last year’s gathering, somehow we got lucky with the weather.
Night Drives, The Juicebox BBQ and AE86 festival. Car Life is a good life, and the culture still thrives here in Ireland.