The Dinosaur that is

So has the speed inducing, growl and formidable lumbering of the locally grown V8 come to an eventual end? Has the rise of the opposition and call for the dismemberment of fossil fuels finally put an end to Australia's home grown and much lauded V8 franchise?

It has been a long 47 years since the inception of the first locally produced V8 and much has happened over the years.  Between the introduction of independent rear suspension to the whine and pull of a factory superchager, the Australian automotive scenery has much to thank for the humble Holden Commodore.

So is this truly the end of an era or did it merely open a door for future possibilities? I feel as if most of us have come to the realization that we won't be rumbling around with the sound of masculinity through the suburbs for the rest of our lives. Some of you may have seen the end coming and snapped up a few of the last, reasonably well-kept models, and have them lovingly kept within the confines of your man cave.  Some of you may have been a tad late and picked up anything you can at the expense of a few stockies and a loud Friday night at the legal or not so legal skid pan.

Regardless of whether you have one or not, the Commodore as we know will soon cease to exist.  Will the next incarnation be pulled around by a 4 cylinder along the lines of a larger Astra? Will anyone buy it?  Bottom line is we will end up with another Camry, a white econo-box that gets us from A to B with the possible weekend getaway to C.  That's what the big automotive manufacturers see at least anyway. Small cars that use minimal amount of fuel with the least possible personality so as to not detract from the functional machine it is meant to be.  The automotive equivalent to those Styrofoam boxes the lite 'n' easy meals come in.

Whilst Holden and Ford's bottom line numbers have improved this year, especially over the Korean multinational that everyone knows and loves - Hyundai -  the fate of the pants tightening V8 is all but sealed.

What is to happen with the automotive scene now? We know now that Mazda executives have approved the design of the RX9, the eventual successor to the RX7, but what are Holden to do? reinvent the Torana with a turbo 4? Import as many GM produced yank tanks ala Ford's Mustang? I guess its back to yard finds and troweling the dust pages of old auto magazines.

End rant


See you at the track
- Willie

A new era of Summernats?

Another January is over and with it another Summernats is done and dusted.
With the influx of flagship cars as well as what is always regarded as the hottest day of the year, the 29th year of Summernats was the second in a row in which a non-V8 came away with the prestigious Grand Champion award.  That being said however, the much acclaimed Mazda that came away with the top honours was a shoe in amongst the sea of lion and blue oval badged behemoths.

Much can be said about the spectacle that is Summernats.  Some say the belligerent wrong-doers with reckless attitudes towards personal and not so personal safety that attend this festival of fire do nothing but promote the maligned and degraded brand the name Summernats was identified with in days gone by.

Others say that since Chic Henry sold the carnival of chaos, the new owners have continuously raised the bar and ushered in a new era of automotive debauchery, just without as much debauchery.  The emphasis of family days, the assurance of safety and the inclusion of key cars such as the Red Bull Racing V8 Supercar wheeled by Jamie Whincup assist in stimulating the friendly attitude and encourage local law enforcement bodies to praise the lack of attacks on a Saturday night.

I love the Summernats as much as the next red meat eating, methanol whiffing male but to me it feels like the makeup gun that Homer made Marge "Homer, you've got it set on crack whore!".  At the end of the day the Summernats will always be a celebration of all that is masculine. You can tone down all that made it everything it was to begin with, but as long as people are willing to shred compressed rubber to appease the shirtless masses who are willing to pay $8 for a can of beer, then you will have 100,000 people streaming through the gates at $70 a ticket.

I for one think that the Summernats as a brand will go from strength to strength doing just what they're doing:  providing a locale at which to perform burnouts as much as your hearts content and present your hard earned and built ride for the inspection and admiration of your peers. So long as they show that they are making an attempt to curb the alcohol fuelled violence and endorse a family friendly event, then the public just may be appeased.

