statuserror

Update your links!

2011-06-01T16:01:00.001-07:00

Hey guys,

For all the people using our statuserror.blogspot.com link can you please change it to -

www.statuserror.co.uk

We no longer use the Blogger software!

Thanks.
Team @ SE

Isle of Man and the TT an introduction

2011-05-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

As I sit writing this, I can hear the roar and screams of bike engines in the distance. A sound that anyone who lives on the isle of man will be accustomed too.
Having lived on the Island many years ago, its a sound I am already familiar with and love , even though my heart lies with vehicles with more wheels and larger capacity , there is something truly awe inspiring about the sound of bikes hitting the rev limiter and passing by at 200 mph.

To truly understand what TT is all about however, and trust me when I say it is way more than just 1000's of bikes lining the streets and a fortnight of qualifying and racing. You must be here to experience it for yourself, its very much a cliché but also a fact, however I will do my best to convey the amazing atmosphere of a small island who's population doubles in one week and who's consumption of alcohol probably equals the volume of loch Lomond.

It pretty much kicks off with bushy's beer tent , last night in fact. With a battle of the bands. Unfortunately I couldn't attend the venue, its a 12 hour battle of local bands , as you may know the Isle of Man has a long history of music ,both in production and bands, ( think beegee's ) . Now you may be wondering what / who / is Bushy's ? Bushy's make bitter locally and every year they hold a venue named bushy's beer tent, its pretty much a hub of drinking ,music ,bike porn and debauchery of all kinds. It is the Mecca for bikers and biker types during TT.

Onto the bikes and racing of which there is loads , I really cant express how incredible it is to see so many bikes in one place. Everything from old Norton cafe racers to full on custom harleys and the very latest super bikes, they all have a place here. The first week of the TT is practice week events take place over the islands Snaefell road course, this year being the centennial year of the revised course and the second week is race week, culminating on the Friday for senior race day (which is a bank holiday here) also nicely stuck in between theres Mad Sunday, a day that is infamous to any hard core rider, and the basis of hot debate year to year, due to safety fears of amateur riders who tackle the mountain course which is restricted to one way that day. Its also a day when things get a bit crazy back at bushy's tent and a day of BBQ's ( weather dependent).

As I said earlier, I used to live on the Island many years ago, while TT hasn't really changed much, if at all, the people here have, not good not bad just a change in the ideology more than likely brought on by the tightening purse strings , increased unemployment leading to stricter policies on work permits etc ( yes you need to have a permit to work here if you're not and Isle of Man worker and its a very convoluted system) being a “come over” isn't so much of an issue however, not with the locals. The people here are very friendly and for the most part trusting. Ive been welcomed warmly by everyone here and made to feel at home , I truly feel as though the Isle of Man is my home from home, it helps that there is a strong Celtic influence here I guess.

Any-who I digress, the TT is well and truly on as of 6:20pm Monday night and I hope I've managed to wet your appetite as ill be posting again in due course and hopefully with a few random photos .

So,for now , its goodbye from me on this small rock with loads of hairy bikers and Manx people clinging to it, stuck in the Irish sea.

Turbo's are for wimps!

2011-05-28T07:15:00.000-07:00

Well... that’s what I’m telling myself.... over and over again at the moment!

One or two people may remember my s14... It was low, black... on wide wheels and, for once, was working and drifting a treat. So what did I do? I swapped it!

It wasn’t quite as clean cut as that. I have pretty much run out of money this year to continue drifting monthly and competing in the ODC. Even running the S14 was getting a bit pricey as it’s not only my drift car, but my daily! What to do? I wanted to keep a Jap car, and I wanted it to be RWD... but a cool, cheap to run RWD Jap car? Not a lot going really... I guess an AE86? But they are big bucks!

There was one car though... it was Jap, it was RWD, it was F**KING cool and, best of all it was another s14...import! (I like imports... climate control ftw :D )

I am of course, talking about the Precision Drift Clothing S14 Navan. Yes its NA, yes it’s pretty slow... but it’s a huge barrel of laughs! And actually, not quite as slow as people make out! The mods are few, but what changes have been carried out have made a huge difference!

Spec;

1995 Silvia S14 Sr20DE

Full Navan Aero

Custom paint (glitter yo!)

Full Fabricage Through dash Roll Cage

Flocked interior

Huge dildo style gear knob

Drifty handbrake

Snap off boss

Sticker bombed white steering wheel

Pair of Safety Devices 4 point harnesses.

Welded diff

BC Coilovers with adjustable top mount

Diamond Racing steels 16 x 10 with staggered offsets (225/45r16 stretched rubber)

Silly boso style exhaust :D

Rolled and flared arches.

There’s probably more, but off the top of my heard, that’s all I can remember...plans? At the moment I just need an S:E sticker... then in the next few weeks change the rear brake setup to a S13 one so I can run a better handbrake system... at the moment its crap!

Although the change from turbo to non turbo has been a vast one I have to say I am surprised at how the car lays down the power. I have given it a quick shake down and to be honest found it miles more fun to skid than my old 14! The power ( what little it has!) comes it really low so a quick flick of the steering wheel with comparatively low Rpms sees the back of the car flying out with ease. No worries about being in the boost range / power band of the turbo. In fact the first time I gave it some grief I found it transition with pretty much no effort. Undoubtedly on a larger track it’s gonna be wanting some heavy clutch kicks and perhaps at some point some more power ( supercharger / throttle Bodies etc).

What I love most about the car is; its stock, it all works (at the moment!) and the exhaust note from the ‘custom’ back box (read as piece of scaffold!) sounds the bollocks. Dan Chapman @ Southern Style welded the diff and exhaust and I’m really pleased with it!

Anyway... that’s about it from me for the time being.. Pics are from mates... and one or two crap ones I have taken over the last week or so of ownership! Cheesy grin anyone? :D

Gumball start, a better video!

2011-05-27T01:51:00.001-07:00

Gumball 3000 in London, 2011! from Californication on Vimeo.

Gumball 3000

2011-05-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

So this happened today. The Gumball 3000 kicked off from London's showery Covent Garden. Alledgedly 120 (sorry, I didn't count) silly cars all ready for a massive adventure,

many

wearing

custom

vinyl

wraps.

As you can see, it was mainly the usual spread of exotica, luxury and SUV, but there were a few interesting things that caught my eye:

This little thing was an electric city car designed to, obviously, look like a Hummer. Now, I wouldn't want one personally, but it does go to show that plastic city cars don't have to look quite as shit as a G-wiz.

Really liked this New Beetle riding on Fuchs reps
How cool are they?!

Rocking a similar vibe was this 911
...with a nice bit of staggered offset lending some dish to the rears.

This GT500 Eleanor rep was pretty tidy, and the owner wasn't gentle with it either, which was nice to see. Needs a locker in it though, check the video!

This belonged to The Dudesons - I've just looked them up and they seem to be a bit of a Jackass/Dirty Sanchez ripoff. Good look though!

Talking of Dirty Sanchez, guess who this T4 belongs to?

Seemingly there for a bit of unrelated showing off was this gorgeous Mosler, mmm...

Also on display, along with a couple of Teslas, an electric Radical, and (bizarrely) a Peel microcar, was the Peugeot EX-1 concept car.

Carbon fibre wheels and inverted disc/calipers! Cool.

...and the cockpit is typically PSA-concept mental too (for those that haven't seen it before, the seat is integrated with the door, so you open the door, sit down, then shut yourself in, just like Captain Scarlet's SPV!

So, car of the day for me? Well, like a lot of 'real' car people (as in people that were there for the cars, not the bling or 'celebrities'...) it's got to be the Renault 4 v6. Renault 4 + Clio v6 underpinnings = ultra cool:

For more info and some build pics, check out this post on SSBB

Unfortunately, the decision to go was last minute (I even, stupidly, left without a coat!) so I had no time to charge the camera - hence the mobile phone cam photos, and the shoddy quality of this video montage of the best bits of the start from my perspective:

Kudos to the drivers of the F-150 and the Mustang for proper burnouts! A few others tried, including one Ferrari that ended up with clutch smoke pouring out of the vents, oops! The Marshall standing next to us (the one you can hear asking us about the chrome-wrapped Escalade) was a treasure trove of quotable material; "Is that the engines, that make the vroom vroom noise? And you like that noise?" being the choice cut.

All in all, a decent few hours distraction from revision! Now, back to the books...

Chris Wilkie's Toyota Celica

2011-05-23T11:28:00.000-07:00

I went out last night with my buddies Chris and Steven (feature on his car coming soon) to try and get some pictures at a couple of places i'd eyed up before. The weather wasn't the best, and we hadn't really planned to go out but i wanted to try and get some pictures none the less Once we pulled up at the place i wanted to use i got the flashes, stands and camera setup only to find that the batteries had died in the flashes. Disaster

On the way to the local 24 hours supermarket to pick up some new batteries we came across this spot, a nice open industrial road. It was a place where you don't get chucked out, no security guards chase you, no hassle.

I managed to get a good look at Chris' new Fujitsubo exhaust which he'd just had imported from Japan, it was worth the wait! You might also notice in the pictures a carbon bonnet, this is seriously lovely and in good light you can see the carbon weave amazingly. This combined with the lowered and widened stance, it sits perfectly. He's also reppin' a Status Error sticker, add's a good 3-5bhp and a whole lot of rep points! I look forward to seeing what Chris will do with his car in the future.

