Elijah's E36

This semester has been interesting for me because I switched from mechanical engineering at the Tempe ASU campus to Automotive Systems Engineering at the Polytechnic ASU campus. While the Polytech campus is far out there (a 30 minute drive from Tempe, with not too much around it), the benefit of the surrounding area being smaller is that there are many empty roads. Empty roads that make perfect photo locations. Since my morning class the next day was cancelled, I decided to test out these spots, and my friend Elijah came along with his brand new E36. I have more photos, however, these were taken before we decided to throw on the other two of his OEM BBS wheels in the rear (the tires were showing chords so he was riding on the ones that came with the car). 

Elijah told me that the E36 is one of his dream cars, and now that he has it, he plans on keeping it until it dies. For a car bought off of Craigslist for $1000, the car is in amazing condition, with functioning everything and a body in good condition. Although, for some reason, in all my photos, the green paintjob came out as blue; I've tried to correct for it in the pictures, but it didn't work for all of them. Regardless, the cloudy headlights are from him wet sanding the headlight covers to clear them up; he tells me that they are clear now. So, with new tires on the way, clear headlights, and other mods in the works, look forward to seeing more of Elijah's E36.

Austin's '76 Celica GT

With Japanese cars appearing and sometimes dominating the world stage for the past 30 years, it's always good to revisit roots and see the beginnings of it all. It's a good thing, too, that so much interest is being put into older JDM vehicles now because there are so many gems, including this, the first generation Toyota Celica. 

The Celica, derived from the Latin world coelica meaning "heavenly" or "celestial", is the successor to Toyota's first sports car, the Sports 800, which, at the time, competed with some of Japan's other first sports cars, including the Honda S500 and Datsun Fairlady . Thus, its place in the family tree is quite clear. This car was meant to take Toyota forward as their next sports car. 

This particular Celica, a 1976 GT model, is owned by Austin, a freshman electrical and software engineering student at ASU, who is also a part of our local ASU car club Street Refined. The condition this car is in is amazing, and its no wonder thanks to the attention and detail Austin has put into the car. He first found the car after 6 months of browsing Craigslist, attracted to its rarity, looks, and classic JDM nature.

The car was once lowered with underglow and a front splitter, however, it was raised back up and the underglow was removed. Meanwhile, the front splitter met an unfortunate end when it was ripped off by a water puddle.

The list of fixes and modifications is immense. The whole suspension system has been worked on, with struts replaced and adjustable A arms from Techno Toy Tuning installed on the front. The ignition system has also been reworked, with an MSD Streetfire ignition installed, an upgrade to a Thunder coil, and a conversion from points to electronic ignition thanks to a Pertronix kit. The fuel system was also worked on, with the in-tank fuel filter being replaced. The car now rides on sixteen inch wheels wrapped in Khumo ASXs, and the car has a 1974 "Smiley" bumper. For some extra engine audio, racing long/short headers are installed and hooked up to a 2.5 inch exhaust and a Dynomax muffler with an expansion chamber and no cat. The throaty sound is extremely gratifying to hear, with a deep sound that resembles a beefy 6 cylinder engine, and a pop that resembles backfire due to the extremely low pressure of such a large exhaust. The engine's audio wasn't the only audio enhancement, however. A completely new sound system was installed, featuring a 4x400W Fosgate amplifier hooked up to two 5 inch Infinity speakers by Harmon Kardon and another two 6x9 Infinity speakers. A 1000W Fosgate amplifier powers a 12 inch shallow mount Fosgate woofer. I got to hear the audio system in action with some very dynamic music from Clean Bandit, and the power of the system is clear. The basslines come out tight and strong, and the audio is superbly crisp. Austin plans on dropping in a Weber 32/36 carb in the future, as well as working on a rebuild 20r with a port polish and mid-level cam job.

The weather was perfect for taking pictures due to rainstorms earlier in the afternoon leaving clear and cloudy skies, perfect for the amazing Arizonan sunset. The light really helped highlight the lines, shapes, and proportions of this car.

This car has been on the track before, driven by a club member with two years of track experience. He complimented the handling and behavior of the car. Under acceleration, given the power and weight of the car, it pulls very nicely. The exhaust and headers make the exhaust sound heavenly. The appearance of the car is also excellent; both Austin and I noted that we really like how the design looks Japanese, yet it has US muscle car proportions and stance. In fact, I discovered that there was a liftback model of the Celica that very clearly resembled a period-spec Mustang from the rear. The first generation Celica surely a classic car near the base of Toyota's, and Japan's, sports car roots. It surely is a gem worth looking at and worthy of attention, a true, proper classic Japanese sports car.

