Friday 24 June 2016

AERO POWER: the Work Equip Aerodynamics Series..

We Have Passed Through The Wall of The Air. Now, We Run with The Wind.

...

A little more detail on something I'd posted on Instagram a couple weeks back...
..and another eight-six-in-advertising.. from the same year, but the other side of the world; a pre-facelift (..fine.. *zenkI*..) Sprinter Trueno flogging the somewhat unusual and seemingly little-known Equip aero parts, in this 1984 Work (the wheel manufacturer) advert. Both surprised and a little sad that I don't see this front bumper/lip more; it's a little brutal, but seriously looks fantastic...

Juust sneaking into the lower edge of yesterday's shot of the 1984 Work 'Equip Aerodynamics Series' advert, was this gem; an aerodynamic front 'mask' for the 1st-gen Honda City. How have I not seen this before..? Did three decades of nose-to-tails take them out? ..because the City's target audience were too busy with the (admittedly adorable..) white-on-white-Courrèges look? ..or is it because maybe City-owners weren't particularly interested in how well their little commuter cuts through the air... in traffic... at 9km/h? I'm all for aerodynamics - they're great, fantastic - but I know *I'd* have been all over this for those badass 240ZG-channeling good looks! I love it.

...so here I am. As for posting it again on Instagram..? Pah - I can do one worse!
Here it is.
In blog form.

The full advert of Work Wheels Japan dabbling in aero components.. 1983/1984; a single page with a fantastic AE86-meets-formula-car hybrid illustration.
5 of the supposed 54 different aero pieces available are shown.. and for what is really quite a wild assortment of early-eighties Japanese vehicles....

... there's the actual front spoiler and a rear lip on this silver AE86 Sprinter Trueno coupe...

 ...the surprisingly epic front mask on this first-gen Honda City...

A Hiro-esque slatted lower spoiler on this red BD Mazda Familia...

...and this strangely-sporting front bumper for the 430 Nissan Cedric/Gloria.

I'm definitely going to have to keep an eye out for the other 49 items.

Despite what seems to have been OEM-like ABS/Urethane construction (rather than fibreglass) and what would have been - going by their wheels - quality fit-and-finish; these parts just haven't lasted.
Where did they all go?
Maybe no one bought them when they were new? Maybe they were especially expensive? Maybe Work only offered them for a short time?
Whatever the reason, it's a bit of a shame...




Thursday 16 June 2016

2016 ALL TOYOTA WINTERFEST..

http://80shero.blogspot.com/2015/06/2015-all-toyota-winterfest.html
..One year later, and it's another TCCAV (Toyota Car Club Victoria) Winterfest!
Second time it's been held at Sandown Raceway now (it used to be at the Caribbean Gardens..), which really is a fantastic location. Everything just looks good there. There's no grass, nice big carpark, no grass, it's a racetrack, no grass...
..because cars aren't lawnmowers.
..because cars go on bitumen.


The date has followed the Queens Birthday public holiday again, which means this year it was the 13th of June - last Monday.
A day off work, nice weather, and a casual Toyota car show at racetrack in the suburbs of Melbourne? I can't complain..! 
SO.. on what had turned out to be a unusually nice day for what is 100%-genuine Winter, I did the expected: wander about and take photos of twenty-five-year-old-Toyotas..

After kicking off with a quick chit-chat to a few people, it seemed as though the first thing I had to see was this Corolla. Yep, an E90 with a 4A-G.. go onnn...

..well why have one 4A-G, when you could have two!

I wish I'd taken more photos of this thing. The owner had butchered a complete second smallport 4A-G into the back half of this old E90 hatch... complete with two of.. everything?! A secondary cluster sat where the centre console would be...

Not too far away; a matching pair of AE82 Corolla FX-GT Twincam three-doors. Early blue-top 3-rib 4A-G, and on one of the cars, a pair of original-accesory powerfold foglamps.
Cool to see this pair (and the 3dr E90 beside them), as Australia unfortunately never officially had the 3door bodystyle for the E80-onwards Corolla...

...nor did we have diesel-powered E90 Corolla sedans..!

A little more familiar: the classic AE82 Twincam.. *clears throat*.. "TWINCAM16!" hatch. Such a soft spot for these things...
 
1989 YN85 Hilux minitruck powered by a 4litre 1UZ...

Noisy Ninja's ferocious little K-swapped P80 Starlet hatch..

...and somewhat in reverse to the Honda in a Toyota, is a Nissan in a Honda..! SR20DET-powered, rear drive, EG Civic 'breeze' hatch.. sitting on its trailer here beside a pair of BNR34 GTRs; it is a racetrack after all..

..which explains many of the cars nearby that day. Here's a seriously nice MKII Ford Escort RS2000...

..but back to the Toyotas... and an Australian-delivered AE86 Toyota Sprinter (yes, the Australian Sprinter had the fixed-headlight 'Levin' front..) on a set of colour-matched Simmons B45's.

Very tough A40 Celica GT coupe. It is so rare to see one of these, let alone one done well..

Nearby, a neat early Z30 Soarer. Another chassis that's rare to see a good example of. People seriously hurt these things..

Its predecessor.. the Z20 Soarer.

A late A70 Supra on what look to be SSR-made Koenig wheels..

A pair of midnight blue Japanese-import AW11 MR2 Super Chargers.. one wearing a freshly restored set of directional Bridgestone prop-f (Prop Fan) alloys..

..and some of the other MR2's there that day; a collection of red early-SW20's.. which all happen to be on one particular MR2's dash...

How about a neat X70 Cressida on a set of Impul Silhouettes? One of quite a few Cressidas there actually...

...rainbow flake and Watanabes, or Toyota's metallic brown on 14" Work Ewing II's. Different looks on what are all coincidentally Australian MX73 Cressida GLX-i sedans..

Really nice original T160 Celica SX liftback.. with the towbar and rear louvre a little touch of Australia! It's rare to see one of these that looks to have been so loved..

..a tidy A60 Celica that also looks to have dodged a few bullets over the previous decades..

..and beside it, one of the many early Corollas there. Late slant-front E70 sedan; SSR-made Colin Star Sharks at the pointy end, MKI's at the other...

...a teddybear party on this one...

..and finally, a windowless early-E70 Corolla van..! Loved it.




aaaaand we're done! That's it. That's all. 70+ photos of generic Toyota goodness.

So until next year....