"Desktop Hakosuka" - Free Wallpaper #1

2011-05-22T13:46:00.001-07:00

I took to the camera today to make a little free Wallpaper for everyone. I hope it turned out okay, was a pretty brisk photo and edit but i like the result. I submitted it to a website called InterfaceLIFT, which is a great website if you want to get HD wallpapers in various sizes, i have a huge folder taken from here! The picture has to go through the voting stages and i'd really appreciate if you could to take the time to vote for it! You can see the votes HERE and any vote is greatly appreciated.

To directly download the wallpaper please CLICK HERE.

Any suggestions for the next wallpaper welcome!

WE'RE ALIIIIIIIVE!

2011-05-21T17:37:00.001-07:00

What’s up bitches? Sorry for the absence. I know how much you have all missed me paahaha. No but really, no need to cry anymore, I’m here –despite the rapture. So celebrating our survival I thought I’d write some love/hate for a film.

Most of my life is filled with watching films so anytime I want to write about one it’s soon forgotten about because I’m already onto my next one. (Worthy note: I’m unemployed)

I’ve also been super into TV series rather than films. From the sublime: Criminal Minds (OMG ha-mazin), to the disgustingly bad/good: Made in Chelsea.

The only film I have watched recently that really sticks out due to the hype is The Human Centipede: The First Sequence.

The name reminds you of a film made for TV by the Syfy Channel. I especially wanted to see it because apparently people like proper spewed from watching it. LOL. Let me put it to you straight, the two American girls are terrible actors. Like please-kill-me-now bad. Funnily enough that made me warm to the film more than I had anticipated. Perhaps they were deliberately bad so you can’t wait until their mouths are attached to someone's butthole.

So there is a surgeon who is German (it’s set in Germany –funny that) who is obsessed with creating an organism of three working bodies joined to each other ergo the human centipede. His first attempt was with his dogs, it's suggested he loved them more as a chain of dogs than individually. So being Sherlock-clever we immediately get that this guy is mentos. The death of the dogs should have really rang home that it is not a suitable living situation. But he decides to take it a step further…the mad scientist that he is.

The mind numbingly twattish girls stumble their way to his house having broken down nearby. So he's like 'omg is it my birthday?!' two people to join together. Anyway things get a little freaky deeky, and suddenly I’m breaking out in cold sweats. The girls stop being bad actresses and this dude looks mental so it feels pretty real. Minus the pretty. He turns his basement into a hospital ward, the patients are drugged and chained to the bed. He then –excitedly- starts to tell them his plan. As hyped up as a toddler using their potty for the first time; weirdly proud. It turns out to be a Korean man at the front then girl, girl. Their mouth is attached directly to the person in front’s butthole. The make-up is very realistic, it’s not overly gruesome which is more authentic. Exactly what you want to believe the whole thing just a touch more.

So things happen and the ending makes you get a sinking feeling in your chest. From what started out as a typical bad Hollywood horror movie turns out to be a heartfelt insight into madness and human nature. I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend. It’s not as gross as people make out. It’s more heart-breaking than anything. Empathy is required to enjoy this film to the fullest.

I give this 5 dead canines out of 5.

Coming Soon!

2011-05-21T02:30:00.000-07:00

Hey boys and girls, Just a very quick update to let you know there is a new look website coming very soon! We have decided after using Blogspot for the past year it's time to move up with the big dogs at Wordpress.. This should mean faster loading times, fresher looking and loads of better features.

For the first time since we started we will have our own online store which will contain more than just the stickers we sell!

Until then though it's business as normal, you can still get our stickers from the eBay store!

Thanks to everyone who has purchased a sticker so far :) .

Gianni

A Haven In Edinburgh

2011-05-18T09:23:00.000-07:00

Okay i realize the title might be a bit misleading seeing as a garage full of old Toyota's and Datsun's could be someones idea of hell, but to me this is perfect. I never thought i'd come across one of these cars up here in Scotland let alone a garage full of them just a ten minute drive away! I'm going to try and sort out a feature on this place in due course but for now i'll let you enjoy the rough and ready pictures i managed to get on my way past. The car's are by no means perfect but they look like something that came out of C's Garage or Motorfix. Rough and ready! If you want to get in touch with the garage please click here.

Check that little KP60 in the corner.

Datsun 120y

Toyota Corolla

Ford Escort RS2000 & Toyota Starlet KP30

Progress

2011-05-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

Sounds sad but this is one of the best sights i've seen! So happy managed to get this far with no experience before. It's been a learning curve but well worth it. Having learned to weld as i've gone, learn how things work and go back together. Not long to go now! :)

HGF Blues

2011-05-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

It has been an odd few days. Relocating to Bath has meant lots of criss-crossing of the Wales-England border in search of somewhere to stay. On Saturday I managed to get time for me and Mark to fit a pair of twin 40 Solex carbs to the Capri. Like all these things it took longer than expected and involved plenty of skinned knuckles and frayed-cable puncture wounds. But come 6 and they were on and the car was idling brilliantly. A quick test drive confirmed their awesomeness; small boys gawped, old people grinned and I scanned the horizon frantically for the nearest petrol station.

With the carbs fitted I prepared for a potentially expensive but audibly worthwhile trip back over the Bristol Channel. The car made it to Bath without a hitch and I looked over a potential flat before heading back to Cardiff. Then outside Newport, passing the slimmest bit of hard shoulder imaginable it happened; a sudden collapse of oil pressure and revs, accompanied by a cloud of oil out of the back. Bollocks. Climbing out to inspect the damage revealed a very oil stained engine bay and the contents of my (crap) cooling system making a bid for freedom in vapour-form. The car wouldn’t turn over in any way at first, and because of the hairy location the RAC man had to tow me down the slow lane to the next junction. (Surrounded by three highway patrol vehicles) Coming down the slip road the tow cable decided it'd had enough and came loose, leaving me freewheeling down a fairly big hill towards a very busy roundabout.

The Capri went onto the flatbed under its own steam and started without any fuss once it'd cooled down. Its now at 'Gumpspeed HQ' (Mark's drive) suffering from a blown head gasket and looking decidedly sorry for itself!

The Perfect EK9? Perhaps A Case Of OCD.

2011-05-15T14:52:00.000-07:00

Since seeing this car on the internet a long time ago I've always wanted the chance to do a feature on it. As some may know this has to be one of the cleanest EK9's around, at least on this rock that is Britain. It is a mixture of pure bred parts, time and the ambition for driving perfection. During the interview below you'll notice that Steven mentions that he doesn't follow trends or scene's, but i find it funny that i would class this car as setting trends and setting the scene for other people, me for example. So after waiting until the right moment i enquired about getting a feature done on this home grown masterpiece and i was thrilled to see what we could get done when i got the thumbs up.

First of all, would you like to introduce yourself?

Name is Steven, I'm 23 years old and from Aberdeen. Typically being from Aberdeen i work in the oil and gas industry as a Mechanical Design Engineer.

We'll kick off with an easy one, when did your passion for car's start?

From an early age! Always loved cars, my uncle used to own a showroom so was taken out in a few nice cars when i was younger, couldn't wait until i turned 17 to get my license!

More specifically, have you always been interested in Honda's? If so, what is it about Honda that you love?

Well I've always liked the shape of civics, don't know why, guess when you're that age you are looking at typical hatchback cars and the civic has always stood out for me. For a while i was looking at importing an EG6 SIR2 as it was the cheaper option, but when my mate Darren turned up one day in his EK9, i just loved it! Never got a chance to have a drive in this but later got out in his DC2 and i was just in awe of the way the car revved and handled, so knew i just had to save up more and get myself an EK9.

As we can all see from the pictures, your car is far from standard. Would you say you first started modifying your car purely for the passion of speed, or was it to stand out from the crowd?

When i went to pick up my car from Private Imports, I told John i had all intentions on keeping the car standard and clean (at least it's still clean!), John and David did say that lowering it a bit would be nice but i was content with the car at the time. I've built the car for me, I'm not fussed about standing out from the crowd or following some of these cliche scenes/trends. The car looked very standard for ages, i just slowly worked my way through upgrading the brakes, then onto suspension etc, but then once i got the car onto track for the first time things kinda got a bit out of hand.....

What inspires you to do thing's to your car and perhaps gives you new ideas?

My mind wanders sitting in the office all day, I'm pretty fussy and always seem to be able to pick fault at certain areas of the performance of the car, striving to improve things. I don't tend to look at other civics and think "wow I'm going to do that to mine too", i guess my inspiration is thinking how i can make the most out of each area of the car, the more hardcore the car gets the more of a laugh i have driving it.

I've noticed that you are taking your car to track events a lot, do you see yourself taking this further in the future or just doing it for fun? Your car must be up there with some pretty top spec track cars!

For now it's just for fun, it's great attending track events and hassling some bigger cars in the little civic. Once i finally have the new engine built and it's got some decent power i may look at entering a couple of time attack races - Knockhill in particular.

Finally, where do you see yourself going in the future? Will you be sticking with the EK9 base, or can you see yourself moving onto something else later down the line. Perhaps something like drifting or does that sort of thing not take your fancy?

Well the car is coming off the road this winter for a fair bit of work, should have my new engine built by then and will be taking the car to the next level with some other bits and pieces. With the amount of money and effort that has gone into the 9er i honestly can't see myself parting with it, puts too big a smile on my face every time i drive it. Once i get a place of my own I would ideally keep the civic garaged as a track/weekend toy, always had a hankering for an AE86 Levin so can see me buying one some day and restoring it to use as a fun daily, nothing wild, just clean and standard on the outside with some trick suspension/diff and a decent supply of rear tyres.

