CRX Australia :: Satay & Cars Melbourne Style

Grant — Fri, 11 Jul 2014 04:59:01 +0000

If you’re into modified cars and you know your way around the internet then you’re probably familiar with the term “Cars & Coffee”, These social car meet ups usually take place frightfully early on a weekend and the idea of a hot coffee is used to lure tired souls out into the cold morning air to talk about all things cars… This is Melbourne so things are a little different, the usual club meets and greats take place around some delicious piping hot food and carry on late into the night.
CRX Australia was due for a reboot after some months of hibernation so the always popular and recently re-opened Garage Cafe was the venue of choice, Honda’s, Targa tops, Wedge backs and Satay was on tonight’s menu.

Tucked away on a side street in Carlton lies a factory with no high-vis, no machinery and no workers… Instead inside you’ll find a few car spaces, a pool table, some cozy tables and the aroma of spices.
Garage Cafe have been operating for years but after a short hiatus due to council disputes they’re back open for business with regular car meets all week long.

The occasion of course was for CRX Australia, a club that’s been running since the heydays of Honda’s original boy racer. The CRX.
We arrived long before dozens of noisy Honda’s entered the building to the beautiful sight of two pristine C63 Mercedes parked up next to a very classy BBS coffee table (A favorite of ours from previous visits).

Not long after the CRX’s started to arrive, soon proving that over the years the club has shifted it’s dominance to the newer Del Sol chassis, as prices have come down, the older generations have become rarer and have held their price on the second hand market. Ultimately young drivers have won having Honda’s ever popular DOHC Vtec engine and a removable targa top all in an affordable package.

The popular modifications seem to be wheels and seats, you would be forgiving thinking that they all came with bucket seats as new walking around this group. The factory fitted cloth seats are now as rare as rocking horse poo.

Some had more character than others, however all still maintained a simple approach…

No body kits in sight, just clean factory lines and the addition of front lip. Remember less is more!!

One of the most popular seats in the Honda world, SR3 Recaros removed from a Type R equipped Integra or Civic.

The final numbers finished on 6 x Del Sols & 4 x 2nd generation CRX’s, all in all a nice mix of what is becoming one of the biggest cult cars in the Honda stable.

The 2nd gen’ CRX’s have always been popular in Melbourne with a large amount of owners lucky enough to have the imported SiR version.
Factory fitted with the first run of B16a, suspension tweaks, facelift and some with a moon roof panel from window to window giving the driver a unique experience.

Melbourne has been home to the largest amount of SiR/EF8 CRX’s in Australia with the club seeing as many as 15 at events in recent years.
Some CRX have changed owners in that time and it was great to see an old hero of the club with a fresh lick of paint and a great set of wheels.

This particular car has kept the original B16a power plant with a healthy amount of boost thrown at it thanks to a turbo conversion by Rev Zone, in it’s years with it’s original the car has claimed several trophy’s and awards thanks to close to 200KW at the wheels.

Any colour other than black is quite rare for these imported versions.

Adding a set of BBS wheels the owner has managed to really stand out amongst the sea of black CRX in Melbourne.

Keeping the German theme with the wheels the owner has fitted a sticker from one of the best blogs around, check them out!
https://www.facebook.com/SehrGute

We also spotted a GSS sticker on this rad Del Sol sitting on some Work Equips.

With everyone feeling full from the feast of Satay and Mi Goreng the group decided to venture out into the cool fresh Melbourne air for some photos by the water.

Several J-turns later we arrived together at another iconic Melbourne location for car fans. Underneath the Bolte bridge.

Now with some space to spread out we got to compare all the cars together.

Volk TE37 work on everything, literally!! Post a car in the comments that doesn’t look good on these wheels, we dare you!

It was great to re-visit the old spot now that the Melbourne Star Ferris wheel is finally operational, the light show it puts on as it spins looks great reflected on the dark water.

While the group kept chatting away we moved two of the Del Sols off for a quick snap together. The black one made the trip all the way down from Sydney to join the fun!!

One of the must underrated Honda’s of the 90’s, it’s great to see them finally get their time to shine.

