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.

There was a handful of Porches like this duo in white, a beautiful 911 and a road ready-racer GT3.

Hands down my favorite V8 powered saloon car. The Mercedes C63. The 6.2L engine creates the most euphoric noise simply by mixing petrol and air! Amazing!!

Between spats of rain when the heavens finally closed up the sun came shining down resulting in some quick costume changes for some.

Despite being on the ‘plumpier’ side compared to the old model, tipping the scales at almost two tonne. The new BMW M5 can get up to 100kph from stand still in just over 4 seconds… The M5 is definitely punching above it’s weight!!

I think I saw a bunny wabbit!! A MK1 Golf aka the Volkswagen Rabbit in the US. The original Golf has always been a charmer, before these guys “Hot Hatches” didn’t exist.

Aside from VW’s as far as the eye could see there was a healthy amount of BMW’s filling out the lines at the show. This E30 was picture perfect sitting atop it’s mesh wheels.

The Z4 M is one of the most underrated roadsters of the modern area. With a punchy straight 6 engine and great handling just add some iconic Japanese wheels and it’s winning combo in our books!

At every show there’s that one car, that one you wait just a little bit longer for people to move out of the way to make sure you get the photo…

This was ‘The car’… This stunning E92 BMW was menacing from every angle.

There’s no denying the wheels are the hero here. 3 piece Work Meisters in satin black.

The fitment is spot on, the owner is brave to be driving around like this in Melbourne for quite a few reasons!

All the cool kids rock up late these days and nothing says cooler than a fresh yellow sticker from the boys in blue. The owner of this Golf also scored some airtime on the “highway patrol – TV Show” so keep your eyes out for that episode when it airs.

It’s easy to see why it got so much attention from side on… Absolutely slammed on a set of Porsche wheels, check out that dish!!

More AMG goodness, this time a coupe. We miss hood emblems, stupid inconsiderate pedestrians ruining it for everyone!!

Another comfortable German four door packing a V8 under the hood and mated to Audi’s renowned 4WD system makes this one quite capable in corners and off the line!

Speaking of 4WD… Not many can come close to the mighty Nissan GTR. The Victorian chapter of Skylines Australia had a huge display of Japan’s greatest export on show.

Round taillights as far as the eye can see…

There was plenty of R35’s on display and amongst such a large group it didn’t take much to stand out, just some wheels and a nice drop in the ride height and this grey number was looking great!

One of the most Iconic colours for the R34’s. Bayside Blue is always a favorite of ours.

We were pleased to find two GTR’s wearing blue at the show, if they were girls at a party they would NOT be friends right now.

This track spec R33 GTR was looking nice thrown into the mix, definitely not the most popular GTR model but this one was very aggressive! It just looked like it was itching to get out onto the track!!

The V35… Some love to argue it’s not a “real” Skyline at all. Others simply see it for what it is… A sleek and sporty luxury coupe. They were a big hit in the US.

The bad weather meant many entrants were running late, cars kept flowing in all morning.

Everyone’s favorite. A Ford Mustang. The blue was great colour on the classic body and with a bigger chin than a man from a Bonds commercial too!

Now to a local hero… The Holden SL/R 5000 Torana. With hulking wheel arches from factory and the green hue it certainly was looking angry!

Remember when I said this was the most eclectic car show around? Down the front we found a giant Dodge ‘truck’, wrapped commodore and wrapped Monaro.

The ‘loud’ looks of the other wrapped cars were dulled by this gleaming Mercedes coupe. The gold wrap had a mirror finish, we were just happy the sun was tucked away behind the clouds!!

In between checking out all the cars there was often the distracting sound of some cars blasting around Sandown circuit, this was the perfect backdrop for the car show.

We don’t know why this guys been hiding from all the Classic Japan shows… A pristine Mitsubishi Galant GTO is a rare sight to be had!

Onto some more classic rides from the land of the rising sun. There were a handful of beautiful Z’s on show.

This was our favorite 270ZX of the bunch, super clean, wheel flares and dished wheels. Perfect!

There was even some quality cars for the little guys at the show! Any kid rolling around in the driveway in one of these bad boys is sure to be the envy of all the other kids in the street.

It seems there were also a few nice cars out in the car park.

We found Daniel’s MX5 adorning a few extra additions.

The new spoiler is a killer piece to finish off the look of the car.

Now we’ve all seen manga art used on a car but we’ve never seen a panel this big done entirely in manga comics.

While it’s pretty extreme it is nice to see some quality artwork up close.

One of the more ‘wild’ looking 86’s at the show, this one paying homage to Toyota Racing Developments ‘TRD’.

Hybrid and electric cars are for rain forest loving hippies right? Wrong!! Tesla has been changing people’s perception of electric powered cars since 2008. Thanks to some ingenious engineering, some 600 newton meters of torque and over 300KW of power.
While range is still the biggest issue for these types of cars speed certainly isn’t a problem anymore.

Easily one of the most curious cars at the show… The English sports car known as the Ultima GTR.

It’s offered both as a fully built road ready car and funnily enough as a (do it your self) kit car. The car is however far more advanced than it’s diy origins let on.

Utilising a tubular steel space frame with a fiberglass body it’s light, really light!! Weighing in a smidge under a 1,000KG.

Inside is one of the simplest interiors we’ve ever come across. No distractions here just some pedals, a shifter and a steering wheel. Surrounded by a generous splash of Alacantra and this is somewhere we simply refer to as our “happy” place.

The engine found in the “turnkey” version (factory built) is a small block V8 sourced from Chevrolet mated to ether a Porsche gear box or Getrag Transaxle unit. Recent builds have been putting out over 500kw… That makes for 0-100kph in about 2.6 seconds!!!!

Now the exotics. Custom Cars & Coffee really has it all. There were Lamborghini’s, Ferrari’s, and Maserati’s for all to see.

Lamborghini’s have always been the pin up poster car of choice for young enthusiasts but it wasn’t until the Murcielago came along in 2001 that Lamborghini really took the mass produced super car fight to Ferrari. Paving the way for the Gallardo which sold more in total than all previous Lamborghini’s combined! The Murcielago was however the more extreme of the two featuring the companies biggest V12 engine to date.

The Murcielago really is one of the most striking cars in person and easily one of the widest at over two meters wide!!

What would an Italian super car be with out scissors doors?! It really adds to the theater of the angry Italian bull.

The heart of the beast. A 6.5L monster of a V12. One of the last we’ll ever see thanks to stricter emission laws.

Lastly another V12 terror from the land of pizza. The Ferrari Testarossa. One of the most Iconic supercars of the 80’s and also known for it’s ridiculously large side mirrors.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at Custom Cars & Coffee and can only imagine what the turnout would have been like if the weather was on the dryer side.
This is hands down the best mix of cars we’ve seen on home soil and really captures the feeling we get seeing all the photos from some of the coffee meets from Irvine, California.
We’re look forward to the next big event these guys conjure up, to keep up to date follow their Facebook page here. Customcarsandcoffeemelbourne
In the mean time if you have a craving for early mornings, roasted beans and gorgeous cars then check out the regular monthly meets held by Road Track Rally – Cars & Coffee
Thanks for reading,
– Gwyn.

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!)