As you can probably tell from the pictures the car has been built to an extremely high level, and has a very impressive spec list to boot. There are parts taken from racing cars, rare parts and Steven's ingenuity has certainly been put to good use.

Engine:
Standard engine
P28 ECU tuned on Crome by Henry Roy (204.5bhp / 128lbft)
Moroso baffled sump
OEM honda N1 crank pulley
Innovative 75A engine mounts
Lower torque mounts removed
Ngk blue leads
Taper ported TB
Coolant lines bypassed from TB
Mugen intake
Short jap Hamp filter
Koyo full width radiator
Samco radiator hoses
Heatwrapped Fujitsubo manifold
Spoon b-pipe
Spoon n1
Spoon oil cap
Spoon radiator cap
Shaved valve cover
Headlight looms tucked in inner wings
Engine bay fully repainted
Proper breather with PCV system removed

Running Gear:
Mugen shift bushes
DSS stage 0 shafts
ORC 309 plated clutch
HEL clutch line
Motul RBF600 fluid
Spoon 1.5 way plate LSD
ATS 3/4/5 cross gearset
Synchrotech carbon lined synchros
ALL new oem honda bearings/seals

Stopping Measures:
ABS removed running non abs oem 40/40 prop
Brembo 4 pot touring car race calipers with 300mm discs
AP dixcel discs, 2 piece FCR front on brembo bells / SD rear
Dixcel R01 full race front pads
Endless CCX rear pads
New remanufactured rear calipers
Goodridge hoses
Tegiwa MCS
Motul RBF600 fluid

Suspension/Steering:
Power steering removed
Fully rebuilt Tein circuit master N1 dampers with spherical top mounts
Swift springs - 22k front / 20k rear
Hardrace bushes throughout
Mugen RTA bushes
Superflex rear ARB bushes
ES front ARB bushes
Eibach SPC front/rear camber arms
All new OEM Honda TRE/TRI/ARB drop links
Buddy Club extended lower balljoints
Password JDM upper strut braces - 3 point front / 2 point rear
Unit 8 h-brace
Cusco rear lower brace
J's racing inner wing braces

Wheels:
Buddyclub P1 SF 15x7" ET35 wheels
6mm front spacers
ARP extended wheel studs
Toyo R888 195/50/15

Exterior:
Honda access wind deflectors
Honda aerial blanking plate
Carbon bonnet with aerocatch locking flush catches
Spoon carbon wing mirrors
Jazz washer jets
Nurburgring boot decal
Rolled rear arches
TRS front tow strap

Interior:
Recaro SPG seats
Buddyclub racing spec seat rails
Takata harnesses
Maximum strip
non AC heater box
Safety Devices full 9 point bolt-in roll cage
OMP Velocita Superleggaro 350mm suede wheel
Mugen steering boss
LTB 1" wheel spacer
ARC brushed Ti sphere shift knob
SPA dual oil gauge/VDO water gauge in oem honda blank
Broadway 300mm flat mirror

I can't emphasize how much i like this car. As much as I'm ashamed to admit it, I've never been a big lover of EK9's, they've never made me turn my head. However, when i saw this for the first time it changed me opinion of them. This, to me, is the ultimate Trackteam$$$ car, I've always been a fan of doing things for performance rather than looks and this just emphasizes that idea to the full.

I've got to thank Steven for taking the time to do this feature, and setting up pictures as i wasn't able to travel all the way to take them! The pictures were done by Chris Johnstone, top man for doing this and i definately recommend you check out more of his work HERE.

Random "Oh No" Pic

2011-05-14T03:07:00.000-07:00

oops.

Bullfight

2011-05-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

Avid readers will know that I've got a bit of a soft spot for the krazy kiwi Mad Mike Whiddett. This guy has been reppin' rotary for ages, and is one of the best showmen in the drift scene.

Here are his two Red Bull-sponsored creations:

The RX8 runs a 666hp turbo'd 20b lump, that's a triple rotor engine to the uninitiated. Pretty special.

Oh and the RX7? A 513hp naturally aspirated 26b. That's 4 rotors. That's crazy. It's the responsiveness of the thing I can't get over, that and the fact that it sounds like an angry banshee with a tyre addiction.

And a bit of a peek around his amazing workshop:

Good lad.

Lifestylin'

2011-05-12T05:43:00.000-07:00

How much do I want to be doing this every weekend? *sigh*

Cappuccino on the Street

2011-05-12T04:03:00.000-07:00

Now, I'm not sure about how many of our British readers will know the names Jesse Streeter but in Australian JDM circles the man is a legend. You see, Jesse is an Aussie living out his days in Japan doing what we would all love to be doing, owning a selection of cool cars and hunting down obscure parts to send back to his homeland. It is for that reason that Jesse has reached such legendary status in Australia since he has become the one stop shop for any Aussie needed a certain set of wheels or that elusive part for some mid-80's Toyota or Nissan. Send Jesse the cash and he'll do all the work for you, he'll track down the part, pay for it and get it sent over, he'll even bid on auctions for you if you send him the link. Really does pay to know the right people and of course be fluent in the lingo. Oh, and on top of all that, it seem's Mr. Streeter has great taste too, what a hero.

o'rite butt !

2011-05-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

Good evening ladies and gents ,

As a new contributor here i would like to say hello all and thought my first post should be an introductory one so......

My names Mark aka Gumpy , im from a small town called Barry in South Wales made popular by the hit T.V show Gavin and Stacey ......moving on !

Im 24 1/2 have an unhealthy obsession with Fords and pork pies , repair car bodywork by day and can be found fixing jarkles capri or my own by night.

before your attention span wanders off to something more intresting heres my beloved 1985 Ford drift/schoolrun/workhorse/cashdraining capri shes a work in progress , Enjoy .....

The Essence Of Cleanliness

2011-05-11T06:47:00.001-07:00

I don't think this picture needs any explanations! Seeing thing's like this makes me want to go and buy one of these right now. In my eyes this is the perfect 86; it's low, an unusual colour with the perfect set of wheels.

Whistling Pig

2011-05-10T05:14:00.000-07:00

Somewhat surprisingly considering their current reputation for technological boundary-pushing, Toyota's rally exploits prior to the 1990's were pretty low-tech affairs. The manufacturer built fast and incredibly reliable cars that succeeded in the Ivory Coast and Safari rallies, back when the brief for both pretty much consisted of 'see you at the other side of the desert in 6 days, watch out for the lions, elephants and locals who have no idea the rally is on. It’s run on open, public-access roads too by the way, good luck!

The final incarnation of a series of ultra-tough rally-going Toyotas was the Celica TA64 of 1983, the company’s effort in the now infamous Group B category. Compared to the European entries the car was positively prehistoric. Whereas Lancia had perfected both supercharging and turbocharging in the Delta S4, the TA64 made do with a basic turbo system and rear-wheel drive only. Despite its ‘workman-like’ appearance the car was fast, 290 bhp from a 2.o DOHC 152e (later rising to 370), and retained the marques traditional reliability.

However whereas that figure might’ve been enough to compete in the early stages of the category, by 1985 rivals were seeing 500bhp in conservative trim. Coupled to the limitations of two wheel drive on loose surface events meant the Celica’s only glory came in Africa; Bjorn Waldegard winning the Ivory Caost in ’83 and the Safari from 1983 to 1986. However the car launched the career of Juha Kankkunen and became the weapon of choice for all events on the African continent. It also looked hard as nails and let off a screeching sound at full-chant, hence the nickname ‘whistling pig.’

Pack Of Screaming Animals

2011-05-09T07:49:00.001-07:00

This looks like a whole lot of fun.

Build What You Like.

2011-05-09T07:21:00.000-07:00

With the car modification scene constantly moving and evolving it's hard to stay on top of the latest styles and trends. The high-fashion world maybe the fastest moving sub-culture there is, but if there's one culture that can keep up it's the world of car modification.

Let me take you back to the beginning of the century, to Summer 2001 to be precise, The Fast and the Furious was the big Summer blockbuster that year, a story of fast cars, street culture oh and a few robberies. Not only were the characters larger than life, but so were the cars. Loud paint, loud exhausts and even louder sound systems were the order of the day in this movie and the world followed suit. Within months every car modding magazine in the world had wild body-kitted hatchbacks with neon under lighting and ever increasingly crazy paint schemes. Soon it got to the stage where even the most popular of cars were becoming unrecognisable through the level of modifications their owners were applying to them to stay ahead of the game.

Within the space of four years it suddenly got to the stage where people were unsure of where to go next, pretty much everything that could be physically achieved had been done, to pretty much every base on the market. What would happen next? Well, people began to take it back to basics and began looking at how they could stay ahead of the crowd with well thought out modifications with combinations of timeless parts and a bit of lateral thinking. Step forward the VW scene. You see, while the majority of enthusiasts had been figuring out how to fit 24" wheels to their Citroen Saxo's there had always been a steady under-current of people producing understated, but well thought out cars. They may have not got the magazine features or inspired shows such as Pimp My Ride but in their own quiet way they were unknowingly shaping the latter half of the noughties when it came to car styling.

