There’s been a lot of content from Irish shows and events lately, so I didn’t really plan on bringing you more for the rest of the year.
This was despite the fact that Japfest, traditionally Ireland’s largest Japanese car show, was yet to take place, because between lz festival and the juice box barbecueI felt we had seen everything worthwhile this year. From a JDM perspective, at least.
Naturally, and as always, I was wrong.
There was a lot of car overlap between the three events, which is to be expected for a small country like Ireland. However, there were at least three cars that, in my opinion, deserved at least some coverage.
First, it was this Datsun B120 truck.
not to be confused with a recent characteristic car (more or less) from Speedhuntersthis is the first time I have come across this build, which became the eventual ‘Show Car’.
Concealed in an unusual center row, the Datsun is a real sight. Not just because of the overall levels of excellence throughout the car (the carbon fiber trim in particular was a chef’s kiss), but because of what was hiding under the hood.
The immaculately shaved and smooth engine bay is home to Toyota’s venerable 20-valve 4A-GE with individual throttle bodies and a perfectly designed exhaust manifold.
Subtle, but superb.
The next one was something we’ve all seen before in one way or another, but I think it’ll be a long time before I see one this clean again.
This EK9 Honda Civic Type R was probably in better than like new condition.
‘Pristine’ doesn’t even begin to describe it, and the owner was willing (and rightly so) to share every bit of the car with the onlookers in attendance.
I have one enormous We have a soft spot for the EK9, so it was a real treat to see one in such perfect condition and relatively quiet.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a new EK9 in my life, as the first Civic to receive the Type R badge was a Japan-only model. This is as close as most will ever get.
As much as I like a modified example, I’m glad to see someone has the restraint to keep one.
The third and last car of this short. projector-o-rama it was technically featured in my Juicebox BBQ coverage, but I was able to photograph it in a bit more detail at Japfest.
It’s a fairly innocent looking DA7 Integra from a distance, but when I first saw this roll towards the barbecue I knew something was wrong, although I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
Perhaps it was the carefully crafted, down-bent exhaust tip, the subtle negative rake at the front, or the blue Brembo 4-piston front brakes?
It turns out my suspicions were correct, as this car not only features a K20A with a large hair dryer attached, but is also mated to the 4WD system of a Honda CR-V.
‘Siri, show me the definition of a sleeper.’
It wasn’t the only K-shifted, turbocharged Honda Integra in attendance, but I’ve planned a separate feature for this DC2.
This Frankenstein-esque Type R has a little direct-shift secret, but we’ll talk about that another day…
rice mcgrath
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paddy@speedhunters.com
