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GTS AT HAMPTONS, 20B MKII CORTINA, GROUP A RALLY LEGEND, WAIMATE 50, AND LOADS MORE
BUILD THRE AD - RE AR-ENGINED V6 T WIN-TURBO MARCH
W O R L D ’ S
F A S T E S T
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Shakotan Bunny
JAN. 2017
$9.99 INCL. GST
ISSUE
AE86 PERFECTION
CONTENTS CONTENTS
022 SUPER SHAKOTAN
Built with respect: James Mangin wanted to purchase the Rocket Bunny kit on his S15 the old-fashioned way — over a meal with artisan kit designer Kei Miura, of 6666 Customs. After hopping aboard a plane to Japan and taking in the style first hand, he took a traditional line for the car’s build to produce an uncompromising modern shakotan. Feast your eyes on purity at its finest.
032 RECORD SLAYER
Forget Goodbye Pork Pie, this is the story of a team of true-blue Kiwi blokes from Nelson who took their Mini Cooper S — packing 275kW at the wheels and guzzling a whole lot of methanol — to Bonneville Speed Week, on the salt flats of Utah, and returned with three world land-speed records under their belt.
038 MR WTAC: IAN BAKER INTERVIEW
The World Time Attack Challenge festival is one of the largest on the Australian motor sport calendar, and right from the get-go it drew in big-name drivers and cars from around the world to compete. We talk with CEO, Ian Baker, about life, running a motor sport festival, and how it all began.
044 101 REASONS
032 038
Millions of dollars of high-end exotic race machinery filled the pit garages to mark the reopening of what is now New Zealand’s premier race facility, Hampton Downs Motorsport Park. Never before has the Australian GT championship competed in the North Island, but it wasn’t Aussies stealing the limelight — it was the few determined Kiwis in the field.
050 GASGAS GUZZLER
After nine years of nitrous-fuelled abuse, the 13B bridgeport in Steve’s MkII Cortina was getting a little worn and he wanted to step it up. And step it up he did, building a 20B PP and backing it with a TTi six-speed sequential. Still rocking the 13s and the paint job carried out over a decade ago, this Cortina is now putting the wild back into the West Auckland streets.
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CONTENTS
060
ROLLERCOASTER RIDE
Beau Yates’ AE86 is somewhat of a cult car in Australian drift circles, but it hadn’t seen the track for three years after a serious collision — until it returned at this year’s World Time Attack Challenge at Sydney Motorsport Park, piloted by the drift king himself, Keiichi Tsuchiya. This 86’s story is a true ashes to glory emotional rollercoaster ride.
056 RUNNING THE STREETS
The Waimate 50 is one of the only true street races left in New Zealand — where the roads are closed and racers are let loose through the middle of town. It continues to grow year-on-year, taking on more of a festival atmosphere — and given Fanga Dan says it’s one of the best events he has ever drifted at, you can be sure the ‘side’ entertainment alongside the racing was anything but.
066 TUNING EUROPE: RALLY LEGEND 2016
This month Tuning Japanese takes a break so Aaron can bring us some Group A rally coverage from Rally Legends. The Group A era might not have been as insane as Group B, but what with anti-lag, screaming turbos, and body shapes that actually matched those in the showroom, it’s still a period we sadly miss. Fortunately, for one weekend a year, the heroes of those days are reunited with their iconic machinery to blast through the San Marino countryside like it’s the 1990s all over again.
070 GROWING UP
When you own a car for any extended period of time, your tastes are bound to change as the years tick over. Nick Jeffries rolled with those evolving tastes to transform his once stanced-out R32 into a raw powerpacking street weapon — an incarnation we featured many moons ago, until it reached this latest form as a clean, well-crafted, and track-ready all-rounder.
076 ZERO TO HERO
Over the following few months we will dive head first into the mystical art of building a street car, and bring you a comprehensive step-by-step guide to the process. In this month’s instalment we sat down with a few of the top players in the game of sourcing and importing your perfect project base car from the motherland — Japan.
