Naturally Aspirated Nirvana

March 24, 2009 in Feature Cars by

booya

One of my favorite cars of all time, this Trueno’s photo still hangs proudly over my workspace on a poster that’s over 3 years old. When the car was released, it was exactly what I wanted: Big offset, super wide body and clean paint. Built by Tama Autos and owned by Kiwi GarethThode, this hachiroku is one of NZ’s best.

“I built this car to have a clean, well performing 86,” Gareth told us. As it ripped past, throttle wide open in third gear, deep-dish rims gleaming beneath a widened body it became pretty obvious that he has achieved exactly what he set out to do…

Check out the article (and pics!) over @ the NZPC website.

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First All-Toyota Swap Meet Wrap Up

March 23, 2009 in Events by

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First up we would like to say a massive thank JDMyard for allowing us to use their shop parking for this event!! The first HR All-Toyota swap meet was a great success, with quite a lot of gear changing hands all day. In fact I saw a full quad throttle body set, with adapter and vacuum setup for bigport going for extremely cheap!

The quality or parts on offer was second to none, and quite a few people did a bank run to buy more stuff! BBQ was sizzling all day (thanks to yours truly) and thanks to the absolute scorcher of a Sunday, the tinnies of soft drink were gone by lunchtime! Almost everyone who brought parts along sold something, and the quality of cars that came to buy or sell ranged from immaculate coupes to all out drift monsters! With events this successful, we will hold another later in the year for sure!

Pics after the jump!

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Dont Forget! HR All-Toyota Swap Meet THIS SUNDAY!

March 20, 2009 in Events by

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Dont forget guys and gals, this sunday we’re having our first ever HR Swap Meet. Doesn’t matter if it’s an AE86 or any other Toyota, bring your bits and trade up! The best parts sale your’ve ever seen! just like Yahoo Japan but in your own backyard!

THIS SUNDAY (22nd March) – 10:30am till late.
JDMyard
9 Mavis Street
Revesby, Sydney

See you there!

Manuel Manhao’s Macau GP Levin

March 19, 2009 in Feature Cars by

various012

Today we have some photos by Aussie-based Irishman Eirecam86 snapped late last year of a very fruity coloured AE86 that now lives in the Macau GP Museum. Driven by Manuel Manhao of Portugal in 1992 and 1993, we don’t know why it’s pink and yellow but it certainly catches your eye! Love your work Eirecam86!

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Saxspeed – The Garage Feature Part 1.

March 18, 2009 in Feature Cars, HR Originals by

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A while ago we promised a closer look at some of the cars Finnish Rally Champion Ari Saxberg had built in his frequently snowed-in rally workshop located in the scenic area of Jyvaskyla in southern Finland. The town itself is a mere 3 hours north of Helsinki and that’s where this story takes us. Let’s take a look at the specs on some stunningly prepped rally hachi’s aswell as some great action photos.

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AE86 Downhill @ Irohazaka

March 17, 2009 in Videos by

Downhill at Irohazaka circa 2002. A mean piece of road made famous by Initial-D and jumping MR-2s.  It leads down a one-way mountain pass to Lake Chuzenji and back up again in a loop as there are separate roads for uphill and downhill traffic. It is the only way in and out of the National park.

The road ascends more than 400 meters in altitude and is named ‘Iroha’, because the original road consisted of 48 needlepoint curves, the same number as there are letters in the Japanese syllabary, formerly known as ‘Iroha’.

Needless to say, this guy has got ‘mad skillz’.

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New MCNSPORT ’86 Suspension

March 17, 2009 in Parts & Accessories by

mcn_sport_sussy

It’s always being discussed “What is the best suspension for the AE86?” I think most people will agree that TRD comes out on top with their mix of shortstroke design and adjustability. The problem is that the TRD suspension is only available from Japan and is quiet expensive and now with the Yen being so strong prices have risen again.

Well MCNSPORT in Ireland have got a solution. They be launching a new range of AE86 suspension specially designed with the same valving as the TRD shortstroke adjustables.

Darren McNamara owner of MCNSPORT and drifter extraordinare has this to say about his companys new suspension:

We are working in collaboration with a very well known suspension company to improve on the suspension designs already available for the AE86 while making our new range extremely affordable.

Get the full tech specs, more pictures and stay in the know over on the thread @ AEU86 forums.

Was That Just A…..?

March 16, 2009 in Random by

Yes, it was. You can imagine my surprise when one of the Club4AG boys told me my car was in an American chewing gum tv ad. What the? A friend of mine, Felix Alim, had taken the shot on one of our drives through the Old Pacific Hwy and somehow these people in an American advertising agency found it and used it. Pity they couldn’t get the interior right eh?

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Lesser Known Legends

March 13, 2009 in HR Originals by

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When you mention AE86, Levin or Trueno to some one, there is always a number of cars that immediately spring to mind. But what about all those fantastic cars with new and innovative setups that you don’t always hear about? Well we here at HR have scoured the internet to find them and bring a select few of them to you!

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1st HR All-Toyota Swap Meet – 22nd March!!

March 12, 2009 in Events by

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Recently, we here at HR were discussing the current financial climate and all the shiny bits we wanted from Yahoo. We noticed that we all had lot of spare parts left over we didn’t need any more and after a light bulb moment we hit on the idea of selling our stuff we don’t need so we can afford to buy more new shiny parts! Hooray!!

We all know selling through forums is not the most fun in the world and can be difficult selling something with out knowing what it looks like or getting low balled so bring your stuff along in your AE86 or any other Toyota and haggle, talk shit, sell, swap, give away and pretty much anything else! Now you can see all the bits you need and want and possibly trade your stuff for that! Everyone is after that little something so make sure your there to grab a bargain!!

22nd March – 10:30am till late.
JDMyard
9 Mavis Street
Revesby, Sydney

Don’t worry all you non-Sydney people, there are plans in the works for other swap-meets all over Aus in the coming months so stay tuned!

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