End of an era – zeppan.jp to close

1
February 3, 2009
by

It is with some regret that I recently learned of zeppan.jp‘s impending closure. For those who have never heard of the site before, it’s one of the interweb’s longest lasting repositories of original showroom Japanese car catalogues, founded in 2001 by a chap who lives in Hiroshima by the name of Takeshi Kubo – once upon a time it was the only place online where anyone not living in Japan could directly obtain hard-to-find vintage and nostalgic car catalogues from, as well as modern ones.

SP310 catalogue

SP310 Fairlady, anyone?

(more…)

: Automotive History

80′s Hot Hatch!

1
February 2, 2009
by

From looking and getting around in the last few years, you would think it was only the bad parts of the 80′s that had come back to visit us (one hopes temporarily) things like mullets and clothing infested with horrible patterns of a fluorescent nature.  The return of these alone is enough to make one want to kill themself or at least those who perpetuated this fashion nonsense.  It’s only recently that the only important part of the 80′s, the start of the turbo trend in vehicles and hilarious digitised “space-aged” dashboards has become popular again with the masses.

Of course, as with all things there’s those that appreciated and took care of these cars right from the offset.  Once such person is Ed.  Some of you might know Ed or recognize the nickname from his numberplate.  Ed is a key part of retro-classics, his dedication and love of cars was all part of the same passion that aided in retro-classics coming from a concept to a reality.  His devotion (perhaps addiction is a better word) to cars from the 80′s has lead to him having an impressive and ever growing stable of 100% awesome.   The focus of this entry however is probably his largest and longest automotive addiction, that to the Ford Laser.

1985 Ford Laser TX3 4WD Turbo (BFMRF)

1985 Ford Laser TX3 4WD Turbo (BFMRF)

(more…)

: Feature Car

More RC & EP Wallpapers

0
February 1, 2009
by

This time I asked ElPieso for some larger shots from the “Wheels on the Waterfront” shoot, a particular few had caught my eye that I thought would make for some pretty impressive wallpapers.

retro-classics & elpieso wallpaper, number 2

retro-classics & elpieso wallpaper, number 2

Again they’re in 1600×1200, to download them just follow these simple instructions;

(more…)

: Photographs for Wallpaper

JCCA Coverage

0
January 30, 2009
by

OK, so we don’t have any but I’ve been stumbling all over the web across awesome coverage and thought I’d provide a few links for you peoples.

If you’re unaware, JCCA stands for Japanese Classic Car Association.  So there’s things about at these meetings from all over the globe and not just Japan.

My favourite coverage so far is from noriyaro.com

Lotus Europa

Lotus Europa

I love the way which he’s photographed most the cars, seems to be more atomosphere to his shots thant he others I’ve seen.  Perhaps due to the lateness in his getting there and the time of day the shots were taken, regardless they’re good work.  You can view the two entries on his blog here;

(more…)

: Car Spotting, Events

’80s turbo talk: Mazda B6T

8
January 29, 2009
by

Hands up if you, or someone you knew, ever owned a BFMR or BFMP Familia at some point. Now keep those hands up if you’ve ever blown a gearbox in one of ‘em before… just kidding.

it’s not hard to see how the humble Familia managed to garner a reputation over here as being the “Evo” of their day. when import laws were first relaxed in the early 1990s they were one of the most popular hi-po vehicles shipped to our shores directly out of Japan, purely due to their ubiquity and bang-for-buck value – at a time when most 2-litre turbo vehicles still remained the domain of rich middle-aged folks, the Familia with its smaller 1600cc B6T engine offered a sizeable chunk of the experience for comparatively little money. The fact that a locally-sold version (the Ford Laser) also shared the Familia’s mechanicals and drivetrain further added to its perpetuity.

BFMR

1985 BFMR Mazda Familia GT-X

And as the decade wore on, the natural rate of devaluation brought them within easy reach of many an 18-year-old amping for their first taste of performance car nirvana.

(more…)

: Automotive Documentation, Automotive History
Albizia Theme designed by itx