The Corolla Brotherhood

Snapshot - A light dusting of snow is forecast...

2012-02-10T15:15:00.000-08:00

James

Snapshot - Lookking Garage

2012-02-06T14:27:00.000-08:00

I've posted videos and photos of this car a million and one times before here on the brotherhood. But there is just 'something' about this car that brings me back. One of the best early two door Levins around.

Photo sourced from shirtstuckedin.
James

Video - DORIFUTO TIME ATTACKU!

2012-02-05T04:17:00.000-08:00

Here's an awesome video featuring some very well known AE86s from the likes of Run Free and tec-arts to name a few. Also good to see footage of the SR20det AE86 'sunrise' levin driven by Hibino. Great video, so find some free time, sit back & enjoy!

James.

Feature - Henry Russo's 'Break the Mould' AE86

2012-02-04T10:07:00.000-08:00

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of an AE86? The handling, the styling perhaps or for most of us it will be the infamous 4AGE engine. A simple yet incredibly effective piece of engineering that has secured itself in history due it being at the helm of some of Toyota's all time great 'Drivers' cars. I personally think that the AE86 is the key car that the little twin cam motor has been pushed to its limits and beyond in. Despite its greatness, for some people the trusty 4AGE just doesn't fulfil their needs for whatever reason that may be and feel the need to re-write the rule book. Henry Russo is one of those people.

In my years of following AE86 culture I've seen many engine swaps, but sometimes one comes along every now and then that stops me in my tracks and makes me say 'holy crap!'. Henry's AE86 first came to my attention when he posted on the wall of the Corolla Brotherhood's facebook page stating how he had a couple of AE86s, one of which sported a V8. This instantly got my attention as I'm a sucker for a V8 rumble but I was perhaps a little naive in thinking this may be another 1UZ conversion that I've seen a few times over the years. So I dropped him a message to find out some more and sure enough, I was shouting 'holy crap' at my computer upon his reply! That's because Henry is rocking a Ford 302 V8. An engine made famous by the likes of Ford, Shelby and BOSS so you wouldn't think twice about seeing it in the engine bay of a 1969 Mustang, but a humble Toyota from the 1980s? Surely not!

The car started out as an 1986 SR5 which Henry bought off eBay for $1300 then proceeded to drive it just shy of 400 miles home from Virginia to Pennsylvania. He knew it was going to be his next Drift car due to it replacing his tired old '83 Toyota Pickup he was using for Drifting at the time. So where does the 302 come into this I hear you ask? Well Henry explained to me how money was a little tight at the time so a friend of his gave(yes gave!)him a 302 motor complete with T5 transmission to help Henry get his project going. He then set to work on fitting a set of Megan Racing coilovers(Used by Formula D guys John Russakoff & Taka Aono) and a diff and headed out on the first track day almost straight away! At this point the 302 motor was still running the stock carb and sadly Henry blew the motor on the very first drift run!
Not to be defeated he set to work on stripping and rebuilding the engine, this time with a little more detail on the spec.

Now sporting edelbrock aluminium heads intake, aluminium hi Flo water pump & a triple core aluminium radiator to keep that baby cool, it also now has a 2 d holley fuel injection system as opposed to the standard Carb system; which Henry says, 'works amazingly thank god'! Four wheel drive truck headers & ARP con rod bolts complete what has to be described as one seriously tasty sounding V8! Ensuring that the rear end can handle the power increase over the standard 4AGE it's used to, Henry replaced his axle with one sourced from a 1988 Toyota HiLux including a custom rear brake disc set up & A S D Hydro Handbrake.

Henry is only interested in spending his money where it counts; the engine & the suspension explaining to me that aesthetics aren't his main concern and the paint was applied with a roller! But this is a philosophy that couldn't make more sense to me, as he has one fantastic spec car with an incredible engine set up which is great to see as it's obviously pushed the boundaries of what's possible in an 86 chassis. I'm going to conclude the feature with this video of Henry just so the hairs on the back of your neck will stand up after hearing that V8 wail!

Thanks to Henry for taking his time to talk to me about the car and supplying me with these great photos.

James.

Snapshot - Super Fresh Panda

2012-02-01T14:11:00.000-08:00

This super super super clean Panda Trueno came to visit Dyno Torque next door the other day to have a new exhaust built from scratch. All the way from Belgium! It left with an amazing N2 rasp to it. Very cool.

James.

My turn...

2012-01-27T16:48:00.000-08:00

Taking off from brother Chay's post I thought it would be good to share why things have been a little quiet my end around here lately. Well to put it simply, I've been putting some serious and much needed time into my own AE86 project. My daily drive BMW sadly met it's end after someone t-boned me, so after spending some time searching for a replacement and failing badly I decided to get my 86 on the road. The rest of the story will be revealed very soon.
But for now believe me when I say, things will start picking up again here at The Corolla Brotherhood with some awesome things on the horizon.
Stick with us brothers and sisters!

Thanks for reading, James.

Keep on keeping on..

2012-01-25T13:22:00.000-08:00

First off, I'd like to apologise for the lack of posts over the last few weeks. It's inevitable that at some times in the year life takes over and cars take a back seat (albeit a very large back seat still!)

The Corolla scene in the UK tends to slow down a fair bit in winter, with most people keeping their cars under the covers, in garages or on the drive until spring rolls round. Or is this really the case? Behind the scenes the cars are still being tinkered on, ready to be released on the the salt free spring roads.

