86 Spotting in Japan
I love Japan. I know… Change the record, but it seriously is my most favorite place in the world. As a foreigner, everything about this place astounds me and every corner I turn I find a new surprise. On one recent sunny day while walking through Shibuya in Tokyo, I stumbled upon this Toyota dealership where they were displaying the new 86. While to many, the new 86 is probably old news, seeing it displayed in Japan exemplifies how bland new cars can be in Australia at times. Two particular 86′s were being displayed at the front of this dealership; one of which being this beautiful Pegasus White 86 kitted with every TRD optional extra that is available.
The other, which to many people would be the more desirable of the two, was a Velocity Orange RC model. For those that don’t know about this model, it essentially is the model to purchase if you only intend to build your 86 as a race car. The car comes with the bare minimum; no airbags, no sat nav, no AC or radio and best of all, steel wheels as most would intend to purchase wheels for it anyway. At about 2/3rd’s the cost of the GTS model, these things would be incredibly popular for many people if it were to be available in Australia… Sadly, it’s not.
One other car that I spotted was this rather striking Crown; yet another car that we do not get in Australia, and equally as impressive to spot.
So feast your eyes on these cars, I dare say it will not be very likely for us to see anything like this at a Toyota dealership in Australia anytime soon. But if being in Japan teaches me one thing, it’s that if every single thing that makes automotive culture in Japan amazing was also in Australia, then travelling to this amazing country would quickly lose its appeal. E!CM
When Passions Cross Paths
Many of you may not know this about me, but on top of being a passionate car photographer I am also regularly a wedding photographer. The chance of these two passions crossing paths is not often to the point of nearly being non-existent. Today however, while shooting for my lovely wedding couple; Elisa and Ash I was treated to the sight of this beautiful JZX110 Mark II, one of two in Queensland I am led to believe.
So… Who would like to see a proper shoot done on this curvaceous beast?
A Day In The Life Of EffSquared
It’s not often in this day and age that one would get to witness a master craftsman at work first hand. It is a dying art to find someone that has the skill and passion to make their craft really stand out from others, but recently I had the chance to follow exhaust and fabrication expert Nathan Domrow of Fabulous Fabrications for a day. The work that he would be completing just happened to be the exhaust for my soon to be running Sr20det ke70. In the past 8 years of owning my Corolla I have had countless problems with exhausts scraping the ground, hitting the body of the car and regularly falling off the 30 year old hangers. This time I decided I was going to get my exhaust done right!
The morning started off with modification of my gktech front pipe, which was basically sitting on the ground before I let Nathan loose on it.
Fabulous Fabrications
A quick look into the work being done on my Corolla exhaust today by the one and only Fabulous Fabrications. A photo set covering a day of work for this assiduous gentleman will be coming up very shortly!
Getting That Drift Itch
There are always plenty of reasons that I tell myself I’m not out at the track shooting enough, and most of the time they’re pretty invalid; I really need to get out to the track to shoot events more often. BUT, if there is one valid excuse for not shooting enough it’s this piece of junk, which just so happens to be my pride and joy, shitbox it may be.
I’m slowly piecing everything together for the SR20det conversion, and there’s starting to be some light at the end of the tunnel. I’m currently at the point of having the complete driveline ie: engine/gearbox/tailshaft/E series Tarago diff all connected and complete which is a point I’m very happy to be at. My intercooler and radiator are all mounted and about to have all the cooler piping completed by a close friend. I have all the bits I need to set up the fuel system; Bosch 044 and surge tank and I’m just waiting on some fittings. Wiring is all plugged in and just need some small connections to be made. I also have my exhaust booked in on Monday to be constructed by Nathan from Fabulous Fabrications. Aside from minor bits and pieces the list of things that need to be done is getting shorter and shorter each day, so I’m very excited to hopefully be kicking this over in the next few weeks.
I’m getting that drift itch.
Another Teaser – Kiwi Tim’s BA Falcon
Another teaser for now as I’m actually leading up to a couple of combined feature cars, but I’ll be telling you guys much more later!