As the plastic fantastic era began to fizzle out the Volkswagen scene began to gain momentum. Prices, not only for cars, but for the right parts and wheels began to rise. Soon it wasn't about how big your wheels were or how many subwoofers you had in your boot but rather how low you were rolling and how well your wheels fitted. Just like the crazy era before it, things began to evolve, people started to look for ways to stay ahead of the game which proved far more challenging when you couldn't simply re-design your whole car. People began to think out of the box, wheels that no-one had previously considered were soon being bolted up and cars that were once completely ignored were suddenly all the rage. This soon ushered in the next in word. Euro. You see, while Volkswagen's were still the fashion concious choice there were some out there looking at ways of adapting the style to different cars. Before you knew it, all manner of small, European cars were seen on small, wide wheels and with subtle body modifications. You see, while you didn't have to do anything revolutionary style-wise, by simply adapting the style to say a Vauxhall Corsa, you instantly stood out. Never before had it been so simple to create a jaw-dropping car with such minimal amount of mods.

Of course people soon cottoned onto this and the process began all over again. So where do we go from here? Well some might say the Stance scene is the future, but when thinking about it this is just a direct evolution of what started out as the Volkswagen scene, again people are pushing the boundaries of what is possible to the very limit. Cars are at their very lowest and and arch gaps at their most minimal, tarmac is the limit here and unfortunately tarmac isn't the most forgiving of materials. So if Stance isn't the future then what is? Well honestly, I don't don't know. To me, this hobby has never been about following trends or sticking with the latest fashionable looks. It's about creating the cars you want to create. Sure, there will always be trends but there will also always be people doing what they want to do. You only need to look at the Hot-Rod culture for proof of that. So I guess what I'm trying to say is this. Maybe we should give up on looking for the next big thing, maybe we should just carry on building what we like. If that happens to be a VW Golf at the lowest possible ride height, then great, I know I won't ever tire of that. Or if your thing is honestly something that would look comfortable on the pages of a 2002 issue of Max Power then please build it. This whole culture of ours should never be about blending in, it should be about standing out and being an individual and we can only do that by building what we like.

Team ISO | Import Alliance 2011

2011-05-09T03:45:00.000-07:00

Fresh Stickers!

2011-05-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

Better late than never eh? Just a quick note to tell you the new style of Status : Error stickers just hit our eBay store at the awesome price of £1.50 + 50p Flat rate P&P.

There are 26 colours for you all to choose from for the people who are sick of the pink and green!

You will find them in the eBay Store to the right of this post! ---------->

Massive thanks to all of the people who have purchased SE stickers from us so far and we hope you like the new design!

ENJOY!

Your Weekly Free Graze Box #1

2011-05-07T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well I've been receiving Graze boxes for a while now, and i can say i thoroughly enjoy them. I only get one a week but it normally lasts at least a few days. I admit there are some things which i don't like, but that's all part of it, trying new things. Once you've received the box you can log onto the site and then rate the 4 things you got; Bin, Like, Love and Send Soon. There are lots of different things to try from dried fruits, nuts, olives to flapjacks. I have to admit though my favorite is Natural Treats. Another thing to take into account is when you sign upto it you get sent the box however many days a week you want, every week until you press stop. So it's not a contract, its fully adjustable and free to start and stop whenever you want. If your going on holiday you can stop it temporarily too. Each time you get a box, you get a code which you can share as much as you want, it gives whoever wants it a free box, and then the second half price, so why not share it with the readers of Status Error!

All you have to do to get your free box is click below, the hard works been done for you so you just need to fill in what you want and when you want it!

CLICK HERE.

From the Mind of a Madman #1

2011-05-06T12:54:00.000-07:00

If you're into tinkering with cars you've done this. Whether you're into massive power sliders, tarmac scraping stance machines or even the most traditional of Hot-Rod's, you will have created some kind of crazy or dream project in your head. It's just the way our mind's work. Well, I am no different, in fact I sometimes think my life would be far more productive if I spent less time creating cars in my head rather than doing whatever I'm supposed to be doing. But that's not the point, one day this seemingly wastes of time might produce something amazing one day.

So, I thought, instead of keeping them to myself, why not let them out into the world, let you loyal readers of S:E read all about them, and if you like, create them. All I ask for is a little mention in your inevitable magazine features. So, without further adieu here is my first one for you to peruse.

The Skidding Samurai. This one came about when in the Photoshop thread on Retro-Rides someone asked to see some lowered 4x4's. Well my first thoughts went to a body-dropped 80 Series Toyota Land Cruiser, serious set of hydraulics, massive set of chrome wheels and maybe some kind of candy paint-job. Looked alright, but not really my style if I'm honest.

Next my thoughts wandered to the world of Volkswagen's or more precisely the Golf Country, a jacked up Mk2 to you and me. Dropped over a set of Schmidt Modernline's and a bit of cleaned up bodywork, again, it looked good, but let's face it, once you've dropped it what have you got? A nicely stanced Mk2 Golf... with a bull-bar... and minus the bull-bar it's hardly ground breaking stuff is it?

So, I was back to square one. A random pre-1990 search on eBay proved to be my final source of inspiration. You see, the search popped up a couple of Suzuki SJ's, otherwise known as Samurai's. In fact, a more in depth searched revealed that both roadworthy and not quite so roadworthy SJ's are plentiful, there's loads of them and for not too many coins either.

A drop and a set of wide Centerline style wheels showed that maybe I was onto the right track, so I decided to get a little more in depth. Some stretched tyres proved that it really was a strong look. With the stance sorted I started to pay more attention to the bodywork. First up was the grill, or rather lack of it, the grill was hacked away to give it a more aggressive look along with the numberplate plinth which was cut away to hide away the Bosozoku inspired Oil-Cooler, complete with exposed pipes of course.

The kit in the picture is I believe from a much later Spanish version produced by the Santana Motor Company which would be a little tricky to acquire over here, so I decided a little creativity was needed. A quick look at narrow arched Vitara's gave me what I needed, similar bumpers are utilised as well as a nice set of arch extensions on some models, a bit of cut and shut would soon get you the look required.

So with the look sorted, all that's left is the performance and technical side to think about. Power would be provided by one of two lumps both from the Suzuki stable. First would be the 1.3 from the Swift GTi, an underrated and high-revving motor which produces somewhere in the region of 120bhp out of the box. With a few tweaks here and there I would say 150bhp could be reasonably easily achieved, more than enough to get the lightweight little SJ shifting. The 1.3 also has the advantage of being able to mate up to the standard SJ box without any modifications and sort of fits in with the mild OEM theme the project seem's to have taken.

The second engine option would be the 2.0 from the first generation Vitara. The bigger displacement should make for a less stressed power-train and with 130bhp a high power output as standard too. Tuning-wise, I'm not sure how much power you can squeeze out of the 2.0, but I would imagine another 20-30bhp shouldn't be too hard to come by. Also the Vitara has the advantage of being far more plentiful than the Swift which would make not only engine easier to come by, as well as parts when things might happen to go pop.

So all that's left is to make the thing slide. Thanks to it being a 4x4 this easily done. Simply remove the front prop shaft and lock up the transfer box, might as well chuck the lever away too while we're at it. So there you have it, a stupidly cool and unique skidder which could be built for less than a grand. What more could you want from a budget drifter?

Insta-Progress

2011-05-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Thought i'd throw up a couple pictures of what i've been doing to my Mini recently. There's been a good burst of weather so i've taken advantage and the boot is now welded in, arches done, and the rear valance is just going on. So what's left to do you might ask? Well once the valance is on, i'll be fitting a new front end which should take the best part of 2 days to get all on and tidy, then fit the rear subframe, all the niggly little bits that will probably take a good week or two to put on as i'm sure i'll find i've lost all the bolts and nuts despite trying to keep them safe. Then its ready for paint! I'm not getting anything special done to the paint, just the original "Flame Red" that was on the car, and the inside isnt getting painted as theres no point, its almost brand new inside. So hopefully i can get the car MOT'd this month.

All the pictures were done on Instagram which is an App for the Iphone. Gianni and myself are kind of addicted to it :)

To Protect and Swerve

2011-05-05T00:28:00.000-07:00

Spare a thought for the Vauxhall Senator. Considered somehow inferior to its Germanic rivals when new, subjected to years of police and minicab abuse and now, just as other Griffon badged cars of the same era are coming of age, the Senator has all but disappeared. Of course if you’re reading this then you almost certainly know what an underrated car the Senator was when new, but what you might not be aware of is the 3.0 24v C30SE powered version’s small but loyal following as a budget drift-weapon, despite the lack of model-specific modifications and overall weight. The car’s non-too subtle mix of shabby class and barely restrained hooliganism is utterly compelling and that, in a nutshell, is the essence of Mark’s Senator.

‘I started by sourcing an Auto Bahnstormers chip from a MK3 Senny which raised the rev limit to 7250 and compensates for any power lost via the de-cat. I’ve also fabricated a straight through 2.5 inch exhaust with single silencer, which helps the car sound as mean as it looks!’

Of course the Senators fundamental weakness is its bulk and as such an extreme weight loss diet has been followed from the start, ranging from obvious steps like removing the interior, to more extreme measures such as de-looming anything unnecessary and even removing the shock-absorbent foam from inside the bumpers!

Various cost-effective and somewhat divisive modifications have also been utilised over the course of the cars build, notably the welded differential and chopped springs. Discussing the legitimacy and safety of either is a subject for another article, but the major advantage of the continuously locked diff is the ease with which the big car breaks traction and the predictable manner in which it does so.

Obviously once you’ve initiated a slide you need to be able to control it. To this end 60mm Calibra Koni adjustable struts have been fitted at the rear, whilst shortened lowering springs take the strain at the front. Increased lock is also an important factor and one which there was no obvious off the shelf solution too, like many aspects of this build.