In such a small scene like ours you mostly get to know the cars first, by seeing photos of them at events, on forum build threads or photos circulating the internet.

I don't know about you, but I get as much satisfaction out of seeing another owners project reach a milestone as I do when I accomplish a task on my own car. Not only because I know how frustrating Corolla ownership can be at times (more often than you think!) but also because there are so few Corollas left on the road that it makes me really happy to see a car brought back to life to fight another day.

So this winter, next time you read an update an owner has posted, leave them a message of encouragement, share a photo of their car or give some words of encouragement. Not to give the owner an inflated ego, but that bit of appreciation pushes you and makes those cold winter nights lying on your back under the car that little bit easier.

Keep at it Brothers (and sisters!)

Chay

Snapshot - 48 mpg

2012-01-14T11:11:00.001-08:00

James

Snapshot - Wide Track

2012-01-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Awesome shot and 86 via Track to Street.

James.

Snapshot - Black Levin Perfection

2012-01-14T07:26:00.000-08:00

Spotted this amazing black levin browsing the pages of Tumblr, couldn't resist sharing.

James

Snapshot - White TE37 Club

2012-01-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

Three 86s sporting white TE37s at Fuji Speedway. 14x7 ET:0 I imagine.

James.

Snapshot -T&E's place of rest

2012-01-02T08:49:00.000-08:00

I've seen the odd photo of this T&E vertex AE86 a few times, recently via Daniel Bridle & his recent trip to Japan for the Outsiders filming. But I came across another photo of it today, this time with no car to the side of it to block the view of those classic white TE37s!

Shame it;s not being used, but I imagine it will be brought back to life at some point by the guys at T&E Vertex.

James.

Snapshot - Through the years

2012-01-02T04:46:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across this ace picture made up of cartoon drawings of all (well, pretty much all) variants of the corolla. It had to be shared:)

James.

Video Roll - Hokkaido Super Production!

2011-12-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

N2 86s. Slap Bass/Synth Dance music. Makes an entertaining viewing.

James.

Snapshot - The Authentic Japanese Package

2011-12-28T12:14:00.000-08:00

Speedhunters' Casey Dhnaram dropped this feature on a stunning Trueno 2 Door owned by Australian Seamus Eldershaw. A great looking 86 with perfectly subtle modifications in styling and packing a punch with the 4AGE 20v conversion. Check out the feature here... SPEEDHUNTERS FEATURE

As Casey put's it in the feature "All in all the car, panda scheme and wheels make for a gorgeous and authentic Japanese package." Sums it up perfectly.

James.

2011-12-22T13:27:00.000-08:00

Shot this photo today, oh man how I love late 2 Door 86s. I want one for a daily, will make a nice companion to my 3 door GT Coupe.

James.

2011, It's been one hell of a ride...

2011-12-21T11:52:00.000-08:00

2011.

It has been one hell of a year for us here at The Corolla Brotherhood. Considering all of this was just a blog I set up to pass the time, it’s given us all some seriously great moments over this year and it seems like you readers have enjoyed it too. From new contributors to features to first annual meets, it’s been a busy year for us and I’m going to try my best to run through all of the best 2011 moments for a spot of reminiscing.

January
I knew that with the start of a new year I wanted to bring something new to the blog, a new chapter if you will. So I went on the hunt to find someone equally fond of the little Toyota as myself, so Brother Chay instantly came to mind and fit the bill perfectly, so hey presto he joined the family. Chay has bought with him a wealth of retro Toyota knowledge and enthusiasm which has most definitely been one of the key reasons behind 2011 being such a good year for The Corolla Brotherhood. So thanks bro, I appreciate your time and effort more than you know!

During the month I grabbed my camera and took a visit to Doritech motorsport for a full garage feature, something we hadn’t done before. I really enjoyed shooting something a little different and that post still remains one of the most popular posts on the blog to date, so thank you Doritech for having us down there for the day.

February
February turned into a Levin themed feature month it seems, with two spotlights gracing the blog. One on Ben’s 2 door Levin, and the other on Greg’s 3 door Levin. I met up with Ben at Silverstone where the winter months early sunset served as a pretty sweet backdrop for the photos of his daily driven AE86. Still one of my favourite corollas in the UK, thanks for your time Brother!

Chay hit us with his first full post spotlighting Greg’s stunning Levin 3 door. Chay went into detail talking about how the car started out, through the project to how it currently stands. A very cool car and I was a fan of the grey over black colour scheme. I’m still yet to see the car in the flesh, but hopefully I’ll get the chance in 2012.

I also attended the BDC Licensing day to bring you guys a bit of drift coverage. Luckily for me there was a trusty old Toyota there sporting a F20C motor too, so it was a good way to kick off a year of Drift photography for me!

March
Heading into the third month saw an interview with famed Irish AE86 driver Eric O’Sullivan. I’ve always been a fan of Eric’s driving style and his highly competitive F20C powered 86 since I saw them both competing at Teesside a few years ago, so I knew Eric had to be in my list of driver interviews this year. Thanks to Eric for taking time out from his up and coming Formula D season and talking some corolla shit with us!

The three of us at the brotherhood also got our hands on an awesome copy of Doriten Magazine from Japan with a full AE86 special, meaning that much of the month was spent starring in awe through the pages with the likes of the Team Mouse cars adorning them.

