A Scottish Surprise Trueno - Juiceboxforyou

Late one evening, a message landed in the Juicebox inbox on Instagram, it was from a Scottish chap called Michael. He was heading to Ireland to pick up a few bits for his 86 and wanted to swing by the shed.

I was already interested as he said he would be bringing his Trueno for the journey. The Juicbox Instagram inbox is a little chaotic at times, so I left it at that until a few days before he was embarking on the tour.

I never actually checked to see what kind of car it was going to be and to be honest that turned out to be the best thing ever. I just knew he had a Trueno.

Early on a Fresh Sunday morning, Micheal had made it to our business park and was waiting outside Flips shed. I had no idea what I was in store.

This thing was hands down one of the coolest looking cars I had ever seen, the SSR MKIII wheels, the combination of standard and Uras aero, the colour scheme and the selection of stickers on the window. I’m a total sucker for this stuff I wanted to know more.

This car was rough and ready and by the looks of it had a fascinating life. The stickers on the window were exciting. Micheal had told me he had loosely translated them into “tomato farmer”, but after we put together the recent vlog episode on this car, our good friend Alex from Circuit soul had them all translated adequately.

In Alex’s words :

こうちゃんの 野菜工房 = Kō-chan no yasai kōbō = Kou-chan’s Vegetable Shop 印南野そば 倶楽部 = In’namino soba kurabu = Inami (town in Wakayama prefecture) Soba Club 井上農園 = Inoue nōen = Inoue (family name) Farm 明和水産 = Meiwa Suisan = With no other context I would think it’s referencing the internet board of the same name. But, since all the vinyl matches I’m guessing they custom made all those stickers in one go. So, I think it’s: 明和水産 さかなや = Meiwa Suisan Fish Shop (in Okayama Prefecture) The car was likely a grassroots car from Kansai that was either sponsored by or just supported, some local farming/food processing businesses.

Uncovering history on the many cars that have landed here, what they used to get up to, who owned them etc., Its s fascinating stuff and has always interested me.

The shell was fully seam welded, caged and completely stripped out.

It was a bit of an old school build sporting Mikuni/Solex 44mm carbs, and aggressive 288 intake cam, 272 exhaust cam and 82mm forged pistons, Revolver built the engine in Osaka.

It has some Mitsuba FP3 fuel pumps which I had never seen in real life and altogether this was one of the most lively packages I had ever driven. I can see why many of these cars have a full analogue setup back in Japan. That sound and feel, it’s hard to beat!

Micheals main reason for coming to Ireland was to get cuts for his shell to repair the usual sections which go on these cars. Our climate doesn’t do these old cars any favours, and he wanted to tackle this stuff before it got out of control. He has always wanted an 86 this one will be a keeper.

These were a little more disposable back in Japan, and judging by the three or four different colour peeping out from under the white paint, this car had an exciting past.

The arches are all metal on the rear and look to be either cut from the front 86 fenders or something similar. The little bumper extensions were a super neat touch.

Michael explained this car had such a well-sorted suspension setup too, which hints to its past.

A Cusco cage, manual rack with power steering knuckles for more lock, a host of braces underneath, Ikeya formula tension arms, four-link kit and Panhard rod, the brakes have braided lines and project mu pads! An absolute dream setup for any 86 enthusiasts.

Micheal couldn’t hang around for too long as he had a ferry to catch, we did a quick segment on the car for the vlog, and I snapped these quick shots for the website.

Driving this car is hard to put into words, I have driven a few 86’s in my time, but there was something so good about this setup, this is precisely how I would want my 86 to feel when it’s finished, with a similar spec list to match.

Micheals wife was nice enough to bake us some 86 biscuits, and he brought us a selection of treats from his Native Scotland. It was one of the better Sundays mornings.

This car oozes with style and history, something that just can’t be bought. The stickers on the windows are great, I could spend hours obsessing over this stuff in magazines or online, trying to find a way to replicate a style I’ve appreciated for many years, only to find out its a vegetable farmer! Either way that’s the very thing about these Japanese builds, these cars were built in Japan, with a Japnese history and can never be replicated.

Ae86 1984 sprinter GTV

Engine

16v 4age big port engine

Solex/Mikuni 44mm carbs

Ported and polished

Adjustable cam gears

288 intake cam

272 exhaust cam

82mm forged pistons

Ultra, blue point power plug wires

Mitsuba fp3 fuel pumps

Aftermarket manifold

Decat

Exhaust

Exterior

SSR mk3s

Raybrig Mr headlights

J- blood carbon bonnet

Uras front bumper

Redline kouki rear lights

Unknown front wings

TRD rear wing

Suspension

Front and rear strut braces

Cusco cage

Fully seam welded chassis strut tops floor pan etc

Braces underneath front wings

TRD blue short-stroke coilovers

Adjustable rear

Manual rack with power steering knuckles

TRD anti-roll bars front and rear

Traction brackets

Ikea formula Panhard rod

Ikea formula front tension arms

Ikea formula 4 link kit

Roll centre correction front spacers

Brakes

Braided brake lines

Project mu brake pads front and rear

Drivetrain

2-way diff

ORC twin-plate clutch and lightweight flywheel

TRD final drive

TRD short shifter

Interior

Bride driver seat

Defi gauges

Nardi wheel