Let’s start with my contribution to the official AE86 day celebration. I wasn’t really into Toyota but after working together with Antonio that has changed. So for this feature I knew I had to cover the best AE86 that I could find. Luckily for me I found one and it gets better, because this car was located in Holland. After I saw the owner, Mike Nieuwstraten, posting on the Driftworks forum telling he wanted to refurbish his Hayashi’s I contacted him immediately and soon after that a meeting was arranged.

Mike imported the car from the UK after the previous owner imported it from Japan. The only thing Mike had to do was to take a flight to the UK and drive the car back to Holland. After all the registrations and bureaucratic stuff was dealt with it was time to use it as a daily driver. That is what Mike has been doing ever since.

The car has been resprayed in the famous Panda black & white colors made famous by the Initial D AE86. The frontbumper has been pieced together with a late spec frontbumper and lip to match the lines of the Runfree sideskirts. Mike also told me he was a big fan of Nakai San and his Rauh Welt build cars, hence the small RWB sticker on the frontbumper.

The sleek looking side mirrors are made by Eastbear, they give a more modern touch to this 24 year old car.

The rear is dominated by the TRD spoiler and the Runfree rear bumper. The rear was also the first part of the car that I got to see, when I drove into the street where Mike lives. It’s always refreshing seeing a car like this after seeing hundreds of commuters driving the same dull cars.

After we took off to find some cool locations I realized this car was much stiffer as the ER34 Skyline. That comes courtesy of the JIC coilovers in the front and TRD springs in the rear.

The wheels can make or break a car, in this case they definitely make the car. I even needed to wait before I got to shoot the car because Mike had them refurbished and they weren’t mounted yet. The Hayashi Street wheels are the perfect match for this car. They come in size 15″x10j with an ET of -25 all round. The fenders that are trying their hardest to keep the tires covered are made by Jubride.

While driving around looking for cool locations Mike told me he always had a soft spot for everything old school. Especially when we are talking about cars, it also became apparent when I opened the hood and was greeted by all these Mario Bros stickers.

Also notice the stance, love it.

The engine is off course the venerable 4A-GE, it has done almost 125.000 km’s and still sounded great but that’s also thanks to the RS*R exhaust. The engine has been treated with a HKS filter and spark plugs. The braided lines you see running right next to the horns lead to the relocated oil filter. Mike also bought a ARC air intake box, but unfortunately it didn’t fit.

The strutbrace has been made by Cusco.

A better look at the RS*R exhaust, I wonder how long he can keep it this clean. After all it is still his daily driver.

Not sure if you can see it directly, but when I opened the door I was greeted with all these ‘The Big Lebowsky’ quotes. Mike told me he got them at a Big Lebowsky event that he attended in the US. All I know is that “The dude abides”. The 6 point rollcage stiffens the car and makes sure that Mike can drift safely.

The steering wheels is a classic Nardi item that is almost mandatory in cars like these.  There is also a Bride seat but it wasn’t in a really good state

A better look at the rollcage and another Cusco strut brace.

I had a great time shooting this car and wanted to thank Mike for the opportunity. I’ll be on the lookout for more precious metal in Holland because I really want to shoot more of these kind of cars.

Happy AE86 day everyone.

-Jeroen Willemsen