ST165

Nice example of a fourth gen Toyota Celica - the top of the line ST165 GT-Four.

This car is an '87 build, which while was two years into a four year production run for this generation of Celica, was only the second year for the 3S-GTE powered AWD GT-Four model...

Always interesting these aren't more popular. A twin-cam turbo four, AWD, and proper Group-A racing pedigree... whats not to like?
The styling? Negative associations with the first generation of FWD Celica's?
Interestingly, for what was a thoroughly 80's production run; there's barely a straight edge on these things. Would have looked fresh in 1985..!

This car is sitting on some awesome colour-matched Tom's Aero wheels...

...With a matching Tom's three-spoke wheel, sans horn-pad.
Always wanted one of these wheels, and always keep an eye out for a complete neat black one. Still yet to own one.. <_<
Standard shift knob has been replaced with a popular TRD item. I still think these look far too big, despite having purchased and currently running one in my own car. I'd change this one for a matching Tom's item in a heartbeat..

Otherwise, the rest of this interior is beautifully clean, with the black leather/velour combination seats in great shape. seriously.. look at those drivers bolsters - this is a 28 year old car with over 100,000km!

..and one last pic, as I love the 80's Hi-Fi-ness that is this era of car audio. This double din unit is particularly great.



Done. Would drive.

None of that roof business...

Half-way through autumn, and charging into winter at full speed. I'll have to see how long I can keep this with the roof down...

Scale awesomeness...

Aoshima's 'The Wheel' collection. These are seriously cool little bits of gear, and I recommend anyone with an interest in vintage Japanese wheels keep an eye out for them!

Produced in japan likely sometime during the 1980's; this relatively large 1/6 scale model wheel collection featured some of the coolest wheels available at the time..

The 8 different wheels that made up the full set were from a variety of different manufacturers..

Because these wouldn't be much fun if they were replica's of single-piece wheels; the construction of each wheel included as much little detail as possible.. right down to the fasteners!


The wheels..:

No. 1 - Riverside R104.

 No. 2 - Focus Racing Spoke; probably the most obscure of the lot...

No. 3 - Hayashi Racing Bomber; one of my all-time favourite wheels. I'm always keeping a eye out for a nice single/pair of these...

No. 4 - SSR Fomula Mesh. A classic staple, which the actual wheel made basically as-is for decades..


For whatever reason; the 8 wheels are separated into two lots. Two different colours, and the small character in the corner changes...

No. 5 - Work Equip Excel. Precursor to the current Equip 03..

No. 6 - Advan A3A - another favourite of mine... its Such a nicely proportioned wheel.
I was stoked to get a really clean original set of these recently... which I will post pics of later.. ;)

Anyway, pretty hilarious that whoever made the model attached the centre cap upside-down...!

No. 7 - Southern Ways Grid II.

No. 8 -Hoshino Impul Pro Mesh; which is oddly similar to the SSR Formula mesh in the same collection. I can think of plenty of other wheels I wish were included, but no... two mesh.. that's what we'll have..

The set together...

Kit contents - yep, goes straight for the A3A... ;)

Individually wrapped razor blade.. just in case..!

mmm.. look at that miniature step-lip dish..

A card I assume you fill out if you've missed one...

..and lastly, the instruction/poster page.

Look awesome sitting on this scale racking..
..if only this was real eh...

..instead, we have suggestions as to how you can use your 1/6 scale wheel.
Attached to a suction-cup on your window? Lined up on the dash? Looking fine on your desk?

Me? I just like them as they are in the damn boxes. Like vintage model car kits - I'm here for the box-art.




Done.

Subtle.

No, maybe not..

Fairly wild (at least colourful) N2-spec inspired, 1985 AE86 Toyota Corolla Levin GTV Hatch.

Based on an early GTV, The bright paint and N2 Aero are a bit of contrast for what is a rather high-spec AE86 - Not too many race cars have sunroof's!

Fantasic N2 flares, sitting over wide 14" SSR MKIII's.
The skinny economy rear tyres are a surprise, but presumably there for some low-speed tail-happy antics...

The interior is just-about complete, very tidy, and looking very comfortable.
Fixed-back seat, Suede OMP wheel... and plush (late Levin) floormats? Yep, that little daily comfort!

The bigport 16V 4AGE. I do get a kick out of seeing these with their original 16valve units - the later 20V 4A-GE's are an easy source of extra power and a popular choice.
This one has a simple intake, what look to be Trust headers, and some interesting trim work to the timing cover! Otherwise impressively clean in there..


Possibly a little lairy for most, but just as fun if you dont mind the attention!
Id personally break the colour up with some faux-vintage racing livery, and hunt down some wider tyres; but eh, good fun as is.