Japshow 2014 PICS!

[Lucky]

Well, that was interesting. I was on a promise... actually, I'd foolishly made a promise to Conrad (my boy) that I'd take him up to the Pod so he could see the jet car for real. He loves the vids of it on YouTube, y'see. So it was probably inevitable that my car should non-bodaciously self-harm just a week beforehand. Fortunately, one non-cheap-but-cheaper-than-a-new-turbo fix later, we were on our way. On first arrival I was a bit meh; having spent two days last weekend at the Festival of Speed meant a windswept airfield in Northants polluted by the odour of toilets, secondhand ganja and burgers made from pure dog didn't seem all that appealing or exotic. Especially since it seemed to be infested with Hahhhhhnda Civics, and not in a good way.

However, there's nothing like seeing the world through the eyes of a seven-year old to refresh your positivity gland, and twenty-odd likeminded FD owners go quite a way to helping too. So it wasn't long before I found some things to like, a few to love and plenty to point the camera at. Some have come out as "OMG" moments, some as "Oh, dear God!" moments. Up to you to choose which are which...

Sorry about the initial bias towards FDs, this is shamefully copied n pasted from my thread on FDUK. Give it a while, it'll pass...



The day did involve quite a bit of dodging photobombs from the wee man



The FDUK stand was a bit of a squeeze, and Fil had his work cut out performing cat-herding antics and sorting out a few dozen anarchicly inclined FD drivers. Most of whom have a morbid fear of taking too long parking because of overheating worries... But when it was all sorted(ish) it was like the parking lot out the back of Hiroshima circa 1998!



So impressive we felt it appropriate to climb to the heights to commemorate the occasion. Annoying flag is annoying







Loads of new machines and new faces to go with them. I've often no idea whose is whose... but then I've often no idea who I'm talking to even if I've known them for years so no change there then. This



...is Phil-who-shall-be-known-as-Fil's, complete, sadly, with nibbled splitter edge. Bummer.





Is it poor form to take photos of your own car? *coughs*



Every time I see a smooth, stock early FD on decent rims I wonder what the hell I was thinking modding one. Leave them alone, lol, they're almost perfect as is







But then I see gorgeous examples like Davy's and think they're bloody excellent modified. Properly, of course.



"Bunky's" genuine race car thing is tricky to miss. Paintscheme probably works better from a distance than squashed in on our li'l stand! Mmmm, Wiggins clamps...







Funny to see James Willdays' car retired from active duty now looking like the incredibly sorted FD it's always been, but was somewhat hidden by the patina of hard use on the strip. Of course, most street FDs, however sorted, don't actually need a parachute dangling nonchalantly off the back!









Good to see the original MazdaSpeed bumper still exists out there, too.



Mine again. Sorry. I was just pleasantly surprised the bloody thing had actually made it!











Of course, there was one car that was always destined to steal the show a bit. Not least because most of us haven't seen it for so long we'd almost started to think it had been a bizarre group hallucination. But no, lo and behold, Ed did indeed roll up as promised, fashionably late of course, and set to with the cleaning products. Lol, why not when the end result is as good as this. One hell of a car. Awesome is a word that gets used rather too freely here in the paucity of vocabulary that is the internetz, but in this case...well... have a look

















There were plenty of other FDs strewn throughout the show, some more worthy of notice than others. Always worth a look is Chris' yellow pearl track warrior, now sporting nifty new Concept-7 spoiler mounts. It was parked in the show and shine area, though I've no idea how the judging fell







On the other hand, I've no idea whose this is. Have a word with yourself, lol





I feel I ought to recognise this crisp white one, but can't place it. But then, I'd forget my own name if the Police didn't write me letters with it at the top. Usually demanding money...





This black one likewise. The wheels on it are pretty distinctive. Is this the one that was owned by that M*x P*wer fella?



Anyways, can't talk about FDs all day, can we? Well, yeah, OK we could. But this was C-man's first time at the Pod (although he's already a veteran of car shows, lol) so we wandered off to take in the sights. This included the dubious delights of the show and shine, which seemed particularly blighted by and outbreak of Hahhhhndas. However, some of them even I had to grudgingly admit were pretty cool. The EK seems weapon of choice for a very Veedub treatment of wheels+lows+smooth







And wrinkle-finish Ferrari-fanimold-alike paint seems to be the latest de rigeur detail



This is a bit different, though. Pontiac Firebird meshes on a Civic. I'm guessing from the actually quite scary lug nut strategy these aren't a direct-fit PCD





Mmmm, carbon kevlar



How's your luck? normally you'd have thought having a pretty much immaculate 280ZX to show would gaurantee you some decent attention, given how rare they've become...



