From The Vault :: 86 Mega Meet

Grant — Sun, 09 Nov 2014 11:37:16 +0000

Here at GSS we attend A LOT of events around our full time jobs and sometimes life can get in the way for our two man team. So we will be bringing you a series of posts titled “From The Vault”. Each post will be an event or feature we’ve been meaning to post up but just never found the time.

Our first entry in the series, is from the very first Mega Meet of the 86 Club of Australia. It was held at Sandown Raceway Melbourne late last year. Coincidence has it, this week we’ll be celebrating the 86’s second birthday with Toyota Australia and the #festival of 86, keep your eyes peeled for that later this week…

Toyota fans from around the state flocked to the racetrack for a show & shine event run by the 86 Club and Pedders Racing, to celebrate the 86’s first birthday.
We attended a special event hosted by Toyota Australia a month earlier and enjoyed throwing the little coupe around a closed track. See it here.

We arrived bright and early to catch a quick briefing for all the attendees.

This wasn’t just a static show, the 86 club had organised a parade lap around the racetrack. All the drivers had to be to aware of the strict noise restrictions at this particular course.

With the clock ticking away, the cars lined up on the dummy grid ready for a 9am start.

With the noise limits in place, Matt Russell’s drift AE86 could not be started so it was pushed into place on the dummy grid.

With all the cars in position it was time for a few photos.

With so many 86’s to fit in the one photo some people needed some extra height.

There were smiles all round that morning – it is great to see such an active car club these days. A big thank you goes out to all the sponsors. Shannons Nationals, Pedders Racing, Import Monster and Martini Racing.

Already we were picking out a few favorites in the crowd, the Martini Racing 86 looked great covered in Charge Speed goodies. It’s crazy to think this car was completely stock on a show room floor just months earlier.

Pedders Racing brought down their race 86 to take part in the parade lap.

Once the clock hit 9am all the cars started up and took off, and while it was just a parade lap there was still plenty of spirited driving down the straight.

The Charge Speed kit looked even better flying down the straight.

After the lap the cars were arranged for the show.

Wheels and lip kits seem to be the first modification for most 86 owners and we spotted so many different lip kits. It’s nice to see the tuner market alive and well again.

It’s still hard to go past the original 86, the mighty little hatchback has really pushed the limits of being a classed as a “cult” car. It’s popularity worldwide is unbelievable now.

Definitely not what you think of when someone mentions a Toyota Corolla. This Tureno was an instant favorite of ours.

We found a few 86’s adorning some carbon accessories.

It’s not just lip kits, there was even a Rocket Bunny kitted GT86. This is the most extreme kit available so far, with huge fender flares and pot rivets as far as the eye can see.

Matt’s Russell’s drift car proved to be a crowd favorite. We loved the 80’s decals that have been added to make the little hatch more appealing for mainstream drift competitions.

Inside Matt’s office, simple but effective. Nardi wheel, seats and some sheet metal. Perfect!

Some of the boys explaining the difference between cars and women.

One of the most popular wheel choice among 86 owners, TE37 SL edition. These things are everywhere!

Some times it’s best to keep it as simple as possible. Bone stock dropped on a set of SSR MS1. An absolutely beautiful combo on the little white Toyota.

Orders from dealerships are still taking months to fulfill and it’s easy to see why when they look this good. We think the old saying about hotcakes will be changed to “They sell like 86’s!!”.

While everyone was busy getting their sausage sizzle on at the BBQ, we hand picked a few cars for some detailed shots.

First up – the Martini Racing 86. Wearing a full Charge Speed wide body kit and sporting some AP racing brakes and an Amuse exhaust too.

The club had local model Amanda stop by for some of the photos.

We couldn’t complain and began snapping away.

She had a lot of fun climbing in and out of all the bucket seats that’s for sure.

Cheeky… Smile!

We’ve seen plenty of examples of the Toyota Factory Aero Kit but none sit as well as this white GTS model.

Something about the slightly off white makes this factory kit work so well here.

Watch out boys, Miss 86 is showing you how it’s done! Simple lip kit and smoked fog lights do wonders to contrast the red paint.

XXR 527 wheels work quite well here and wheel nuts match the burnt titanium tip of the HKS exhaust poking out from behind the rear bumper.

Historic AE86 racer, check out that build number!!! The petrol filler in the boot wing is a very cool touch too.

Everything exactly as it raced more than 20 years ago. All untouched.

Plenty of scaffolding in the back to keep things safe.

This two-tone Trueno had our necks snapping when it rolled in. We loved everything about this period correct combo.

Single bride seat because who cares about passengers?!

The perfect amount of flare thanks to the body kit and the yellowish carbon bonnet sits nicely against the grey paint.

Up close and personal with Matt Russell’s drift machine.

The engine is of course absolute blasphemy… A Nissan SR20DET. Seeing how competitive this little underdog is out on the track, we couldn’t care less about the Frankenstein engine/car combo.

Everything about the styling screams “Back to the eighty’s”. Shockworks have jumped on board as major sponsor and you should check them out for your coilover needs. These guys are engineering wizards when it comes to comfort and performance!

Our favorite colour on 86’s both old and new. White!!

Initial D fan boys here… Akina, touge and tofu.

Amanda found a spare hat in this car and helped herself to it.

Some of the best club merch we’ve seen. Get on it!

Two good reasons to buy a Toyota 86… Cool merchandise and club meets.

Our pick of the entire event? This metallic red AE86!

Gorgeous from every angle and painstakingly maintained… This is a very loved car!!

Some of the Pedders family, proud as punch in the middle of their car show.

Here’s two of the event organisers with Amanda, showing not only that they can get a bunch of cars together for a show but they can also work it in front of the camera too!
Hats off to the great people behind this community, showing all other groups how it’s done.
We’ve thoroughly enjoyed looking back at this day and can’t wait to unlock some more stories from the vault for you all soon.
Thanks for reading,
Gwyn.
P.S. If you want to check out the next mega meet it’s happening in Melbourne again on the 7th of December. Follow the link for more details. Click here.

Pedders Suspension – Gripshiftslide

From The Vault :: 86 Mega Meet