If you are into JDM car culture you will know how rare these 4door skylines are … you will also understand how I feel writing about this particular car.

First of all the owner of this car is an utter JDM geek … he barely speaks about anything else than drifting, skidding and Nissans. He used to own black sil80, and then moved onto skylines … so one can assume that his heavily modified or in other words quite rare and unique cars are giving insurance companies a proper headache.

This man has the phrase ‘Driven not polished’ framed on the wall in his garage and seems to follow that rule … and that’s where my personal views are so different. The point is I like Japanese cars, I enjoy drifting but I don’t get the dori-missile style … it’s kind of a track version of rat look which I don’t fully understand either. To be fair it doesn’t bother me much, as everyone has a different taste and I assume the owners of these vehicles must have had some sort of vision to ‘modify’ their cars in such way … it’s just that I don’t enjoy the view of duct tape, dents, cracked body-kits, rust, broken lamps and so on. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t support people who hide their cars in air conditioned garages for future generations. I think the cars should be used according to what they were built for, BUT they should be also properly looked after and maintained to certain standards.

Unfortunately this particular car is a track slag and has some battle scars; some may claim these will add tons of character to its appearance, well… no. But let’s start from the beginning; this is a second 4 door r32 skyline this bloke owns. First one was white, and ended up with smashed front (eeek!), chassis twisted (arrr!) and being generally ruined ([censored]). This lad never gives up and quickly gained new 4door gts-t shell and swapped the bits over. To make it more interesting together with new shell came very rare in Europe, full DUCE body kit (with wings), supplemented by extremely rare JimmyUp stickers (I’m sure I have seen these in one of the popular car mags though).

Then shiny Work Emotion wheels were added to give it a bit of sparking yet mean JDM looks. It makes proper JDM noise too, with gun fire effects sponsored by Bee*R rev limiter.

Skyline has also full gtr interior, unfortunately no pics of that as the car was filled with toolboxes, parts, car mags and general clutter (true JDM way) … instead I managed to capture a bit dirty door card with transformers theme and purple spot lights illuminating the tarmac when doors were opened.

The bit which really put me off was the rear offside which has a sort of souvenir from Crail drift day … which is a diplomatic expression for a damage after contact with tyre wall (blame people tapping the wall and teasing the driver), crowned with duct tape masking holes after spoiler removal …

I shall stop writing now to not mention other things that in my opinion are spoiling this unique car and remind you and myself the famous motto of the owner … the car needs to be ‘driven not polished’ … I will let the photos speak and help you to make your own mind:

Following build-threads of these cars one could write a guide how to modify a car without ruining it. To start off you need a car, passion, good taste and a lot of patience …

It’s a photoshoot from June … just to remind you those sunny, warm(-ish) afternoons … you won’t see here some ‘one-off’, PVC enriched, 4wheeled creature because fortunately in these hard days there are people with passion for cars. These guys put a lot of heart in modifications, every detail is well thought through to match the whole project, and no money was spared to create something unique. The lists of mods are just too long to list for each car here … So pics will have to do the justice.

Unfortunately because of delay in featuring this photos on my blog some of these cars are already sold … so the owners (or rather ex-owners) might shed a tear seeing these again. Anyway I would like to thank you guys (you know who you are! ) for a brilliant photoshoot! Now, allow me to introduce:

Honda civic eg siR – clean classic just like they should be:

Honda civic type-r ek9 supercharged touge monster:

Mazda mx5 with amazing wheels and spotless interior:

Nissan s14 in interesting purple with r34 wheels! :

and some more pics (as usual ):

Every drifter competing in BDC wants to get the title of ‘The King of the hill’, to achieve that they have to take on the challenge at Knockhill racing circuit.

I only managed to get there on the first day of the event (Saturday) for pro and super pro class practice and semi pro practice and qualifying. There were some changes in track layout comparing to last year, semi pros were competing on tri oval track instead of a track built in paddock area and their practice runs were overlapping time-wise with pro and super pro drivers practice runs on the big track. This made it a bit difficult to decide where to set up for pics with very interesting action on both sides of Knockhill. Anyway enjoy the selection of photos and for the first time some video footage from the track:

And some photos as usual:

2011 Tayside Classic Car Show in Errol was a big feast for all classic car enthusiasts. Big turnout and some seriously cool cars there, even on the parking lot! I was there with my camera and I can confirm the popular statement: ‘There is no school like oldschool’!

Last Sunday I had a feeling that my car turned into a time-machine – on the warm (ish), lazy afternoon I was surrounded by fantastic oldschool cars. No, I wasn’t dreaming … I went to an annual Classic Car Show.What a fantastic day out it was! I met with few friends for a bit of banter and then there was whole airfield in Errol completely filled with oldschool cars. There was great variety from pure classics to low riders and a few wild customs and hot rods… Classics have amazing design and attention to tasty details … wings, figures on bonnets, funky bumpers, lights and trims, everything chrome coated. All that is just pure inspiration for photographers. Additionaly the event was well organised, there was show and shine competition and for those brave ones a time trial… As per usual words don’t do the justice so here I present to you – Classic Car Show in Errol 2011 :

With a massive delay but better late than never … few pics from the first drift day organised by SXOC in Crail. It was few months ago but I still remember how cold the weather was.

Anyway I agreed to meet with TeamScotdrift at Martin’s garage … well I turned up at 9am which during weekend is like a midnight for me. In addition my car gave up so I was cruising in a rental Kia Picanto … anyway I met the crew, enjoyed the chat, hot cup of tea/coffee driftcars and … the heavy snowfall !! All worried about conditions and if the event will take place as scheduled we headed in a convoy towards Crail.