‘I removed the wishbone lock stops wish gave me a small increase, then the secondary chassis lockstops which gave me some more, and to go beyond that means modifying the knuckle to take the lock tab off and then smoothing so there are no stress raisers. All of this is pretty much free, the Japanese guys can end up spending lots doing this!’

The big Senny remains composed whilst going sideways, with none of the comedic body roll you might expect. The fact that the car pulls off such a perfect stance in the process is just a happy coincidence! While we’re on the subject of how the car looks, the downright antagonistic paintwork coupled with the 90’s-tastic Azev A’s certainly deserve a mention. The 17 x 10" (back) and 8.5" monsters fill the arches well and set the rest of the car off perfectly.

And that is how the car stands for the moment. Various drift-day maladies have necessitated further fixes, including a radiator from a Nissan S14 and an extra fan wired up to run continuously. However the car is far from finished, with some exciting plans on the horizon:

‘I’ve sourced some Suzuki GSX-R carbs and am in the process of modifying the manifold to make them fit. That should see power rise to around the 240 mark, up forty or so.’

That coupled with the lightweight flywheel, modified front Golf coilovers and hydro-handbrake awaiting fitment should see Mark holding even longer slides before very long. All this acts as a fitting tribute to one of Vauxhall’s seldom-celebrated cars, the fact that Mark’s looks so unique in the process is merely the icing on the cake!

Croft goes Nutz

2011-05-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

On Saturday i drove down to Croft circuit in North Yorkshire to watch MX5Nutz.com trackday. Turnout was fantastic with a few really well prepared cars in action. I certainly came back with a few ideas for my own Roadster!

I took over 300 photos so im hoping to post up more as they are picked out

loony 'loons

2011-05-01T12:20:00.001-07:00

Some classic action from the grp A. J-Touring cars. Not seen much of this series before, but I'm on a dvd hunt now...

Start at 2:25 if you want to skip to the action.

Mine's an R31 please.

Sparkleless

2011-04-29T01:37:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to say we are pulling this sparkle design from the eBay listings.. It's a nightmare to make and the more I look at it the bigger and clumsier it gets.

Don't stress your little faces though as it will be replaced with a much simpler, fresher sticker. I've left one pink and one green up on the auctions so grab them while you can as there will be NO MORE made.

~~New design *should* be up tonight!~~ Make that early next week..

Thanks to everyone who has purchased them from us over the past few months.

The older style Status : Error stickers are still available from our eBay page.

Black Beauty

2011-04-27T00:47:00.000-07:00

This video could be the ultimate video as far as old Fords go; the fastest and final iteration of the all-conquering Escort, driven by the most outlandish driver of the period (Even though he's now an MEP!) in the golden years of the British Rally Championship. I'd take this over any Group B machine.

Such A Sight..

2011-04-26T13:36:00.000-07:00

JDM Allstars Round 1 - Teeside

2011-04-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a great day out to watch some pretty awesome drifting at Teeside Autodrome.

There were some really cool cars there, V8 powered R33 Skyline, a Supercharged E46 M3 and what looked to be a E39 M5 engined 3 series from the continent!

Some of the support/supporters cars were looking good too.

Monster Unit Track Attack

2011-04-22T05:31:00.000-07:00

Last night i headed up to Knockhill for Monster Units first track session of the year. There was a good turnout with a lot of nice cars, but i noticed a few cars were missing, perhaps something to do with the time of the event. Besides that it was a great night and the weather was perfect throughout the whole session. I will let the pictures do the explaining.

More pictures from this set can be seen HERE.

Homegrown Superstar

2011-04-20T14:41:00.000-07:00

Back in the day, this little beauty used to belong to none other than our very own Retro Boy G. One of my favourite looks for an FC, with a touch more stick this would sit perfectly. Nice little spec-list, and at sub-£2k I'm surprised it's still for sale. Have some photos:

And the for sale thread.

Motivating me..

2011-04-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

Rolling Deep

2011-04-15T16:07:00.001-07:00

Auto DIY Shoot / Mini Meet.

2011-04-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

First off, Sorry about the lack of updates! Everyone is pretty busy with the real life stuff and the weather has almost been too good to sit indoors and stare at a PC all day...

I was asked by my good friend Roger at Auto DIY to round up some talent for a photo shoot to help promote his business so on Sunday the 10th of April I arranged for a mini meet / photo shoot. The weather was lovely and the cars were even better, I just want to take the time to thank the following people for help make it happen and for coming along.

Barry / John / Lango / James / Jamie / Paul / Iain / Danielle / Robyn.

A MASSSIVE thanks to Roger for letting us be part of it and to Rennie for taking such awesome pictures (Should be up soon).

Please excuse my poor efforts of photography below, as 99% of iPod / iPhone users have been I've been trying out the App Instagram. I love the picture styles it can produce although unfortunately I need to take them on my Blackberry and email them to my iPod.. FML :(

Anyway, great day was had and I hope everyone who attended enjoyed themselves. Big Up y0!

Act your rage

2011-04-11T04:54:00.000-07:00

I grew up in Milton Keynes. Have you heard of it? There’s no reason why you should, a faux city designed with one thing in mind; clear, uncongested exit strategies to the relative metropolises of Birmingham to the North and London to the South. Being a teenager in this weird concrete and marble halfway-house of a town wasn’t the most fun of experiences. Certainly the town has very little to shout about. A thorough racking of brains (Google + Wikipedia) pulls together the following meagre list of luminaries: Greg Rutherford, Craig Pickering (the former a long-jumper and the latter a sprinter, both very worthwhile attributes in terms of getting out of the town) and some 90’s TV weather-girl.

However the one thing we did have in our breezeblock paradise were Capdown, a ska-punk band that went on to be fairly big in that particular scene. Being able to see Capdown live every other month made it worth living in Milton Keynes, at least for the duration of their gigs. Coming off of the dance floor drenched in sweat, lager and sporting a Cheshire cat-esque grin became a regular occurrence along with knees aching from over-exuberant and questionable skanking. They broke up in 2005 having toured as far afield as Japan (where they were quite big, I believe ;) , with one final gig in their hometown. There have been a few one-off gigs since, but still no sign of a full reunion.

Ska Wars:

Bitches in Nike Shoes

Apologies if you've heard it all before and I'm preaching to the converted, but hey, any excuse to post more Capdown videos.

P.S: Since buying a rear wheel drive car I (along with plenty other residents) have come to appreciate MK's one other redeeming factor, more deserted roundabouts than you can shake a stick at. But that's a story for another day...

'Ullo John, got a new motor?'

2011-04-08T00:28:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what sheer bat-shit lunacy sounds like? Wonder no more by listening to this, Alexi Sayle in his 80's heyday ranting about Ford Cortinas and balsa wood.

And if that's just too 'normal', palatable and downright listenable , why not try the uncensored version?

Mazdatrix

2011-04-07T09:39:00.001-07:00

Hakosuka Mini

2011-04-07T09:26:00.000-07:00

This is more a test of an App i got on my phone called Instagram than anything else, but i thought the contents might be to you guys taste. It was a small car (1/120th scale) that i ordered from eBay about 3 weeks ago. I was more than impressed when it arrived, its pretty heavy as its solid metal and theres a few to collect and at only a couple of pounds each its not bad. They come in a cool little case aswell! Click Here for a link to the ebay item. I naturally went for the GT-R.

2011-04-05T06:49:00.000-07:00

A stunning car, and a stunning example of this car. Almost pure perfection, nothing over the top, but takes you back to the years when car's were like this.

The Fast Show 27/03/2011

2011-04-05T05:16:00.000-07:00

Last March I kick-started my car-show year by attending The Fast Show at Santa Pod, partly due to its promise of freshly prepped drag-strip action but mainly due to it being situated a mere 30 mins drive from my home. Although the weekend was good fun, it was rather compromised by the utterly predictable March weather. It rained more or less constantly throughout Saturday and Sunday, ensuring very few cars were allowed to venture up the pod’s hallowed quarter-mile. The campsite turned into a scene that wouldn’t have looked out of place on the Western Front circa 1916, albeit for the abundance of Citroen Saxos wheel-spinning themselves into the quagmire up to their axles. I left the show pretty sure I’d wait until April this year before venturing out to my first ‘proper’ show of 2011. All of this whinging goes absolutely no way to explaining why I’m drafting this in a Tesco value pop-up tent on Sunday morning, in March, on Santa Pod’s field. It isn’t even like I live near anymore, getting here required a 3 hour trek from Cardiff in an overheating Capri!

Enough of the whining. Pull myself out of my pop-up tent I did and drove straight down to the Rust Rash Flyers stand I was on for the weekend. Chances are you haven’t heard of RRF. They’re a friendly forum with some pretty amazing cars, several of which I’ve covered on S: E previously. Santa Pod had thoughtfully positioned our stand right at the main gates, about as far from the comings and goings of the quarter mile as it’s possible to get, and sandwiched between two particularly image conscious car-clubs. Still we made the most of it with a good turnout of cars and a lot of extras and accessories to enliven an otherwise plain patch of grass. Several of the cars on the stand (below) are fairly well known on the UK show scene, (i.e The Assassin) others are works in progress. All of them have at least one genuinely interesting, innovative, creative or just straight up hilarious feature. In all honesty my Capri looked the plainest of all the cars on the stand.