April
Now this was a seriously sweet month for the Corolla Brotherhood. Chay had been working hard on organising our first annual retro Toyota meet held at the famous Ace Cafe in London and boy did it go well. A great turnout from a wide range of old Toyota's, amazing weather and great coverage from lot’s of paper & web based media it was a resounding success. We are currently trying to organise the second annual gathering so stay tuned for another big one!

We also saw a guest blog feature from the talented photographer, Gancalo Reis Bispo. Gancalo pulled together some great words and photos about Portuguese Hachi Roku owner, Andre Soares and his humble AE86. I’ve always been a fan of Andre’s Corolla since finding his project thread over on the Driftworks forum, so I was really glad his car graced our blog this year. Thanks again to Gancalo and Andre, I really appreciated your input into the web site.

April also bought us another Driver Interview this time with one of my all time favourite AE86 aficionados, Formula D competitor John Russakoff. John kindly gave up some of his time to give us a run through his drifting career and the spec of his Trueno, so thanks brother!

I attended the first round of the BDC at Donnington in the baking sun. It was a fantastic weekend and was great to spend time with the fellow friends & photographers track side.

May
May saw a little spotlight on the return of UK corolla guru Chris ‘Paz’ Parry back in the saddle of an old Toyota with his KE70. I attended a full circuit drift day at Mallory Park to grab a few shots of Paz & the KE in action which was a good sight for anyone who remembers him in the infamous Red, run free kitted Trueno AE86!

Chaydon also dropped an amazing feature on the two 86’s of Cedric Marinet. Both incredible cars and I was very honoured to have the cars featured on our blog, so thanks for Cedric for his time and Chay for bringing us the feature!

July
During July, I spent the weekend up at the Teesside Autodrome for BDC. I had heard that Marc Huxley, the pilot fo the SR20DET powered KE70 had to end his season a little premature due to lack of sponsorship and therefore funds. So I decided to head up to Teesside to catch the little KE in action, grab some photos and try my best to help a brother find a way of finishing the season. It was hands down the most popular car of the day with both the fans and us media folk and was quite a spectacle to watch Marc conquer the more common Nissan’s to take the win. I published a little write up after the event about Marc’s sponsorship situation and a few companies stepped forward and offered him the opportunity to finish the season which was truly awesome news. Thanks to everyone for supporting the ‘Help a Brother’ campaign, here at the Brotherhood and Mr Huxley were blown away!

This month also saw the birth of our newly re-vamped facebook fan page. We had been running a group page for quite a while, but Zuckerberg changed a few things which meant groups were being phased out. Not to be left behind, I set up the Fan page and now we are sitting proud with over 1,300 fans which still makes me smile ecstatically every time I log into the page so thanks to everyone!

August
Another Corolla Brotherhood meet was due for August, and what an awesome event it was. It was the time of the year for the annual Retro Rides Gathering held at Prescott Hill Climb here in the UK. It was one of the best events that we attended as a group in 2011 and we did it in style with a handful of great retro Toyota's on our club stand. One notable attendee on our club stand was local boy Rob May and his famed UK Corolla GT named ‘Black Betty’. Betty has been a serious labour of love over the years for Rob and what an incredible car to watch blast up the hill climb in the baking August sun.

Chay hit us up with another great feature, this time spotlighting Durk Edwards N2 arched Trueno. An amazing corolla and I for one enjoyed reading a little more about the car.

September
During September we decided to team up with Airbrushing specialist Jims Factory to bring you a fresh range and supply of official Corolla Brotherhood stickers. They have proved popular ever since and we wouldn’t have anyone else supply our stickers now after seeing the quality that they produce at the Factory! Be sure to check out the Jims Factory web site and take a look at the bespoke helmet designs they create and treat yourself!

After helping Marc Huxley find sponsorship to finish the BDC season, he managed to grab a top 3 finish in the championship results against a field full of high horsepower Nissan's so a massive well done to Marc and here’s to the 2012 season bro!

October, November & December
The last few months have been fairly quiet for the post count on the blog, but that didn’t mean we weren’t busy with loads of Brotherhood things ready to unleash on you! One thing that we did manage to squeeze in amongst the madness was a feature on a super super clean Hawaiian AE86 2 door Trueno owned by Al Ramiscal. The attention to detail on this car blew my mind and props go to Chay for hunting Al down for the feature in October.

December bought us the news we had been waiting to unleash for a long time, the collaboration with our good friends at Sweet Oblivion to bring you our first official T-Shirt! Billy from SO got in touch with me about doing collaboration and I jumped straight in there as their T-Shirts have always appealed to me.

We exchanged ideas and Billy went away to work on the design only to return to me with more than I could have ever expected! We can’t thank Sweet Oblivion enough for their time and effort with the shirt and we are over the moon with the finished article.

Well there you have it, An amazing year for us and I'm looking forward to what 2012 will bring. Hope all of you have a good Christmas and an eventful New Year!

James & The Corolla Brotherhood family.

Video Roll - Tsukuba, Sunset, Running Free. CLEAR RAP

2011-12-18T12:35:00.000-08:00

'This is why I need a clear Rap'

James.

Mag Scan - N2 x G-Works

2011-12-13T13:45:00.000-08:00

Some N2 love here in the form of another scan from G-Works Magazine...

James.

Mag Scan - G-Works AE86 Meet feature

2011-12-13T13:30:00.000-08:00

Here's a few scans I have just done for you guys to enjoy from a G-Works Japan Magazine feature of a cool looking AE86 meet. Enjoy:)

Loving the Cusom Garage SPEED N2 Levin.

James.

