WEBMINING> Diary of a Serial Tire Killer

Motor Mavens has never really featured any “build videos” on the site before, but today as I was browsing the internet looking for information about MX83 Cressidas, 5-speed swaps, and 1JZ swaps… I found this video, from the Serial Nine guys in Canada. This has GOT to be the most entertaining, amateur made “build video” I’ve ever seen. Yep, gotta love those amateur videos. Wait… what? Oh… umm, well I mean the video is informative, but it’s funny at the same time! The Serial Nine crew definitely looks like they’d be fun to kick it with.

So what do you guys think…? Some of us were thinking of having a little fun by building a Motor Mavens project car on a BUDGET. Ideally, the car would be inexpensive and also daily drivable on the street without much hassle from cops. Just brainstorming, some of us were talking about maybe building an FC or an S13… but this video is sparking some MX83 dreams… what do you guys think? MX83 build? Yay or nay?

:: Motor Mavens

The Beginning of SERIALNINE. from SERIALNINE on Vimeo.

Posted by: | Oct 10, 2009 | Categories: Webmining | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

CENTER STAGE> Shakotan S30 240Z

Last weekend at the Japanese Classic Car Show, the Showa car lovers that gathered in Irvine California for this year's event were treated to a sensory overload of Japanese nostalgic cars of all sorts - from Skylines to Corollas to rotaries to Hondas to Datsuns... Oh, the Datsuns!


There were so many cars from Datsun/Nissan lineage represented at this year's JCCS, it was hard to focus on them all. Everything from Japanese style G-nose S30s to US market 240Zs were in abundance at the event this year, but there was one Z in particular that had a certain combination of presence and shock value. I just knew I had to feature it on our site... but there was just one problem. The car (and its owner) live in San Jose, California. And they would both be returning to the Bay Area on the morning after the show.


I had to figure out how (and where) to somehow shoot the car before it went back to San Jose - and I knew I didn't want to do one of those "on the grass" photo shoots after the show, because I think photos of cars on the grass are cliche, unimaginative and overdone... especially since there were 236790 photographers from different magazines doing the same photo shoot on different spots on the grass after JCCS.


The owner of this shakotan (super low down) boogiemonster is Yuta Akaishi. Let's pronounce it together. His first name is Yuta, pronounced like "Utah" and his last name is pronounced "Aka-ishi." I was first drawn to this amazing 240Z because it is just so damn low... it's mind boggling, seriously! The car may be showing its age with the presence of surface rust and dents here and there, but hell... to me, it's just a sign that this car lived a full life. It's kind of like battlescars on a seasoned fighter - they actually ADD to the look.   Read more...

Posted by: | Oct 09, 2009 | Categories: Center Stage | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 126 Comments »

MotorMavens Readers' Blog

COVERAGE> Kop Hill Hillclimb 2009

Set in the beautiful country lanes of Princes Risborough, the Kop Hill Hillclimb is one of the oldest hill climbs in England. During the early 1900s it was one of the largest motorsport events in the UK. The hill itself is a pretty straight road, but it's over 1000 metres long to the summit and rises to 100 metres high. Big crowds would line the edges of the road to watch drivers and motorcyclists try to achieve the fastest times and speeds up the hill. Unfortunately, as the speeds got faster, so did the risks, and on the 28th of March 1925 an accident involving a spectator led to the end of the original Kop Hill event and led to the RAC banning all motorsports on public roads.


On the 26th and 27th of September, organisers decided to do a Kop Hill Commemorative Run to bring the sounds and sights and even smells (mmm, Castrol R) back to Kop Hill again. Over 250 cars and bikes were there, ranging in age from the 1900s right up to 1980s and even some very special modern cars.   Read more...

Posted by: | Oct 08, 2009 | Categories: Coverage | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments »

WEBMINING> AE86 Lap Battle in Okayama


While we’re still hurrying to post our photos and video footage from JCCS, I took a moment to do what I love to do best (surf the web), I came across this video of the lap battle that takes place during the All Japan AE86 Festival on the Okayama International Circuit. Surrounded by awesome AE86s all day – you gotta love it, it’s an AE86er’s dream.

