Feature: Mission Accomplished - Juiceboxforyou

Happy AE86 day! What better way to celebrate this day than 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 their 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.

This car originally started life as a Zenki 2 door panda Trueno back in Japan. The car was converted to a red Levin before it finally made its way to Ireland. After already owning 2 AE86’s and looking for the third, Gerry bought this turbo setup owning both naturally aspirated and supercharged examples beforehand. Being content with the car’s power the car was enjoyed lived a short life of just two months before the engine decided to kill itself, and what was only supposed to become an engine rebuild turned into something a little bit bigger. Thanks to the help of a few friends and yahoo auctions Gerry began a mission to rebuild the car from the ground up, every time something rare or new would pop up it would almost certainly be bought or chased down and eventually the car had undergone a full-scale re-build.

The exterior finish of the 86 could easily be considered timeless; it has that classic tough Japanese AE86 look. This Levin could easily have the same styling in 50 years and it will still look afresh. Gerry decided to go for a full genuine Origin kit for the outside complemented by a set of Crystal Body Yokohama arches which had to be modified to match each other for a better flusher fit. An Origin vented carbon bonnet and brand new genuine Toyota latch replaced the original which looks good against the lower carbon windshield trim. Because the Origin bonnet looked so new and shiny it would have been a shame to put back on the original front lights! Gerry managed to source some brand new Kouki Levin lights, grill and rubbers. Many of these parts are near impossible to get a hold of these days.

Seibon carbon doors replaced the originals and have been fitted with carbon wind deflectors and brand new 86 Toyota door handles both inside and out. To compliment this some new wiper arms and blades had to be installed all from Toyota. The boot door was fitted with a vertex carbon lip spoiler whilst the Origin back bumper would do the rest in the looks department. When Gerry was content with what the outside would look like, he took things a step further and fully stripped the shell down and fully seam welded it, brand new rubbers and bolts were all sourced from Toyota and pretty much a full nut and bolt restoration was undertaken on the shell with parts all from all from Toyota. The entire boot floors both upper and lower panel were replaced brand as well as a brand new set of front wings all genuine sourced from Toyota. You can imagine just how hard it was to source some of these parts as they are no longer in production but I’m sure Gerry made great friends with the Toyota parts desk. The car as fully re-sprayed both inside and out in BMW Oilslick black with a House of Kolor 24 karat gold flake on top. It’s a a paint job that has to be seen to be truly appreciated.

One pop of the Origin bonnet and are greeted with a serious piece of eye candy emerging from underneath a Nagisa auto 3 point strut brace plate. Engine-wise things are just as amazing as the exterior when this car was being built there was no holding back as one part led to another which led to another and what you’re looking at is quite an impressive result.  What started this build in the first place has received been fully treated to the finest of goodies. The original engine was pulled out and with that, everything else came with it. The true heart of an 86 was retained, the infamous 4a-ge engine. This new engine consists of an AE101 4A-GZE block, a standard polished crank, Pauter X beam rods and JE racing pistons. The head was swapped out for a ported big port head, standard valves, HKS 272.8 35mm lift cams, HKS valve springs. A Zaklee corporation clear timing belt cover shows of those signature purple HKS cam pulleys and added HKS timing belt. The original water pump and alternator pulleys were swapped out for a full set of Nagisa Auto aluminium pulleys. Fueling is done through rc550cc injectors with a Sard fuel pressure regulator with the help of Earls braided lines.

There is an array of Trust/Greddy parts like an impressive Trust manifold with a zircotec ceramic coating which is mated to a Trust td05 18g turbo with the help of a Trust 35mm waste gate. There’s also a Trust racing blow off valve and you may as well throw the Trust Airinx filter in there because why not? The Levin is also fitted with a Trust intercooler and hard piping , a Trust 13 row oil cooler with re-locator, a Trust hard coolant pipe and samco lower hose, a Trust/Greddy oil catch can, and for the heck of it a Trust/Greddy relocated windscreen washer bottle! At the back a 3inch under axle exhaust system has been fabricated mated to a Trust Drag Spec back box stamped by the Drag Racing association of Japan. Gerry refurbished the original viscous fan which now cools a Koyo twin core radiator with an added brand new TRD radiator cap. The engine has a minimal wire tuck, with the battery and most of the loom relocated; a brand new Toyota coolant over flow bottle was fitted. Dual TRD oil caps pop right out of the bay on the Gold 4A-GE rocker covers. The original Tevis manifold and throttle body was shaved and polished whilst an MSD coil and super conductor wire set send power to this incredible setup which is sitting comfortable on a set of Cusco engine mounts controlled by an Omex 600 ECU. You will have to agree this engine is by far one of the most impressive looking 4A-GE setups to ever grace this Emerald isle sitting completely immaculate under the bonnet of a truly equal exterior.

