Sunny visits Galway

Some cars just stand out. Alan’s Nissan Sunny longbed is one of those. A true example of the phrase ‘built not bought’.

Inspired by Dominic Lee’s 1974 Datsun Sunny Hakotora build, Alan spent a few months searching for the perfect Sunny. Eventually he found it and made the purchase at a Japanese auction. 

The first time I spotted the Sunny was at the 2019 edition of Japfest, held at Mondello park. The GB122 longbed was an absolute crowd magnet, taking home best overall in show and rightly so. It was that day I decided someday I had to shoot the car. You just don’t see enough builds like this in Ireland. 

Fast forward almost a year, the Sunny rolls into the forecourt of a petrol station by the docks in the heart of Galway city, primed and ready for a photoshoot. Despite the weather being… well… very Galway, meaning rain, spirits were still high and I was looking forward to my latest fix of automotive goodness. 

We made several stops around the city, Eyre Square has always been somewhere I’ve wanted to shoot a car, with the barriers down it would have been a sin not to. A quick spin over to the rowing clubhouses down by the Corrib River, followed by a drive through the grounds of NUIG and for the grand finale we made our way out to the coastal town of Barna.

As we arrived at the harbour in Barna the weather cleared up nicely and with a quiet pier, I went to work.

There are a lot of details to love about this Sunny. From JDM stickers to the netting that covers the bed. When I asked Alan what was his favorite part of the build, he replied with “the stance”. It’s something that cannot be ignored, an airlift performance kit allows the car to sit just right on its three piece custom wheels. Every time it airs out is special. You’ll also find some cool JDM parts on the Sunny, such as the front badge and the am radio. The interior is tied together nicely by a cool set of leather bucket seats from 09racing, draped in Takata four point harnesses. 

There is something else about this build that must be respected. It isn’t some garage queen, it gets driven and that I love.