...but sods law dictates there's always someone who'll go one better







Gutted! To be fair, the candy-painted one is deserving of its inclusion in the show and shine, especially when you peruse the folder of build photos and see how far its come

[Lucky]

Stickerbombing: so played out even seven-year-olds aren't convinced





Must be said, amongst seemingly endless phalanxes of modern Hondas and bewildering numbers of Nissan GTRs (where have all the 200SXs gone, lol, I thought Skylines were meant to be the exclusive ones) it was nice to find the occasional older-skool gem. Like this Celica Supra





and this first-gen 300ZX. Nope, not at all dated, then, lol







.....aaaaand back to the Hondas



At last! something different. Well, a CRX anyway. A little-known fact about rear lights is you can never actually have too many





Conrad took this one of a Supra. Which is actually a pretty good photo. So well done him!



And this one of a GTR 35, which is less so. But it does show those of us who think we're pretty clever with our Digital SLRs up as the frauds we are, lol. And no, it isn't on fully automatic



This is pretty cool; an old Datsun 1300 pickup that's ....well, it's the opposite of a pickup, I suppose, since it's bed seems to have been cut out and replaced by an air-ride system. But it is pretty damned cool, if a little impractical. The Boy features again, if only in reflection. Good job I didn't bring his sister too; if you believe the myth that a demon's reflection betrays its true self you'd be running screaming about now











It's always good to do a bit of people-watching at the Pod, you tend to get a fascinating cross-section of the great British public. Such as those who think nothing of dressing in a head-to-toe gimp suit for no obvious reason and parading in public with no discernible trace of irony or self-consciousness



Something I feel needs pointing out to a certain section of the show-going populace; simply putting ebaytastic Volks/Rays stickers on a set of Rota Grids does not magically transform them into TE37s. What it in fact does is make you look a bit of a dick. Please stop it



Nice to see flip paint never quite went away. Satin finish seems to suit it





See what I mean about the wrinkle paint? Presumably this is what's known in our sickeningly conformist media-sharing world as "trending". Just been slightly sick in my mouth using that word...



A few legendary hot hatches kept up the honour of those who find Hondas a bit... well, ubiquitous. Lovely pert Glanza also rocks the three-spoke vibe for those children of the 90s







And still crazy after all those years, the delightfully bonkers Sunny/GtiR/Pulsar still works for me. If ever there was a car that should be legally exempt from carrying a front number plate...





Om! I prefer purple ones, meself



Did I mention that there were a LOT of GTRs around? It seems rather odd, given that they were supposed to be some sort of exclusive icon, that seemingly every other car was one. Mind you, I suppose that ubiquity never harmed the Escorts' reputation. What amazed even more was the number of the new GTR35 around. Especially some owned by kids apparently just old enough to start shaving. What the hell am I doing wrong?



I bet that there is literally NOTHING cheap for these things. How much d'you reckon on a carbon Mine's intake cover? Someone get on RHD Japan and find out for us, yeah?



Fully carbon-ed up snout had me wanting to rub and maybe even lick it. This is as close as I got, honest





Perhaps a more interesting use of a GTR35 was this unassuming little family runabout. Yep, this Qashqai (sp?) R is basically an axe-wielding serial killer wearing the outfit of a mild-mannered janitor



35s weren't the only fruit, mind. All the flavours of GTR were there, although sadly perhaps the real defining one, the 32 seemed few and far between. The pearlescent paint on this '33 was certainly arresting. When the sun came out it didn't half pop!





I liked this gunmetal one from a distance. But then closer up it started to let itself down. Not sure about the "carbon" but if it's real it looks like it was laid up after the pub closed. And WTF is it with forking out for AP Racing brakes and then doing that "putting ebay Rays stickers on bloody Rotas" bit? Stop it, I tell you. Think of the nuns and kittens







Ahhhhh, that's better



Hydrodipping is a nother thing that's on the up. I think it can be a very effective technique, when used right. For example, bright orange snakeskin splattered across an RX-7... not so much. Subtle accents on a clean GTR33 rather more so