With the stand set up I ventured off to see what other automotive delights could be found. The following photos are a mixture of snaps taken by forum members, all of whom have far better camera skills than me and I’m very grateful to them for letting me use them.All in all a really, really good weekend and the perfect kick-start to 2011 show scene proper, helped in no small part by the absence of rain!

Hachi Rok-ewe

2011-04-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the lack of updates from me recently, dear readers. I've spent the last fortnight-and-a-bit doing unspeakable things to sheep. No, no no no, not that. Lambing. I've been lumped with the night shift, so my spare time is mostly spent napping. As penance for my absence, have a relevant photo I took of a sheep the other day:

And a car to go with it:

Bedtime.

Prime Meat

2011-03-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

'86 & Retro Toyota Meet 2011

2011-03-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

If your down in London, or nearbye and your into old Jap metal, make sure you make it to this! There should be a lot of rare car's and rare parts (some of which will be for sale!). More details in the picture.

Return of the Pixel Sticker!

2011-03-30T11:12:00.000-07:00

I've just ran off a bunch of the original style Status : Error stickers as I was being asked a lot for them. I have just this second put them on eBay and I'm also donating 50% of the final sale price to the Global Giving Charity for the Japanese Earthquake & Tsunami relief fund.

You will find the stickers on the below link.

STICKERS!

P.S. They are a bit bigger than the original ones we used to sell.

Peace out! x

AW11 Hawtness.

2011-03-26T02:34:00.000-07:00

I recently got my MR2 back on the road and I'm instantly right back in love with it.. I've been looking through the interweb all morning searching for awesome pictures of them. I'm sure most people who are into the cars will have seen most of these pictures so I guess they are more for the people who have never really been a fan or had any interest.

I want some more AW11 love in da house y0.

Do it.

Handy!

2011-03-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

So heres a quick pic of the handheld console collection so far with last nights addition, a Sega GameGear :D

-Sega GameGear
-Nintendo Gameboy Advance
-Sony PSP (2003)
-Gameboy Original
-Atari Lynx MK2

Think next up i'm feeling a NeoGeo!

Reasonably Wide Wheels

2011-03-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

I don't quite know what to say about this, I'm not sure I even like it, I just know it's sheer insanity.

Today

2011-03-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

I have been mostly eating toast, watching Jersey Shore and obsessing over 1970s electric cars!

Ford Comuta 1967

70s Comuta-car, it's really similar to CitiCar but just a slice cooler. Apparently they're kicking about on Ebay for two and a half k.

I'm never sure what's been posted on here before so apologies if this is an echo of another post!

Electrics are bitchin tho

Well Equip'd

2011-03-21T18:12:00.001-07:00

London Elektricity - Elektricity Will Keep Me Warm

2011-03-21T10:32:00.000-07:00

The new single by the kings of liquid drum and bass and founders of the prolific Hospital Records label, London Elektricity was released on Friday. What do you all make of it?

I can’t get enough of it. Their last album, Syncopated City really did set the bar incredibly high with its perfect blend of melody and well-thought out beats. The new track, Elektricity Will Keep Me Warm really does take the baton and disappear into the distance with it. Those same cosy vibes persist and the whole track is infused with a palpable sense of warmth. (Fitting title, huh?) There are definite hints of fellow liquid leading-light Calibre, especially his excellent second album, Second Sun.

As a track Elektricity will Keep Me Warm is perfect for long summer evenings, or perhaps summer mornings greeted with bleary, tired eyes who’ve spent the hours of darkness doing anything but sleeping and with little prospect of decent kip for the next few hours at least.

JDM NorthWest 20/03/11

2011-03-20T15:24:00.000-07:00

Hey guys how are we??

It's been a good day today I must say, roadtrip with friends, LOTS of awesome Jap metal to feast your eyes upon and a top atmosphere to witness them in!

Today was JDM NorthWests meet held at Manchesters Trafford shopping center. There must have easily been in excess of 200 cars attending this meet and it was absolutely awesome, welldone to the organisers of the meet!

I travelled up in Convoy from the West Midlands with "Club-JDM" meeting at M6's "Keele" services. Traffic was pretty good on the M6 and all 7-8 cars had a good blast heading up north for the meet!

On arrival I was startled by how busy this meet was! We had arrived about 30mins into the meet and cars were still pouring in left right and center! From R35 GTR's to even a Datsun Cherry Turbo! It covered a very large aspect of the JDM scene! Luckily the weather just held out for us and only gave us a slight drizzle on the way up! Caught me off guard a little as I had forgot to reattatch my wiper arms on the EG from cleaning it yesterday which meant a sudden pullover into the hard shoulder to whip them back on lmfao! (Luckily I had left them on the back seat lol!)

Heres a few pics I took from the day unfortunately my batteries in the camera were low and didn't take as many pictures as i'd have liked. There was a LOT of potential floating round the carpark! Even including the odd non-Jap vehicle! The Celica Supra definately being one of my fave cars of the day!!!

You can find the rest of my piccies on my Photobucket folder here http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c206/griffo20022/JDM%20NW%2020%2003%2011/#!cpZZ1QQtppZZ36

Filipino Mafia Mobile

2011-03-17T12:39:00.000-07:00

Heaven

2011-03-17T07:36:00.000-07:00

When my time finally comes this is what I hope heaven consists of.

Can I Still?

2011-03-17T05:54:00.000-07:00

I used to be into this kind of stuff quite a bit a few years ago, thought i'd try something out. I'll start doing some more and see how they go, pretty rusty. It's even harder doing it with a can!

Strange Brew

2011-03-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

The best thing about this scene of ours is the wealth, breadth and depth of creativity that runs through it. It’s these same attributes that make the odd car stand out above all the others. Crossroad-cars if you will. You all know exactly what I’m talking about, cars that you just can’t help but stop and gawp at when you see them in the flesh. These cars can take all shapes and styles, from big money VIP Lexuses (Lexi?) to cable-tied JDM drift weapons. However when you see a car that’s often overlooked given this kind of love and attention the whole experience reaches another level; love for the unloved if you will.

The perfect example? The fourth generation Fiesta. Seriously, stop and think hard. When was the last time you saw a bread n’ butter specification one of these given ‘the treatment?’ So often they’re ignored completely in favour of their newer siblings and their retro fore-fathers. Invariably when they are modified the results are far from pleasing, with the remains of the Halfords catalogue circa 1998 often finding their way into the mix.

Enter stage left James from Barwell, Leicester. Like most the mk4 Fiesta wasn’t his first choice for a base car and project, indeed he originally got the car for a far more mundane and conventional reason:

‘I bought the car in August 2009 on my birthday for £650 and had no intention of modding it, was just going to be used to keep my dry over the winter instead of riding my motorbike.’ So far so normal, but I’m sure we can all see what’s coming next.

‘I soon got bored and the mods came pretty much straight away with some 40mm springs and matt black escort GTI wheels; its never looked 'normal' since!’

But as you can see from the pictures below, things have become far more experimental than simply bolting on the odd OEM part. He has managed to give this shape Fiesta a truly menacing stance and overall appearance which is certainly no mean feat considering the stock car’s rounded and demure looks. It’s fair to say the Fiesta has evolved over time in a fairly natural manner, as opposed to sticking to a strict plan and timeline.

‘Nothing really gets planned with the look of the car, I just get one little idea, and then it all just flows from there and usually seems to end up good.

Of course the some of the most obvious changes can be found in the suspension. There’s very little left as Uncle Henry intended and the springs have been swapped over for some much more capable AVO coilovers. These are wound down to a fairly low level, but have had to be raised of late to help bare the extra weight of the engine.

The 1.25 litre that originally powered the Fiesta has been relieved of duty and in its place is a 1.7 Puma item with a four-branch manifold and a custom cat-backwards exhaust system, exiting from the side of the car of course to keep things nice and unconventional. It says a lot about the build as a whole that the most conventional aspect has been this tried and tested, albeit no less impressive, switching of powerplants. The car now sports a much more respectable 130 bhp, more than enough to be getting on with. However James being James the engine itself has been treated to his own brand of humour by being sprayed bright purple. Not just the block either, the whole lot including mounts, ancillaries and bell-housing - nothing has escaped the attentions of his Aldi compressor. The effect is totally in-keeping with the car as a whole; genuine presence and performance coated in a light-hearted exterior. Darth Vader in tie-dye, if you will.

To cope with the increase in what’s expected of them the standard brakes have been binned and some Fiesta RS Turbo discs and callipers have taken their place. Coupled with the oh so cool Green Stuff pads and braided hoses the little car now stops as well as it goes.

All this is great, it’s brilliant to have a car with the grunt to back up its looks, but this Fiesta may be one of the few cars that warrant a greater number of words dedicated to its looks as opposed to its oily bits. We’ve become accustomed to seeing cars treated to a matt finish, blasé even, but the deep burgundy red on James’s car is a little more left-field. Coupled with the intergalactic satin fabric-finished bonnet and parcel shelf the car isn’t exactly what you’d call subtle. Aiding this impression are the small, wide wheels squeezed under plastic arches;

‘I wanted some 13's and happened to stumble across these 13x7 et-7 Superlights for an amazing price, £350 for wheels, tyres (175-50's), nuts, locking wheel nuts and centre caps; so just bought ‘em there and then without really thinking about it.’

Of course there’s a reason we don’t see many low Fiestas running wheels as wide as this, that being they don’t fit without some work!