Video Roll: Drift Muscle AE86's...

2011-12-11T15:05:00.000-08:00

The Drift Muscle series in Japan was created by Keiichi Tsuchiya and Daijiro Inada earlier this year with the view that competitive drifting should not be a horsepower war.

Instead the drivers are classed according to skill level. This short video shows some of the AE86's competing in the series. Enjoy!

Chay

Snapshot - N1 - N2! Drift! Meeting!

2011-12-09T12:25:00.000-08:00

Who went to this then?!

James.

Sweet Oblivion x Corolla Brotherhood T-Shirt

2011-12-05T07:46:00.000-08:00

Things have been a little bit quiet over the last month or so, but that doesn't mean we haven't been busy!

Here's one of the more exciting reasons!

We've been working with Billy on the design for a while now and he's done an amazing job on it!

The detail on the shirt is great, check this out:

The shirt is available for pre-order now so get on over to Sweet Oblivion to secure yours! Have a gander at the other designs from Sweet Oblivion and pick one up while you're at it.

Pre-order link: Click HERE!

Chay

500th Post with a side order of Nissan Slaying!

2011-11-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

Well I figured a cool way of using up the 500th Post here on the Corolla Brotherhood was with a picture of Brother Marc Huxley hunting down some Nissan prey in the mighty KE

James.

Flickr Group - Brother Chay @ Prescott

2011-11-20T03:22:00.000-08:00

Here's one from our Flickr group page by user 'magnumleigh' of Chay blasting up the Prescott Hill climb at the summers Retro Rides Gathering.
Check out the rest of Magnumleigh's photostream HERE

James.

Shes younger than my car....

2011-11-20T03:11:00.000-08:00

AE86's are getting older by the day. The AE86 in the video may be a USDM 4AC powered car, but the words still ring true..

Pointed out by AmandaAE86 off 86irl...

Chay

Snapshot - TE27 Heaven

2011-11-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

This is quite simply a stunning example of a Corolla TE27. Found over on Lightnmotion. Go check out all the photos now HERE

James.

Source - http://lightnmotion.net/?p=445

Retro Rides Gathering 2011 Retrospective..

2011-10-27T01:29:00.001-07:00

For me personally, Retro Rides Gathering was one of the best events of the year. The laid back atmosphere and perfect setting of Prescott Hillclimb made it an event to remember. Next year it will be held in the same location and The Corolla Brotherhood will be representing!

For those of you who couldn't make it.. here's what you missed..

Retro Rides Gathering 2011 from Corwin Bainbridge on Vimeo.

Chay.

Cyrious Productions - California Days

2011-10-25T08:42:00.000-07:00

Short video done by Dan Cyr documenting their venture to Formula Drift in California. Taking on the big boys in an AE86 deserves major props!

CYRIOUS PRODUCTIONS - California Days - DRIFTED.COM from Cyrious Productions on Vimeo.

Snapshot - A 'Moment'

2011-10-24T12:02:00.000-07:00

Speedhunters contributor Larry Chen posted this photo of up friend of the Corolla Brotherhood, Taka Aono on a recent behind the scenes post. Great photo, seems to tell a tale.

You the man Taka.

James.

Snapshot - The Divider

2011-10-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

Why did I call the photo the Divider? Well, the Sr20det/AE86 engine swap is something that has, and always will divide opinions within the Hachi Roku world. www.Drifted.com dropped this cool feature of this rather special 86 a few days ago and I'm interested to see what our readers of the Brotherhood think?

I personally don't normally have issues with engine swaps in an 86, as long as it is well executed, which judging from the photos from the Drifted.com write up this particular example looks to be that way!

So, let us know what do you think?
Check out the Drifted.com feature...
http://www.drifted.com/damien-oconnor/feature-yellow-but-not-mellow-ae86/14007/

James.

Snapshot - In Love

2011-10-19T09:33:00.000-07:00

If you click off this photo without having looked at it for a solid hour, then your not trying hard enough. Trueno Perfection.

James

A Life Lesson

2011-10-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

Here is today's life lesson.
These guys are THE Dudes.
That's all you need to know.

James.

Snapshot - A new addition

2011-10-17T00:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a sneak peak at a new addition to the Corolla Brotherhood staff car list. Another KE70 for Brother Ad set to be a pretty sweet daily.

James.

Rob Tilbury @ Queensland Raceway - QLD Drift Matsuri 2011

2011-10-11T16:09:00.000-07:00

Short in-car video of Rob ripping it up! Looks like a great track

Rob @ QLD Drift Matsuri 2011 from Robert Tilbury on Vimeo.

Chay

Feature - Al Ramiscal's Fresh Trueno Coupe

2011-10-04T13:03:00.000-07:00

Geographically speaking, the eternally sunny Hawaii is near enough halfway around the world from our overcast, rainsoaked shores of the UK. Somehow we got screwed on both weather and for the most part, incredibly clean AE86's!

The Hawaii scene has some of the most dialled and clean Corolla's I've seen in a long time and Al's Coupe is no exception. He's gone for a slightly different Panda style to the usual black and white but in my opinion it works, the bronze lower sections matching the deep dish TE37v's nicely.

I fired a couple of questions over to Brother Al to provide a bit of a back story to his car...

Name?

Al Ramiscal

Age?

28yrs old.. Birthday April 1,1983 (no joking for real its my bday!)

Location?

On the island of Oahu from the city of Waipahu.

What was your first memory of AE86's?