Right, enough with the big Datsuns then. Someone very wise and knowledgeable and trustworthy (OK, it was Ada) told me a factoid about Mitsubishi's forgotten supercar, the GTO/3000GT. Apparently those funny non-vented bonnet bulges on each side were put there because they got the measurements wrong on the tooling for the bonnet and it wouldn't clear the strut-top bolts. It was cheaper to cut a hole in the bonnet skin and bung on those "styling" bulges than re-tool the sheetmetal. Of course, I didn't believe a word of it and ever since I've asked every even half-way tame looking GTO owner why they're there. And apparently I owe one to Ada; it's all true! How funny is that? On the second generation cars they were a bit more careful with the tape measure and the bulges went! Anyway, I rather like these but I'm put off by the frightening complexity and electronics. And if a serial RX-7 owner is worried about reliability issues, you know there's a problem





errrrrm...







This is a bit of an epic fail. I try not to get too much into the Barryboys finger-pointing culture, but really? See if you can spot what's wrong with this picture...



Yeah, slightly elaborate just to use as a numberplate mount, isn't it? So, having wandered around for a bit it was time for the reason Conrad at least had come along, and we went up tot he stands to see Fireforce run. We got there in time to watch some of the Japanese Drag series and a bit of RWYB too, which might have persuaded the Boy that motorsport is the way to go. Certainly he hasn't shut up about it since.



Mad Datsun is utterly mad. More of this later!





I have a lot of love for this stupidly potent Tigra, too.



More people-watching



Put yer visor down, mate







Sadly, with Rob's coolant pressurising and blowing out everywhere and Liam's car deciding it couldn't hold 3 Bar of boost after all, the rotards were reduced to watching from the sidelines. Liam borrowed an RX-8 to get points just for staging, but it was a forlorn effort against proper drag weaponry



So the honour of the rotary was left to the newest entrant to the series, Di. She put on a good show given this is like the fifth time on the strip. It's all about learning the steps before you can boogie. Or something

[Lucky]

To be honest, if this doesn't make you feel like a seven-year old then you're too old already. And grumpy. And miserable. And heartless. And... well, lots of other adjectives. Mr C had been looking forward to this ever since we bought him a pair of ear defenders a week ago. Normally he's happy with Lego, but these cans are now one of his most prized possessions! After the run we had to go and see the car in its tent and buy a poster of it for him to show and tell at school. Yep, another petrolhead is truly on the road now!











With the main event over, we had a quick dogburger and wandered over the other side of the strip to see if we could watch the monster truck. But we couldn't, cos I'd got the times wrong. Still, C-man wasn't too upset cos he got to see it parked up at least and marvel at the size of something he's only seen in models or on YouTube before. It was a bit of an eye-opener for me having the wee man along. It's easy to get jaded and cynical going to shows and seeing the same stuff over again, but when you live vicariously through a kid's eyes you start to wonder when the last time you did something for the first time was, and appreciate the time you have a little more. [/philosphy]



We took some time off to watch the doriftuuu arena, since we were there. The best noise of the day definitely came from the three-rotor FC. In fact, it sounded so good we'll even forget the owner appearing on national TV reckoning that snakeskin Wheeler Dealers FD was worth ten grand. Not sure how the Beemer snuck into a Jap show, lol.

















Then all that was left was to wander back through what was left in the show before taking our leave. We haven't mentioned Evos yet, have we?













Of course, where there's Evos there's got to be Scoobies. So here are some. Best formation parking of the day, by far!



This was supposed to be a photo of Colum, but he moved out of the way at the last minute. Never mind, don't be too disappointed; there's a bit of his shoulder still in it



I like a nice, pert MX-5 me. The current thing seems to be sacking them as low as possible. which is fine, I guess, although maybe missing the point slightly on what is one of the finest-handling roadsters in recent times. But there you are, horses for courses. This pale jade one was certainly low. And smoooooooth!







This fella was offering people the chance to write on his blackboard-painted MX with a sharpie. No idea why. Disappointingly, the surprisingly adult audience had apparently resisted the temptation just to draw massive willies all over it. Which is what I'd have done, had I not been in the role of responsible parent for the day. To be fair, there might not have been any willies but it was hardly drenched in the sort of wit or wisdom to trouble Zen philosophy or explore Nietschean doctrine either







Learn to recognise the symptoms of stroke...one eye open, tongue hanging out... is there a paramedic in the audience?





