A member of the original HR crew, Sam is one of Queensland’s finest sideways pilots: A laid back, smart arse of a character who is always up for some ’86 thrash action. In 2008 Sam has continually found himself at the top of drift competitions all across Australia, all the while leaving out the egotistical bullsh*t we all too often see in the world of drifting.
History of the car? When did you buy it and why did you want one?
I bought a stock white ADM ’86 in 2003/04 I think; having Garth as a best mate made this inevitable. I searched high and low for one with no luck. Just before I gave up and settled on something else, I took a shortcut through a small suburb and saw an ’86 on the side of the road. Wearing its mighty ‘4 sale’ sticker on it, I spoke with the owner and snapped it up for a mighty $2000. Garth spent the entire next day (best part of 8 hrs) cleaning the crap out of the poor thing. That was the best it ever looked.
I bought the Trueno in 2006 I think. It was a 1987 JDM Trueno I bought through Ant Kellam (Kaizen Garage). It had a bigport 4A, boaty suspension, a 2 way TRD LSD and fibreglass up the ying-yang. I was in love. Again, Garth spent the best part of a day helping me clean her up at a mates place, it may have been clean enough to eat off, but wasn’t the best she ever looked; the best was still yet to come!
Suspension upgrades where done early ’07 and then the full turbo conversion was done at the end of 2007.Then the drifting really took off.
When did you start taking drifting serious?
Never really. I thoroughly enjoy it and don’t really take it all too seriously. The moment you start to take it seriously is the time you start to lose the fun out of it. This would ruin my take on drifting completely as I see no point to it if I’m not fully enjoying myself.
So I guess I go out to have a good time on the track and this leads to me being extremely relaxed in competition at most levels, which lately has translated in to some fairly great results in the QLD series’.
What’s it like being on the same team as long time ’86 drifter Josh Young?
Josh has shown me the more serious side of the sport (which I have had fun with) and this has forced my driving to improve greatly. He has given good advice to help me along the way with my driving style and you can’t beat 100yrs of experience lol..
2008 was a mental year with us competing in over 35 events each and both or at least 1 of us getting into the top 4 placings in most events. Four different drift series, a heap of one-off comps and a lot of demos made the year extremely full on, so I will be toning it down for 2009 to get back that full enjoyment from drifting.
What’s the best experience you have had in the Trueno or best memory of owning an ’86?
I thought about this for a bit because there are so many, but I would have to say the 2006 HR AE86 Annual. An epic trip down from Brisbane to Sydney with Josh writing off his hired tow-ute into mumblezz’s tow-car Cressida half way down, luckily right outside a pub and crash repair shop so we sat in the pub while Josh sorted his affairs. We unloaded Josh’s car and filled it and mine with all his crap and headed off for Wakefield travelling in an AE86 convoy! We flew through the mountains just before Sydney late in the night and continued down to Wakefield. Got in in the wee hours of the morning and announced our arrival by waking everyone up for a beer… we were popular that night… 2 hours sleep and a trackday at Wakefield were a fantastic mix and I pushed the then boat-like suspension to the max trying some 4th gear entries into turn 1 from the end of pit lane (none of which worked and required a big flick in the middle)
The Sunday cruise was awesome as we got to do runs through southern Sydney’s great mountain passes and meet all the interstate 86 enthusiasts. The trip back was ok except loosing the base bolt on one of my rear shocks in Coffs but we fixed that and got home fine.
Why are you selling up? Was it a hard decision?
The decision to sell up was hard because of the attachment I have to the car. It has always been good to me and I love everything about it. I think its because of this I want to sell it as the package as it sits now since it’s really awesome. It’s super reliable and serves me event after event with only small niggles. The power is great and the handling is near on perfect. The only reason I have to move on is I require a bit more power, but I don’t want to pull apart the Old Girl as she is great. I know she will teach someone else to drift and share the love of the sport and the ’86 spirit.
Finally, lay down the specs on this beast.
1987 JDM Sprinter Trueno GT-Apex
Std Internals 4A-GZE with a medieval forged HKS manifold with a T04B attached (running @ 14psi)
Coilpacks from a 1ZZ-GE Adaptronic tuned to an extremely reliable 147kW
Injectors from Beams 3S-GE Aftermarket Supra Intercooler
China-spec remote oil filter/oil cooler kit
Full Exhaust System (stolen from Josh’s old turbo 4A setup)
W55 Gearbox with a Kaizen Garage (KZG) bellhousing
Mitsubishi Evo VIII 5-puck clutch with sprung centre
E series Diff – Super locker
Tokico HTS102 front struts in KZG coilovers
Manual steering rack with power steering arms
KYB Rear Shocks (Adjustable)
AU Falcon cut springs (FTW)
Cusco front and rear tower bars
Whiteline swaybars front and rear
Rota Grid 16×8 rims
Photos courtesy of: Garth’s Mega HDD Archive, Casey John Photography, Red Triangle Photography
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