Month: December 2009 (Page 5 of 6)

DOTS: 1982 Hyundai Pony Mk1

December 6, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

Somewhere during the summer I spotted this abandoned 1982 Hyundai Pony Mk1:

Hyundai Pony Mk1 1400 TLS Automatic

You may think: WTF?! This is supposed to be a JDM section only? So what is that Pony doing here?. Completely true: Hyundai is a Korean brand and this Pony was produced in Korea…

Hyundai Pony Mk1 1400 TLS Automatic

Hyundai started with producing a copy of the Ford Cortina in 1968 and released the first Korean car in 1975 with the introduction of the Pony. Well, partly Korean: the Mitsubishi Motor Company provided the engine and drivetrain. That is one of the great things about the Hyundai Pony: you can actually swap in a RWD Mitsubishi engine this way! ;)

Hyundai Pony Mk1 1400 TLS Automatic

Now this is where TE71Corolla comes in… I know him through AEU86, bought my AE86 from him somewhere in 2005 and I know he owns two Hyundai Ponies (Mk1 and Mk2). Back then he told me that the Hyundai Pony was based upon Mitsubishi underpinnings, had a licensed Mitsubishi engine and drivetrain and he wanted to put a Starion engine (4G63 or 4G54?) in one of the Ponies!

So I gave him a call and he was very enthusiastic about my “barnfind”! So I gave him the address where the car was parked and after some thorough investigation he found the owner! :)

It turned out that the car was parked at the same spot for over 4 years! Knowing that it is amazing how well the car still is! Another Pony saved!

So, TE71Corolla now owns 3 Ponies! Looks like he’s starting to be a serious collector now! ;)

Contest: we have a winner!

December 5, 2009 / banpei / 4 Comments

For those who did not send me the correct answer or did not know the answer at all: the nickname of the Honda City Turbo was the bulldog:

Apparently this time the contest wasn’t too difficult: I did receive four correct answers in total! :)

This morning I picked a winner:

I drew a winner from my sons cap

Contest winner: Devil/Kazu!

So congratulations to Devil/Kazu! Merry Sint Nicolaas! ;)
The NFS game will be sent your way asap!

Bee*R R324 versus B?RS ER34

December 5, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

We all know the famous Bee*R R324 conversions. Ever since they became available they are flooding the forums! So let’s kick off with a nice example in Finland:

Now, that’s the old style…

Let’s have a look at the the new style B?RS ER34:

I know, I know… Most of you don’t like the B?RS at all! But think about it as what most people thought about JDM car styling 10 years ago… Will this be our future?

Hilarious: Nissan Roox! Room to the Max!

December 4, 2009 / banpei / 1 Comment

Two days ago Nissan launched their new Kei car called the Roox. Basically it is the same old story of a shoebox size car on wheels. You may wonder how do they would actually sell such a thing! Well, this is the way to sell such a car in Japan:

Just show how big the car is by having a couple of kids (and a rabbit) dance inside it!

Damn catchy tune! I’ve already got it in my head after watching the commercial only three times! So if you still haven’t got enough of that tune and want to learn the dancing routine, watch this:

Both the car, the tune and the dancing reminds me a bit of all those daikoku futo dancers… Maybe that is the public they want to attract with this car. Somehow I can picture a Roox filled up with a bunch of speakers, neon and smoke machine! :D

Xmas wish list: an Itasha for my son

December 3, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

Now this is the ultimate cover up gift for my son:

An itasha (??) diecast! This way I can both buy him a present and still get the itasha diecast as well! ;)
Just look at how happy this little girl is with her purple RX8 itasha!

Now…where can I buy itasha diecasts for a reasonable price??

Carina Sightings: 1985 red Carina GTR AA63

December 2, 2009 / banpei / 0 Comments

I haven’t seen many red Carinas so far… Of course I’ve seen the infamous Carina Firevan, but not a factory red Carina…

About three weeks ago Kyteler sent me an email about a red Carina for sale at the Toyspeed.org.nz forums:

Red 1985 Carina GTR AA63
Unfortunately I could not get in touch with the seller since the forums need approval of your account and I still haven’t been approved so far… :(
Lucky enough Roman posted the same Carina at AEU86.

The Carina itself looks good if you consider its age and mileage:

Red 1985 Carina GTR AA63
The car is already 24 years old and an average of 11k kilometers per year. The car travelled 270000 kilometers so far!

Red 1985 Carina GTR AA63
According to the seller the hood (and fender) have been repainted prior to his ownership. Most probably with a roller or a brush…

The engine may look good from the outside:

Red 1985 Carina GTR AA63
But from the inside it is not that great anymore: blue smoke is seen when cold started or put under stress. In other words: either rebuild the engine or put in a new one. I’d go for the new one: rebuilding a 270k engine doesn’t make much sense. ;)

Red 1985 Carina GTR AA63
The interior still looks amazing after 270k!

If you consider all the extras (14×6 Work Equip 01 wheels, torsen LSD, 4 new Monroe Shocks and a spare boot lid) the car is not that expensive for an asking price of $2000! (2800 NZ dollars)