See? wrinkle finish. It's ON, I tell thee



At last! One of those "common" Nissans. errrrrm



Wraps are another thing I kind of vacillate on. Done right, they can be wicked. Have to say, I like the detail in this one. Yep, yet another Skybus, sorry







this is the trouble with RX-8 owners, if I might make so bold. Yeah, there's some nice shiny stuff on top and some cutesy li'l Transformers toys to dress it up, but stock wheels with Transformers centres do not make a show car, and the grime on the exposed wiring and engine ancilliaries is thick enough to plant potatoes in. Show and Shine entrant or just a convenient place to park near the grandstand? Put some effort in, mate



At last, a proper rotary, lol. Lovely-condition Series 2 RX-7 did it for me. And even better was the asking price. If this one's four and a quarter then I must finally have a car that's worth more than half a bag of crisps and a couple of beermats, for the first time in my life!







How is this possible? How can anyone be skinnier than Sir Hiss but still manage to contrive a muffin top?



Right, nearly there. I'm all in favour of colour coordination, but I'm slightly curious as to how this Supra ended up with its purple air filter. You wouldn't just spray the foam element would you? Would you!?





loving the unusual, I felt there were slightly disappointing levels of weird on offer. Fortunately...





More Hahhhhhhndas. I had to take this in honour to the original Fat N Furious film



Now, this is more like it. Good to see the owner has resisted the tofu-shop side decals. I wonder if the coupe is even rarer than the hatch, now the Irish lads seem to have bought up all those for dorifftuuu. Celica wheels, are they? Suit it well







Interesting bonnet movement on this Type R. That's what we like, people doing different stuff. Remember, kids, we're all individuals. Well, I'm not, but you can be. I like the natty stainless cross-brace thing, too





Thank the Lord! Real Volks at last. And some rather nice Spoon (branded) calipers, too. That'll be a Honda, then



Yet another FD, as well. Anyone would think they're as common as GTRs. Umar Masood's Time Attack car was parked up by the zebra crossing, getting plenty of attention all day. Watch your ankles on that splitter





Another show car that got plenty of attention was the Vogue Auto Developments GTR35. Mainly due to the preposterous wheel fitment, I suspect. I love the JPS-homage colourscheme, timeless and unarguably one of the best in history. Again, this is where wraps score big

[Lucky]

Right, the End is Nigh. At last. And as regular readers will know, my Granny said to always end on a song. And song is Spacemen 3s epic cover of the Mudhoney track When Tomorrow Hits. Comin down.....

Since there might be women or children present we'll move on and try to end on a high. There were a few cars that definitely stood out big-style in a sea of anonymity and scene sheep. First up, the "Skydat" which looks like a slightly awkward 70s Datsun (B210 is it? Bit hazy on 70s Datsuns personally) but underneath the skin is actually a full-fat Skyline. And not just any, but rocking a fully built OS Giken RB30 3-litre with head-sized turbo. Superb!















On the way up to the Pod we were playing with a pair of Zeds along the motorway and roads in.



Fair to say, this included speeds that would have seen us all sharing a cell with hairy-backed B-wing Bubba and his rape posse, getting up to probably a hundred and something leptons up the dual carriageway from Newport Pagnell. I wasn't struggling to stay with them, but I WAS working to stay with them and when I'm in a +400 bhp junior supercar it shows up a 60s bruiser to probably be improved a bit from original spec. When I got a chance to see them parked up at the Pod all became clear. I'm guessing the BMW M-sport lump had a fair bit to do with it! Lovely

















And finally, as we were leaving I caught sight of something I'd managed to miss all day. Glad to find them, too because it meant for me the day ended with a massive high



After all, it's rare enough to see even one Hakosuka Skyline, let alone a coupe and a four-door parked up in close company. Awesomes.











And of course, the best news of all was that the humble ol' FDUK posse had won the award for the best stand of the day. So we now have a natty engraved glass plaque to display in our HQ. Wherever that is. Probably down the pub...





what's even better, I got to spend a day in the company with the li'l un without having to shout at him once, and he's now firmly on the path to petrolhead righteousness. I'm such a bad parent, it'll all have run out by the time he's old enough to drive. We'll be living in a Mad Max-style post apocalypse hell. Oh well, carpe diem. Burn it while you got it, boys

Thanks for reading as always, nice to have your company. Now, go away

[ian65]

Nice 280 ZX

[TOOL]

Datto is a 120Y I believe.

Skyline us awesome. Not seen a 4 door before.

[re japi]

Great pics!

That black FD looks awesome!
And that white 120Y Datsun looks sick!