Category: Old School
Saturday, 27 August 2011 | | Categories: Magazines/Blogs, Old School
What a pleasant surprise this morning when I went to take my 5yo son and myself for a haircut. Had to wait a little, so popped over to the newsagent, and found a new magazine called Japanese Retro Auto on the stands brought to us by Performance Imports (a.k.a. Express Publications). This is something that Australia has been needing for sometime, a well designed magazine with classic cars other than the usual Holden/Ford/Chrysler mix. And although there's some Japanese classics in magazines such as Hot 4's, Fast Fours, Zoom et al, they're all so overdone most of the time, they're not really in the traditional classic JDM style any longer...more like trussed up glossy candy that'll make you sick if you have too much.
Anyway, the Compilation Editor for this one is Ryan Lewis, the editor for Fast Fours, but more stemming from his involvement in the-lowdown.com blog. Together with graphic design Steve Cook, they've produced a beautifully designed and typeset magazine that I hope sets a standard for some of the other Express Publications magazines to take a lead from.
Ryan has written a quick introduction to the new Japanese Retro Auto magazine on the-lowdown, so go check it out for a preview of the quality visuals you'll see in the magazine. Once you're done reading, head on down to your local newsagent and grab one.
Cheers
Brendan
Friday, 27 February 2009 | | Categories: Old School, Wheels/Tyres
It was about the middle of last year that I mentioned to Dad about the possibility of putting some new wheels on his classic 1974 Datsun 180B (610) SSS 2-door coupe. Dad's owned this car for many years and has slowly got the body work into the shape you see it here. But I always thought the rims didn't quite stack up to the quality of the body, so after some 'chops were done showing what a set of Konig Rewinds looked like it was a goer.
Now about 6mths later, I was surfing the OzDat forums and found another 180B 4-door that had a set of Sportmax 002 in the same sizing and thought that's what Dad should get. A little risky considering his age, but he was willing to trust my judgement and we made the purchase through Zi at JDMyard. Opting instead for the XXR/Sportmax 513 model in 15x8+0 offset (see previous blog post for details shots of the wheels) for that more traditional Watanabe/Panasport style. Now Dad likes a little bling (see the rocker cover in the engine bay), so it was decided to go with the Silver/Polished lip combo. Now don't they look the ducks nuts!
Fitted with Kuhmo Ecsta KU31's in 195/50R15 for that perfect amount of stretch, the car is really starting to get that nostalgic JDM look. Now while I was taking some pics, I snapped some of the engine bay and interior - the condition is great considering Dad still uses it for his daily communiting.
- Side profile - very very nice
- Down low at 3/4 front
- Head on to see offset (needs more camber)
- Close up on front wheel
- Down low at 3/4 rear
- Profile from rear
- Interior
- Engine Bay 1
- Engine Bay 2
- Engine Bay 3
- Engine Bay 4
- Engine Bay 5
Next up we'll be taking her to see a suspension specialist to see what we can do about the handling. It's been 7-8 years since it was last looked at and she's a little 'boaty' at the moment. Plans will be to have it lowered more at the front, and a little at the rear (even things up), and fit some new bushes and adjustable parts to get it all tied away nicely.
Thanks Dad for giving me the trust with your baby.
Cheers
Brendan
Friday, 27 February 2009 | | Categories: Old School, Wheels/Tyres
Alright, check out these beautiful rims above. They're going to be fitted to my Dad's classic 1974 Datsun 180B (610) SSS 2-door coupe. The rims are XXR/Sportmax 513's in 15x8 +0 offset finished in Silver with the polished lip. They're based on a mix of the Watanabe RS-8 and Panasport Formula One designs, and this particular spec has 3.5 inches (89mm) of polished dishy goodness! They also feature both 4/114.3 and 4/100 PCDs so they'd fit on some of the Mazda/Toyota/Honda vehicles too.
Some detail photos:
- Front of rim
- Dish Profile
- Dish Profile
- Hub Detail
- Wheel cross section
- Back of wheel
- Model/Offset detail
These were purchased from Zi at JDMyard (http://www.jdmyard.com/) and were delivered promptly. Thanks for the great service Zi. He still has a few of these and other models left in stock, so if you're in Australia and wanted to push the limits and go hella flush, then check out their website or head over to their eBay Shop.
Fitting onto these rims, we've gone for some Kuhmo Ecsta KU31's in 195/50R15 for that small amount of stretch. See next post of these beauties fitted up to Dad's car.
Cheers
Brendan
Friday, 9 March 2007 | | Categories: Engine, Old School, Track
I can't stop looking at this engine. It just looks mint. The red ceramic coating on the rocker cover, with the contrasting coilpack cover in wrinkle black is a combo I'm yet to see. This is the engine as it was last Saturday morning, with just some new stainless screws to be put in to replace the steel ones in the coilpack cover and the fuel injector caps. And for a bit of Dally humour, he's fitted up a small plaque (see pic below) that pays homage to the SR20's beginnings as a diesel truck motor. All the pulley's and belts have all been fitted up - I think all being custom ordered according to the new lengths required by the downsized pulleys.
- Under the Intake side
- Meets diesel emission standards
- SR20DET Belt/Pulley Setup
Now with the upcoming SilviaWA track day (or skid pan day) coming up tomorrow, I had to install my HPI harness into the Sigma as the original belts don't lock unless you really put the anchors on. So last Saturday, Greg helped (read did 99% of the work) put the harness into the Sigma. These belts are just beautiful, and are available through C-Red for $400...not bad for full FIA spec harnesses. I still have a second one to come, which will be setup for each in/out attachment in Sillbeer.
For those interested, I have fitted a set of seats from a Mitsubishi FTO into the Sigma as the original seats were completely shagged (as attested by my back giving me grief). They're actually very close in shape to GT-R seats, just a little more sectioned on the side and thigh bolsters. No work will be done on Sillbeer tomorrow morning as I need to fit new tyres up to the Sigma and do a minor service ready for a bit a thrashing in the afternoon!
Cheers
Brendan
PS> Also just made an update the 'The Plan' based on recent changes.
Saturday, 8 April 2006 | | Categories: Exterior, Old School, Paint
Sorry for the delay in getting the pics up, but been a busy week. Anyway, these were taken last week at the painters, so haven't seen since they've buffed it up. For those who don't want to read back the colour is from Mazda and called Velocity Red. It's available through most of their model line up from the Mazda 3 up to the RX-8.
Red will certainly make this faster:
- Rear Quarter (passenger side)
- Rear Quarter (driver side)
- Rear View (passender side)
- Rear View (driver side)
On another note, I'm looking to move the Galant Sigma Turbo on. Have had/known here for over 13 years and she's clocked over 300,000kms (160,000km on its current rebuild - done by Malcolm Crockenburg, the WA Ralliart arm). And this is by no means set in stone (needs to be cleared by the Finance Ministry), but C-Red have a beautiful late 80's piece of machinery that I've been eyeing off since it landed in mid/late 2004. It's a 1988 Nissan 200ZR-II Fairlady, in Silver, running an RB20DET ECCS (standard engine for this car) with some light modifications. It needs a bit of a clean up, but we've cranked her over and she starts first pop and Jeff has had the rust cut out too so that's a bonus.
On 18's and low, she sits beautifully, although it's a bit too low at the moment:
- 200ZR Front
- 200ZR Side/Rear
- 200ZR Targa Roof
- 200ZR RB20DET ECCS Engine Bay
If anyone is interested in a great reliable bunky (with aircon, CD player and recently fitted Mitsubishi FTO sports seats), send us a message.
Cheers
Brendan
