Month: July 2010 (Page 3 of 5)

Hilarious: Robocop + Knight Rider = Jiban

July 16, 2010 / banpei / 0 Comments

What were the great sci-fi icons during the
80s? I can come up with Knight Rider and Robocop! Toei must have thought the same, so why not create a tokusatsu TV series around a cyborg human and a Pontiac Trans Am? So behold Mobile Sheriff Jiban:

Just like in Robocop a cop gets killed and is brought back to life. The little girl giving him all the shiney stuff is his little sister who is the only person who really knows who he is. One little problem: she wears a Bomb Ring which will detonate if he comes too close, so he can’t approach her anymore…

Apparently someone without car knowledge translated the Japanese wikipedia page to the English page and thinks the car is a Mazda RX7 (FC-2S). If you search on Jiban in English all results will state the same. It doesn’t take much to recognize it as a Pontiac Trans Am instead.

If you read the Japanese wikipedia page it is clearly described as a left hand drive third generation Trans Am. I know, I know: never trust Wikipedia… ;)

Commerical time: Mazda Chantez, Chantez, Lalalalalaaa

July 15, 2010 / banpei / 0 Comments

Back in 1961 everybody loved the good old Mazda Carol P360: it was small, lights and the first four passenger car made by Mazda! What better replacement could be expected than the 1972 Mazda Chantez?

Still powered by the 359 two cylinder two-stroke engine and its mighty 35hp this ultralight RWD rocket must have been a hoot to drive! ;)

Now if only that song could have been a different one!
Chantez, chantez, lalalalalaaa! Chantez, chantez, lalalalalaaa!
I think it is in my head now… :(

Carina Sightings: Lebanese Carina TA60

July 14, 2010 / banpei / 3 Comments

I found this drifting Lebanese Carina sedan some time ago on Youtube:

Judging from the looks the drift is initiated by applying the handbrake. It reminds me of how my Carina with open diff currently drifts: getting it sideways by using speed and momentum and praying you can keep it sideways more than half of the corner…

And compared to an AE86 it really looks like you are drifting in slow-motion:

This one is done nicely though:

Anyway, it is nice to find a Carina located somewhere else than Japan, Australia or Europe. I didn’t even know they had them in the middle east! :)

Familiy Album Treasures: Fuji Speedway visit

July 13, 2010 / banpei / 0 Comments

What’s more 90s than visiting the Fuji International Speedway circuit with your friends? Especially if most of them own a sportscar?

Fuji Speedway International visit
Yes, that’s a whole bunch of AE86s, a Celica XX, a 280ZX and…and… a Sprinter AE82? And is that a female driver next to the panda white Levin AE86?
Definitely a picture worth keeping in your family album! :)

Found at ????????

Video: MotorFIX AE70 wagon fixed!

July 12, 2010 / banpei / 5 Comments

This Corolla E7 meeting (held yesterday at Asagiri Kogen) video was uploaded today by ae86lan. Not only does it show some really great E7s (like the beautifully N2 flared TE71!) but at 2:19 it shows the best news I’ve heard/seen in the past months: the MotorFIX AE70 wagon all fixed up again!

On close up you can see it has been reinforced in every way possible, so hopefully it is strong enough for all the abuse and it will withstand another impact!

The black N2 flared TE71 intrigues me a bit: it has deep dish Hayashi Streets, AE86 N2 fender flares, Sprinter front fenders and round headlights. Its looks remind me a bit of the yellow Group B Starion but then, of course, much better and improved.

Oh and let’s not forget the two Carinas at 3:12! Yum! :)

DOTS: 1990 Nissan 240SX RHS13

July 11, 2010 / banpei / 3 Comments

Yesterday I was driving behind this 1990 Nissan 240SX and remembered I already shot some pictures of it about 10 months ago. I dug in the archive and decided it would be nice to post it as DOTS today!

Nissan 240SX RHS13
When shot these pictures I was just on my way to the Nissan 200SX S14 rustoseum which is parked about 300 meter further down the road. The reason I shot pictures of the 240SX was because it looked 100% stock and was still clean as a whistle! That is kind of rare for every S13 in the Netherlands!

From this side you can see there is absolutely no rust at all:

Nissan 240SX RHS13
Immaculate! ;)

When I saw the car yesterday I took note of the driver as well: it was an elderly gentleman who drove it like it was made of glass. In other words: a bit too careful. In that pace the car will certainly remain immaculate! ;)

Nissan 240SX RHS13
The car looks a bit skewed due to the wobbly road and he really needs to change the springs: the car is leaning a bit to much to the back.

And if you even paid more attention you could have figured this spot is almost the same as the one where I took a picture of my Carina with the newly installed foglights.