Custom – Gripshiftslide

Mini Feature :: The Unlikely Coupe

Grant — Thu, 26 May 2016 01:42:17 +0000

From an unwanted shell to racecar in less than a year, when Michael tried to sell the Datsun SSS 200b coupe shell he had no bites! Rather than have a rolling shell taking up space in the garage it was time to inject some life into this old girl.

Being no stranger to race fabrication Michael dreamed of a setup that could take a corner instead of acting like a brick on wheels, wanting a responsive setup Michael decided to adapt the S14 suspension setup to the front and rear of the 200b. This was no easy task, the design of the 200b suspension setup had to sit a lot higher in the back end of body than the original suspension. This helped to give the car an aggressive new stance with a slight squat in the rear.

I didn’t stop there Michael had to make some serious cuts to the guards of the car to fit the huge 16×8 -4 wide wheels under the arches. Making the 200b sit super low with a large wide stance meant an extreme commitment to fitment!

The Modifications kept getting more complicated with a custom tunnel having to be fabricated to accommodate the RB gearbox that was attached to a very healthy Nissan SR20det engine.

If you have ever driven a Datsun 200b you will know that the steering is heavy and sloppy! Michael decided to fix that problem with a full steering rack from a S14 Nissan Silvia. The rack had to be slightly modified to fit the Datsun SSS plus a full roll cage was installed! With a good balance of power and handling this package makes the car a hell of a weapon.

The sound of this car is truly amazing! hearing the sr20 scream around the Haunted Hills race track was a pleasure. This Retro build is an absolute masterpiece! Michael has some real skill! make sure you check out Large Automotive Industries if you need some custom automotive fabrication. Michael’s Datsun makes a huge impact to those who catch a glimpse of it! A classic with a new lease on life, This is one of our favorite Datsun Builds of the year.
– Grant

Saint Side :: Annual John Street Show and Shine 2016

Grant — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 10:24:40 +0000

You know something serious is happening when they shut down an entire street! Why? Because Saint Side that’s why! John street in St Albans is the location and with help from vendors, volunteers and Brimbank Council the party was on.
Along with the lowriders, cruisers, and vintage bikes were a special selection of cars handpicked especially for the show. Karl’s KE10 Corolla from the infamous JVN Garage was in attendance and looking sharp.

There were plenty of American low riders and Yank tanks on show including Lincolns, Mercurys and Chevys with something for everyone’s taste.

The show is not only about cars and bikes but also street culture. Showing off your new kicks with your favorite four legged friend was another strong theme of the day.

I have never seen so many custom bikes in one place with a massive collection of bikes that are not just your every day pushie.

The personal touches on some of the bikes are interesting and could indicate the owners origins or just be a representation of their favorite things.

Trikes aren’t just for kids! White walls, candy paint and lots of chrome!

So gangsta while being so cute! This is something an evil clown would ride in a serial killer movie.

One of Australia’s most E-famous S13’s. Yes it’s Oliver’s crazy low drift beast looking the part as always.

With so much to see in a street full of action it was hard to focus! Every year this show just grows and grows! It’s great to see what Mark from Saint Side has created over the last seven years.

The Saint Side crew is strong and loyal with many of their own cars on display plus performances from K-Star, Ali Belmont and resident DJ Rod G.

The Chevy Imapala steering wheel is almost bus sized but its size is relative to the size of the Impala; its one huge car! So many cool lowriders in one street.

John Street was absolutely packed with people! The atmosphere was electric and with this amount of people it felt like a live music festival.

With 120 bikes, 40 plus cars and 10 plus motorcycles there wasn’t much room for vendors in the street but Mark managed to fit everyone in.

This is truly an original Beetle with original paint job and rust but damn it was tuff!

The winner of Saint Side Excel Award goes to this crazy air bagged ride. There was a constant crowd around this bike all day along with the owner demonstrating how to lower and raise the bike with its crazy air bag system.

This is one hell of a custom trike with its widebody fiberglass shell, custom gear shift and a whole heap of chrome.

This crew took over the road and cruised down to the local milk bar and back rolling in style the whole way.

The show was a massive success! The bicycle raffle raised over five hundred dollars and all the money was donated to the charity Beyond Blue. Saint Side know how to put on a real show with lots of variety and a fun atmosphere. Not to mention they sell some of the best street wear around plus a massive host of custom bike parts. We can’t wait to see what plan for next year. We don’t know what it will be but we know it will be big!
Thanks for reading,
Grant
Saint Side

Hiro's Big 8 :: Chevrolet Pickup

Grant — Wed, 27 May 2015 12:02:10 +0000

In one of the most densely populated countries in the world, space is the greatest commodity. Modern Japan has been shaped in every way around making the most of every inch, from towering buildings to automated parking lots. So with space in such high demand, Japan gave birth to the Kei car. Tiny cars with engines less than 660cc in capacity. They’re everywhere and everyone driving them enjoys cheaper taxes as a reward. If you want to make a statement with the car you drive, then there’s endless choices of sports cars, big saloons, European cars and even exotics. With so many cars and so many people, standing out in the crowd and expressing yourself can be a difficult task.
Meet Hiroyuki’s 1977 GMC C10 Pickup, it’s big in Japan… No really it’s huge!!