Now you have to agree that people are tough and brave if they go drifting in ice cold weather and snow ! I must say that despite the cold the atmosphere was fantastic and the paddock was full of very very nice rides like mental beemers e39, skyline r32  and candy red Toyota chaser … there was also my dream drift car – Nissan ps13 ! Team Scotdrift had some technical issues but once sorted they showed what they capable of.

Anyway words don’t do the justice and I’m always just moaning about the weather blah blah blah so now onto the photos:

See you next time !

Knockhill racing circuit hosted the final round of BDC 2010. The best drifters in UK were battling in the sunny Scotland  (!) for the last time this season.

It was a great weekend, sunny weather (yes, I’m not joking) lots of JDM machinery and sideways action. It all started on Saturday with a BDC Semi pro class competing on the rather small but very technical track set on main paddock. Top 8 semi pro’s who qualified this day were:
1. Jamie Kenyon – 87 pts
2. Ian Phillips – 84 pts
3. Matt House – 73 pts
4. Danni Murphy – 71 pts
5. Rich Tovey – 68 pts
6. Mark Lappage – 68 pts
7. John Glaister – 68 pts
8. Adam Blackwell – 65 pts
They were battling on sunday on the big track together with he pro class. The rest of semi pro’s converted their cars into wild drift taxis and were providing adrenaline all Sunday. On the track you could see all the starts of bdc and by the end of a day top scores belonged to:
1.Phil Morrison 30pts (28 for the win – 2 bonus for 2nd place qualifying)
2.Danny Eyles 24
3.Simon Perry 24 pts (21 for 3rd – 3 bonus points for TQ)
4.Declan Munnelly 18pts
5.Shane Lynch 16 pts
6.Gavin Cummings 14pts
7.David Waterworth 12pts
8.Jarack Federico 10 pts
All in all it was a great show with fantastic weather and atmosphere… I’m really looking forward to the next season. Below a selection of pictures from that day, I’m just going to add that you should watch very carefully these pics as there probably is one with very famous yet anonymous driver … Enjoy!

Capri was European answer to the overwhelming success of his American big brother – Ford Mustang. This muscle car was advertised as ”The car you always promised yourself” or “The Sexy European” and production lasted long 17 years (1969 to 1986). And there is a good reason why they are so sought after these days by a crowd of petrolheads…

Capri went through its history with a few facelifts and numerous special editions. Presented car is the late production model, with a few tasty tweaks. Under the bonnet it has a 2.8l petrol monster, which originally was offered on American market as N/A unit. European version was treated by SVE (Special Vehicle Engineering) which equipped engines in a Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection system, oil/water heat exchanger and improved radiator. These so called ‘Injection’ models after last facelift in September 1984 had also a limited slip differential which helped to put 160 bhp to the rear wheels, uprated brakes (to 9.76in brake drums) and suspension. Capri in this spec is capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 kph in 7.8 second and it will hit the top speed of 210 kph. So by the figures it’s a sort of a supercar of its era.

Barry’s black Capri 2.8 special is in exceptional condition; I really wish I could capture sound on my pictures as even standing and idling it has a deep and aggressive tone which ideally matches oldschool muscular silhouette of the car. Some body panels were replaced with fibreglass elements to save some weight and improve the performance. Unfortunately, original interior didn’t survive the time trial, the present seats were sourced from the rs model, however the owner promised that he’s on the hunt for the black interior (hope he meant the half-leather one) to match the colour and evil character of the car.

Capri stands out from the crowd of ‘normal cars’ in every aspect. In its presence you realise how the car world has changed recently… from gas guzzling beasts, built for delivering tons of adrenaline, with aggressive design where every line of bodywork underlined the status of muscle car, and when driving experience could be defined as ‘hella fun’, to a boxes with wheels which we pass everyday, designed to reduce the insurance and tax bills. I know it sounds mental to you now and you will say that it’s the progress… but trust me, if there is a bit of a petrolhead in you and you will see this Capri even parked between other cars, or see and hear it on the road, you will understand what I’m on about… for now – enjoy the pics.

A photoshoot of a classic Subaru Impreza WRX – after a diet, subtle mods to the engine it’s ready to hit the track!

After a dose of drifting I want to present you ‘Speedshop Performance’ Subaru Impreza WRX my93… it came a long way from forgotten weekend toy to a track slag. After sorting out a few engine issues, chucking all interior to the bin, touch of paint and custom graphics it’s finally ready to rock the Scottish track days.  Big thanks to G for finding some time to get the photoshoot done

4 seasons in one day – it’s the best way to describe Scottish weather… Drivers attending the events in Crail know it best. Once you are there though you feel like a kid in a toy store – drift oval, drag strip, show and shine area … whatever you prefer I’m sure you will enjoy a day out, no matter what weather will be like…

You know my opinion – fun is not a straight way ! … so more drifting action on here ! Below pics from a few events on Crail raceway (non mag days) – and airfield converted into race track. As usual there was lots and lots of interesting cars around, but particularly have a look on the orange strawberry face (nissan s13 with s15 front) driven by David (BDC driver), black ‘decepticon’ s14 with Mart behind the wheel (BDC) and … do you remember the m3 drift project ? yes, it’s going sideways already! watch out for a white m3 coupe with red&blue stripes, MAC is giving it some hard time on track

i promise more frequent updates  :P