Japanese AE86 vs Irish/UK Cam

[Paul29]

Yeah cue im with you there. Personally id go with jap for trashing cause all have been gutted in some way out there very hard to find one standard and uk spec for loving. That why my UK spec is in the shed waitin on sunny days. But i have come across a beautifull standard one in Japan but its not cheap.

Thinkin of importing it for sale if anybody interested. White over black Levin mint condition. Lovely interior usual jap extra's standard wheels. Closest lookin to UK spec iv ever seen

[Garth]

Jap = No rust = WIN

If we killed ours we'd get an impost and put the uk lights on the back and sell the redlines or whitelines.

[Lucky 86]

jap spec

[Lauren]

JDM spec, simply because I have power steering and aircon (yes it works). I couldn't cope with a manual rack having weedy girly arms.

The lack of an oil cooler is the downside of jap spec, but I've sorted that.

[chrisae86]

Going to revive this thread.

Everyone has their own preference at the end of the day. I recently imported an original 86 as I wanted something clean with no rust and no mods, you simply can't get that without spending big money for a clean uk spec which at this stage are nearly all restored and going for 20+K at the moment. It's only natural considering our climate that a uk spec that has'nt received some sort of restoration is'nt going to be very clean unless it's spent most it's life in storage.

Yes the Jap cam's i.e. gt apex came with a better spec and have seen an easier life than most uk specs. But for me growing up in Ireland and most people the uk spec was the one to have and still is to this day. In Ireland the uk spec is more common and holds more value over it's japanese counterpart. Personnally I love the uk spec as it's what I grew up with and aspired to owning one day. Yes I did import a Jap spec cam in the end but to be honest I just wanted something that was clean, rust free and that had'nt seen abuse. Planning to convert it to UK spec at some stage, yes for some uk spec die hearts it will never be full original uk but for me it will still be a straight, clean 86!

[banpei]

I think it's similar story as my UDSM spec SR5 that got converted using European parts, making it a "GT" (and not a GT-S). I put a euro spec rear bumper on it (saving about 30+ kilos of weight) and was planning to do a JDM bumper conversion. I realized that in the end it would never be a USDM GT-S, never a European GT and also never a Trueno, so purists would always hate/complain. But it was my car and I wanted it to look that way.
Then 11 years later I import an AE86 to quickly sell on. However I just happened to end up with the exact same car as I mine to become. It's still in my possession and I still haven't been able to part with it.

[chrisae86]

(04-30-2020 08:16 PM)banpei Wrote:  I think it's similar story as my UDSM spec SR5 that got converted using European parts, making it a "GT" (and not a GT-S). I put a euro spec rear bumper on it (saving about 30+ kilos of weight) and was planning to do a JDM bumper conversion. I realized that in the end it would never be a USDM GT-S, never a European GT and also never a Trueno, so purists would always hate/complain. But it was my car and I wanted it to look that way.
Then 11 years later I import an AE86 to quickly sell on. However I just happened to end up with the exact same car as I mine to become. It's still in my possession and I still haven't been able to part with it.

Yeah that's true it is my car and I proably should'nt be too concerned about what other's think. To be totally honest I'm in two minds on whether to convert it or not, all my friends and others have said I should leave it Jap as it's just really nice as it is and I agree. I do love the look of a jap spec 86 but from day one since I started this journey the plan was to convert to uk spec.