Roger Callan’s LS3 Cressida – Teaser
A quick teaser for a shoot I will have coming up in the near future. Roger Callan’s LS3 cressida was by far my favorite car to watch drive at Rad Times. I couldn’t wait to get another chance to point my camera at it, so this morning I took the drive up to see where the magic happens at his workshop.
ETS 180
This has to be one of my favorite images from the 2012 Tectaloy International Drift Challenge. Nigel Petrie, a driver who I am privileged to say I have driven with this year, put on a phenomenal show up against some of the big names in the game and managed to push out near flawless runs all weekend.
Not Quite Summer Morning Session
I love Morning Sessions. I’ve said it plenty of times before, and I will happily say it again. Honestly some of the best cars and drifting action can be seen at these laid back events. What started out as overcast and potentially rainy November 28th, quickly turned into a scorcher that would remind us all that summer is here. Normally for an event like this I would be out amongst the action with my own car, however being knee deep in turning my Corolla into the Nissan powered abomination it will soon become I had no choice but to sit back and watch. For something Different I decided it would be interesting to leave the Digital SLR at home and come to the track armed with nothing but my EOS-1 film SLR and a couple of rolls of color slide film.
Missing the Morning Sesh
I’m thoroughly missing those winter morning session shenanigans. I honestly cannot wait to get the camera out again and get covered in tire smoke!
Busy Times
Things have been fairly busy for myself lately, so I thought I would share my reasons why.
Still plenty of work to go, but I hope to have this thing kicking over within the next month.
Japan 2011
Not a whole lot has been happening here at Excitement! Car Magazine over the last few weeks, but I have been recently re-living my Japan travels so I thought I would share this rather striking 1200 ute that I found outside of an Up Garage near Tokyo. E!CM
VALIANT – By Vert Photographics
This week I thought we could take some time out to put the spotlight on a photographer that I work with. Kiel Wode, the owner of Vert Photographics, and also this very fine looking Valiant, has been painstakingly building the car for some time now. Kiel’s attention to detail not only shows in his photographic work, but also in his car build. These two things coupled with the ability to shoot video leaves you feeling exactly how one would feel when looking at your very own project car.
Check out the video and Vert Photographics. E!CM
The Streetkarnage Seven
The modified car scene is saturated, and with good reason. It’s a passion, an expression of skill, of self, of style and amounts to one of the most blogged about topics on the planet. It’s no longer cool to have a car that’s simply known in your hometown or city, the benchmark seems to be elevated to internet and international fame status. With this in mind, it’s fair to state that it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a sole car that truly stands out among ‘the pack’.
Every once in a while a car enthusiast emerges from the rest. An enthusiast like this, much like an artist, knows that style comes from simplicity and minimalism. One such person who inspires many people in the South-East Queensland region of Australia is Zak Denman, who many of you may know as the founder of Streetkarnage.
In a scene that is obsessed with Japanese car culture, Zak, like many pioneers before him, has pushed against the grain. Enter his remarkably clean example of a 1995 BMW 730iL.
Words and Pictures: Grant Scott Edited: Courtney McColgan
John Dollisson’s MA61 Supra Build
It wasn’t long ago since I caught up with John Dollisson and Brett Mattingley to see how the MA61 makeover was going.
Streetkarnage and Excitment! Car Magazine Slider Session
So aside from the unfortunate circumstances towards the end of the day, who enjoyed the Streetkarnage and Excitment! Car Magazine Slider session? I’m incredibly proud to see so many people turn up to the event, and I’m especially impressed how well behaved everyone was. We are looking forward to bringing you guys another one of these events, but obviously we have to re-think locations and event organisation.
Sliding 3 wheelers with AUSZOKU
Last Monday night I joined John and Dan from AUSZOKU in their newly acquired 3 wheel sliders.
Excitement! Car Magazine Stickers!
Here they are guys! The Excitement! Car Magazine stickers!
These 25cm beauties are going for $1 AUD each + postage, so get in quick! Head over the the Store section to get yours!
- Grant
