Vic Imports :: The Cruise

Grant — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 10:00:27 +0000

The Vic Import Club has been a bit quiet of late, with a cruise in the making for the last few months, so it was all set to make a big return.
Only days before the cruise was scheduled to go ahead, the weather started to look grim with rain forecast for the whole weekend!
Over 100 car enthusiasts pressed on though, despite the weather and the turnout far exceeded the amount of cars everyone was expecting.

The initial meet point was hidden away in South Melbourne’s industrial area, with a small carpark quickly becoming filled in a matter of only minutes!
The rain didn’t stop some truly great cars from enjoying a nice spirited drive through the hills either.
This is the only way I really enjoy the R33 Skyline… in GT-R form! It is one tough looking car!

A big surprise was the amount of cars that don’t fit into the regular group that you expect to see at a JDM oriented cruise.
There were plenty of Nissan Stagea’s and even a few 300ZX’s too!
The rain started very lightly and only got heaver as the day went on. At the starting point we had to take refuge under some nearby shelter a few times to keep our cameras from getting wrecked.

The SW20 is becoming a bit of a black sheep among the local car scene here in Vic, since running GSS I personally haven’t seen more than one in the same place at the same time…
Where are they all?!

Primal Garage’s EG civic was out for a fun drive, I still have a lot of respect for this little daily driven hatch.
This is what Neil gets to runs about in to literally get his groceries. The tiny B series powered Civic is more than comfortable on a tight and twisty mountain road too!

One of the Team Tuffcore boys was out and about in their newly completed R32. Jason’s Skyline is looking very good now it has found a new set of wheels and a very nice ride height!

Along with the other surprise were a few slight wilder looking cars then their stock standard versions, like this Mazda Sp23 with aggressive looking aero kit and LED driving lights.

This kitted Nissan Stagea was all business at the back…

… Party at the front!
The Skyline wagon really feels like it was missing from Nissan’s line up of models.

Series one S14 done right!
We got a peek under the bonnet and this thing looks quick! (more on that later).

During one of our desperate attempts to stay dry, this crowd stopper arrived.

Everyone really is a fan of the GT-R, this guy is king when it comes to value for money in the performance car realm.
It was also very interesting to see it along side one of it’s oldest siblings the R32 GT-R, the size difference is immense compared to the small R32!

Just across from the GT-R’s were these two matching blue Nissan 370 Zed’s.
Not a sight you see every day!

There were very few Honda’s, however this fitted EK Civic caught my eye.

Overall it was very clean with some simple touches like a lip kit, low offset wheels and some sticker bombed wiper arms to give it a little bit of extra flair!

Stashed away out the back in a near by multilevel car park I found these two 300ZX hiding from the weather, both are said to be having a little bit more work done but as they are they are some of the best examples I have seen on our roads.

This one will be rolling on some Work SP1’s next time we see it, the owner couldn’t get them on in time for the cruise.

Another duo found hiding away from the main group were these two Toyota Chasers.

Definitely my favorite four door to come out of Japan, with some great styling and a comfortable amount of power they are a great package!

Simple and clean!
After I snapped these last few images everyone scurried back to their cars as it was time to leave for the cruise to the west.

Along the way I fought the rain and tried to capture a few rolling shots, I managed one usable shot of this Mitsubishi Evo along the highway.

After about 30 minutes we began our accent onto Mt Macedon, the fog was a bit creepy once we got up their and the rain did not let up!
The destination was a bit too busy for the large group so the remaining cars detoured to Woodend for a few final shots before everyone got sick of the freezing cold weather and headed home.

The line up was great, two RX7’s a couple of Subaru’s and and cluster of Nissan’s at the end.

Very, very nice fitment on this burgundy R32 Skyline.

The quick looking S14 from earlier…

… Equipped with a turbo the size of a large cat, no biggie.

This is the same purple 300ZX from the under cover carpark, with a bit of natural light the paintwork really comes out!

My favourite car from the day was this tidy Levin Corolla, this was not your ordinary run of the mill model ether.
This was the spec’ed up BZ-R model with 6 speed transmission and the better handling package from factory.

The Bronze SSR Type C’s were a perfect choice by the female owner.
She said it was one of the first things she did since picking up the car a year ago.

These things are pretty rare and were basically Toyota’s answer to the Honda Integra Type R.

Two vents are almost certainly better then one… (nearly).

One extra touch was this TRD wing, normally we can leave a big wing but this one really suits the factory lines of this car!

All in all, this is one of my favourite cars of the year. Thanks to the owner for letting us take these happy snaps to share with you.
I’m glad I braved the weather and talked Leigh Kelly ‘Whereisleigh’ into letting me ride shotgun, it was great to enjoy the cruise with all the Vic Import guys and girls.
If you would like to be involved with the next one, register today! www.vicimportsclub.com
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

Mt Macedon – Gripshiftslide

Vic Imports :: The Cruise