"Kentucky AE86: A Levin Story"
Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2017 12:18 pm
Here in the next few days I will receive an email notifying me of this cars arrival into the United States and I will make the trip to pick her up. Words can not even begin to explain how excited I am. Not only is this a car that I have been dreaming of owning ever since I was in elementary school, but I've literally spent the past 3 years working towards this purchase which makes this car mean even more to me.
but before I go any further let me back up a little bit and give you a little background on myself and why its taken me 3 years to get to this point. If you don't like reading and just here for the pictures, then keep on scrolling. If you're like me and its slow at work, and/or you're browsing the forums while taking a poop, then keep on reading I'll try to keep the words somewhat to a minimum since I dont even enjoy reading too much myself. I'm 22 years old, currently a full-time electrical engineering major at the University of Kentucky, Army National Guard member, and I work part-time in the parts department at a Toyota dealership.
This all started with a black EM1 civic.
My dad is a big car guy so of course he passed that gene onto me, only instead of hot rods and muscle cars its all little "rice burners" for me. Anyways, early on in middle school my parents made it very clear to me that if I did well in school and stayed out of trouble they would help me out when it came time for me to get a car. That car ended up being a black 2000 Civic SI, my favorite car (besides the ae86). Came with eibach lowering springs and a jdm b18c, later installed koni-yellow/GC coilovers. Thing was sweet.
This is what it looked like towards graduation
Even though I did well in school, obviously I did all the dumb stuff car kids do when they get their license. (get in trouble for street racing Lol). Eventually, I ended up wrecking it one night on my back home from a little gig in Ohio (i was in a hardcore band in highschool). Old country road, wet and rainy, 1am, blind corner, and under-steered straight into a ditch. I only had liability on it so insurance wouldn't cover the damage. Had to pretty much replace the entire front end of the vehicle. I was a senior about to graduate by this time. Of course I didn't have the money so it just sat in my garage while I finished out the school year. Unfortunately I don't have very many pictures of the car from back then.
I had planned on going to UK the fall of 2013, but didn't receive any scholarships I applied for. So I found myself with 3 options : take out student loans and start at UK, skip college and go straight to work, or join the military. When weighing my options I found that joining the military would be the best option since that would pay for my tuition, specifically in the National Guard, but that was still a big commitment.
... And then I realized something ... I would be gone for 24 weeks for basic training and AIT ... free food and free housing ... NO EXPENSES ... this all means $10,000 cash money to play with ... which also means I can blow a crap ton on my civic and get it running again!! Sounds pretty tasty for an 18 year old.
I enlisted in May, and then went to basic training in September.
That summer was spent working at save-a-lot and spending all my money on parts for the civic that needed replaced.
While I'm gone I'm saving all my money, every couple weeks I would send payments to the guy who was fixing the civic. I made it very clear to him I wanted every single scratch, ding, blemish, and any other flaw with the paint fixed. I wanted it perfect, and it was.
I came home in March and the car was almost finished. Dude had a hard time painting over the winter due to his shop not having a big enough heater. The body work/paint ended up costing me roughly 5k, and I had spent about 1.8k in parts before leaving for basic training. I ended up getting the car back the beginning of April and my baby was fixed.
I started working full-time at the dealership in April too, so I would drive the civic to/from work since that was my only car.
Sure enough, only 3 weeks after I get it back I get rear ended on my way home from work. To make matters even worse, the chick who hit me didnt even have insurance ... I was absolutely devastated.
Insurance ended up totaling it, and I was so upset and pissed I just got rid of it. Sold it to some kid for cheap.
I ended up buying an IS300. I always loved the look of those. I snagged one off craigslist for 4k. 200k miles, automatic, ran like a champ. This was about May or June of 2014. At this point I knew whatever car I bought next, had to be better than my civic. And I learned my lesson of treating your baby/project car as your daily driver. So I decided I wanted a RHD AE86. Sure, I could find a GTS or an SR5 for cheap, but I'm stubborn.
Wheels and coilovers were a must
I had that for a year, but eventually it just got too expensive. Things started breaking, parts weren't cheap, and my insurance payment was crazy expensive due to the accident. I was paying $330 a month just for insurance.
I ended up selling it and leasing a 2015 scion tC, which is what is currently sitting outside in the parking lot right now. My lease payment is cheaper than the insurance payment for the IS300, and its a brand new vehicle. Much better deal.
Usual mods
So ... I sell the Lexus, Im driving the tC, balls deep in calculus/engineering classes and working part-time in the evenings. I have like 4k in my savings account. I think to myself, this isn't nearly enough to import an AE86. I can't simply work more and put money back, I don't have any money I can put back to begin with! So how do I make more money?