The Lap battle is a part of the Challenge Cup takes place at this annual hachiroku festival. The Challenge Cup is a gateway for anyone wishing to compete and want to move up into semi-pro racing. There are typically 8 rounds held during the season, and all of them take place at Okayama. Enjoy the sights, sounds and action of these sick AE86s screaming around the track.

:: Travis Hodges

Posted by: | Oct 08, 2009 | Categories: Webmining | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

WEBMINING> VW Vanagons at Hockenheimring

While I spend most of my free time dreaming about JDM minivans, I often find myself wanting a sport-tuned German kid hauler. Germany seems to have an abundance of Porsche-powered VW Vanagons out there, and the Deutschlanders just love to take these hopped-up vans to the track. Here we have a vid of a blue VW T3 Vanagon tearing it up around the famed Hockenheimring.

While it’s hard to pick a favorite van, the campervan seen at the 0:40 mark is my favorite just because it’s so absurd. Anyone out there want to help my dreams come true by setting up a Vanagon vs. Estima race?

::Justin Kaehler

Posted by: | Oct 07, 2009 | Categories: Webmining | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

COVERAGE> Drifting is alive in Santo Domingo!

You might not immediately think of the Dominican Republic when you think of drifting, but last month, the biggest drifting club in the DR, the Club Dominicano de Corredores de Drift (referred to as CDCD) put together a huge drift event and concert together with their racetrack's title sponsor, Brahma Light. Casper Canul and I were invited to do a drift demo with our US-based Formula D cars during their drift series-opening event on September 19th, 2009.

We went out there a couple of days early to prep our cars, test and setup their new drift track, marking all of the clipping points and track outline of the course. We spoke with the drivers and setup a driver’s meeting on competition day to go over all of the judging criteria and track rules with their local judges.   Read more...

Posted by: | Oct 07, 2009 | Categories: Coverage | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments »

NEWSWORTHY> The Loss of an Icon: Shaun Carlson

By now, it’s no secret that Shaun Carlson, one of the true greats of import racing, passed away Sunday morning. We could go on and on about his achievements in the industry – he was a photographer and journalist; a great fabricator that built record breaking race cars; an entrepreneur that built his own company, Nuformz, around his passion for racing; a successful Sport Compact FWD racer who raced everything from Honda to Ford to Mopar – he even raced NHRA Pro Stock. And after all of that, he still found a place in the drifting community with Team Mopar.

These are all things that Shaun was known for, but Shaun was more than just that. More than anything else, Shaun was a truly great guy. He never let any of it go to his head. He was always giving his full 100% and he was always thankful for the opportunity to have a successful career doing what he loved. And he meant it.

Shaun was that guy. That guy who is serious about what he does, but never takes himself too seriously. That guy who works his butt off but still manages to give credit to all of the other people on his team who were also working their butts off behind the scenes. That guy who feels like a close friend from the moment you first meet him. That guy who turns people who think they’re going to dislike him into his best friends. An honest to goodness, really good guy. And guys like that are in really short supply.

So we here at Motor Mavens would first like to thank YOU, Shaun… Thank you for putting so much of yourself into this industry – your impact was felt and you will be sorely missed, because you were a truly great person. And we would also like to give our condolences and thanks to Shaun’s family and friends. Without all of the things that you guys poured into him, he would have had far less to pour into all of us. Thank you.

:Motor Mavens

John Naderi‘s Tribute to Shaun Carlson (on Cardomain)
Join the Shaun Carlson Memorial Facebook page for details on the memorial service
Jay Canter’s Photo Tribute to Shaun Carlson on Facebook
Jay Canter and Ed Bergenholtz’s old school photos of Shaun Carlson’s cars and Nuformz

Posted by: | Oct 06, 2009 | Categories: Newsworthy | Tags: , , , , | Leave A Comment »

WEBMINING> Toyota FT86 and AE86 Video

Ohhhh what! Guess what I just found? (Thanks to Ryan Bacsafra, who posted this Japanese Car@Nifty link up on Facebook.) This is a really good simulation video, featuring the FT86 and AE86 driving together. Enjoy!

::Antonio Alvendia

Posted by: | Oct 06, 2009 | Categories: Webmining | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

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