Next year will be no different, with Summernats turning the dirty 30, it will prove to be a true spectacle.  Lets just hope the ACT government doesn't have other plans.  With the revenue the Capital receives from this revelry of rev-heads I highly doubt anything will happen to waylay the event.


See you at the track
- Willie

Import Parts Canberra Cruise

Nestled away in a quiet corner of Mitchel, an industrial estate in Canberra's north, lies an unassuming import workshop.  Import Parts Canberra.

Lead my mechanic and owner Ben Mejlak, it's not only a  place to source parts for your mechanicaly or aesthetically misalligned import, but also a place for general services, engine swaps, motorsport builds and everything in between.

On a sleepy morning in August, Ben and the lads decided the time and the weather was right to organize a small cruise around Canberra and down to the Cotter.

The plan was to head out from Mitchell en-mass and make our way to Symonston where a previous all jap meet was held, then out to the Cotter and back to Kambah for Dominoes which the gracious owner and GTR aficionado had prepared.

Due to time constraints, I unfortunately wasn't able to head out on the cruise, however I did manage to capture the initial meet that overrun Winchcombe court.

The cars that turned out, whilst predominantly Japanese derived, provided an eclectic mix. everything from a new 86, a turbo lancer, a handful of Evo's and more GTR's than you could poke a stick at.

Even some home grown aussie muscle headed out for the festivities. Some lower than others with the aid of airbag suspension.

Speaking of muscle, one of the first few cars that turned up was apparently well known to the boys at Import Parts.  This Falcon ute was partly built by the lads, quite unassuming from the outside besides the Project D wheels with dish and some meat on the back.

But when you pop the bonnet, a Boss V8 greets you with a cheeky little surprise on the side. As it turns out, fat tyres are need, this damn ute runs nitrous. 

As it turned out, the Falcon ute wasn't the only ridiculously quick car to turn up as Ben brought around his own R34 GTR in that gorgeous Bayside Blue, the second it came screaming up the street, all heads turn and conversations stopped.

However, due to gasket issues, the R34 wasn't able to come out for a stroll around Canberra, what's a bloke to do? Well bring out his drift spec, blown V8 powered S13 of course!

Like the Falcon ute, once the bonnet was opened, a crowd flocked to see what was under it.  Not that you needed to actually open the bonnet - please note the holes for the charger...

Evidently Ben drives this on the street and regaled to all and sundry of numerous times he'd driven it to the local shopping mall.  Apparently Ben takes this S13 out for a spirited jaunt regularly despite the conspicuous holes in the bonnet and stripped out and caged interior, what a boss!

As everyone had gotten acquainted for the cruise, some formalities were touched on and the cruise route was established, it was time to head out on their Canberra adventure.

As I watched everyone pack up and get ready to roll out, I 100% regretted the fact that the 200 was sitting in my drive way unable to take part in the most basic of enthusiast activities. The cruise.

The lads are gearing up to organize another cruise later in the year so keep an eye on their Facebook page and give them a like and a follow. Maybe when I'm back from the honeymoon, I'll have a little coin to splash on the 200 and finally be able to enjoy it!

Speaking of enjoying a cruise, Adam and the boys from Underground Industries were in attendance, make sure you check out their facebook page and sus out some more photos of the whole day, they've even posted a rad video, so make sure you give them a like as well.

Well that enough cruise action from me, make sure you give our facebook page a like and a share and don't forget, we're on insta and twitter as well

See you at the track!

- Willie

August Cars Bikes 'n' Coffee

An old 1940's hangar in the back of the Canberran industrial estate of Fyshwick was the destination of the August installment of Shannon's Cars Bikes 'n' Coffee.  The somewhat dingy atmosphere lending itself to the more historically inclined vehicles on display.

In Canberra, it seems more and more likely that you need to know about an event before you actually know about it.

When I did find out about it however, I was so glad I didn't have to travel to the coast or to Sydney for an event/meet thanks to Steven and the good folks at Shannon's Insurance.