My first memory of the AE86 was a long time ago, all my uncles had 1972, '73 and '74 Corolla's or as we call it over here mango's and used to take me cruising around.

Back then they always asked me: "What kind of car do you want when you're old enough to drive?" I jokingly said Hachi cause it sounded like someone was sneezing! To which they used to reply: "That's right, Toyotas last forever!"

So when I was old enough to drive, my first Toyota was a 1987 Toyota Corolla FX-16 GTS. Next I had a '93 Corolla with a 20V... But after owning two fwd cars I told myself my next car better be rwd, either a MR2 or a Hachi, whichever I could find first. After a long search, a friend of mine found a decent SR5 coupe with a 3T motor, the same engine my uncle's had in their 70's Corollas!

I've owned five Hachi's and this one I have now is the lucky six that made it this far.. all the others got destroyed drifting and racing! This one I'll baby just a little but no promises! GET NUTS is what us SECTION-D guys are all about!

What you love most about them?

What I love most about the AE86's is that there such fun little cars to drive, I even prefer my Hachi over my dad's Mercedes ML450, my sister's Lexus IS250 and my own Lexus GS300! There's just nothing that can compare to the way an AE86 takes a corner slow or fast.

When did you get your AE86?

Four years ago.. it almost turned into a sound off car! The guy didnt know what the car really was.

What's the Toyota scene like where you live?

Honestly, everyone here kind-of hides till there's an event or a gathering. Only a hand full of us drive our hachi's often. Other people come out once a month or so, but when we all get together its pretty big.

PHOTO CREDITS: Jeff Seronios and Kristi Kawakami.

Car Specs:

Body:

1986 Toyota Corolla GTS (kouki)

Super clean full interior with Corbeau race bucket seat
Nardi steering wheel w/90mm spacer

Alpine IVA-D106 cd/dvd player

2 Panasonic 4 inch speakers up front only - just cause it's all about the car not the sound system!

Hellahorns

Origin-lab front bumper

Origin-lab side skirts

Origin-lab rear bumper

Origin-lab hood

Origin-lab roof spoiler

TRD whale tale spoiler

Autocatch hood latches

Suspension:

Ksport control drift full coilovers 36way adjustable

T3 four link with T3 panhardbar

T3 front tension rods

T3 inner tie rods

T3 nrca's

Katsuhiro Ueo front tower brace

Katsuhiro Ueo rear trunk brace

Cusco b-pilar brace

stainless steel braided brakelines

G-force slotted and drilled rotors

Volk TE37v 15x9-15

Dunlop Derezza dz101 195/50/15

GREDDY TRUST DD exshaust with the Russell Ramboa special chopped it up and added 4inches

TRD exhaust manifold

Drivetrain:

TRD short shifter w/TRD shift knob

Exedy stage 2 clutch

Kamakaze cams: 304 intake and 298 exhaust

HKS cam gears

Cusco catch can

MSD ignition and spark plug wires

NGK iridium spark plugs

Injein short ram intake

GREDDY oil relocation kit

GREDDY oil cap

Al also asked if we could thank the following people:

Uncle Victor Dela Cruz

Uncle Alan Galario

Mona "Mommy" Galario (married to Alan)

Raymond Gambio

Philip Gambio

Russell "RAWSOUL" Ramboa

The 86 brothers Jon and Efferin Gulliermo

Jeff "photo man" Seronios

HOT BODS BY BEN

All of SECTION-D

Pinksticker

Pray for rain

Hachi outlaws

Munky Wurks Garage - Sean Igawa

The Corolla Brotherhood

Last but not least my family: Mom, Dad, my Sisters, their husbands and my beautiful girlfriend Kristi Kawakami.

Video Roll - Inside the Droo-P AE86

2011-10-02T11:34:00.000-07:00

Don't understand Japanese? Doesn't matter, you get to look at lot's of footage of Hibino sending the Droo-P backwards. Worth a watch:)

James.

Video Roll - Inside TechArts

2011-10-02T11:26:00.001-07:00

James.

Snapshot - Good Morning

2011-09-28T00:53:00.000-07:00

Let's start the day off with some serious style

James.

Snapshot - A Man or A Mouse

2011-09-27T12:55:00.000-07:00

Everyones favorite drift team, Team Mouse!

James.

Snapshot - Blood Red

2011-09-27T12:46:00.000-07:00

A really deep, blood red colour has got to be one of the best suited colours for an 86, especially one executed this well. Photo sourced from http://www.tracktostreet.com/

James.

Ian's "Toyonda" is edging ever closer

2011-09-27T12:44:00.000-07:00

One of the nicest builds in the UK is nearing completion. Good friend of the Brotherhood, Ian Gratton has been re-building his stunning Levin back from the dead with the added ingredient of a F20c Honda S2000 motor rocking throttle bodies. Ian recently uploaded these videos of the motor taking it's first breath and I for one cannot wait for this car to be running, honestly more so than my own project!
Anyway, Check out the videos via the links below!

http://vimeo.com/29396061

http://vimeo.com/28549468

James.

The Qualifying runs

2011-09-27T12:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a cool video of Brother Huxley in his KE70 showing how to qualify top place, with no working foot brake just to add to the tense situation..

James.

It all pays off...

