Monthly Archives: December 2008

A Deadly Duo

December 24, 2008 in Feature Cars by

It’s not everyday we get street-spec AE86’s as nice as this, especially not two of them together.  Straight outta Japan, these tasty hachi’s however, are not owned by Japanese but surprisingly by two gaijin by the names of Allen & Miguel. Both wearing head to tyre of the hottest JDM parts, these Levin brothers are the true epitome of clean street driven AE86’s.

The HR Blog team are taking a well earned rest over the holidays, so until then enjoy these two beauties and have a safe and relaxing break. Don’t worry, we’ll be back again on January 5th in 2009!

(more…)

Planning Your ’86 Experience

December 23, 2008 in HR Originals by

So Garth wrote earlier about how the economy has hit us hard like a bad case of regret from that beer goggled girlie from last Friday night! But hey, unlike that one night we can do something about getting the parts we need and building our dream cars.

Now forgetting the economy and the cruel beeyatch she is for a moment, we can use today’s blog as a guide on how anyone in any situation or age can reach their goal. Speaking of which that’s the first subject!

(more…)

Young Version RunFree Levin

December 22, 2008 in Videos by

In my opinion, this maroon maniac is the hottest Levin ever, it’s just so damn nice! The inspiration for my AE86 build, if only it was a Trueno!

AE86 & Motorkhana/Autocross

December 19, 2008 in Events by

In the last couple of weeks I’ve been psyching my self to get back into motorkhana events in 2009. So what does one do when they want to find out what they need to do to their car in preparation for racing? Search the Internet of course!

(more…)

Garage SunRise

December 18, 2008 in Random by

It’s the garage we all wish we had: TRD T-50’s to the left, Hi-Comp 4A’s to the right and that wall of tyres… do want!

Tetsuya Hibino’s character on D1 videos might be one of a rude, slang-talking tough guy, but in reality he’s anything but hard to talk to. That is, if you can understand his rapidfire “ittara” Nagoya accent and can keep up with his dictionary-like knowlege of the Toyota AE86 and how to drift it.

Jump over to noriyaro.com for Alexi’s tour of drifting legend Tetsuya Hibino’s workshop: Garage SunRise!

Has The ‘Economy Crisis’ Slowed Your ’86 Build?

December 17, 2008 in Parts & Accessories by

As most of us who live in Australia already know, buying AE86 parts from overseas has now become quite well, insane. Currency rates have almost halved from what they were 4 months ago and as a result a lot of the local parts imports companies have gone belly up.

Having just dropped over 3 large on a bodykit shipped to Sydney, I can say that for me it hasn’t slowed down. It’s a case of ‘I need it now, and the economy isn’t going back to where it was anytime soon’ philosophy and a need to finish a project that was started in motion before the crisis hit.

The alternative is buying locally made parts, but the problem is there just isn’t enough variety of aftermarket products for the AE86 being produced locally to provide alternatives to buying American or Japanese.  I can’t speak for our American or European readers but here in Aus we have no choice but to import.

What are your attitudes towards the situation? Are you prepared to pay for what you need regardless of the price? Or are you waiting until the dollar/euro/pound gets stronger before you commit to buy?

Hit the comments and let us know!

Tomei Needs Your Input!

December 16, 2008 in Parts & Accessories by

Tomei Japan have contacted HR to get the word out about their plans to develop a 5A-G kit. They have blueprint designs for the crank and conrods already but are in desperate need of more information on possible potential customer requests!

(more…)

Who Is This Man?

December 15, 2008 in Feature Cars by

It’s former owner of Ken Works and ace AE86 pilot, Ken Satoh! Caught in the act at Nikko Circuit today changing the ‘plugs on his new ’86 drifter, it’s good to know that even the old pros do their own dirty work! Ken was either driving or under it all day showing his unrelenting love for the hachiroku.

(more…)

Battle Magazine Tandem Drift AE86’s!

December 12, 2008 in Videos by

Some old-school Battle Magazine footage featuring some nice tandem 86 drift action. Takes a little while to get into it but it is indeed worth it when it does.

That’s only part one of three! Links to the next two parts can be found after the jump:

(more…)

Youchi Hangai’s AE86 Trueno

December 11, 2008 in Feature Cars by

This particular Sprinter belongs to 35-year-old Yoichi Hangai, a mechanic working in the outskirts of Tokyo at the FNATZ workshop. He might technically have a job in Tokyo, but Yoichi has always lived in the eastern part of nearby Kanagawa prefecture, which is generally considered to be the slightly rougher cousin of the somewhat more refined Tokyo metropolis nearby. Running down alongside Tokyo Bay, it’s an industrial area with lots of long back streets and small mechanical workshops, where the tuners have a reputation for having some of the hardest worked street cars in Eastern Japan.

Read the rest on this immaculate ’86 over @ noriyaro.com