Hiroyuki has owned this Chevy for a little over two years and along the way he has tinkered, adjusted and fiddled with just about everything on it. It is no immaculate show car, everywhere you look there’s some sort of blemish, scuff or rust only millimeters away from a perfectly clean nut, bolt or panel. This truck embodies a unique balance of roughness and perfection.

Along the way, Hiroyuki has managed to dip into all sorts of inspirations and influences that have helped to shape this truck. From hot rods, to slammed VIP rides and even some quirky pop culture references, they all make an appearances here and there.

The most surprising thing about this C10 truck is that it’s 100% static, no airbags anywhere. Now just let that sink in for a moment…

Sitting literally some 20-30mm off the ground, it takes a certain type of person to be able to drive such a car and still have it bring a smile to your face. Throw in some narrow Japanese streets and “Brave” simply doesn’t cut it to describe Hiroyuki driving around town. He says “I have to avoid gaps, steps and bumps while driving. Other than that it takes some heart and guts to drive this on the streets”.

Wheel choice for a car of this size and vintage proved to be a difficult task to say the least. Hiroyuki settled on a set of Bart Wheels from the states to finish off the look on his all Americana pick up.

Sizing is an impressive 15x12J” all round… Yep they’re nearly as wide as they’re tall!! Tyre choice was also big part of the picture when fitting wheels this wide. You’ll find 225/60R15’s on all four corners.

The rear wheels just start to tuck under the guards, doing so required the guards to be cut and extended 2.5 inches to accommodate the new shoes.

How exactly do you get a car like this to sit so low without the use of airbags you ask? ** Warning, it’s not for the faint hearted… **

With a utility tray on this type of body there really is not an abundance of room left over for pesky annoyances like a diff or shock absorbers…

In the pursuit of low, Hiroyuki had to cut away the tray and fabricate some new mounts for the shocks along with a cutout to allow the diff to poke up.

Despite the extremeness of the modification, it’s actually very functional.

All this drastic chopping has made for a stunning finished product.

Aside from the jaw dropping ride height the most striking feature of Hiro’s truck is the flat blue paintwork…

Contrasted beautifully by the weathered chrome bumper and grille. Altogether it makes for a rather menacing look.

Inside there’s just as much character as your typical favorite novelty restaurant.

A purple glittery steering wheel, complete with a Budweiser gear knob made from an old beer tap helps him to wrestle the giant truck.

Running the length of the dash you’ll find a rich wooden table/drink holder typically found in a VIP styled saloon. You won’t find a diamond encrusted “luxury potato holder” here… Instead it’s covered in M&M figurines and a pair of cool surfer coconut characters.

On the outside, the original lines of the body have been left untouched. There’s no crazy panel work or shaving here, just the right amount of ‘seasoning’ to bring the best out of this dish.

There’s so much to love about a big plucky truck from a time all but forgotten. The big bench seat filling the cabin and tiny manual mirrors with zero visibility that serve only the purpose of making the driver look “cool” while adjusting them.
Then you turn the key…

Powering this giant rig is a 350 cubic inch small-block V8… This 5.7L engine not only propels the hulking third gen’ C10 along, it also provides the soothing rumble only a classic V8 can produce.

Helping the engine to do the best it can, are a handful of goodies like an Edelbrock carburetor, Moroso air filter and an MSD ignition system.

All in all, it makes for a super simple, yet ultra cool American cruiser that is a far cry from the typical cars that are found on Japanese roads.

Helping Hiroyuki turn spanners into the night are a group of friends who go by the name of Team Freee’s. They all have different tastes, but share the same love for cars. Just the handful of cars we saw on the day were of such a high standard. Among them we saw a neck snapping Honda Accord with some of the most aggressive fitting wheels we’ve ever seen, and one tough as nails Toyota Verossa drift car that was ripping it up on track while we shot Hiroyuki’s truck.

When Hiroyuki’s not scraping along the roads in his truck, he is usually slaying some tyres in his own S13 drift car with friends.

For the future, Hiroyuki’s has decided to convert to the dark side and create an airbag system and make things a little more practical to get around.

Even on the perfectly smooth roads you see in these photos, the truck was hitting invisible bumps and pot holes everywhere we went. And all the while, Hiroyuki was all smiles.