2011-09-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not have known, it was the final round of The British Drift Championship last weekend at the Nissan Factory in Sunderland. A few months back I started a little online campaign to keep the ONLY 80's Corolla driver in the championship and the community came together to help Marc Huxley and his KE70 fighting the power!
New sponsors were soon knocking at Hux's door and he was able to finish the season, and what a way to finish it! Placing 2nd in his class in the championship after loads of top 3 finishes throughout the season was awesome news and The Corolla Brotherhood team are over the moon!
Fellow Corolla Brother and Drifted.com contributor, Ian Gratton kindly sent me this photo to share with you some action from the final round at the Nissan Factory in Sunderland of Mr.Huxley tearing up some 14inch tyres!

A HUGE Congratulations to Marc, great fun watching the him and the little toyota drive over the season and I'm glad The Brotherhood blog could help a little along the journey. Now go win the 2012 season bro!

Photo credits: Ian Gratton of http://www.drifted.com/ for the first photo
Second photo from http://thebritishdriftchampionship.com/

James.

Snapshot: Al's fresh Trueno Coupe

2011-09-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

Al hails from Hawaii, the birthplace of some of the cleanest Corolla's I've ever seen.. and his is no exception. Freshly painted, the car made its debut at the local Toyota meet in Oahu over the weekend. Look for a feature on this car with more photos soon!

Photo taken by Kristi Kawakami

Decisions, Decisions..

2011-09-25T09:47:00.000-07:00

Red two door Trueno, or red two door Levin. A tough, tough choice...
What would you go for?

James.

Jims Factory, The New place to get your CB stickers

2011-09-21T14:38:00.000-07:00

The Corolla Brotherhood has teamed up with the Airbrush Masters at Jims Factory to bring you official Brotherhood stickers straight from their Online store, J-Fact!
Now available in both high quality White & Mirror Gold Vinyl in 295mm width. Drop by the J-Fact store now and also find more of their own Jims Factory brand items including T-Shirts, Hoodies and Stickers.

White sticker:

Mirror Gold Sticker:

Best quality vinyl, with the best logo;) Make sure you only buy the OFFICIAL corolla brotherhood sticker which are only available via the J-Fact store.
J-Fact x Corolla Brotherhood Sticker Shop HERE

The Corolla Brotherhood Family X Jims Factory

Snapshot - MORE IMAMURA

2011-09-18T14:39:00.000-07:00

One of the best 86s of all time, thats why you have been spammed tonight with plenty of photos to make sure you remember that;)

James.

Snapshot - Levin Daily or Trueno Track toy?

2011-09-18T14:29:00.000-07:00

Which would you pick?

James.

Snapshot - TEAM TEKNO

2011-09-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

My a couple of favorite things of mine recently collided. The UK photographer Daniel Bridle went to shoot the Team Tekno cars in Ireland, the results were just awesome...

Photo from http://www.motormavens.com/

James.

Video Roll - You just can't beat the classic's

2011-09-18T14:19:00.001-07:00

Here's a video I've watched a fair few times, and I'm sure you have to. But it's always worth coming back to...
Youichi Imamura in his Stunning old Trueno

James.

Snapshot - SPEED

2011-09-18T14:16:00.000-07:00

Love the style of this Levin. Clean Lines, simple but oh so effective.

Photo sourced from the great Auto-Otaku.com

James.

Snapshot - as Free as the wind blows

2011-09-18T14:14:00.001-07:00

Need I say more?

James.

Snapshot - Beau's Office

2011-09-18T14:10:00.000-07:00

Let's celebrate smashing the 500 likes barrier on our Facebook page by spamming you lot with some cool Corolla photos. Starting off with a cool photo I found of Beauman Jones's old AE86 Trueno...

James.

Facebook Mega Sticker Competition!

2011-09-12T12:00:00.000-07:00

We have just dropped our awesome Mega Sticker Competition on our official Facebook page, so drop by and get spreading the word to be in for the chance to win a super limited edition Corolla Brotherhood 75cm Sticker which are only normally kept for our own Staff member cars!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Corolla-Brotherhood/164016757004458?ref=ts#!/pages/The-Corolla-Brotherhood/164016757004458

James.

D-Mac Unleashing the Fury

2011-09-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

Friend of the Corolla Brotherhood, Formula D star, Prodrift star, I could go on.. Darren "D-Mac" McNamara has been unleashing the true potential of his Rotary Powered super N2 wide arched AE86 over the past couple of weeks both at the special Super Pro BDC round at Silverstone and Mondello Park in the infamous Prodrift IRL series. It's great to see this super mental AE86 out there at last and here's some photos from the http://www.speedhunters.com/ team of the man, and car in action.

The Stunning photos are from http://www.speedhunters.com/

Also came across this video of the super fast little Hachi making an immense charge on the high power Skyline Owners Nissan Skyline R33 of Simon Perry...

James.

Flickr Group - Hmmmm V8 power

2011-09-12T11:31:00.000-07:00

Some of you will know this car, some might not. Some will absolutely love it, some might not! But either way, here at the Corolla Brotherhood we frickin' love it! This photo was posted onto our official Flickr Group by member Nathan SixSmith aka "Random Guy"

For those Brotherhood readers out there that have a Flickr account, make sure you drop by the group and join/upload some stuff! We may well share it on here as well:)

http://www.flickr.com/groups/corollabrotherhood/

James

Let's see your stickers! Oh and some new sticker news;)

2011-09-12T11:19:00.000-07:00

The last batch of Corolla Brotherhood stickers ridiculously quick and we want to see what you guys did with them! We have set up a photo album over on our official Facebook Page so drop us an e-mail on corollabrotherhood@yahoo.com and we will upload your photo:)
Here's one submitted by Colin Mees showing his Limited run Gold CB sticker looking awesome on his spotless AE86 Trueno!