088 CALL THE MENTAL WARD
How would you go about transforming a Nissan March into a lap-time-slaying weapon? Shoehorn a Nissan Altima V6 into the rear, slap Garrett snails either side, and convert it to rear-wheel drive — Glenn Hodges is a verified madman, and this is his most insane project yet.
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084 008 EDITORIAL 010 ED TEAM CHATTER 012 NEWS 020 CASTROL EDGE PCOTY 030 SUBSCRIBE AND RECEIVE 082 CRUISE MODE 084 DEMON BABE HUNT 086 GRAM GODS 090 NEW PRODUCTS 094 WEEKEND WARRIOR 096 UNDER CONSTRUCTION 098 GIG GUIDE 099 DRAG TIMES 100 DAILY DRIVEN 102 TRADE DIRECTORY 104 WHAT’S COMING NEXT MONTH
On the road, the bark of the SR fights with the sound of the road scraping, but it’s just part of the commitment to having the car looking correct — if he lifted it, some of that impact would be lost
PERFORMANCE POWER: 284kW on 19psi at the rear wheels (BP98)
Just like the render that James first saw, his own S15 runs M1 Meisters in 18-inch size. Custom ordered while he was in Japan, the wheels measure 9.5 inches (-22) up front and 11-inches (-38) out back
SHOES WHEELS: (F) 18x9.5-inch (-22) Work Meister M1, (R) 18x11-inch (-38) Work Meister M1 TYRES: (F) 245/35R18 Kumho, (R) 265/35R18 Yokohama
PERFORMANCE
RECORDS
POWER: 275kW (370hp) on methanol, 246kW (330hp) on race fuel
156.006mph (251.067kph) on methanol, 144.033mph (231.798kph) on race fuel
The next morning was the final day of racing, and, by Speed Week rules, the car only needed run greater than 150mph to break the existing record [Record = (qualifying run speed + record run speed) / 2]. As the ’64 Mini flew across the salt, drawing closer to where the team was watching from through the haze, the A-Series engine’s screams pierced the silence of the salt flats — but then, as quickly as the noise had begun, it was gone. Squeezing 275kW out of an engine that originally produced 48kW creates a hand-grenade effect, and the team had pulled
that pin at the start of the week. Although nothing spectacular, the engine failure was the result of a sudden drop in oil pressure at 144mph (232kph). This left the team with a lot of what-ifs, but it is preferring to focus on the facts. The team took a tiny 52-year-old car that was designed for economy and was typically used in motor sport for its cornering ability not its straight-line speed, and set two landspeed records in it. They may have left without the final record in hand, but there is no doubt that they own that 166.046mph run.
TEAM PROFILE TEAM: Nelson Hartley (driver), Bryan Hartley (engine designer/engineer), Guy Griffith (engineer), Larry Mulholland (gearbox designer/engineer), Gary Orton (crew chief / logistics manager / engineer), and Mike Wilson (media manager / photographer) LOCATION: Nelson, New Zealand
THANKS: Graham Wilson — photographer, social media, and gopher; Shane ‘Radar’ Nicholson — ‘junior crew chief’ and gopher; Graham Reid at Heritage Garage — enthusiasm and technical support, design of crankshaft, and use of workshop; Teena Larsen — enthusiasm and social media; Aaron Hartley (no relation) — token American on the team, much appreciated logistical support, and loan of tools, equipment, and vehicles; Bob Schmitt — enthusiasm and logistics/support in Los Angeles; World of Wearable Arts and Classic Cars Museum; Talley’s; Maersk Line; Total Lubricants; Alltrax; Hartley Engines and Motorsport; Swift Automotive; Victory R; Daniel Smith Industries Ltd; Fluid Power Solutions (FPS) Hydraulics Pneumatics; Mike Pero Real Estate; ASB Bank; MSE Turbos NZ; Mini Spares; Marine Crankshaft Inc.; Heritage Garage; Specialist Components; TNL International; Basis; Andrew Healey Signs; Minis In Nelson Inc.; Cartel Works; and special mention and thanks to the Southern Californian Timing Association (SCTA), which runs the Bonneville Speed Week event — the event is completely staffed by volunteers, and they do a fabulous job of looking after the logistics of having 600-plus teams competing on the salt, as well as working to ensure the future of the event: scta-bni.org
