Irelands most interesting JZX81
I’ve wanted to shoot this car for years, and we grabbed a quick chance to take some proper up-close photos on our visit to Paul Keenan and friends some time ago. Ever since this car popped up for sale years ago on Yahoo auctions, and then landed in the UK and finally into the hands of Paul, I was always invested in and loved the character this 81 has.
Far too many of these look very similar, and that’s not a bad thing, it’s just rare when you see a JZX81 that really stands out. The mismatched kit, the colour, the R33 GTR wheels and Sumitomo 33 brakes, there are just a lot of very nice things going on with this car.
Paul bought it from the UK and I’m delighted he ended up with this as he’s the right man to appreciate a car’s original history and character.
If you have watched the video we did on this and the recent shed tour, you might have heard that the owner managed to find Paul and get in contact with him to give him some backstory on the car. The original owner managed to fill in all the blanks on the build. It’s probably the first time I’ve ever heard of a Japanese person contacting the new owner.
Traces of its past life, I love all these old stickers, every one of them has a story or leads to something, the car is a little used around the edges but this is exactly why we gravitate to these types of cars.
For years Paul was wondering what 707 World was but it was just a made-up name, looks great plastered all over the car. I love the rust and how the candy colour of the purple fading to brown actually compliments the corrosion under the clear coat.
I’ve always wanted to own something like this, well-used with plenty of character, something I can just maintain without having to worry about certain parts of it getting too tatty,
This car sounds so good, there’s something about a proper six-cylinder rumbling along in a four-door sedan.
Plenty of cool stickers and parts to keep me occupied.
Honoured Paul chose to put the BBQ sticker on the dash next to these really cool Bad stickers,
This has to be the coolest shift knob I’ve ever seen!
Period correct gauges and boost controller, most likely in this car for a long long time.
I love that the original owner took the MK2 badge off and stuck it on this broadway mirror.
I can’t get enough of the bonnet, its so cool and I even enjoy how the rust is creating patterns underneath.
A few long lens shots finished up the shoot. We got lucky with the weather and this car, grey overcast skies are perfect for this paint job. It casts a perfect reflection.
R33 GTRs are the absolute best OEM wheel ever made.
I love the styling on the 80 series cars, it still has that older styling but is just a little more rounded, it’s hard to think this car is 1991!
I could have shot this all day, such a great car its always a pleasure to grab some photos.
I love the de-badged rear end, to the average person you would have no idea what this is! They really don’t make them like they used to.
I’ll leave it here with this head-on shot. Definitely one of my favourite cars in Ireland and thankfully it’s in the right hands.