Whilst we are on the subject of stickers, The Corolla Brotherhood has teamed up with the true Airbrush Masters, "Jims Factory" to bring you all of the Brotherhood stickers in top quality Vinyl and all available through their easy to use Online store! They aren't quite on the store yet but we will keep you posted as soon as they are!
You thought the flat gold was cool in the last batch, well what would you think of SHINY GOLD! Straight up gangster we think:)

Stay Tuned!
James.

Snapshot - Letting it all hang out

2011-09-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

First of all my apologies for lack of posts over the last week, all of us have been super busy with life things and haven't really even been able to log in!
But to slightly redeem ourselves, prepare your eyes for some cool posts this evening! Starting it off with Corolla Brotherhood Contributor, Chay letting it all hang out in his Garage Shapple built N2 Trueno! Photo posted on our Facebook page by Jamie Phull, thanks for the photo Jamie!

James.

Video Roll - The Golden Years

2011-09-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

Brother Killian posted this up on the Team Tekno blog, and I had to share. A short, but oh so sweet video from the golden age of D1(In my Opinion anyway) when the likes of Katsuhiro Ueo & Hiroshi Takahashi would do battle in their 86s.

Also if you don't already, make sure you drop by the Team Tekno Blog HERE. It's one of my favorite places to go, and it will soon be yours too.

James.

Show us your Corolla Brotherhood stickers!

2011-09-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

The last run of 30 stickers sold out fast... like really really fast. Everyone at The Corolla Brotherhood would like to thank you for your support! Now we want to see where you've put your stickers?

Either share the photo to our facebook fanpage wall LINK
Or email us with a photo and we'll upload it EMAIL

The next run of stickers will be coming soon so keep checking the blog/facebook page!

Chay

Snapshot - Seeing Red

2011-09-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

a real deep blood red seems to be a colour that just suits AE86 Trueno's. Here's a perfect example courtesy of Speedhunters...

James.

Video Roll - I wish we could all Run Free

2011-09-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

James.

Video Roll - Huxley on the Hill

2011-08-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

Here's a cool run from Brother Marc Huxley at the latest round of the BDC. Due this one being wayyy up in Scotland I couldn't afford to get there and supply you guys with coverage, so I'm glad that footage of Brother Hux has cropped up on the t'interwebs to enjoy:)

James.

Feature - Durk Edwards and his N2 kitted Trueno GTS

2011-08-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

I first came across a photo of Durk's car in a photo thread on Club4ag about a year ago and since then have been trying to find out more about it. As time went on and I became more and more of an internet troll, I finally managed to get in touch with Durk and asked him a few questions about himself and his amazing car.

Name?

Durk Edwards

Age?

....

Location?

Livermore, California

What was your first memory of AE86's?

Reading and seeing pictures of them racing and rallying in Japan in 1984.

What do you love most about them?

They ARE the ultimate driving machine. Perfect balance with unique and timeless styling.

When did you get your AE86? And your 2nd one?

First purchased my 1985 in 1987. It was used to test GAB Rally shocks and other GAB products at the time. It was my daily driver for over 10 years... I pro-rallyed it, auto-x'd and drove it to work!

Then started the "evolution". I eventually passed the "point of no return" and had to keep it off the street.......Competed full time in auto-x, (Solo 2) from 1997 to current.

Purchased the black '86 in 2002(?) It was raced as an ITA car in the 90's then parked from about 1997 until I purchased it. It was pretty rough. I HAD to have an '86 to drive again!! So I made it street legal, but retained the performance stuff. It has an HMR engine built by TRD/Watanabe brothers.. (Kind of a back room deal) TRD close ratio box and a lot of other trick stuff.

Whats the Corolla scene like where you live?

Most AE86's seem to be in the south bay area or near San Francisco area. There are a couple around here.

The winning combination of Durks driving and AE86 have resulted in many victories:

1987 S.C.C.A. Pro-Rally

1987 S.C.C.A. Pro-Rally Group 4 Stock Class winner, Sears Point Rally-Sprint

1997 S.C.C.A. C Street Prepared (CSP) Regional “Rookie” Champion

1998 S.C.C.A. C Street Prepared (CSP) Regional Champion

1999 S.C.C.A. C Street Prepared (CSP) Regional Champion

2000 S.C.C.A. F Street Prepared (FSP) Regional Champion

2000 S.C.C.A. F Street Prepared (FSP) Divisional Champion

2001 S.C.C.A. Street Mod (SM) Regional Champion

2002 S.C.C.A. 3rd place Street Mod (SM) Regional Champion

2003 S.C.C.A. 2nd place Street Mod (SM) Regional Champion

2007 S.C.C.A. X Prepared (XP) Regional Champion

Car specs:

Engine:

Modified 4AGE engine with:

-AE92 crankshaft, polished and balanced
-AE101 rods, balanced
-Wiseco 11.5:1 pistons
-Big port head, polished
-TODA under bucket shim set-up
-Stainless steel valves
-HKS 272 cams
-HKS adjustable cam gears
-HKS flywheel
-HKS clutch
-HKS motor and transmission mounts
-TWM Throttle bodies
-Bosch 250 cc injectors
-Electromotive Tec 2 ignition
-TRD Header
-TRD 2 way LSD
-Custom exhaust
-Magnaflow muffler

Suspension:

