Garage..

The garage as the sun sets. No lights, lots of shadows, and grainy pics.
Just a little flattering for what is otherwise a pair of old Toyotas and a couple sets of wheels in a tin shed..
But I love it.

Assortment of racing wheels taking up way too much space.
A Sun-bleached Ferrari F40 poster lurks behind. Genuinely late 80's, and framed, but long since turned a pale yellow..

The small stainless bench has been a backdrop for just a few pics.
..The aeroplanes made out of VB cans just keep the bar high.. 

Little Red, the AW11..

Its a.. uhh.. 'cosy' fit; but enough space to walk around. The cars obviously get pushed out to get any work done..

60sHERO? An old 13x10 race wheel that matches one down the back..

Forever glad that Australia sits on its own tectonic plate..

Done.

Post about a post..

Honestly, cutting-edge stuff here.
Its worth mentioning.
..Or I hope it is.
..Or maybe I just want it to be.
..because it may or may not have taken me ~5 hours to do..

I went back and updated the Aero Era post from July 2013.
I had kept gathering more and more pictures over the last 18months, and it'd been bothering me that I hadnt gone back and updated that post..
so 70+ additional pictures later - its up to date! Well, as current as a record of 25year plastic wheel parts could be.. and particuraly one that I compiled..!

So please, uhh.. enjoy?

Period Correct.

..and not referring to the much more modern TE37's, Recaro SR's, audio, and so on...
Nope, plain old well-thrashed automotive-themed puns..

Stupid though, as this is waaaay too nice for that!

Absolutely gorgeous; 1985 DR30 Nissan Skyline 2000RS sedan.

I little different to others I've posted, being a naturally aspirated 4door.. but still, I no doubt make this blog DR30-heavy!
Just. A. Couple. Other. 6th-gen. Skylines.
Honestly; these just sit in a very small group of cars that to me, are SO typical of 80's design. A stereotype. Almost a caricature of 80's Japanese cars..

Aaaaanyway, a little more focus on the epic example at hand - currently for sale in japan for a 'make offer' amount. Proper money.. sadly like the rest of the best are..

This one has later Skyline brakes on 5stud hubs, iconic (albeit > late 90's) forged Volk TE37's in matte bronze, and very nicely fitting Bridgestone Potenza RE01R's. Quality bits that look great under these guards...

Other than the addition of some modern audio inside (obviously great for usability, but irks me a little, as always..), theres a neat Nardi Classic, and a pair of red Recaro SR-D's (SR3).. likely straight out of a Type R.

The enginebay though? In a non-turbo, 4banger Skyline?
Why yes. You'd want to see this..

Oooh.. aaahh...etc, etc, and so on.
Just look at it.
Beautifully detailed FJ20E 2litre twincam four. ITBs, COPs, and a very elaborate exhaust manifold - I'm surprised the bonnet can shut, whether or not you'd even want to! hell.. who needs it?
One of my favourite looking engines, in an immaculate and simplified engine-bay. Just so nicely detailed.

Anyway; a great combination of parts here. A hot FJ20, 5speed, couple Recaro's to hold you in place, coilovers, bigger brakes, light wheels, and quality tyres.
A *little* redundant to say, but - would drive!


So in the market for a not-so-stock DR30, and money isn't an issue? Go buy this one..

Star Magna.

Another relatively high-end wheel from the late 80's / early 90's SSR era..

SSR Star Magna
Magnesium face.
Flip cover, Electron lock cap.
16 x 7 square set.
9/1990.

I'd been keeping an eye open for a complete/tidy set of these for a while, which turned out to be no easy task.
While there's always a handful of sets available, they're almost always not great - they just don't last. They seem to corrode badly, and worn out sets are near worthless as a result. I've watched sets of these go for nothing.. 
Like others, I'm a little dubious about how to go about refinishing them properly, so just had to wait for a clean enough set. The set I have aren't great, but original, and good enough to give you an idea of what they were like new.

So get that imagination going.. or just slightly blur your eyes...

The parts and wheel assembly in detail:

The complete centre cap components..

The flip cap; unique to the EX-C and Star Magna. The cap body is aluminium, with a plastic door that pivots on a steel pin. The Electron lock setup is standard fare..

The plate, which is polished aluminium. Its a shame this one has started to corrode on the edges, under what i assume is a clear anodizing..

'STAR MAGNA: THE ABSOLUTE ULTIMATE IN LIGHTNESS AND STRENGTH. AN EXCLUSIVE SPEED STAR DESIGN.'
That could have well just been a decal; but no.. the subtle debossed (?) lettering helps make this one of the nicest SSR plates ever IMO.

The key, and cap flipper. The cap flipper is a piece of painted aluminium (possibly magnesium).

Wheel, no cap. These machined lip barrels are identical to the ones used on my Hasemi sports..

The face is magnesium, and painted a gloss silver. I have never seen this wheel in any other colour..

Early days for SSR using these flanged bolts on the face. The underside of this face edge is hollow..

The collar uses SSR's standard large mounting pattern, and has the same dia thread as the standard caps. It is strangely made out of plastic rather than aluminium though, and is a couple mm shorter to suit the flip cap's fractionally shorter overall height.

The plate slips neatly over the top, and sits so flush with the face..

..aaand the cap finally screwed into place.

The little cap flipper is great. Not particularly necessary, but a really nice detail.

As is often the case; the height of the cap on the high-offset wheel means it sticks further out than the wheel lip. Removal is required for some rear pics!

I really like the detailing in the back of these faces. So many small strengthening ribs, and the the hollow wheel edge is just such a nice effort at weight saving..

The decal guy had had a few drinks by this point..
I wish they stuck them on neater.. but in their defence; they likely didn't expect some idiot to be frothing over these 25years later...! haha

But done! That's all.

These would have looked so damn sharp when new.
I'll definitely be keeping a lookout for a NOS set.. the finish and detailing on these is just great.

Anyway, just a cool old SSR that doesn't get much love. :)