Deep Rooted: Toyota Gathering 2017
This has been a fast year. It seems not so long ago when we covered the Annual Toyota meet in Cork last year. I really enjoyed this meet because you never know what comes out of the wood work. Even the machine we came down in is worthy of a picture, (TRD Camry which you see here). You can also see Flip using his best shammy cloth to clean the flies.
The first car that caught my attention is this Levin, the only other time I have seen this car was at last years meet and I fell in love. It would be hard for me to change anything about this thing. Scary to think it came in on XXR’s, these were swiftly removed for a timeless Meister which suits this perfectly.
I was staring at this for a little too long and realised it was time to move on.
You really don’t see enough Supras anymore. This one was hitting the spot rocking a DO-Luck front end.
An Irish style KE70.
I forgot to grab a photo of the KP Starlet next to the DX but the engine bay looked pretty interesting, I bet this is a fairly entertaining setup.
There is always such a variety of cars on display, Ireland has such a strong bond with the Toyota, especially the older stuff.
Nothing on the 86 front from Sean this year, he decided to bring the Caldina instead.
GT Turbos have become a rare sight over the last few years, every time I see one I get a sigh of relief, knowing there are a few still on the roads. The Starlet Turbo was one of the first Imports I lusted over as a kid, I will always have a soft spot for them.
I’d love to know just how many AE86’s are in Ireland, it baffles me time and time again when I see an unfamiliar example.
Great to see someone rocking a proper set of Japanese shoes on an old Celica, Ireland has a serious love affair with the Revolite or Superlite on these old Japanese beauties, I wish there was more like this one above.
This little starlet stood out, another car which is becoming a cult classic. I’m sure we will be seeing many more in-depth builds on the EP70 chassis over the coming years.
Those bike carbs must sound awesome.
Speaking of Starlets, Ireland was not so kind to the EP91 either, the Glanza is almost a distant memory these days. I think this was parked in the exact same spot as last year. Good to know its still alive and well. The snow white TE37’s against the yellow makes for a lovely contrast.
Meet the Starlets successor the Vitz RS, I quite liked the CRKAI’s in chrome against that deep yellow.
Another very 90’s Supra came to play, is it wrong that I love the Veilside kit, the ride height reminds me of the Blue Veilside one just about to launch off of the line for a run down the drag strip… I hope this thing stays as is, regardless of how pricey they Supra is getting, many have removed any trace of this look, someone has to keep the Veilside thing going.
Check the details…
Ireland, a place where any unusual Japanese car could present itself at any moment. I had always wondered if I would stumble upon an AT210… Nah that’s a lie, but I should have expected that this Emerald Isle would be home to at least one of these very rare Carinas. It looks like a Peugeot 406.
The owner has it in pristine condition, lets be glad people like him exist.
This was strange.
Another car I’m always happy to see, it’s been around a long time. I fear that one day it will just disappear. There will come a time when the Levin is basically non-existent due to them having such a valuable heart.
It’s nice to see people from all ages parked up with their pride and joy. A nice cross section of Toyota love from all the age groups.
Half moon UK Couch!
This was nice, an Irish styled KP with some Revos and a TRD wing out back, a very humble very simple little beauty.
We recently had Dylan Walsh shoot this for the site. It was nice to get acquainted in real life with the build. This is exactly what I would do if I had a 2 door Levin, in fact, this was the plan until things changed.
P1’s, I used to hate these wheels when I was younger and now im obsessed, I’m fairly sure these are my friend Gerry’s old wheels too, he used to run them on his blue Charmant that you might remember. They look good on this 2 door.
This was cool, I can’t remember the last time I saw a standard GT Turbo, some cars came in from Japan modified no matter what way you bought them and the Starlet was one of them.
A nice mismatch of flavours, I was toying with the idea of doing my car this colour a while back and it looks fantastic here sitting on Longchamps, Those Redlines look good against that 8A9 Blue.
It wouldn’t be an Irish Toyota gathering without a collection of UK Spec “Twin Cam” Levins.
Kevin switched his MSC SR20 Levin for his daily Wagon for this years event, he asked me not to take any photos but because I spotted tyre shine I couldnt helpt it.
