We head back to Osaka to meet the younger Kanjo enthusiasts with whom we went on the loop and see how they are doing.
I am screaming at a few hundred people to let them know the burgers are ready. This was a lovely day out, the JUicebox BBQ, which is essentially a day of thanking everyone we have met over the years for keeping the Irish car scene going and all the friends and acquaintances we got to know through this car stuff. Our friend Adam Osborne was kind enough to shoot all these photos from the day, as we have a million things going on, so it’s hard to document and organise the event. I hope you enjoy his selection of snaps below; he has an excellent eye for capturing delicious images. I’ll let the rest of the photos do the talking.
We organise cars and coffee, check out an ITB Altezza and do some rings in a 4A-GE Daihatsu
Paul Takes us to his house to see the rest of the family’s incredible collection.
A few photos from our little night drive in the summer of 2021; right after all the misery of covid had lifted, we decided to get together for a meet-up and appreciate the joy these rusty Japanese cars bring. A route was mapped to drive for some spirited driving, but we got some food beforehand. Far too many of our vehicles are sitting in sheds these days, never getting the use they deserve, so it was great to get them out for a blast. Finally, everyone went home smiling, reminding us why we got into these things in the first place. In Ireland, as the years progress, you tend to see fewer and fewer of these cars on the road; they live their lives in the shed as our climate isn’t the best for cheap steel Japanese machines.
A sad day for Juicebox! I sold the EK4 Civic and explained, with updates on Merch and what’s coming up on the channel.
Jumping over 4A-GE’s and the Trueno wiring begins. There is plenty of immature action in this episode, with some interesting information about AE86 production numbers.
If my younger self could see me now! That young freckly fucker obsessing over Gran Turismo 2, sitting in his room listening to that smooth jazz menu music, looking at cars he had never heard of in the used car garage. Here I am, many years later, still chasing the dream, still into the same stuff I was back then! I think my younger self would be buzzing to see the space I have in the shed with sound friends, a few rusty Japanese shit heaps, a few bikes, skateboards and silly bits pushing on into my 30s. It’s not much, but I try not to take it for granted, best to enjoy the ride. This night made me incredibly happy.
We drove for a good hour outside of Osaka to the outskirts of a town called Nara. This is where the legendary Honda shop known as Zero Fighter is based. After our day of mixed greetings, we didn’t know what to expect with what we were greeted to at Osaka JDM earlier in the day, so our expectations were low.
We got up bright and early the following day after a surprising sleep in a capsule hotel and decided to head out of Osaka and head for the hills. Our fits stop was Osaka JDM, a shop that has seen extreme popularity in the last few years with the popularity of the Kanjo culture.
I’m not going to say a lot here, the images speak for themselves, here are the photos to accompany the Honda day from 2019 when we had the EK4 out on the track. It’s hard to put into words just how fun these noisy little Hondas are until you’ve driven one, and when you drive a proper sorted one the track on the limit, it only amplifies the pleasure in these Econo small cars. You can punish them, and they keep coming back for more!
The noise makes you feel like you are doing ten times the speed, the oversteer, the bang of Vtec lad! Honda knew what they were doing with the first twenty years of simplistic Vtec machines; anyways, ill leave it here. Hope you enjoy these pics.
– Neil
Remember our EK4 Civic? We give it a quick makeover and take it to an epic Honda only day at Mondello Circuit.
We hit the racetrack in the K11 daily driver March and go for another run in the Civic. The guys at Trackdays.ie were nice enough to invite us to another day out so we couldn’t resist. Barry calls down to finish Adrians Carina and we sort some coils for the 4A-GE.
Trackdays.ie invite us up to Mondello Circuit to give the EK4 Civic a proper drive around a race track. Its a first time doing grip for Neil and Reuben which leads to a lot of shouting and panic. Reuben also makes a new purchase.
We get our hands on a rare EK4 SIR Civic and get nostalgic about our Honda filled younger years.
This was supposed to be a short episode but we added an extended chunk to the end and ruined any chance of this being finished on Monday!