‘Once I’d fitted them the rear wheel arch actually sat on top of the tyres. I couldn't raise it as that would just be cheating so I beat the arches out. Then I thought it that it looked shit, the wheels stuck-out too much. I saw these arches and thought they'd look pretty sick, so bought them, fitted them and was made up.’

So there you have it, a humble shopping-trolley spec Fiesta treated to some outlandish JDM styling purely through necessity and one man’s desire to run wide wheels with no gaps between tyre and arch. In my eyes this is a perfect example of an everyday car improved immeasurably with a huge dose of creativity and James’s total lack of pre-conceptions about how it might turn out.

Batmobile: Family Spec

2011-03-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Batman has had a load of baby Bats and therefore needs something to carry the Batlings.

Speed-Industries @ Hockenheim

2011-03-16T05:50:00.000-07:00

Nice video and funky tunes! Ace.

Ballin'

2011-03-15T16:20:00.001-07:00

I bet you want a 2 stroke Trabant now eh?

Horseplay

2011-03-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

Shaky handheld camera footage, but frankly my dear I don't give a damn. Two of my all time favourite Italians. Not a massive Fezza fan, but if pushed (well, maybe not even that) I'd take a 308 or F40. Stratos? Hands down one of my top 5 looking cars ever. And sounding, come to that.

Ferrari V8 vs Ferrari V6. Mmm...

If you haven't seen this

2011-03-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

your eyes are in for a treat

The Perfect AW11

2011-03-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

I must have posted the one picture I've had of this little R/C car a million times on Facebook and possibly even on here?.. While trawling through eBay I managed to land myself on an auction that was selling the actual little car with tonnes more pictures!!

I actually can't stress enough at how much I find this to be thee perfect AW11 and just possibly the perfect car.. It just puts the biggest smile on my face.. If I had the money to buy the wheels and coilovers then this is what mine would look like.. maybe in a few years. Until then, SMILE AWAY! :)

Micro R/C Stickers Now Available @ Touge.co.uk

2011-03-13T14:38:00.000-07:00

This is one of the coolest things we have had so far! You can now get micro versions of our stickers to fit your R/C drift cars from the Touge.co.uk store!

Check it out here - Micro Stickers

Fake Wheels Information Video.

2011-03-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

I <3 Fake Wheels... nawt.

Bombed to F*ck

2011-03-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

Just needs a new and exclusive S:E shiny, sparkling and so bang on trend (darling) sticker on there... which coincidently you can purchase right here.

New Stickers FINALLY!

2011-03-11T14:15:00.000-08:00

As promised for about a year now we have finally got a new sticker design! These things are SUPER sparkly and are available at the "stickers" banner to the right ---->

OR

Click Me.

Hopefully there will be some changes to the site over the next coming months also.

Thanks for your support!

Japanese Earthquakes/Tsunamis

2011-03-11T05:27:00.000-08:00

You all know about this by now, from BBC NEWS;

A massive earthquake has hit the north-east of Japan, triggering a tsunami that has caused extensive damage. Japanese television showed cars, ships and even buildings being swept away by a vast wall of water after the 8.9-magnitude earthquake. The quake has sparked fires in several areas including Tokyo. At least 32 people were killed, officials said. It struck about 250 miles (400km) from the capital at a depth of 20 miles. There have been powerful aftershocks. The tremor, measured at 8.9 by the US Geological Survey, hit at 1446 local time (0546 GMT). Seismologists say it is one of the largest earthquakes to hit Japan for many years.

At S:E we're big fans of Japanese culture, technology, cars, and, most importantly, people, our thoughts go out to those caught up in it, and the loved ones of those that are missing.

For some drift-culture impact shots, take a look at Powervehicles.com's facebook album of their Ebisu circuit HQ.

Hopefully the damage to other Pacific coastlines is/will be less than feared, and that the worst is over now for Japan.

S:E team x

Assassin's Creed

2011-03-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

If you’ve had even the most cursory of interests in the modified car scene over the last few years you’ll know of this car. The Assassin, a 1989 Nissan Sunny that looks like it lost a battle with a post-apocalyptic zombie. It has emerged as one of the poster cars for the incredibly divisive rat-look scene, along with ‘Wrong-Un’s Fiat Punto - the car torched on the cover of Fast Car two years ago.

I’ve waxed lyrical with comparisons between Rat Look and punk in the 70’s before, but I still think the analogy stands up to scrutiny. Both have comparable roots and ethos; an overwhelming reliance on a DIY, make-do-and-mend mentality that ensures no two cars or fanzines are ever the same. Both also owe a huge debt of gratitude to pioneers from across the Atlantic. The punk movement in the UK was influenced immeasurably by bands like The Velvet Underground and the New York Dolls. Similarly all the hazard tape and banded steels in the world can’t make up for the massive influence hot-rod and salt racer culture has had on modern, ‘nu-rat’ cars.

So where do these two cars fit into the punk/car-culture analogy? Well the Punto’s story very much mirrored the careers of the Sex Pistols and Sid Vicious; hard living, bursting onto a scene it’d done a huge amount to create, before vanishing in an appropriately savage and sudden manner. Following this analogy to its (painful?) conclusion; The Assassin is like The Clash, a project that emerged onto the scene with all the ferocity of the other car, but has since evolved to become far more than the sum of its component parts. This is even more fitting considering many feel that rat-look as a ‘scene’ has peaked, that it has become something of a laughing stock, its ability to shock and offend diluted by overuse and mass-acceptance. (Is that punk comparison still just about holding up?) Nowadays many view it as simply a way to get a cheap laugh with little of the creativity, attention to detail and sense of humour that made both this Nissan and the aforementioned Punto stand out so much in the first place. The media picked punk’s commercial bones clean and declared it dead and buried in 1979. Fast forward to 2011 and most magazines with an opinion on what’s hot in the world of modified car-culture have discarded rat-look in a similar fashion.

So with all that in mind I think its high-time I wrote something of a tribute to The Assassin. You might not like it. You might hate it and everything it stands for but you can’t deny that it’s packed full of neat touches, bags of good humour and some genuinely innovative examples of fabrication just to get that little bit closer to the ground. It says a lot that the car has been rolling around for two years now with only 25mm of clearance between sills and tarmac. As its owner and creator Rob says:

‘Bottoming-out really doesn't bother me, I try to avoid scraping were possible but I love it when you’re cruising a flat road but still hit the deck. You don’t worry about damage when you run this low, just embrace it, everything is repairable.’

To be honest you shouldn’t expect anything but an outlook like this considering Rob’s lifelong obsession with old and very, very low VW’s. The fact that he works at the renowned Bug Barn is merely the icing on the cake.

The Assassin ran standard Sunny springs with two thirds cut out of them, welded springcups and no bump-stops. Last week coilovers finally found their way onto the car, not to get any lower you understand, just so Rob can continue his quest for ever increasing camber angles. The coilovers themselves allow for another interesting punk-car analogy in that they cost a cool £670.

‘Yes really that much, I’ve kinda lost the point of ratlook but she is the longest surviving original rat look motor and I want her to last a lot longer, so it’s about time some real money was spent on the old girl.’

Just as The Clash abandoned the raw, 3-chord hollers of Give ‘Em Enough Rope for the more polished, reggae influenced sounds of London Calling, so The Assassin has evolved to stay one step ahead of the mundane and mainstream. To continue pushing the natural limits of ride height Rob is planning some fairly drastic changes in the car’s chassis for this year .

“The lower bracket winds up the damper so you get the damper poking out the bottom of the bracket, and it’s my cv joints stopping me going lower. The passenger side can go down more but the cv on the driver’s side is almost touching the bottom of the damper, so I need to see if a passenger side cv will fit driver’s side”

With that in mind plans are afoot to raise the car’s engine and gearbox, just to push the boundaries that little bit further.

‘Basically that involves making-up some inch-long blocks to put under the originally mounts that sit on the front chassis legs, lifting everything up a bit. Making the spacers won’t be easy as I don’t have a milling machine. I’d use a washer but i don’t want it to look like a bodge, I’ve gone past all that now and its time the Assassin got properly sorted on the mechanical side of things.’

So what started out as the epitome of live fast, die young modification has finally come of age. It’d be fair to say it has matured beyond its chopped-spring origins to a more complete, polished (well, not physically) car in the process. Rat look might well have had its equivalent of the Bill Grundy interview, but with cars like this still hissing, spitting and generally abusing cat’s-eyes all over the Uk, you’d best bank on its attitude and legacy sticking around a while longer yet!

Follow the progress of the Assassin and many, many other cool cars here: http://www.rustrashflyers.000page.com/SMF1.cor1/

The Best Of The Best

2011-03-06T15:49:00.000-08:00

In my opinion the nicest shaped Civic of the lot.

Bri G

2011-03-03T17:52:00.000-08:00

These models were all made by the same guy, he knows what he's doing!

A new toy!

2011-03-02T00:57:00.000-08:00

So I finally got the car I’ve wanted for years, a Ford Capri. Picked it up from Brighton on Saturday with Mark, a friend who knows more about Essex’s weekend warrior than anyone I’ve ever met. It turns out Cardiff is a fair way from the South coast of England and the journey down via British Rail was only enlivened by a duet rendition of Jurassic 5 and spotting old retro tat by from the train itself. Finally we got to the ‘English Riviera’ and were met by the owner of the car, a self-confessed Capri-nut called Ollie, in a bright orange 3.0 Essex v6 Capri. Things were looking up! A (very) quick trip back to Ollie’s house revealed a veritable Aladdin’s cave of Dagenham’s finest; including a Mk3 280 Capri, a 2.8i being restored after its previous owner’s altercation with a bollard and a MK1 Escort being built from the shell-up. Finally there was another mk3 Capri, the one soon to be mine, tucked away in a corner.

