Month: January 2009 (Page 3 of 4)

Fun stuff: 80s Carina GT-R AA63 digidash Quartz clock

January 17, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

I found this great 80s period time piece on Auctions.yahoo.co.jp but unfortunately the auction has already ended…

80s Carina GT-R AA63 digital dashboard quartz clock

What is it? Well it is the digital dashboard of the Carina GT-R AA63 (and GT-TR TA63) but then with a quartz clock in it to hang on your wall! ;)

The thing is, of course, horrendous and so ugly I would not dare to put in anywhere on my wall. But it intrigues me why anyone would create such a thing in the first place and, of course, it should be preserved for future generations! :P

Zoom in on the 80s Carina GT-R AA63 digital dashboard quartz clock

The only thing that strikes me is why they put the quartz clock at the place of the speedo and not on the place of the quartz clock… It looks a bit double now… But who knows, perhaps it would have looked less like a clock then. ;)

Hilarious: The Checkers (???????) namidano rekuesuto

January 17, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

Not that I’m a big fan of The Checkers (???????), but I came ac across them on Last.fm with the song Electronic Dreams which is absolutely horrible. So actually I was looking for that video instead.

However I did come across their music video of Namidano Rekuesuto (also known as Namida no Request):

If you can’t watch the video, here is it located on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-FbNj_lSmU

As you can see this is definitely a more horrible 80s video then

Imports: Corolla Levin AE86 versus Carina GT-R E-AA63

January 15, 2009 / banpei / 2 Comments

I was just wondering since I was browsing http://auctions.yahoo.co.jp for Carina E-AA63 parts and I came across two very nice Carinas for sale. A coupe for 198000 yen (1650 euro):

Toyota Carina GT-R E-AA63 Coupe on auctions.yahoo.co.jp

Interior of the Toyota Carina GT-R E-AA63 Coupe on auctions.yahoo.co.jp
This car drove 165000km and looks like new!

And a sedan for 200000 yen (1700 euro):

Front Toyota Carina GT-R E-AA63 Sedan on auctions.yahoo.co.jp

Rear Toyota Carina GT-R E-AA63 Sedan on auctions.yahoo.co.jp

Interior of the Toyota Carina GT-R E-AA63 Sedan on auctions.yahoo.co.jp
This car drove 235000km but still looks like new. As admin of AEU86.org I’ve already seen hachis with more kilometers (350000 was the highest!) on the odo meter than this car without a rebuild so that should not be a problem. ;)

Now if I compare that with the average Corolla Levin AE86 in the same state you will pay about twice as much. Most Corolla Levins are already modified and trashed by boy-racers and in much worse state! I did find this trashed Corolla Levin AE86 for 150000 yen (1250 euro):
Trashed Toyota Corolla AE86 on auctions.yahoo.co.jp
Trashed Toyota Levin E-AE86 hatchback on auctions.yahoo.co.jp

Trashed Toyota Levin E-AE86 on auctions.yahoo.co.jp

As you can see the hood, lights and grille are bent, an ugly bodykit has been installed, the sidelights, seats and taillights are all kouki so I suspect the car has seen a lot of action in its life!

So, then the big questioin arises: why import an AE86 over an AA63? Is it the weight? The Carina AA63 sedan only weights 115kg more than the Levin hatchback and there is more to save weight upon with the Carina… Is it the weight distribution? Should be almost the same as with the Carina Coupe… Is it the handling? Carina should have better handling with the independent rear suspension… Is it the aftermarket parts? Carina should have a large aftermarket parts shared with the Celica… Is it the ease of modifications you can do on the hachi? Carina should even have more space for big engines than the AE86…

Only good reason I can come up with is that the AE86 is a notorious and famous car which earned its credits in the past while the Carina is the unknown raw gem you can find…

Toyota Corolla Levin AE92 bumper on Toyota Carina A6

January 14, 2009 / banpei / 1 Comment

I was always wondering about the modern bumpers featuring several Carina’s I saw in the past, just like this one posted by bippu4life:
TS-Factory TA63
The TS-Factory Toyota Carina TA63

At first I thought it was an aftermarket bumper based upon the kouki Corolla Levin AE86. But in the picture it states that it is an AE92 bumper. Well, I just came across this ad on auctions.yahoo.co.jp selling an Corolla Levin AE92 bumper for an Carina AA63:

Toyota Corolla Levin AE92 bumper

I know it must be a Levin bumper because the license plate fits on the grille itself an the Trueno bumper has its emblem over there. And the shape tells me it is a Zenki Levin bumper. It’s a pity both the Levin and Trueno AE92 were never delivered in Europe. The width of the Carina A6 is 1650mm (all models) while the Corolla E9 is 1655mm (all models). That means every E9 bumper will fit, so I’m not limited to the Levin and Trueno bumpers. :)

I don’t really like the normal Corolla E9, but I do like the bumper of the European variant of the JDM Sprinter E9:

European Toyota Corolla E9 Liftback (Toyota Sprinter E9 in Japan)

Now I need to find out what GX70 bumper is used on the rear. ;)

Perfect Initial D Sprinter Trueno AE86 replica

January 8, 2009 / banpei / 9 Comments

Impulse just finished their Sprinter Trueno rebuild and took a picture of it in front of the Akashi Kaikyo bridge (over the Seto Inland Sea):

Perfect Initial D Sprinter Trueno AE86 replica in front of the Akashi Kaikyo bridge
To me it looks like it is the perfect Initial D AE86 replica: it is a 1983 model, it is perfectly painted in panda white/black, it got a set of black Wantanabes, it got the yellow PIAA foglights and it looks like it just rolled out of the factory! What more do you need to make it a perfect replica? (A Fujiwara-tofu sticker? ;) )

I wonder what they will ask for this rebuild when they are selling it through Goo-net? :o

Carina Sightings: what does 19 years Carina driving do to you?

January 7, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

Just have a look at this 1996 Carina commercial:

I thought about how the guy has changed during those 19 years from a tough 70s homie to a 90s salaryman dweeb. So I thought it would be fun to put all Carina drivers before that commercial into a chronological order and see how he evolves. ;)

Early 70s:

Sonny Chiba escaping from motorcycle gang in a Carina coupe TA17

1977:
1977 Carina driver
The cool guy from 1996 commercial in front of a Carina TA40

1982:
1982 Safari Carina driver 1
Safari guy next to a 1982 Carina Road Runner II SA60
1982 Puppy saving Carina driver
Puppy saving dad from the 1982 Carina GT-TR TA63 commercial

1988:
1988 suntanned Carina driver
Suntanned guy in the 1988 Carina T170 commercial

1993:
1993 housedad Carina driver
Housedad in the 1993 Carina T190 commercial where his wife clearly cheated on him

1996:
1996 dweeb Carina driver
Total dweeb in the 1996 Carina T210 commercial

conclusion:
So what happened?? What can we make of this?
Well, first of all if you look at it from the Carina perspective they get more dull on each new generation of the car, but that also accounts for the driver as well.

On the other hand if you look at this chronologically you will notice you start out as a superstud in your late 20s, be a cool guy in your early 30s, get adventurous in your mid 30s, get suntanned in your late 30s, get cheated on in your early 40s and become a loser in your late 40s. I think that sums up the life of a Carina driver pretty much! ;)

I’m pretty glad I’m still in my early thirties (almost mid thirties) and drive the 3rd generation of Carina. So I’m quite safe at the moment. But my next car won’t be a Carina anymore, I can promise you that!! ;)

For the guy in the commercial: lucky for him the girl still remembers him as the cool guy in his late 20s and smiles, so he should be one lucky guy!