Photos Unboxed: The Shell Assembly - Juiceboxforyou

Fitting new parts onto the shell was one of the greatest feelings. Everyone was buzzing to help, which made for a hilarious weekend of assembly craic with the lads. It was a huge milestone, it felt like we had reached the peak, and everything was going to be easier from here on in. After looking at the 86 as a bare shell for so long, I was starting to wonder if we would ever get to this stage. Out of nowhere, the body went from looking more or less the same for two-plus years into pretty much a rolling chassis in the space of two nights. It all happened so quick that it took a week or two for my brain to catch up.

It’s funny looking back on the video and seeing everyone calling down to help out. I barely got to do anything myself except hold the camera. I think everyone was eager to help out and see the shell progress to the next stage and just wanted to be a part of and share the assembly progress with their mate.

We had rolled the shell over to flips in March of 2019, and it was now December when the project was finally back moving on four wheels. It hadn’t been the best year, which slowed the progress with nothing happening with the project from June until October. Life can throw unexpected events in your way, and thankful I had the friends and the drive to push on.

Looking back, this was one of the best weekends of my life. I was starting to lose hope as staring at a bare shell felt like we were going nowhere for so long. The first few coats of paint and primer lifted spirits.

Enjoy the photos from this incredibly productive weekend below.

I was matching the anti-roll bars for that blue look underneath.

The shell looked like a hovercar with the wrapping. She was hiding the 50 shades of paint outside.

I was thrilled with the satin gunmetal; the risk paid off.

How well does the front end look here? It’s been a long road but seeing it all in one colour was the most incredible feeling.

Same with the interior.

Some 13″ Lomngchamos make for a nice view.

The 86 world front anti-roll bar was a nice touch.

We got the Cusco ae86 tension rods, and brackets spruced up.

The rear arms were all for a refresh in the closest colour we could find to Cusco blue.

The anti-roll bars were painted in leftover paint from the Calsonic March.

I got most of the original nuts and bolts Zinc coated, and acid dipped.

Luckily we have Bryan Duggan, who somehow knows where every nut and bolt goes on an 86. That made this nightmare 0f a view a little more bearable.

Slowly but surely, we sorted the bolts.

Seeing all these bolts, which were once crusty all finished in Zinc, was something else!

With a few leftovers, just in case.

Many hands make light work, or usually, it causes chaos, but we had way too much fun assembling the rack and other bits for the chassis.

Bryan being the captain of the ship, making sense of the madness.

With Josh’s spit included in the mix.

Next was cleaning off the axle and all the stuff we painted a long time ago.

The parts blended into the background over in Flips shed.

A light dust off with the air hose did the trick on these.

The blue parts looked like the part all laid out together on the trestle.

And then it was time to move the shell over to the lift.

But plenty of immature nonsense had to happen before we made any progress.

Flips look says it all.

Shiny parts contrasted with crusty leftovers!

Ralph was the real star of the show.

We were nervous putting a bare shell up on the lift and fitting items, but it worked out in the end.

It was such a good feeling to see the shell going up on the lift for what would hopefully be its last time as a bare shell for at least a few years.

All the dusty bits in the corner came back to life with a quick rub.

We fitted the traction brackets to the axle to ensure the car was sitting at the right angle.

The axle was then ready to fit.

It didn’t take too long to fit in; the zinc bolts and blue bars were an excellent contrast.

Along with new discs and the Dmac Avo rear suspension…

Upfront things were looking just as good; we assembled the subframe, fitted the tension rod brackets, roll centre adjusters and lower arms and jacked it up for final assembly.

Once we locked t into place, was the front end sorted for wheel fitment.

The reconditioned struts looked great, Josh fabricated some new collars for the suspension, and the Flos lower arms looked lovely and fresh.

The tension rods and RCA’s are a friendly match.

I’m a big fan of Cusco blue parts on an 86; there’s something about that blue.

Adrian gave the rear end a spanner check while the rest of us watched; he called down for a look on a Friday night and decided to get stuck into the build. I’m very thankful to have such a good group of sound mates who enjoy helping out.

I can’t get enough of these tension rods and brackets, another thing on the hit list for many, many years!

The Polybushed and blue paint! It’s just the underneath, but these little details get me excited.

The p1s were the wheel of choice for getting her rolling. At the time, there was nothing on the Longchamps. The P1’s are a great look in this 86 fitment.

Finally, it was starting to look like a car.

The car of my dreams with more parts I’ve lusted after than I could have ever imagined. I didn’t think id end up with these bits so early on in my 86 ownership.

Hel braided lines from the Uk were nice enough to send out some free brake lines for the build; that was an incredibly nice gesture.

Growing up MTBing, I always loved braided lines on the bikes, and it transferred over into the cars once I knew it was something people did in the automotive world.

A massive shout out to Hel for sorting me out!

Flip gave the wheels a quick check over, and the car was ready to sit on the ground.

I grabbed a quick fisheye undershot before we put it on four wheels. I can’t wait to do this again when the car is finished.

Even looking back on these photos now, I’m smiling. For anyone who has done a project like this, I’m sure you know the feeling. The project finally felt like it was moving in the right direction.

I think I took this photo about twenty times in disbelief. I stood back and admired the view for a solid hour.

Finally, this thing was starting to look like a car again; it felt like we had climbed the mountain’s peak, and it was downhill from here. What a feeling, one ill never forget!