Of the two short weeks I spent in Japan, I was constantly surrounded by cars. From street meets, track days, Super GT, grass roots & pro drifting, but this single car will stay with me the longest.
You couldn’t find a more impractical car for Japan and then to do what Hiroyuki has done to it, this truck captures Hiro’s spirit and attitude perfectly to the “T”.

I would like to thank Hiroyuki for not only sharing his amazing Chevy with us and his time but also his patience as the language barrier made it very difficult to arrange the shoot.
We would love to catch up with Team Freee’s again on our next Japan adventure. Until then…
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Sneaker Freaker :: The Big Kahuna

Grant — Tue, 15 Oct 2013 06:58:10 +0000

Melbourne once again lived up to its well known weather last weekend, with a glorious sunny Saturday followed by a Sunday that seemed to have a bored two year old flicking the weather switch every 5 minutes.
Those that braved the cold conditions were rewarded with one of the best street events in town.
Sneaker Freaker took control of Globe Shoes head office in Port Melbourne to host ‘The Big Kahuna’ event, a massive Sneaker swap meet with truck loads of Melbourne street culture thrown in for good measure.

Some of Melbourne’s usual suspects like Saint Side, Fuel magazine and of course yours truly came along to make the day one to remember.

Globe’s warehouse and loading dock were over run with Sneaker Freaks snapping up rare and discontinued shoes from dozens of vendors.

The event was heaven for our fury little friends who love to chew old sneakers, thankfully their owners kept them on their leads as some of the sneakers on offer were worth more than $3000!!!

Aside from shoes and street ware, there were also a heap of classic cars invited along by the team from Fuel Magazine.

There were tonnes of old school cruisers and even a rad kombi on display!

This 1950’s Chevrolet Corvette convertible was a thing of neck snapping beauty.

The crew from Saint Side had a huge display of custom low rider bikes, each and every single one had it’s own unique theme. We loved the Louis Vuitton version.

The amount of work that goes into these creations is absolutely mind blowing. This was one of the more aggressively styled bikes on show.

Gold, Candy and Chrome as far as the eye can see!

Back inside there was plenty of wheeling and dealing going on with so many rare items up for grabs – it was certainly a buyers market.

Hosting an event at Globe’s warehouse would be a sin without some skateboard action. On show were plenty of vintage skateboards from the early 90’s and beyond.

All the skate paraphernalia was scattered around the Globe half pipe. Yep, they have a private skate park on site! Lunch breaks wouldn’t be for eating if you worked here!

In the outside area we had invited some of Melbourne’s best street cars along and despite the not so amazing weather, we were blown away by the dedicated owners that braved the weather and the driveway!!

Karl’s tough as nails KE Corolla wagon was a crowd favourite, complete with a Unicorn hood ornament that bled real rainbows!!

Later we found out that rainbow blood was in fact some oil escaping from the mighty 4AGE from the trip over to the event.

Josh brought back his S14 from the last event at Calder. This thing is absolutely perfect and clean enough to eat off!

The wheel choice on this blue EG Civic was spot on! Rays TE37V’s fill out the guards perfectly on this little hot hatch.

Some of the 100MM crew came down to party, we cannot wait to see what the boys have up their sleeve for the 100MM car show.

Probably the best line up of Melbourne’s street cars we’ve seen, so much quality!!

Billy’s 86 is still jaw-droppingly beautiful and we can’t wait to get some alone time with it after WTAC.

Chris’s E30 is spotless, we were really digging the new air splitters on the bonnet too.

Another of Melbourne’s best E30’s came along. Alistairs’ equipped E30 was one of the winners from the last event held at Calder, so we just had to invite him along.

While the weather wasn’t on our side for the day, the public certainly was with huge numbers coming along to see what all this Sneaker fuss was about.
We cannot thank the team from Sneaker Freaker Magazine enough for inviting us along and allowing us to showcase some of the best cars in Melbourne.
Until next time, thanks for reading.
– Gwyn.

MotorEx 2013 :: Bigger, Better, Shinier!

Grant — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 09:36:17 +0000

It was once again time for Meguire’s MotorEx to hit the streets of Sydney. Now in its’ 13th year, the show is truly bigger than ever and reaching a wider audience. This is all thanks to a huge display of cars ranging from classics and hot rods, to all out custom cars and even a few Euro/JDM models thrown into the mix.

The show consists of hundreds of top quality show cars filling out the Sydney Olympic Park hall. However before you even step foot inside, you’re greeted by dozens of Sydney’s best street cars.

Dubbed ‘Real Street Boulevard’ the street car themed display leading into the main show has proved to be a hit, year after year.