Now pushing the 25 year mark the original boy racer is now thinning in numbers and I hope more owners hang onto their original gen’ 2’s as they’re a pretty special car in the Honda line up.
Well done to CRX Australia and it’s admin team for keeping name alive and bringing these people together.
If you need any help with anything CRX related whether it’s maintaining one or simply finding one jump on the forums or join the facebook group.
http://www.crxaustralia.com/
CRX Australia Facebook Group
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

A Night At The Garage :: Garage Cafe

Grant — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 06:57:40 +0000

Friday evening I eagerly headed out to Garage Cafe in Carlton, just 2km from Melbourne’s CBD.
Garage Cafe is very unique place. Housed within an old warehouse you will find a small restaurant and bar, a few parking spots and a even a couple of pool tables!
With such a different approach to normal dining, enthusiasts have the opportunity to drive in and park, then get seated at a table only meters away from their pride and joy!
A few car clubs were heading out for the night so I was very keen to see some impressive cars and get my food on!

Arriving and finding a park can be difficult as it can get very busy in the evenings. Once I eventually found a parking spot, I was greeted by a street literally littered with desirable cars!

Just a few meters from my parking spot was this gorgeous white GT-R. I’ve only ever spotted these in black or red here in Melbourne, so it was very refreshing to see this pearlescent white R35 gleaming under the street lights.

From one extreme to another… behind the R35 was this Nissan Elgrand!
It was novel to see two very different cars, from the same manufacturer and in exactly the same colour, parked right next to eachother!
The E51 Elgrand really is the polar opposite to the GT-R, featuring every luxury under the sun, it’s like a 5 star apartment on wheels!

This 370Z made quite a bit of noise when it arrived, sporting a few areo upgrades and one very orgasmic sounding exhaust.

As I made my way to the entrance I was astounded by the amount of cars, they were literally pouring out onto the street!

Inside was pretty much packed and there were plenty of cars but even more people!
Good to see everyone was car pooling!!

Some of the cars inside were part of the EXE Crew so you know they don’t just hardpark, these cars see their fair share of the race track as well as normal road use.

If you haven’t been or you’re visiting Melbourne, Garage Cafe should be at the top of your list of places to visit.
Where else can you eat right amongst some of the best cars in town and rest your beer/coffee on an original Ronal Turbo wheel?!!

Parked by the bar was this unbelievably clean DC2 Integra Type R, complete with JDM front end and sitting on a set of standard Type R wheels. This was a beautiful ‘un-molested’ modern classic!

Also making an appearance were some of the VWGOLF.net.au boys and girls, most still showing some of the track essentials from recent track days.

I spotted this carbon vinyl VWGOLF sticker and loved it, carbon GSS stickers anyone?

Again just a view of the awesome atmosphere, you can actually play pool right next to your car!
But be careful of those stray balls…

Back outside cars were still lining up out the front.

This WRX STI and R32 GT-R made an awesome combo, both in grey and both very low to the ground!

I haven’t seen many of these newer sedans modified. These Buddyclubs were also an intresting choice, however altogether I did actually like it, a lot!

Another GT-R!!!
It was obviously my lucky night!
When the white GT-R left, it made the most spine tingling sound as it pulled away from the curb, everyone had to stop and stare as it faded into the night.

Not too far away was the ‘inbetween GT-R’s’ Skyline, badged as an Infinity.
The V35 350GT is actually a very nice car, not being a true sucsessor to the R34 it copped a bit of heat from Nissan fans when it was released.
Now with the R35 GT-R in production it seems some are returning to the Infinity with a fresh view on the overlooked coupe.

My favourite street in Melbourne!

Just before I chucked in the towel and headed home, this stunning white 370Z pulled in opposite the restaurant.

With it’s polar white exterior and dark black windows it reminded me of a Stormtrooper from Star Wars!
So if you are still reading this and you live in Melbourne or you are planning to visit sometime soon, head to http://garagecafe.com.au to see the opening times and location.
P.S. Get the chicken satay! 😉
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Garage Cafe – Gripshiftslide

CRX Australia :: Satay & Cars Melbourne Style

A Night At The Garage :: Garage Cafe