When you’ve ever visited Tsukuba Circuit, you’d be aware of the assorted workshops scattered across the outskirts of the complicated. Amongst these, in an unsuspecting constructing Koshimizu Motorsports hides some really outstanding gems.

For the uninitiated, Koshimizu Motorsports – extra generally often known as KMS – is synonymous with AE86 tuning, significantly inside Group A, N1 and N2 racing circles. When Yoshinori Koshimizu based KMS 30 years in the past, he was decided to refine AE86 tuning, and that’s resulted in automobiles which might be nonetheless actively raced to this present day. In recent times, Koshimizu-san has shifted extra in direction of AE86 restoration work however, naturally, a lot of the automobiles that depart KMS nonetheless obtain a number of the signature efficiency upgrades he’s well-known for.

I first stumbled throughout KMS again in 2018 on a vacation in Japan, catching a glimpse of an AE86 by way of a half-shut curler door. Being the over-enthusiastic vacationer I used to be, I caught my head in to take a look and acquired an overwhelmingly heat welcome from Koshimizu-san. I wrote about this transient go to in my first-ever Speedhunters article.

However it was a selected automobile at KMS that made a return go to so essential.

Taking me to his again storage space, Koshimizu-san pulled out an arsenal of keys, swinging open the storage door to disclose Keiichi Tsuchiya’s unique TRD N2 AE86. In a lot the identical vogue this time round, he defined how KMS are nonetheless the caretakers of this iconic machine.

On this event, I spent extra time taking in the main points – particularly the quite a few old skool TRD components and plaques, all nonetheless totally of their unique kind. It’s not typically you get to spend a great period of time up shut and private with a relic like this, and different particulars just like the particular TRD Nardi steering wheel, Stack sprint and TRD striped seat are drool materials for an AE86 otaku like myself.

Whereas the automobile nonetheless does make very occasional outings, it spends most of its retirement tucked away at KMS. That being stated, it was cool to identify proof of some spirited driving splashed throughout the rear fender.

Leaping again into the workshop, Koshimizu-san confirmed us by way of a number of the present buyer AE86s he was engaged on. The automobiles are conveniently lined up so as of completion, supplying you with a good suggestion of how a lot goes into these restorations. The furthermost two-door coupe had not too long ago been handled to a wholly new entrance clip from a donor automobile after a small circuit mishap.

As talked about earlier, Koshimizu-san’s motorsport-driven strategy means every of those automobiles receives a seam-welded engine bay, reinforcing chassis that within the earliest AE86s are actually 40 years outdated.

Every of those builds receives a totally refreshed 4A-GE, both 20-valve or a basic 16-valve relying on the shopper’s choice and necessities. These are often paired with certainly one of KMS’s iconic exhaust manifolds.

With every of those restorations taking roughly 18 months to finish, it’s no shock that just about each bolt, nut, becoming and half is both changed or restored to manufacturing unit new. As AE86s start to demand even increased costs, retailers like KMS have turn out to be increasingly more busy, with many chasing that OEM+ restoration that we see on comparable chassis just like the 240Z and GT-R.

As soon as I purchase an AE86 of my very own right here in Japan (I promise, we’re getting nearer), I’m nearly sure I’ll be spending a while at KMS.

Alec Pender
Instagram: noplansco