... I decided to start buying/selling cars on craigslist. I first bought this 98 honda accord EX. 5-speed, high miles, but the paint was in good shape. Snagged it for 2300 bucks, cleaned it up and sold it for 3400. Not too bad? Who knows how long it would have been to put back 1100 just working part time. I still put back money when I could, and after a few more flips I had about 7k in my savings account.
This is where it gets interesting. I noticed more and more RHD cars for sale on the internet. Everyone was going nuts about it, and I thought to myself, "if they can do it then why can't I?" Instead of browsing craigslist, I was busy researching on all the laws about importing cars. I ended up finding one of those Auction websites and decided to take the risk and import a car! Keep in mind, I was only 20 at the time, I had zero connections in Japan or anyone outside of the US, and the only money I had was the few dollars in my checking account and my savings.
I placed a few bids on various cars and ended up getting a Silvia Qs S13. So here I am, sending pretty much my entire savings account to people overseas I don't know, for a car I haven't seen in person. Literally one of the dumbest ideas anyone can ever make, but it worked.
I knew when I first placed the bid I wouldn't get very much money out of it. I was mainly doing it for the learning factor and just so I can own a RHD vehicle. I figured I could drive it, enjoy it, and at least break even. A little while later a guy from Atlanta GA bought it, and back to the auctions I went. This time I got an FC RX7.
Super sweet ride. Only had 50,000 miles on it, real Infini bucket seats, autostrada modena wheels, etc. Whoever owned this car in Japan was a real car guy and took care of it. I think it was owned by an older gentleman due to the amount of to-go coffee creamers and sugar I found in the center console Lol. Anyways, this one ended up going to a guy in California, and the wheels went to Montana ...
... and then using the cash from that I finally felt like I had enough money and began the hunt for a RHD AE86!!!! I looked everywhere for the right candidate, and came across this one.
And here I am today, playing the waiting game for this beauty to arrive.
I've already started buying parts for it too.
Here is a vintage recaro seat I got from a buddy of mine, and a vintage nardi steering wheel from another local. Both of which will be installed immediately.
I also placed an order for Fortune Auto coilovers a few weeks ago, and ordered some RS-Watanabe wheels in February
I'll be posting more in this thread after it arrives!!!
So ...
.... Yeah, I'm pretty pumped. Sorry for the super long post :p
but before I go any further let me back up a little bit and give you a little background on myself and why its taken me 3 years to get to this point. If you don't like reading and just here for the pictures, then keep on scrolling. If you're like me and its slow at work, and/or you're browsing the forums while taking a poop, then keep on reading I'll try to keep the words somewhat to a minimum since I dont even enjoy reading too much myself. I'm 22 years old, currently a full-time electrical engineering major at the University of Kentucky, Army National Guard member, and I work part-time in the parts department at a Toyota dealership.
This all started with a black EM1 civic.
My dad is a big car guy so of course he passed that gene onto me, only instead of hot rods and muscle cars its all little "rice burners" for me. Anyways, early on in middle school my parents made it very clear to me that if I did well in school and stayed out of trouble they would help me out when it came time for me to get a car. That car ended up being a black 2000 Civic SI, my favorite car (besides the ae86). Came with eibach lowering springs and a jdm b18c, later installed koni-yellow/GC coilovers. Thing was sweet.
This is what it looked like towards graduation
Even though I did well in school, obviously I did all the dumb stuff car kids do when they get their license. (get in trouble for street racing Lol). Eventually, I ended up wrecking it one night on my back home from a little gig in Ohio (i was in a hardcore band in highschool). Old country road, wet and rainy, 1am, blind corner, and under-steered straight into a ditch. I only had liability on it so insurance wouldn't cover the damage. Had to pretty much replace the entire front end of the vehicle. I was a senior about to graduate by this time. Of course I didn't have the money so it just sat in my garage while I finished out the school year. Unfortunately I don't have very many pictures of the car from back then.
I had planned on going to UK the fall of 2013, but didn't receive any scholarships I applied for. So I found myself with 3 options : take out student loans and start at UK, skip college and go straight to work, or join the military. When weighing my options I found that joining the military would be the best option since that would pay for my tuition, specifically in the National Guard, but that was still a big commitment.
... And then I realized something ... I would be gone for 24 weeks for basic training and AIT ... free food and free housing ... NO EXPENSES ... this all means $10,000 cash money to play with ... which also means I can blow a crap ton on my civic and get it running again!! Sounds pretty tasty for an 18 year old.
