Here are the photos from our trip to shadow rotary back in 2019 when we dropped flips engine up for a teardown and had a look at their shop. I’m not sure why I didn’t post these when we launched the episode, but a few backlogged articles slipped through the cracks. Nonetheless, I know some people have always enjoyed the little pieces we have thrown on the site over the years and I’m sure many of you have seen the full episode, so ill let the photos do the talking here. Enjoy
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.
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. Continue Reading
A Hidden shed Tour! We take a look at a freshly built AE86 Levin and a shed full of Japanese classics.
I’m very fortunate to work in a place that imports parts from Japan. It’s as much a blessing as it is a curse. Most of our monthly wages never really leave JDM Distro but working here has enabled me to source some of the best parts for my AE86 build over the last few years.
Being able to drop parts at the depot in Japan was once in a lifetime stuff. Here was a Goodline 86 hood, which I had listed after for many, many years. We barely snugged it into the back of the Alphard and drove halfway across Japan to drop it off just outside of Tokyo.
YES! Parts and magazines Arrive at JDM Distro from our Japan in a Van trip, making it one of the best days ever at work.
We are very fortunate to have people like MR X in the car community. For years, he has been supplying the AE86 community with much sought after parts. He has been breaking Corollas for parts for well over ten years, and it is a necessary evil, sometimes it’s sad to see cool cars he has killed, but most of the time, every last piece of that car ends helping another.
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 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.
If you are over thirty, you’ll be well aware of Trial for their epic demo cars and long history with tuning. They have one of the largest shops in Japan and have been around for over thirty years. I was first acquainted with them in Max Power in both the magazine and their DVD Japan feature back in the day called “beast from the east”. Max Power was the most prominent UK tuning magazine in the early Millenium.
I’m writing this just after we had one of the biggest washouts at Japfest 2019. These photos are from 2018 as you might have guessed if you attended the event. We were fresh back from Japan this year and didn’t have the time to organise a stand and to be honest because of how bad the weather was, I’m glad we didn’t. Last year we were graced with the greatest summer Ireland had seen since the early nineties. It was also a rare occasion where a bunch of us had cars on the road and were willing to drive them to an event.
In this episode, I take you to work at JDMDistro where my wheels for the AE86 arrive from Japan.
The AE86 loses more metal, gains some new metal and we have a BBQ. There’s also some cool stories about some of the donor metal.
So as I stated in the first post, this was a considerably good night at Daikoku and felt like a split feature was worth the effort.
The wait was over, after a failed attempt to get into Daikoku on the previous night, we were adamant to make it here for a Saturday night no matter what. We hung around in the Up Garages close by and made our way towards Daikoku around 9 PM to get an early spot.
