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.
We are back at it in our shed with the Trueno progress and updates on where to go next, with a few surprised along the way.
The AE86 shell is finally back on the ground, rolling on all four wheels, a big step forward in this build. It’s finally starting to feel like a car again.
After endless days of metalwork on the shell, it sat as bare in ten different shades of shit for almost two years. It started as four days worth of metal work but slowly turned into a very in-depth restoration project.
I learned a lot about what could be hiding under the paint, in between panels and what it takes to get the shell to the right shape. It has been an enormous learning curve; I often wonder if I would have pulled it out of Dan’s garden, knowing what I know now. Maybe so, it’s hard to tell. Sometimes it feels like we are going nowhere but it takes looking back at these images to realise how far we have come.
The progress was moving very quickly for the first six months, but it started to slow down as I quickly realised I had bitten off more than I could chew. These photos were from September 2018 when we rubbed the shell down, getting it ready for paint. Every one of us have a life outside the shed; Barry has a full-time job, I could only get to the project on the weekends, this all aided in the project going on for much longer than I had anticipated. Nevertheless, we kept inching forward. Unfortunately, we found another batch of rust which ill cover in a future post and vlog episode, but we are getting there.
I guess its all part of the fun. I’ve wanted one of these cars for over fifteen years; I watched all of my friends go through the misery, go through the motions with their projects while I was on the sidelines documenting their stories.
Its like life was waiting to drop a mega project on me to make up for all the years I avoided the hardship! Either way, I cant wait for the day this is a proper 86 again.
I have endless respect for the people who have gone down this road with a restoration project and I’m forever grateful for everyone who has helped me get this far already.
Three years and counting. Always looking forward to that first start.
Barry chases the last bits of rust on the AE86 shell before we give the underneath a coat of protection. This progress is interrupted many times by a variety of distractions.