This thing!
I love this Celica, the widened steelies and that subtle olive colour look fantastic together, a proper Japanese muscle look.
Dukes of hazard vibes from this 2000GT on Celica Supra rims.
P1’s working magic on this Corolla, the white on white is a winner.
We love this thing, the Carina was the go to machine for anyone in the countryside of Ireland for a long long time and probably still is, a reliable back bone country life in Ireland!
What blows my mind is how many Toyotas were not at this meet, this is just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to whats lurking around this Emerald Isle. You almost forget about the entire rally scene which brings out some of the most impressive AE86’s the world has ever seen.
My love for this JZX81 is too real, I could write a paragrah about it but ill leave that for another time.
All of the little details and those 33 wheels, im glad someone is taking good care of it.
Another little gem from the show is this EP80 starlet. I love the meaty profile upfront and those stepped Starsharks finished in red. The no grill and Non turbo bonnet are nice touches too, its a proper mash up of all the right pieces.
Jason MacInerny recently acquired this gem, looking forward to seeing those arches filled with some chunky goodness real soon, I was surprised to see no attendance from the KE70 this year, a car we have featured a few years back that is still doing the rounds online, arguably one of the best looking 2 door KE70 in the world.
Love for the Zenkis.
How to Trueno. I love the simplicty of this car.
Hats off for making a very beliavble looking road going replica.
I wasnt expecting the real one to be here but then again…
I was so used to seeing these in Canada, this camper was the last machine id expect to be at the meet, it is a Toyota though so I guess its allowed right?
I had never seen one of these before, you would wonder how Toyota kept track of all its variations of each model over the years. This was a very cool, very unusual machine.
Tough, rough and ready, I love the Shapple sticker on the windscreen.
This was another cool little starlet sitting on original Equip 01 wheels.
Although I enjoy the look of this standard AW11, I hope someone buys one and fits a proper set of eighties Japanese wheels. An incredily overlooked chassi in Irerland they are crying out for a bit of AE86 inspired flavour.
Those tones…
This Celica was incredibly clean, I was more impressed with how the owner managed to keep it so spotless on the journey down.
My favourite irish KP, Simon did good back in the day with this Combo, glad to see its still in the same guise and looking better than ever.
This car would be a close contender…
This used to be green, I was worried the make over would never compare to the original but the owner has done an outstanding job restoring this beauty and retaining a similar look.
Every variation of Starlet you could think of was on display, as much as I love seeing these in standard form, id be itching to lower this on nice wheels if it was mine.
Opposite the KP’s were a pair of EP’s one being Evans little gem which we featured last year.
He did good with this, its great to see the car get the recognition it deserves.
I love the fact there are all walks of car enthusiast out there, I have big respect for the guys who maintain and restore old machiens like this Corolla back to their original condition. It takes all kinds of people to make up the car community.
Johns KE70, another car we featured last year is always a treat on the eyes, this thing is flawless,
I recommend checking out the feature section of our website if you missed it.
Next to it was this stunning brown originally Japanese Diesel 1.5DX example.
The diesel engine is long gone, a happy 4A-GE has taken up permanent residence instead.
Stephen, unfortunately, had to give back his winning trophy from last year.
This is he first set of Equip 40s in ireland and they look superb, We will hopefully have a full feature on this in the coming months.
Another car we featured a while back has changed hands and now on the road. Ive expressed my love for this old RYO car enough times, looking forward to seeing that the new owner does.
The boys were holding it down for waterford. This 2 door was fresh out of the oven and just in time for the event.
Another waterford local, we did a feature on this a few months back also, id recommend checking it out.
As we were leaving I noticed another favourite machine. The 86 love is incredibly strong in Ireland as you might have guessed, not a week goes by without another one being snatched up from Japan and sent to the Emerald Isle. Stay tuned for our 86 day coverage coming very soon.
A big thanks to Robert O Riordan and family for putting on these shows over the last few years, this will be unfortunately his last one for the foreseeable future. Hopefully an event like this will live on in one way or another because it’s events like this that really bring out the best machinery Ireland has to offer…