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INTERVIEW IAN BAKER
Mr WTAC INTERVIEW: MARCUS GIBSON PHOTOS: RICHARD OPIE, MATHEW EVERINGHAM
WE TALK TO THE CEO OF THE WORLD TIME ATTACK CHALLENGE ABOUT LIFE, RUNNING A MOTOR SPORT FESTIVAL, AND THE BIRTH OF AN INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA
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TUNING EUROPE RALLY LEGEND 2016
Respect your elders WORDS: AARON MAI PHOTOS: MARTIN HANSSON
TAKE A JOURNEY BACK IN TIME TO THE ANTI-LAG–FUELLED GROUP A ERA, AT RALLY LEGEND 2016 n 1986 the sport of rallying was more romantic and flamboyant than Formula One. Cars which reacted quicker than the human brain, drivers with nerves of steel, and spine-tingling ribbons of tarmac and gravel all culminated in the world’s most promising duo burning to death in the bottom of a ravine in Corsica, while trapped inside their car. Rallying had spiralled into insanity, and on May 2, 1986, the sport changed forever. It was time to welcome in a new era — Group A. For many fans and drivers alike, the change was torture. The rules were tightened, and to ensure the sport was heading in a new, safer direction, homologation numbers went from 200 to 2500 units, while power was wound back from 485kW to 179kW. The cars out on the stages once again resembled those you could actually buy in a showroom, and rallying had finally come back down to earth. It was the dawn of an era when the German marques took a back seat, and the Japanese moved in to duke it out with the Italian Lancia Deltas in quaint villages spread throughout Europe. Group A was the best of both worlds, as it would turn out. We still had the Group B drivers behind the wheel, and it produced a new breed of legends such as Richard Burns, Colin McRae, Tommi Mäkinen, and Didier Auriol. The throaty 2.0-litre burble that adorned the Group A cars coupled with the crackle of anti-lag was a winner, and the unmistakable roar of the Legacy
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PROMOTIONAL FEATURE SOURCE AND IMPORT
ZEORO T HERO A COMPLETE GUIDE TO BUILDING YOUR NEXT STREET-CAR SHOWSTOPPER WORDS: JADEN MARTIN PHOTOS: NZPC ARCHIVE
O
ver the following few months we will dive headfirst into the mystical art of building a street car, to bring you a comprehensive step-bystep guide of the process. We’ll start by looking at how to source and import a car from Japan, and move on to modifying the internal and external engine components, wiring in an aftermarket ECU and getting it tuned, upgrading the driveline to suit your new-found power, getting the car to sit at the perfect height and making sure that it has the required stopping power, flaring those guards and tucking your favourite set of wheels beneath them, then seeing them shod in the correct rubber, painting some metal or wrapping it in vinyl, tinting the windows, installing a big e-points body kit, and and tricking out the interior with the vital instrumentation, seats and belts. The possibilities are endless, and we will explore them all.
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In this month’s instalment we’re looking at how you can source and import your perfect project base car from the motherland. Everyone knows that the main local auction website and Facebook trade groups simply won’t turn up what you’re looking for, or not at the right price, and you’ve no doubt been frustrated by all those super-cheap examples popping up for sale in Japan online, but never known how to go about laying down some cash to get them here. Don’t sweat it. We’ve got you covered — the process isn’t as scary as it looks, and with the help of the right people it can be a relatively straightforward task if you have the patience. To make sure you know all the ins and outs of how to get the job done before ponying up a fat stack of cash at the risk of receiving a dunga, we sat down with a few of the top players in the industry to ask them all your burning questions, and to break down just how easy it can be.