Half an hour later and money had changed hands over a cup of tea and a very detailed discussion about ‘the car you always promised yourself.’ Pulling out of the drive the first thing I noticed was how spoiled I’d been in the brake department by my Sierra. That had discs and braided lines all-round. The Capri does not! Still after a bit of practice I’d got used to it and it was time to start the long, convoluted trip back to South Wales. Not much else to say except that it does break traction in the dry, with a bit of a clutch kick, and I can’t go anywhere without humming The Professionals theme tune. The Ashley exhaust is seriously loud too, so any amount of acceleration leaves me feeling like a right hooligan. Brilliant!

Plans consist of buying Mark’s Solex twin 40’s and getting them on the car by the end of March, with the possibility of bike carbs some point in the future. It’ll also be treated to a respray when the weather picks up, and a dose of lowering. It’s safe to say I’m made up.

*Just realised I gave no info on the car whatsoever; it's a 1.6 with a 2.0 pinto from a Sierra lobbed in, a quick-rack, and the aforementioned Ashley system. Still has the 1.6's diff so skidding is possible, acceleration is good and top-end is shite.

Domestic Ebisu

2011-03-01T13:21:00.000-08:00

A weak play on words, sorry.

I make no apologies for more aw11 or Ebisu circuit content though, that's just how I roll, yo!

I'm going for a similar look to this on my own MR2 in the next couple of months. I've got a set of -40mm Whiteline springs and a set of Supercharger lights to go on, and I'm seriously toying with the idea of picking up a spare bootlid and losing the spoiler. Clean, mmm.
The sexy overfenders are off the menu though, for the foreseeable at least!

Love the ending.

Burnt Rubber

2011-03-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

No way to treat a lady... unless she asks for it.

Batmobile: JDM Spec

2011-02-28T13:36:00.001-08:00

RIP Simon.

2011-02-28T11:33:00.000-08:00

Some sad news, an absolute legend of a man by the name Simon (Hongkongphooey on RetroRides) was sadly killed in a road accident.

I wont go too much into detail but you can read the article here - RETRORIDES

I never actually met Simon but he was always more than helpful when I was asking about certain things regarding my TA22.

Our thoughts go out to all his friends and family.

RIP dude. x

Another Stolen Post

2011-02-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

I know we have been trying to cut down on thing's taken from other blogs, but this is an exception. For anyone who doesnt get a chance to see this on Stance Nation then here's your chance. It's certainly changed my opinion of the Mazda 3 and now i want one.

To find out more specs on the car and a couple more pictures click here.

This car is a babe

2011-02-24T03:16:00.001-08:00

1963 Chevy Nova Wagon

Paper, expensive ink & Lead

2011-02-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

Those of you on my facebook friends list will see I post up photos of drawings I do, granted that's ...erm three people I think. After my last post I was ordered to post them here also. They're not particularly fantastic but I have sold one piece so I guess I'm actually bona fide artist.

Oh, Iphone photos :( so remember they actually look loads better in real life

Btw the AE86 pic is on ebay ;)

Dirty White

2011-02-22T14:59:00.001-08:00

Status Error Competition Winner..

2011-02-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to announce that the winner of this awesome contest is the funny man...

Billy John Lee (Billy the Kid)

His post was short and sweet and probably had nothing to do with the competition but it sure made me laugh.

Well done Billy, your goodies will be in the post tomorrow!

Just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who took the time to write something. :)

This is what Billy said..

"i vote a competition, of who can think of the best competition, to win the competition of thinking of the best competition...

YO DAWG, WE HEARD YOU LIKE COMPETITIONS....."

StreeTomaso

2011-02-21T11:19:00.000-08:00

Wow.

Another Non Car Related Post!

2011-02-20T16:35:00.000-08:00

Not often do we do stuff like this, but i have just spotted it and it looks amazing! (However nerdy). It's called the Nanocade and it sets you back a fair bit, and you need to cost in the price of a netbook/motherboard on top! However it'd be pretty nice sitting on your desk once your done..

Shockwaves NME Awards, final night

2011-02-20T03:52:00.000-08:00

Last night heralded the final leg of the 2011 Shockwaves NME Awards, at the O2 Academy in Brixton.

The lineup was an eclectic mix; The Vaccines, Everything Everything, Magnetic Man and Crystal Castles, a cross section of genres picked to highlight NME's enthusiasm for rising stars.

Having given a few listen-throughs to The Vaccines' currently available work, and finding it a bit generic and unimaginative, my friends and I decided to give them a miss and turn up for the second act, conveniently dodging a long queue in the drizzle.

After purchasing £4.20's worth of Carlsberg's finest extra chilled pint, we migrated into the crowd, with that snakey, side-on and shoulder first, shuffle through and don't make eye contact method of gig repositioning that comes from teenage years full of concerts and festivals.

Everything Everything emerged in their matching smart-cut boiler suits, getting a laugh from the Primark-onesie loving student crowd. Straight from the off they were spot on, very tidy, each beat and interaction slotting perfectly in to place. The two friends I was with are both big EE fans, so they were in their element, and the rest of the crowd seemed very keen as well, with plenty of vocal and physical signs of enjoyment. Their Radio 1 favourite, and first top-40 single "MY KZ YR BF" got the biggest reaction, as expected, but personally I felt that the brilliant "Suffragette Suffragette" and "Photoshop Handsome" (the final song of the set) were the highlights, with Higgs's unique vocals, the forward-leaning beat and the excellent harmonisation from the rest of the band gelling nicely to show why these guys are quickly picking up fans, myself included.

Buoyed on by the buzz of the EE set, we made a snap decision to work our way further forward for the rest of the night (I've not been in a bouncy, pit-ridden crowd for too long...). So forward we went. Ducking under the bar we made it in to the den of chaos that was the first 10 or so rows. I don't remember this area as usually being so full of sweaty, shirtless teenagers, but perhaps that's because I used to be one of them, so it all seemed normal. I digress.

Magnetic Man were huge. A torrent of bass, electric sound, blinding light and adrenaline. Throbbing lulls mingled were the calm between storms of absolute dubstep chaos, their gradual build to dirty drops causing the crowd to go mental. My friend lost a shoe. Again, as expected in such a mixed crowd, their more well known works "I need air" and "Perfect Stranger" (feat. the excellent vocals of the sadly absent Katy B) garnering the most response from the thronging masses. A notable point was the use of EE's Jonathan Higgs to provide vocals on "Going Nowhere", a choice that worked really well and helped to tie the very different performances together slightly.

Retreating (lost shoe meant that friend was in considerable pain from combat-booted teens jumping on her toes) to the safety of the sloped floor further back, we waited for the headline.

Emerging on stage in an ankle brace and with a crutch, evidence of the injury she obtained in Tokyo a month ago, Alice Glass was loving the attention pouring her way. The sound system was cranked up to full from minute one, and the lighting, which had been excellent all night, hit a new high in it's switches between highlighting the backdrop (the haunted face from their current album cover) and interacting psychedelically with the beats and electronic lilts of their set.

Ahh Crystal Castles, you laid your own path into my heart with your curious mix of chirping 8-bit electro gravel set over solid blocks of bass that echo in the chest.

Wheeling out a good selection from both albums (including a stunning take on "Air War", one of my all time favourites), they put on a strong, solid set, and the atmosphere was electric throughout. Alice's customary insanity - climbing, bouncing, crowd surfing, was barely hindered by her injury. In fact, the only concession she seemed to make was to hop instead of jump!

After a double-closer encore, the crowd collapsed, exhausted by the night's entertainment, and shuffled off in a haze of alcohol, sweat and endorphins.

(We didn't even bother going back for the shoe.)

(image courtesy of NME, from the Glasgow leg of the tour)

Contrast

2011-02-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

Black and white, small and big, old and new, side by side in perfect harmony.

Stick with me here

2011-02-18T04:47:00.000-08:00

Ok so this article is either going to have wheel aficionados across the country nodding in mild agreement or, like my girlfriend, staring in bemused incredulity and increasing worry at my insane observations. I’m just going to go right out and say it; don’t plug-holes look like great designs for deep-dish wheels? Seriously, can I be the only one who whilst washing hands and going about general ablutions, stares down at the drain and thinks ‘yea, I’d roll a set of those on my *insert preferred manufacturer here.*

Just me then? I don’t care, there’s a drain where I work that makes everything BBS has ever done seem about as epic as a set of TSW Venoms on a un-stanced Golf.

*Stands back to let the tumble-weeds blow by*

Wait a second, where have I seen that before....

What's Possible?

2011-02-18T04:07:00.000-08:00

And for a little bit of fun..

A Snowy March

2011-02-16T15:33:00.000-08:00

I spotted this little beauty over on Retro-Rides. Owned by forum member rominofski it really stood out as being a class above most UK Micra builds. The work been done to it is obviously done to a very high standard, while the modifications are classy and well thought out. The 15" Rota wheels were a brave choice too as many would say anything above a 14" wheel would be overkill for the little hatch, but this one pulls them off perfectly. So, when you've built the most eye-catching Micra in the UK, what do you do next? Well, you pull it apart and make it better obviously. I'm told that a Twin-Cam Turbo lump now sits snugly in the bay while the exterior is now being treated to something of an extreme makeover too. Watch this space, we'll update you when it's finished.