Photos Unboxed: Blue Steel, An Epic 2 Door Levin
Let’s take a closer look at Kevin’s AE86 from the last video. We were lucky the sun came out that day to show off its incredible blue paint. Kevin had been building this car for over seven years and had just picked it up a couple of days before we called out to visit. He was very eager to show me the Levin.
Kevin works in Australia like many other Irish people who moved during the recession; it’s great to see that he still has all of his cars locked away in the shed as he plans to move back home eventually. The ae86 has been with him for a long time, and this is its final phase.
It came into Ireland during our import boom. It was registered up in Donegal, at the very top of Ireland, eventually making its way into the hands of Paddy Maher, who sold it to Kevin and funnily enough took it back to restore it.
It’s finished in the classic look that Ireland has adopted over the last five or more years.
Mega sized Watanabe wheels, flared arches, Good line front bumper and a blend of nicely selected choice old school parts. The Wats are the perfect match for an AE86, and the flared arches are a great look. The gunmetal against that blue is infectious, and the early spec grill gives this Levin a menacing look.
Irish people usually prefer the hatchback because these were sold here domestically back in the 80s, so I admire Kevin for building a two-door coupe. A 20valve has replaced the original 16 valve engine for that oh so attractive grunt. The ITBs are an excellent bit of eye candy when you pop the bonnet, with the polished heart surrounded by deep blue paint.
Kevin got the guys at retro auto to minimalise the engine bay, taking cues from the old VW world, then adopted by the American honda scene in the 2010s. It works perfectly here and allows the 20valve to shine. Paddy removed any unnecessary holes, and the entire loom routed up over the wheel arches. There’s a fresh-looking Carbin cooling panel to clean up the front end.
Inside the Corolla’s interior minimal, two bride Brix seats, a blue cage, and a Nardi go together nicely. Kevin informed me that the interior isn’t 100% finished, so there’s still a little bit of tidying up to do.
At the rear, there’s a set of Redline lights from the Kouki Trueno, a Rocket bunny style wing and a Kouki rear bumper. I quite like the Run free skirts, Goodline front and standard rear; it’s a good mismatch of parts.
I’ll let the rest of the pictures do the talking here; this is an epic example of an Irish AE86 Levin Coupe. Enjoy!
