Sunday 26 October 2014

Why does the 84c really outshine all the other aero-type wheels?

..Because of its genuine Racing Spirit in the honourable blood, Volk Racing.

Rays Engineering, Volk Racing, aero covers to suit the 84c wheel.
14", FR-type offset.
198* production?
Know little about them unfortunately (production years, prices, brochures, so on..), just the fact the covers alone look awesome. brutally intricate in the world of aero covers..

The box of accesories that would come with each pair of wheels.
This included the two centrecaps, mounting collars, screws, valves, alen key, cap removal tool...

...and a pair of each of the three different aero cover centre trim pieces.

 Smooth centre cover clips onto the central spokes..

..as does this one. The radius on the centre makes it look alot more like the Volk Aritisan Spirit covers..

These one clips around a handful of the spokes, and is my pick of the bunch. Love the red.. and that it looks the most like the SSR covers..

Rad.

Mounting instructions..

Cap removal tool..

 Explanation for the title of this post. I randomly appreciate seeing the English spelling of 'honourable'..

SSR EX-C Mesh. Wait. wut?
Cmon.. it looks similar enough.. and that cover is just so damn similar to the SSR one..






Love em.





Friday 17 October 2014

Leopard again..

I've posted these before here and here, but again.. another one of these aweosome long n low 80's Nissans, currently for sale in Japan....

The first generation, F30 Nissan Leopard.

This particular one is a 1982 build - two years into a 6 year production run...

A little lowering, a couple familiar aero pieces, and a wide set of SSR/Colin Starsharks..

An interesting choice on a larger car; but there is no doubt... it looks good

Neat inside; with the only changes being some chequer mats, a handful of stickers, and the odd inclusion of an early Datsun wheel.


While the silver-over-grey is a very dry combination; the subtle changes made to the overall car keep it looking sharp. I love these things...




Sunday 12 October 2014

An Heroes Racing..

The wheel that sits below the aero covers I posted earlier..

Heroes Racing CX-2 Mesh. 'FF' high offset, full reverse style.
11/1985.

In the same way that SSR/Work/Impul/Volk/Hayashi/and so on, offered a very similar wheel; these too were available in mesh and fin styles, and again with an optional aero cover..

The cover in place. At this point the choice of Mesh or Fin face was irrelevant!

 A hint of mesh though..

These barrels were produced over two years beforehand, in September 1983, which is surprisingly far apart..

The back of the centrecap-mounting screw holes. Very neatly done..

..that actually extends to the whole wheel. Fit and finish here is noticeably high.

Is this real life?! ha.




Another slight variation - but high quality option - of a familiar design. :)

Sunday 5 October 2014

How have I missed these?

The CA71/2 Suzuki Alto based, CG72V Suzuki Cervo. The third of five generations of this model name..

A very short lifecycle has no doubt helped this slip under my radar. Introduced in early 1988, oddly after the end on main production of the second generation Alto on which it seems to be based; with production having wrapped up by 1990.. only two years later.

No idea why these aren't more popular though; as if the unique profile and great detailing don't take your fancy, theres always the Alto Works parts to warm it up the performance a bit..

I love the full-width tail-light garnish/trim (complete with subtle CERVO text!) and wraparound rear wing...

But especially that large C-pillar, and kick in the roofline..

Closer look at that also-awesome decal on that pillar.
The car above happens to have a fantastic three-sided rear window frame/spoiler too, reminding me even more of the Alto Works. So rad...

We're going to have to ignore the fact the hubcap (/wheel trims) are missing here, as this Cervo was overall too tidy and original an example not to use..

Another great Cervo-specific detail is this glass-roof section, extending up from the top of the windscreen..

Removable T-top style panels inside, if the light gets a little too much...

Panels removed. The glass itself is fixed in place. Although an opening would have been nice; having the fixed glass allows you to still get plenty of light, while no gutters required means the glass panel can run virtually from the front screen, and the full with off the roof.

Continuing inside...
While the dash and plenty of trims in here are regular Alto; its hard to miss those seats.. the overall shape, foam pattern, and colouring is just wild. Not sure how comfortable or supportive they'd be, but I dont think I care...!

Generously roomy cargo area, helped further by the strangely-wide rear roofline.
As far as I'm aware, there were also other options for those speaker/storage panels on the rear pillars...

Running the show - Suzuki's F5B, 547cc SOHC inline three cylinder. This sent a ferocious 29kw (~40hp) to the front wheels - or optionally to all four!


Now This Cervo doesn't row your boat as much as it does mine? How about a lightly modified version.. again a 1988 build, but time in red...
..And slightly lowered on some ~14" F8F Watanabe's!

On a random but legitimately exciting note; that looks like a Zagato-bodied Autech Stelvio parked behind the Cervo above..!!


ANYWAY; either way you like it, these are good, unique, buying. Both of these cars are currently for sale in Japan (of around half-a-dozen or so i can find), with the white one above at ~300k yen.

Just a shame I've never seen one in person!