New chassis? New chassis! Hype?

[Power_uP]

People seem to really get hung up on the tailgate having no holes for a spoiler. I always thought the AE86 looked better without the spoiler but obviously I'm in a very small minority.

[banpei]

(02-09-2026 12:20 AM)Power_uP Wrote:  People seem to really get hung up on the tailgate having no holes for a spoiler. I always thought the AE86 looked better without the spoiler but obviously I'm in a very small minority.

I think it looks great with and without the spoiler, so I partly share that opinion with you. However, they tend to forget there are people who want one without a spoiler (the Fujiwara tofu-ten didn't have one for instance). It's much easier to drill those holes instead of having to weld up seven of them and then hope the panel is still straight.

[decryphe]

Overall still an interesting value proposition for a track car. Beginning with something that's fully rust-free is worth quite something.

[DarkSupra]

What everyone seems to forget is that that shell was the first one and also displayed at sema.
They probably rushed to get it ready on time, most actual builds at sema aren't any better.
Also wouldn't surprise me if that shell has original toyota parts on it.
After sema the company shared video's of them making/setting up tooling.

[banpei]

(02-09-2026 07:17 PM)DarkSupra Wrote:  What everyone seems to forget is that that shell was the first one and also displayed at sema.
They probably rushed to get it ready on time, most actual builds at sema aren't any better.
Also wouldn't surprise me if that shell has original toyota parts on it.
After sema the company shared video's of them making/setting up tooling.

Yes, I agree with that. The chassis rails were quite apparent, but it's a question how many other parts were taken from the reproduction pile.
Battlegarage also mentioned the doors were pretty good and indistinguishable from the originals. Later, BigTime finds it's lacking some bolt holes, but at least it's pretty good. If they increase the quality to the level of the doors, it would become a more viable option for restoration.

[decryphe]

And looking through the video, there's not even that many pain-points in total that they specifically show. A couple bolt holes for the front suspension guide rods, some missing attachment threads for small parts, the panhard rod attachment point being weak and misaligned and the front strut towers looking weird (but being functional).

All those things are minor compared to rust-repairing an existing chassis and especially for a race car would be points you'd want to stiffen up the chassis even on an original chassis. Not like they weren't bendey-noodley stock. And yes, that's the technical term.

Overall, it's a very niche product, but the value proposition is still there for that particular niche. At the moment I don't think they'll have a wider market for this anyways, original rusty shells are still plenty enough and cheap enough, as you'll likely anyways want to source one due to wanting to source crossmembers, suspension bits, some trim pieces and whatnot. If they start offering a basic set of those such that it's a full basis where you can chuck an axle, engine, transmission, ECU and seat and be ready to go, the market would widen significantly.

[Koen Bongers]

I think the windows are going to be the biggest issue if the shell keeps its current shape. Full custom lexan looks like the only option if you don't want to redo everything but this isn't allowed everywhere. For example; the historic rally cars need glass all around.

They also did some dodgy redrilling to the subframe. Slotting a few holes and welding some rivets wasn't enough to make parts fit. I wonder if it aligns.

But it has potential I think they shouldn't have sold this first one, its good content but bad marketing...

[decryphe]

(02-10-2026 02:06 PM)Koen Bongers Wrote:  But it has potential I think they shouldn't have sold this first one, its good content but bad marketing...

That's likely true, this will certainly put off a lot of potential customers. I guess I'll be discussing with the manufacturer about what they want to do about these things.

[Koen Bongers]

Somehow missed that there's another one being build

[banpei]

(Yesterday 04:06 AM)Koen Bongers Wrote:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s0bjXDfXeew

Somehow missed that there's another one being build

Wait...they also claim to have purchased the first chassis!