The ISON Industries EG Civic was strutting it’s stuff for all to see. Without the bonnet on every nut and bolt was exposed showing the incredible amount of detail in this build!

One of our favourites from the entire show had to be this ratrod inspired Datsun ute from the street display.

The extent of the modifications don’t become fully apparent until you take a peek inside though. Every surface has something ripped out and replaced with old wood or has been wrapped in twine.

Laying frame and blinding onlookers thanks to some shiny chrome Moonee hubcaps.

Our necks snapped when we saw this fiery red head! The Testarossa 512 TR was the perfect poster car back in its’ day.

Even after all these years the mid engined super car is simply beautiful from every angle.

From one bright red car to another… The cars inside the main hall were a stark contrast to the street cars outside, with meticulously restored domestics and American muscle filling out the arena.

With so many Aussie icon’s being tirelessly restored from the ground up, it’s often hard to show off every part of the car at once. Some creative displays had cars raised in the air with carefully positioned mirrors reflecting all efforts that are normally obscured.

One of the stars of the show had to be this XY Flacon dubbed ‘427 RR’. Everywhere you looked, this build had it’s name etched, stitched or painted on nearly every surface, taking huge pride in its stroked 427ci motor filling out the engine bay.

Another show stopper in white, was the LeBrese 1978 XC GS Hardtop. A favourite from previous years, this car has had a ridiculous amount of work done over the years. Centered around a hand made tube chassis and F1 inspired suspension. So the question on everyone’s lips, what is the cherry on the top? Quad Webbers bolted to a stroked 393ci Clevland motor.

Pimp’n ain’t easy and nether is building a custom low rider in Australia!

Got wing? The Plymouth Superbird is quite an interesting looking muscle car from the past. A fun fact for those playing at home, the iconic rear wing was only made so big so that the boot could be opened on the production version of the car. Tests had suggested that a wing as high as the roof was all that was needed to tame the rear at high speeds.

From a toy car inspired build to real life, Custom body works brought the house down with their debut of this House of Kolor purple Dodge Charger. Poking through the bonnet is a 426ci Hemi with a blower strapped on for an easy 1000hp!!

Truly a thing of beauty, the interior of this Shelby GT500 had us staring into the intricate details for what felt like forever. It is cars like these that make us appreciate how special some cars were back in the days of cubic inches and racing stripes.

The Australian built and globe trotting ‘Wild Cad’ has been doing the rounds since it’s 2010 MotorEx debut including a 12 month stint in an American showroom. Not bad for a 1959 Coupe DeVille, Go Aussie!!

There was absolutely no shortage of custom hot rods at this years show…

We’re still wondering were you sit in this one though, not the most inviting of cockpits with many a pointy bolts sticking up from everywhere!

This lime green 200SX is a former star from the Autosalon days.

Whether it’s your style or not, not a single inch of this car has been untouched and it’s hard not to admire the hard work that has gone into this build.It is decked out with suicide doors, shaved everything and a massive turbo bolted to the side of a rotary engine for good measure.

While keeping with the Japanese theme there were quite a few clean examples hiding around the hall. This FC RX7 for example was immaculate!!!

There were actually quite a few RX7 packed into the show. It was great to see such a strong following for the mighty Mazda!!

Check out this massive Garrett turbo stuffed into the tiny engine bay of this old school Mazda RX2.

This was one of the bulkiest looking R33’s we have seen in awhile. This wide mouthed GT-R was looking spectacular thanks to it’s incredibly shiny paint job. Quite an interesting colour choice too!

This little Datsun has been in the works for an astonishing 8 years!! The conversion list is very extensive but the cream of the crop has to be the 700HP 13B rotary conversion!

The Built to Order EG Civic has gone through quite the transformation since last years event. Complete with a full roll cage, matte pink paint job and a fresh new set of ‘BTO’ kicks!!

Another relic from the Autosalon days that has been in hibernation for many years. The OVAKILL Magna is indeed regarded by many as over kill… Looking past the chassis choice this is some top quality work and we can see plenty of innovation as far as show cars go.

Woods & Woods showed off their concept car. The striking long body is stretched over massive 24×10″ wheels. Helping the car spin those massive rollers is a whopping 14 liter V16!!!

No Sydney car show would be complete without an appearance from Queen Street Customs. Stepping up their game from their previous halo car is a hard act to follow… From Ferrari to Rolls Royce seemed to be the only logical choice!
With the unstable nature of car shows in recent years, it is great to see MotorEx go from stride to stride. This year saw the show extended with a third day open to the public, 12 brand new cars were unveiled and the attendance seemed to be bigger than ever. We are counting down the days till next years show!
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.
Photos courtesy of Robberto Mochetti | Full Motion Photography (< Check him out on Facebook!)