Just as impressive as both the outside and engine bay, the inside has not been left out, in fact, the exact opposite has been done but I’m sure there won’t be any disappointments here. Gerry decided to go for a blood-red bride theme against the black exterior and damn does that look good. For shifting a C’s quick shifter and a Cusco shift knob can get the job done with the addition of a Hydraulic handbrake which makes going sideways that little bit easier. Upfront is two Bride Brix reclining seats. In the true all-out fashion of this car Gerry managed to source a genuine Bride matching red interior from the ex D1 drift car.

This included Bride door cards, glove box back seats and back quarter cards all genuine and taken from the Ex D1 Bride AE86. That’s definitely something you can enjoy having in your car. I’m sure you can see know why it was much more interesting to keep an interior such as this instead of going for the usual everything must go approach. A 5 piece Bride mat set accompanies the interior both the front and back. As you open one of the Seibon carbon doors you are greeted to a J-blood carbon sill trim. The same applies in the boot where the original fuel tank cover has been swapped out for a Carbon replacement.

The dash, pillars and roof were all re-trimmed in black with red stitching and inside this Levin, it smells like a brand new car.  A Nardi Suede with red stitching Deep corn wheel and Black Limited dome light is the perfect addition to both the 86 and the interior trim.  The list of rare and impressive expensive parts doesn’t come to an end just yet., like we said before this project kept getting better and better especially when you had friends finding new and rare goodies online. They managed to source TRD clocks for oil temp, water temp, oil pressure, boost, and an 80mm rev clock including a link controller which all sit in an frp Mekaru pod neatly trimmed in black and red stitching.

Concealed in the red Bride covered glove box is an Apexi AVCR boost controller, rev speed limiter and Omori exhaust temperature gauge which all sit nicely in a carbon surround. The car was GT grade so it was upgraded with intermittent control wipers and a tilt steering column from an Apex model. There are so many little crazy things going on inside this car that many people will overlook like powder-coated pedals and a brand new accelerator pedal straight from Toyota, or how about a brand new ashtray and indicator switch which were also sourced from Toyota. Gerry decided to go and buy brand new seat belts also and speaking of safety a fully lagged 7 point Cusco roll cage keeps the driver safe if things go wrong.

The wheel choice for this car had to be special, a brand new set of 15″ Work Equip 01 wheels 9j -13 upfront and 9j -15 at the rear were chosen with a set of +25mm spacers to bring the wheels right out to the arches. The wheels were wrapped in Good year rubber and bolted to the hubs with TRD Lugnuts with the addition of four TRD dust caps. The wheels are a timeless choice for the AE86 and never fail to look good.

Behind the Work wheels upfront is a set of Greddy 6 pot brakes and discs bolted to Brand new Toyota hubs. At the rear a set of Black Diamond Grooved and drilled discs replace the original and stopping power is aided with a set of Endless CCA pads. All new Brake hardlines with braided lines at the calipers have replaced the original.

Ueo is a household name amongst the 86 community, a driver famous for his fearless driving style throughout his years in D1 using his NA Garage Sift Trueno. Gerry has complimented the Levin with an array of Ueo braces. Upfront A set of Ueo style front fender braces, a Ueo style bomber bar which has been painted black and a Ueo style four-point strut bar has been bolted down in the trunk. Accompanying the Ueo braces, a Nagisa Auto 3 point strut brace has been added to the shock towers with the addition of 2 Nagisa Auto Shakkitto plates as well as a Nagisa Auto Panhard tower Brace. Further assisting the handling of this 86 chassis a set of Greddy Type R coilovers were fitted.

Gerry managed to find more places to fit Ueo Style parts to assist the setup of the car like a set of Ueo Style track control arms and Ueo style inner and outer tie rods which have been mated to a manual rack. Cusco tension tie rods and a Megan racing four-link was also fitted with the addition of a Nagisa Auto Panhard rod. Cusco anti-roll bars were added both front and rear whilst the cross member and back axle were powder coated to be sealed from the good Irish weather. The original T50 gearbox was swapped out for a w58 gearbox retaining the 2 piece shaft. A TRD LSD had to be modified for a set of Weir performance heavy-duty half shafts and fitted to the differential is a cryo treated 3:9:1 final drive. A brand new fuel tank was fitted to the car and hardlines with a brand new filler neck and cap which I’m sure the engine was Happy about. Just like the rest of the car the chassis received the same level of attention and must be an absolute joy to drive.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this incredible spec list on what has to be one of the most impressive AE86’s out there. I’m glad to finally share this car with you on a day where this chassis is celebrated worldwide. There is no real word to describe this build, insane maybe a word that comes to some minds, amazing to others, a car that was built by a true enthusiast who spent most of his pay checks on that rare part or two which eventually churned out this masterpiece.  Over the years listening to stories about the build and watching it come together was just as impressive as finally seeing the finished product. This photo shoot almost never happened and that’s what I love the most, the fact the car was built by an owner who was on a personal mission and didn’t really care if the car was exposed or not. These pictures and this feature still doesn’t do this car the justice it deserves, little things like how it took 40 hours to get the arches right to look good on the car are just some of the little stories I’m sure many of you know all too well when building a project. The fact we called this feature mission accomplished is a joke in itself. Any driver knows that a car is never really fished and I’m sure there is more in store for this car yet.