Tweed and Leaking Oil

I attended British Car Day yesterday, put on by the Chesapeake Chapter of the New England MG T Register (KCVO, three times removed). Like any proper British car show, it was promptly rained out, and so by the time I got there the field was a little sparse. There were still a few neat cars there, and I got to see my first Aston Rapide in the flesh.

I attended last year too, when it was sunny.

Thanks to the weather/light, my photography this go-round was awful, but it was still worth the trip.

Morgan 4/4's. When you design the perfect car, it's acceptable to continue building it the same way for 74 years. I wouldn't change a thing. Visit them HERE

Well now I know my next project, a widebody MGB-GT.

The Lotus owners always get the best show spot at the top of the hill, it seems. These things have huge deep-dish mesh wheels in the rear from the factory.

This is probably all anyone reading this post cares about, the new Aston Rapide. It looks certifiably nasty in person, much cooler than the Panamera. I'd still rather have a Quattroporte.

I really liked this old Aston DBS, probably my favorite car at the show.

80's Continues

I still have a few more posts from the Hatimaru 80's meeting.

Lots of miscellaneous wheel shots. First set looks like SSR superfins, but I don't think so.

I'd love to see what Dsalni could do with line drawings of some of these shots.

I had to get in one more shot of the City Turbos. I like everything about these, the asymmetrical grilles, round lights, huge fenders, etc.

Ki-ck Returns

I thought I'd post an update of ki-ck's MPV, as I really like what he's done with it. I've never seen anyone do one of these in the US, which is ironic because his van is supposed to be USDM styled. I think it looks bitchin', and if anyone stateside owns one and wants to take it in this direction I can put you in touch. I love the Meisters.

Check out his blog HERE

Taken with Teru's Odyssey

Ki-ck's Zuma. Note USDM-style Bowl's and Battlescooter stickers. I'm thinking about Zuma-swapping my Ruckus.

Off-Topic

I haven't made a gaming post in awhile, so I figured I was due. My collecting hobby is bad enough that I could probably make 1-2 posts a day about stuff I pick up, but I'm going to wait and branch that off as another blog someday.

At any rate, I picked up this N64 Lodgenet controller from Assembler.

Lodgenet was a pay-per-play system used in Hotels that started with SNES in 1994 and grew to include N64 content in 1998. The controller connects to a special N64 via a telephone cord and the user can select various game content like they're ordering a pay-per-view movie in the room.

Obviously, the controller has a number of buttons/features that differentiate it from a normal N64 pad. As the photos show, there is no memory card slot.

Stuff like this is supposed to either be destroyed or sent back to Lodgenet or Nintendo when it's no longer in use, so it can be fairly difficult to find. I'd really like to add a functioning Lodgenet N64 to my collection alongside this controller.

Additionally, if you own a Wii, GO BUY SUPER MARIO GALAXY 2! I got my copy on Saturday and it is ruling my life.

Fender Mirrors and Tsurikawa

I've got a lot more 80's meeting content coming this week, today from the grainier of the two galleries. I'm amped that my Mk1 seller is sending me the correct wheels this week, I can't wait to get the car done.








I always see people displaying extra parts, Tomica, and other items in front of their cars at meets in a "swap meet" style at these Japanese events. I've never seen anyone in the US do this, but I'm trying to encourage it at the upcoming Ruckus meet in DC on 6/19.

I need to find a set of Carrozzeria speakers like the set below. Anyone selling a set?



I love the City Turbo, it's like the Japanese take on the Renault Turbo 2. My Tomica collecting has fallen off lately, I keep getting emails from the Tomica forum wondering what became of me.

Nice......Wrangler?

This comes from the Flickr of Mister-P, owner of the white 510 I posted awhile back. I guess it's a Wrangler, but it's been injected with so much rad that it's hard to tell anymore. I believe this shot is from USDM Jam. Airbags, Wats, stretch, Bride seat, Nardi wheel, all on a Jeep, and yet it somehow works.

If anyone can provide more (1024x or larger) images of this thing, hit me up and I'll ad them to this post and credit.

Not Your Average

I'd been following this car for a couple months now and and asked the owner to shoot me images of it when it was done. He's still going to go a little lower in the front, but it already looks nasty. Apparently the windshield visor is actually a rear blind from some other type of car.

Check out his blog HERE

G-Works

I recently started up a subscription to G-Works via a member on the Japanese Nostalgic Car boards

It's a really good mag, I like it better than Nostalgic Hero or Old Timer because it features more tuned cars rather than just stock restorations. It also includes a great deal of tech info, often illustrated in colorful cartoons, such as how an LSD or manual transmission works.

If anyone is interested in getting their own subscription, head over to the JNC boards and look up a member named "G"


Check out the official G-Works site HERE





LSD explanation



Anyone stateside who owns a Hako should be getting this mag



TE37v mania continues! There are several pages in this issue of how every car imaginable looks on TE37v in different colors and fitment.

Not Happy

My SSR Mk1's arrived yesterday, and I was ecstatic until I actually took them out of the box.

I knew they were in very different states of finish, but I did NOT expect them to be two completely different sizes. They were advertised as being 15" all around, but one pair is plainly 14" and one is 15".

I am taking it up with the seller now, hopefully he's cool about it, especially considering I already ordered a whole bunch of other stuff from him.


Subtle difference in size, but you can still easily tell




14x8 sticker, sure enough. Someone didn't look hard enough before advertising these.

Hatimaru 80's Meeting - Part II

More of the low-down boxy stuff. I got a lot done on my MX73 this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some shots of that soon.

Photography by Masaru Tanaka, and I was tipped to this gallery by Hasshy


GX71 Mark II. I need to find a bumper antenna. I will have more shots of the City Turbos in a future post.



MA61 Celica XX on Longchamps.


Another x71 Mark II


B310 with big N2-ish flares and Advan livery.


This is my favorite car of the set, given that it's about what I'm doing to mine, only mine's black and I'll have MkI's instead of Wats. I've ordered a chin spoiler very similar to the one you can barely see on the far left of this shot.

Hatimaru 80's Meeting

Hasshy directed me towards yet another huge 80's photo collection yesterday. I still have dozens of shots to post from the one he sent me on Wednesday, but these were too cool to withhold.

Lots more posts from both sets are coming over the next couple weeks, stay tuned.

Photography by Masaru Tanaka.


GX51 Cresta, sort of makes me want to keep my brown interior on the x73.


GX71 Cresta with a cage and Watanabes. I need to find a rear blind like this.



Probably my favorite car in the set, 5M-powered S120 Crown on BBS. I'm starting to appreciate the look of these cars when they have less extreme fitment, and I'm kind of hoping that the "period correct" look gets popular stateside.




I cropped this and set it as my iPhone wallpaper. I love the angle of the stacks.



New kid on the block. The Japanese have had their TE37v's for awhile now, but we're just starting to receive them in the US. Deals on Club4AG right now are surprisingly good.

Canna-Beer Redux

More content from Shitamachi, courtesy of ki-ck. Check ki-ck's new blog out HERE

I'm loving this E110 Corolla. Someone stateside needs to make this happen.