Harrison's TT

In 1995, Audi unveiled a new concept, a slickly designed, small, two-door sports car called the TT. I remember how there was hype over this car as it was a small sport 2+2, and later roadster, a class that did not have too many entries in. People were polarized by the design; some loved it, others thought the front and rear looked the same (to the point that I remember in a car magazine, I think it was Car and Driver but I can't remember for certain, someone photoshopped a TT picture so the rear had headlights instead of taillights). However, the TT is definitely a fun, small car, as this 2002 TT's owner, Harrison, can attest to.

Harrison is a mechanical engineering major at ASU. He loves the AWD of Audi's quattro system, as well as the very respectable 225 hp the turbo 4 puts out. However, interestingly enough, the TT was not Harrison's original first choice, nor even close to what he was originally thinking of as a first car. He originally wanted something with power, so naturally he was looking towards American cars with V6 or V8 engines, but with the cost of fuel and insurance for them, he looked towards turbo 4 engines. He says he was sold on the TT on the test drive, which, although he was too young to drive at the time and his dad drove it, he knew he had to have it when his dad said it was too fast for him.

Harrison's main concern is to keep the car in the best shape possible, meaning he stays ahead on maintenance and fixing any issues the car may have, such as recently with his power steering pump and turn signal relay. The care and attention to the car shows since even though it's over a decade old it still feels and looks amazing. While there are no performance mods on this car, Harrison has it riding on Drag DR-33s for the red-and-black aesthetic, an aesthetic I love. He also had the original grey interior replaced with black, as well as painted the brake calipers red. 

Harrison says his goal for this car is to keep it running smoothly as a reliable daily driver in hopes of a project car in the future. While he'd love to have a GT-R, for the sake of variety he'd still love to own an American muscle car, like a Challenger, because as he says, "there is something undeniably sexy about having more horsepower than your tires can handle." However, before any of this occurs, he says "I should probably get a garage that I don't share with 300 of my closest friends...". 

But, regardless of what dream car is bought, there will always be the original, the first car. And for Harrison, it's this wonderfully taken care of Audi TT.

Noah's Blobeye Impreza STi

Subarus are a huge thing, as you can probably see from the recent blog posts about Subarus. There are a ton of Impreza drivers here at ASU, including my good friend Noah. Noah and I first met because I was wearing a Honda NSX shirt, and both of us are huge fans of it. With us both being car guys and an admiration for the NSX, we became friends easily. Noah drives this Blobeye Impreza WRX STi with a Cobb exhaust, white wheels that I forgot the name of, and some other various small engine mods that I forgot to ask about again since I forgot that this was also a feature piece and that I needed to ask him about these things.  

As can be seen from the license plate, Noah and his STi are from Oregon, which he tells me has an absolutely massive Subaru presence. For this academic year he drove his STi down from Oregon to have in the desert. The Arizonan fuel, however, has not always matched his Impreza's tastes, as he's told me before how he's had to work on the engine mapping a lot because the fuel didn't agree with his previous maps. But, with those issues over, Noah's been driving this thing- a lot. It serves as both his daily driver to his job and also his track-day toy, and its long, multipurposed life can be seen in its odometer.

The Impreza STi has always been a favorite car of mine because of its rally heritage. Riding along with Noah on the way to the photoshoot location, I became enchanted by the traditional boxer-burble and the wastegate, as well as the smaller details such as the shift indicator (that Noah set to go off at around 3500rpm just so it can be heard regularly, a decision I wholeheartedly agree with). And, being outside looking at the car, I was taken back to when I was younger, playing Gran Turismo 4 and loving how the Blobeye looks. Even sitting still, it looks aggressive and ready to race.

Unfortunately, Noah plans to sell his beloved STi due to life. Even though the STi is a wonderful car, it still screams "boy-racer" too much for Noah's current and future professional career because of all the reasons why a person would love an Impreza STi- the big wing, the loud burble, the bright color, etc. It's a real shame to see her go, but Noah told me that after school is done and a career is in place, he definitely plans on buying another one. Subie love sure runs deep.

Milo's Impreza

I'm working on No Fly Zone and Cars and Coffee photos, but first, I wanted to share some pics Milo's Impreza. We went to No Fly Zone together with some other people, and after we were done spectating, we set out to a power plant we spotted in the distance to get some photos there. While we couldn't find a way in/couldn't find a suitable location, there was a nice dirt circle by the entrance. When dirt and Subarus combine, you get off-road drifts. Plenty of them. What do you do when this happens and you have a camera? Take some photos. 

Since this was a spontaneous thing, I didn't get to do an "interview" per se with Milo about himself and his car to write about as a feature here. However, from the small talk we've made, Milo has plenty of racing experience, racing karts as a kid and cars like his Subaru in autocross and track events. Hence, when photographing him, everything felt completely controlled and comfortable. His car makes "unknown power"; I didn't as about what's under the hood, but it isn't stock, either. Clearly though, his skill and the car's unknown power showed itself in our little drift-photoshoot. Which, by the way, was on a dirt loop with only one entrance and exit that we blocked off, so it was a closed course, in case if anyone was wondering. We're professionals, folks.