Tec-Art’s New Urethane Bushing Range

April 7, 2009 in Parts & Accessories by

tecarts_bushings

Released only last week, the new range of Tec-Art’s urethane bushings look damn good, if the photos are anything to go by! In the same colour as the all-familiar ‘drift pineapples’ made famous by Uras, they are offering a selection of transmission mount stiffener inserts, traditional suspension-arm kits and some nice rack bushings for both manual and power steering equipped AE86’s.

We Aussies are lucky to have no less than 3 different urethane bushing manufacturers here in Oz, but these Japanese-quality items might just be what you other international guys are looking for. Hit up the Tec-Art’s website for the specifications and high-res pictures.

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Surviving Gameshow Drifting

April 6, 2009 in Random by

shino_tv

Mobara Circuit + Hapless American Contestants + Drifting = Win. Ken Satoh of D1 ’86 drifting fame was present along with Shino Murai from Shino Kouba for some AE86/Z33 drifting mayhem. Also present was Tomo Akai, 86 pilot extraordinaire whom we’ve featured here before. Alexi writes:

I saw one of the producers turn an interesting shade of white when Ken said that he had never drifted this car before. I quickly reassured the guy that Ken could probably drift the bus they drove to get there if he wanted to.

Word. Check out the hilarity over at noriyaro.

All Weather Fighter

April 3, 2009 in Feature Cars by

grassroots

You said you wanted more grassroots drift AE86’s in Japan and here at HR blog, we listen. Alexi over @ noriyaro again has the scoop on a local unsung drift hero, this time piloting an AE86.

This three-door Levin belongs to an unassuming bloke by the name of Tadashi Yanagawa. The interesting thing about him is that he can drift as fast in totally wet conditions as he can in the dry. I saw him at a recent track day at Nikko Circuit and had to have a look at his car. Surprisingly, there’s not much more to it than many other AE86s out there, but it’s still pretty damn cool.

Check it out! Noriyaro.com

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Conrad Customises Corollas

April 2, 2009 in Feature Cars by

conrad_header

We see a lot of smacktalk on the ‘net about what engine conversions are ‘the best’ and what’s done the ‘right way’ or the ‘wrong way’.  HR forum member Conrad falls into the category of ‘the best right way’, with his meticulous attention to detail and fantastic metal fabrication work done on the car it’s certainly something to aspire to!

Sporting brands such as AP Racing, Tilton, Longchamp, HKS and Crystal Body Yokohama, it’s certainly going to be a very serious kind of monster! We’ll be sure to keep you updated when the build is completed!

Check out his super-clean work in progress over in the forums.

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1/61 Love Affair

April 1, 2009 in Random by

tomica

Stockers, Gold plated hussies, keisatsu, D1GP champs and Group-A icons – Only a few of the many AE86’s that make up the Tomica 1/61 range of collectable cars. I only own two of them so far, but who out there can boast of owning the whole set!? Check this Japanese fans’ collection out! Got a wicked AE86 model collection? Let us know!

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Daily Driven Hachi-Go!

March 31, 2009 in Feature Cars by

lemontrueno

Now I know the website’s name is hachi roku, but that’s not gunna stop us posting up hot AE85s is it? Look at yesterdays post, even TOSHIKing’s drift beasty is an AE85 under all that technology and matte black war paint! Which bring us to this sweet lemon. No it’s not a lemon it’s one hell of a daily-driven, yellow-tinted harlot.  Another AE86 to reside in the land of the long white cloud, this time it’s Rob Powell, otherwise known as Flange, to show off his wares:

So why did you choose the AE85, as opposed to going for an AE86 straight off?
It’s what was available at the time. Plus 86s are stupidly over-priced these days. I do have a genuine AE86 sitting in the driveway, but it’s rusting to bits, unfortunately.

Oh the controversy! But he hit’s the nail on the head! Why not choose to convert a nice AE85 shell into and AE86? Bring it on I say! Read the rest and much more over at NZPC.

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TOSHIKing’s New Clothes

March 30, 2009 in Events by

2009_ebisu_d1gp_round_1_002

On Saturday, Ebisu Circuit was the venue for some intense practise in preparation for the upcoming D1GP round. Alexi from noriyaro was there and has a few snippets for us. Straight from TOSHIKing himself is this interesting piece of information:

This is what Toshiki Yoshioka’s red AE86 looks like now. Hand-painted skulls and stencils on flat black, and being driven by Tetsuya Hibino.

So those interested in purchasing the car might be surprised to know it’s now wearing a mean-ass paintjob and some new shoes.  Also interesting is the fact that Kouichi Yamashita (owner of Run Free) is back, and qualified for tomorrow driving the Weld JZX100 (not in an AE86 sorry guys!)

Check out the rest of the photos over @ Noriyaro.

Edit:

It seems there is two red demon AE86’s owned by TOSHIKing, even though Toshiki himself said to Alexi from Noriyaro, that the car was one and the same and that it was also ‘the one he took to America’. Apparently the confusion is with the ‘blue’ Espelir car and the ‘red’ one as we have been contacted by seller of Yoshioka’s ‘Red’ AE86 to which he requested we post this:

The black AE86 which is pictured in this article is NOT the red AE86 driven by Toshiki Yoshioka which is currently for sale and being advertised on The Tuners Group’s website.

The author of this article and the operators of the hachiroku.com.au website apologise to Toshiki Yoshioka, Works Bell and The Tuners Group for any confusion created by the incorrect information published previously in this article.

The red AE86 advertised on The Tuners Group website and the black AE86 pictured in this article are completely different cars.

So there you have it! Sorry intrepid readers, we were apparently wrong! The black car in shot was once red (notice the door jambs and radiator support) and the images on The Tuners Group site show a Red car featuring blue door jambs! The devil, it seems, is in the details!

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Tec Art’s Katuzo Trueno

March 27, 2009 in Feature Cars by

04

170PS. Hi-Comp 16v 4A-GE. 9″ Wide Work Equipe’s. Full Aero Kit. Tec Art’s Built. Pure Sex.

Check out the pics and full spec list here.

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Square But Not

March 26, 2009 in Random by

garagezeal

While browsing my HDD, I came across this photo in my ’86 ‘bodykit’ folder and decided to put it up. Garage Zeal isn’t the most well known name in aero kits, but their original design, what i’d call ‘boxy but not’, is refreshing. Reminds me of Group-A era racing for some strange reason. Are any readers running the Garage Zeal kit on their hachi roku? What is your favourite body kit manufacturer?

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Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright

March 25, 2009 in Community by

ae86top02

What is it with us and the AE86!? Why are some of us so obsessed and moved by this particular hunk of Japanese steel from the era of Zipps, acid wash j, Fluro shirts and Atari?? This is a question that I seem to be asking myself more and more as of late.

Could it be cause I’ve now got a finished lemon dipped Hachi Roku or the fact everyone that surrounds me is as infatuated with this 1980s legend of the 1600cc class? Is it this constant lifestyle that I’m apart of that is to blame?

It could also be the car too: I identify with it. It’s the symbol of my outward personal self- the small one that just keeps pushing and never backs down. Or it could be that this car just like the right girl or same boy (Matt? :P) can just feel so right from the start?

Continue reading →

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