It seems this town has been lacking in that area for some time.  Either that or I'm quite out of touch...

What I stumbled upon however was quite a nice little microcosm of home grown goodness.

It seemed like every car in attendance had been built and toyed with by the actual owner, as opposed to a bevy of workshops.

Don't get me wrong, I adored the last MotorEx event and have no doubt that the owners of such highly acclaimed rides had played a part in the development of their pride and joy.

However, the cars parked in and around the unused hangar had an aura about them.

An aura that spoke of hours upon hours of blood sweat and tears not to mention polishing compound and axle grease.

That's what I love and miss about local, smaller shows.

You can tell when someone has spend more time on their car or bike than others might warrant.

 Just ask them, you can tell when they have just by the way they talk.

Though sometimes its the small details that let you in on a little about the builder.

You can tell a lot about a person from their car and what they've done to it.

With any luck, by the time the Xmas Cars Bike 'n' Coffee meet rolls around I'll have the 200 out of hiding.

Maybe I'll see you there.

- Willie

MotorEx 2015

Well thats it, another year of MotorEx completed, thankfully this year it was closer being in Sydney than last year's show in Melbourne.

 Much like every year, this show didn't fail to impress.

 One thing i did pick up on is the last few shows, cars that didn't have a V8 under the hood were picking up the top awards.

This rotary powered Datsun won the much V8 dominated Summernats this year.

And now an RX3 sedan pick up the top going at the 2015 MotorEx.

 Do i feel a change in the air?

It seems to me that so many more people are putting in effort into rides other than the standard fair sedans of yesteryear.

That being said however, there is no denying the credibility of a well put together ride.

Builders seem to be thinking more outside of the box than ever.

Speaking of outside the box, I can't make up my mind about this Torana - Hotrod... your thoughts?

How about a slammed Holden Colorado?  I must admit, I was quite pleased with the amount of elite level mini trucks on display.

In addition to the mini trucks, the amount of rotors on display were also impressive.

I'd have to say, the biggest display I was looking forward to was Kato-san and Liberty Walk.

If you've never heard of Liberty Walk before, you've been living under a rock.  This is the crew responsible for taking an angle grinder to super expensive cars and creating ultra wide and low exotics.

Kato-san and his crew were brought in by Queen Street Customs to help with the promotion and build the incredibly wide R35's and BMW's on display.

It's one thing looking at these fine examples of rolling perfection from behind a computer screen, but once its in front of you, you just can't help but to stop and stare.

I don't even know what I would do if I saw one rolling down the block... probably follow and drool...

Not only was there fresh meat at the show, but award winners from years past were assembled to compete.

 So smooth and creamy.

Being a painter myself, it's wonderful to see such extreme levels of detail and perfect body work.

Hardly a panel out place, but then in an 'invite only' show such as Motorex, you wouldn't be caught with a spot of dust on any inch of paintwork, let alone a misaligned door jam!

I really liked the enginebay of this VY ute, but the doors and kit kind of ruined it for me, too much going on.

 

Sometimes, a 'less is more' approach is the best method.

This year the organizers also had a vast array of movie cars on display, a personal favorite was the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine.

Due to the popularity, it was hard to pull off a clean shot of these famous rides.

Another favorite of mine, is checking out what is in the pipeline for some shops and builders.

The lads from Down Town Kustoms were in attendance and managed to pick up a swag of medals for their Holden FC ute over the course of the weekend.

Do you think the super wide over fender movement is going to catch on in Australia? 

I'm already trying to figure out how to afford a new FT86 with one of Kei Muira's Rocket Bunny kits and the wheels to match.

Outside the main halls, the street cars lined up for a crack at the street driven trophy.

Some of the cars even looked good enough to be inside competing.

Well that's enough from me, don't forget to like and share us on Facebook, we have plenty more photos to share!

See you at the track (or the drags)

- Willie