I enlisted in May, and then went to basic training in September.
That summer was spent working at save-a-lot and spending all my money on parts for the civic that needed replaced.
While I'm gone I'm saving all my money, every couple weeks I would send payments to the guy who was fixing the civic. I made it very clear to him I wanted every single scratch, ding, blemish, and any other flaw with the paint fixed. I wanted it perfect, and it was.
I came home in March and the car was almost finished. Dude had a hard time painting over the winter due to his shop not having a big enough heater. The body work/paint ended up costing me roughly 5k, and I had spent about 1.8k in parts before leaving for basic training. I ended up getting the car back the beginning of April and my baby was fixed.
I started working full-time at the dealership in April too, so I would drive the civic to/from work since that was my only car.
Sure enough, only 3 weeks after I get it back I get rear ended on my way home from work. To make matters even worse, the chick who hit me didnt even have insurance ... I was absolutely devastated.
Insurance ended up totaling it, and I was so upset and pissed I just got rid of it. Sold it to some kid for cheap.
I ended up buying an IS300. I always loved the look of those. I snagged one off craigslist for 4k. 200k miles, automatic, ran like a champ. This was about May or June of 2014. At this point I knew whatever car I bought next, had to be better than my civic. And I learned my lesson of treating your baby/project car as your daily driver. So I decided I wanted a RHD AE86. Sure, I could find a GTS or an SR5 for cheap, but I'm stubborn.
Wheels and coilovers were a must
I had that for a year, but eventually it just got too expensive. Things started breaking, parts weren't cheap, and my insurance payment was crazy expensive due to the accident. I was paying $330 a month just for insurance.
I ended up selling it and leasing a 2015 scion tC, which is what is currently sitting outside in the parking lot right now. My lease payment is cheaper than the insurance payment for the IS300, and its a brand new vehicle. Much better deal.
Usual mods
So ... I sell the Lexus, Im driving the tC, balls deep in calculus/engineering classes and working part-time in the evenings. I have like 4k in my savings account. I think to myself, this isn't nearly enough to import an AE86. I can't simply work more and put money back, I don't have any money I can put back to begin with! So how do I make more money?
... I decided to start buying/selling cars on craigslist. I first bought this 98 honda accord EX. 5-speed, high miles, but the paint was in good shape. Snagged it for 2300 bucks, cleaned it up and sold it for 3400. Not too bad? Who knows how long it would have been to put back 1100 just working part time. I still put back money when I could, and after a few more flips I had about 7k in my savings account.
This is where it gets interesting. I noticed more and more RHD cars for sale on the internet. Everyone was going nuts about it, and I thought to myself, "if they can do it then why can't I?" Instead of browsing craigslist, I was busy researching on all the laws about importing cars. I ended up finding one of those Auction websites and decided to take the risk and import a car! Keep in mind, I was only 20 at the time, I had zero connections in Japan or anyone outside of the US, and the only money I had was the few dollars in my checking account and my savings.
I placed a few bids on various cars and ended up getting a Silvia Qs S13. So here I am, sending pretty much my entire savings account to people overseas I don't know, for a car I haven't seen in person. Literally one of the dumbest ideas anyone can ever make, but it worked.
I knew when I first placed the bid I wouldn't get very much money out of it. I was mainly doing it for the learning factor and just so I can own a RHD vehicle. I figured I could drive it, enjoy it, and at least break even. A little while later a guy from Atlanta GA bought it, and back to the auctions I went. This time I got an FC RX7.
Super sweet ride. Only had 50,000 miles on it, real Infini bucket seats, autostrada modena wheels, etc. Whoever owned this car in Japan was a real car guy and took care of it. I think it was owned by an older gentleman due to the amount of to-go coffee creamers and sugar I found in the center console Lol. Anyways, this one ended up going to a guy in California, and the wheels went to Montana ...
... and then using the cash from that I finally felt like I had enough money and began the hunt for a RHD AE86!!!! I looked everywhere for the right candidate, and came across this one.
And here I am today, playing the waiting game for this beauty to arrive.
I've already started buying parts for it too.
Here is a vintage recaro seat I got from a buddy of mine, and a vintage nardi steering wheel from another local. Both of which will be installed immediately.
I also placed an order for Fortune Auto coilovers a few weeks ago, and ordered some RS-Watanabe wheels in February
I'll be posting more in this thread after it arrives!!!
So ...
.... Yeah, I'm pretty pumped. Sorry for the super long post :p