A grand opening that has been a long time in the making! Why? because of Covid that’s why! Finally Pete and the Drift Cadet team were able to share their new headquarters with everyone.

HachiRoku Motorsports is another new venture for pete, not only will he be running Drift Cadet out of this premises but also HachiRoku Motorsports. A place where car groups hang out or get their Toyota 86 fixed!, Pete is an expert mechanic when it comes to the 86.

When you own more than 6 Toyota 86’s then you gather some serious knowledge over the years! Running Drift Cadet for many years has taught Pete so much about the 86, especially the performance side of them.

More than just a workshop and drift events company, they also sell tiny cars! yes that’s right. If your a fan of 1/64 cars or just collect Hotwheels Pete has you covered with a great selection of rare and collectible JDM favorites.

I’ve heard that our friends at onesix4garage even supply them with wheels and diorama goodies to spice up your diecast collection. Pete and Linh have a great amount of their own collectible on display within the HachiRoku Motorsports workshop.

It wasn’t just cars and humans invited to the grand opening! Four legged friends were also on the invite list.
The infamous YOYO from SaintSide even made a special appearance!

Dunlop Tyres Australia are a major supporting sponsor of Drift Cadet. They help the Drift Cadet team to run drift demos at big events like Summernats and MotorEx.

I found some other interesting things hiding in the back of the workshop, maybe this is for a future AE86 project?

More than just and AE86, the driver of this very tidy AE86 is by far one of the very fastest GoKart champ’s I’ve ever driven against.

In a world where JDM car prices are hitting all time high’s! it’s great to see owners out and about at special events like this.

Dont mistake this for a Honda Prelude! It’s actually a Nissan S15. A very unique body kit! One I have never seen in the wild before.

Pete is well respected in the motorsport industry, he has run drift demos in nearly every state in Australia! His business Drift Cadet is one of the best ways to learn to drift in Victoria.

What’s an english vehicle doing at a JDM style event? Well rumor has it that its is owned by well known street wear brand that is infamous around Melbourne!

Food, fireworks and simracing! what more could you want at a workshop opening event. Pete pulled out all the stops when organizing this small prestigious event.

The Advan Oni is one of those holy grail JDM wheels! I would bet the wheels are worth much more than the R31 Skyline wagon they sit on top of! We love it!

Having driven many Toyota 86’s, I can confirm they are a little slow but with a turbo kit or Harrop supercharger they become the car you would of thought they would be.

More creative number plates! The new GR Yarris is a weapon and I would kill to have one, being a big 3 cylinder fan!

A super tidy interior! or maybe the dash mat is hiding a nasty crack in the dash… we will never know!

The classic panda AE86 will never get old! Its timeless! with pop up lights and a hatch! Its the type of car that can do anything and that’s why they are so classic. But mainly it’s the pop up lights!

Time attack WRX or daily? I’m not sure but it does look the business! One thing is for sure, you need down force when doing your local run down to the shops.

Racing seats in general have been suffering from Covid tax not as much as cars but they are becoming more valuable with age. So make sure you hide all your cool racing seats then sell them ten years later or better 20 years later.

Its not just boy’s that love the R34, believe it or not this one is driven by a girl! Brian O’ Conner would be proud!

Its hard to find an IS200 that has not done 300,000k’s and cooked! A car I wish I had owned and still wish I could get my hands on. A great looking car that has lots of potential and some of the drift build’s of these getting around the internet are insane.

The HRM – Drift Cadet workshop grand opening was a great event, Pete is one of the hardest working drift advocates in Victoria. He has moved mountains to arrange and be part of some of the largest events within Australia helping to promote drifting to the general public while also teaching newcomers how to drift.

Thanks for Reading,
Grant

This was a test pipe being fabbed up for a cafe racer.
While JVN will primarily be a maintenance & service workshop, don’t be surprised if you spot some exciting cars/builds in the shop.  When Johnny is not under a car fixing it or writing music, you’ll find him sliding his SR20 swapped KE70 around at local drift days… so he loves his performance cars too.

As an avid DIY home mechanic with a habit for losing every tool I’ve ever needed, seeing a workshop as clean and meticulous as this is like stepping through the pearly gates into garage heaven!

This is a one stop shop! JVN has a tyre changer and wheel balancer on deck, so there really isn’t much that Johnny and the team cannot do for you.

Move up stairs and you’ll find a stark contrast to the industrial machines and tools below…

You’ll be transported home to a lounge with some spare rooms and plenty of distractions to keep things fun between jobs.

Air hockey and fooseball will prove to be a favourite during lunch breaks.

Johnny has a strong passion for music, so his decks are never more than a few meters away.

Cars and music, music and cars.

Downstairs this Toyota GS300 was in for a quick wheel change.

Out with the old and in with the new. Enkei RPF1’s look great on anything!

Outside, the front was filling up with some cars ready for the big launch night ahead.

This MX32 Cressida was gorgeous from every angle.  The owner suggested this was its’ bad side, but we still don’t see it.

From Toyota’s to Honda’s, nothing is out of place at JVN.

This EP3 looked simple but had plenty of additions everywhere you looked.

We spotted a stealthy carbon intake hidden between the bonnet and windscreen and a host of gauges inside.

The team from Frush banded together to help kick off the new workshop for it’s launch night and it was great to see the local car community already behind the team at JVN.
We would like to wish Johnny all the best with his new workshop and can’t wait to visit again.
If you would like to get in contact with Johnny and the team check out their facebook page or give them a call (03) 8782 4809
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.