BABE HUNT 2016 | FINALIST NO. 10
Koralee LOCATION: Auckland FAVOURITE FLAVOUR DEMON DRINK: Original FAVOURITE D1NZ DRIVER: Tom Marshall FAVOURITE CAR: Lamborghini Asterion or Range Rover Sport SDV8 Dynamic MY BEST FEATURE: Lips and bum FRONT OR BACK SEAT: Front WHERE CAN MY FANS FIND ME: Instagram — koralee_19 or Facebook — koraleewadman
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SPECIAL BUILD
Call the mental ward GLENN HODGES ISN’T KNOWN FOR OPERATING INSIDE THE BOX, AND HIS LATEST PROJECT — A NISSAN MARCH RUNNING A REARMOUNTED V6 WITH A TWIN-TURBO SET-UP — ONLY CEMENTS THAT REPUTATION FURTHER WORDS: JADEN MARTIN PHOTOS: MARCUS GIBSON
ou may recognize the name Glenn Hodges. He’s best known as the brains behind the crazy scratch-built Nissan Navara featured in NZPC Issue No. 231. Now he is back with a build even more mental than the last — so much so, the local loony bin is due to turn up with a straitjacket any day now. After completing the last season of the NZ Superlap series and encountering a dicey high-speed late-braking situation into turn one at Hampton Downs, safety was an important factor for Glenn. He originally planned to install a roll cage into his 300ZX track car to accomplish this, however, when doing the maths, he realized adding that much extra steel into the car would only bring his lap times down, while turning to the power side of the equation, his already maxed-out turbos and injectors would need to be upgraded.
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Realizing this would all cost a pretty penny — more than he was willing to spend on that car — he began drafting plans for a new build, the culmination of which was simple: take a Nissan March and slap a 3.5-litre V6 into the rear, tickle it up with a pair of snails hanging off the side, and take it racing. Too easy, right? The body was provided by the good sorts at Nissin King Izuzu Partsworld, though it had sustained a considerable impact to the rear, which suited Glenn’s plans just fine. As you can imagine, the boot space isn’t known for its generosity, and squeezing the proposed mechanicals in there wouldn’t be an easy task. Handy on the TIG, he lopped off the rear portion of the chassis rails to recreate his own, and this fab work also included creating new rear shock towers to accommodate the K2 coilovers from the front of a J31 Maxima, plus a new subframe to drop the engine and gearbox low in the body, and house the J31 knuckles and Maxima axles that will deliver drive to the rear — a pretty slick conversion for the previously front-wheel drive car.
ENGINE: Honda B18C, 1800cc, four-cylinder; Moroso baffled sump, Blox Racing intake manifold, Skunk2 70mm throttle body, Power Chamber filter kit, HyTec headers, 2.25-inch exhaust, twin Coby mufflers, NGK plugs and leads, Link G4 Atom ECU, Fenix Performance radiator, electric fan DRIVETRAIN: Honda five-speed, Exedy heavy-duty clutch, factory LSD INTERIOR: Racetech 1000 seat, Jamex harness, OMP steering wheel, water temp gauge, custom dash and door cards EXTERIOR: Silver by Spraytech Panel and Paint, custom wing, custom front splitter, Perspex windows, side window NACA duct WHEELS/TYRES: 15x7-inch Advanti N719, 205/50 slicks SUSPENSION: Bilstein shocks, Jamex front springs, Dobi rear springs, Hardrace front and rear adjustable camber arms, Nolathane bushes, Pro Racing subframe brace, Whiteline 22mm sway bar, slotted TRW rotors, EBC Yellowstuff race pads POWER: 125kW at the wheels
Name: Andrew Wasley Location: Palmerston North Occupation: Truck driver