-GAB 4-way adjustable race shocks (F)
-GAB 8-way adjustable race shocks (R)
-Ground Control front coil-over set up
-Eibach 500lb. front springs
-TRD 6.0KG rear springs
-TRD front sway bar
-TRD bushings
-T3 Camber Plates
-T3 adjustable rear 4-link set-up
-Adjustable rear lateral rod
-14 x 9 Watanabe wheels

Body:

All stock with:

-TRD N2 fenders and spoiler
-Carbon fiber hood
-JDM Zenkei front and rear bumpers
-ATL Fuel cell
-Autometer gauges
-TRD roll cage
-SPARCO REV seats
-T3 short throw shifter
-MOMO steering wheel

I'm sure you can all agree that the evolution of this car has turned it into a serious weapon.. proof that a 25 year old chassis still has plenty of life left in it. Everyone at The Corolla Brotherhood wishes Durk the best of luck in his next season of competition!

Event - Retro Rides Gathering 2011

2011-08-22T12:33:00.000-07:00

Old, Classic, Retro.
Whatever you want to call them, Cars from yesteryear evoke certain emotions that most modern cars just can’t seem to grasp hold of. Even modern interpretations of classics like new Mustangs, New beetles & Minis all seem to lack lustre in comparison to their ancestors. What better way to show this theory than to get followers from all walks of retro car life to come together and show what they are made of, that’s right Retro Rides Gathering 2011 was in town and what a truly awesome show it was.

With something to tickle everyone’s taste buds, from Rat Rod’s to Precision Hill Climb machines, high powered early M power BMW’s to pristine hopping low-Riders, Retro Rides ensured there was always something catching your eye.

Brotherhood contributor Chay had decided to organise a Corolla Brotherhood / eight-six.co.uk joint stand to represent our beloved old Toyotas and we had a cool array of our favourite machines drawing a great crowd all day. Chay bought down his own immense Garage Shapple built N2 AE86 Trueno and we were also lucky enough to have the truly unbelievable “Black Betty” (Brother Rob May’s AE86 GT Coupe Hill Climb monster) parked up with a whole host of other great Toyotas from super clean Trueno’s to a Beams powered KE70 & a pure gangster 80’s Celica looking like the AE86’s Steroid induced older brother.

Along with the club stands and fields of “hard parking” was the opportunity to run your own car up the amazing Prescott Hill Climb. There was such a fantastic array of retro cars heading up the hill along with a few of our Corolla Brothers! We spent most of the day sat up on the sun drenched grass hill watching all the cars blasting up the hill climb.

But it has to be said everyone’s ears perked up when they heard the earth destroying intake noise coming from Black Betty’s 4AGE 20v throttle bodies. I overheard Rob saying to someone whilst at the club stand that the Marshall’s had told him it was officially the loudest thing up the hill all day. Now that I can believe!

Brother Chay in the trueno also grabbed a fair bit of attention as he fired his 4age AE86 up the winding Prescott course with the N2 arched corolla looking right at home being blasted through the woods.

A brilliant day out with a super chilled out atmosphere and great company you can’t really go wrong with that recipe I say. Looking forward to 2012’s Gathering already...

James.

More of my photos from the day can be found on my Flickr by clicking the link below...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesgascoignephotography/sets/72157627486545686/with/6070163949/

Retro Rides 2011 Write up Teaser...

2011-08-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to give much away on this and save it for a little write up, but here's a teaser photo of Corolla Brother/Hero Rob May in the infamous "Black Betty" 20v powered AE86 GT Coupe. A Stunning car and an absolute pleasure to watch with Rob behind the wheel. Here they are in unison bursting through the trees...

James.

It's been a while...

2011-08-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

Well, after my immense holiday to America, Fuck yeah. I'm back in the UK and back to posting on here! Whilst in the states I stumbled across SO many corollas, which was real cool. A handful of stock USDM 86's, a couple of KE70's (one of which being a cool estate wagon) and an amazing slammed to the floor 86 rocking SSR MkII's & III's.
Unfortunately, the only time I saw one when my Camera was around my neck was when this bone stock US spec 86 appeared in front of me. Obviously it was being used everyday and after 20+ years of driving up and down the steep hills of San Francisco it had taken it's toll!

Some more cool news I've got for you is that upon returning to work today, Brother Jay shown me the newest issue of Japanese Performance magazine to find a cool little feature called "Blog of the Month", and this being The Brotherhood! So a massive thanks to Jap performance for featuring the blog in their awesome Magazine, always great news to hear that people like what we are doing here at Brotherhood HQ and we really appreciate it! If you want to see the write up for yourselves head over to your local shop and pick up the September issue of Japanese Performance.
Here's the scan anyway so you can have a quick look!

Thanks again to Jap Performance mag and all the readers, much brotherly love!

James.

D-MAC 86: The Launch of a Legend : Evicted Clothing

2011-08-11T09:29:00.000-07:00

Great video done by Cezeli Productions featuring DMAC's rotary powered AE86 during its intial shakedown at Weston Airflield..

Evicted: D-MAC 86 - The Launch of a Legend from Cezeli Productions on Vimeo.

Another Short Oakland 86 Day Meet Video

2011-08-10T14:21:00.000-07:00

This one by iPhilms...

GH2 testing at the AE86 Meet from iPhilms on Vimeo.

Slide Your Ride 86 Meet in Oakland, California

2011-08-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

Awesome video covering the 86 day meet organised by Slide Your Ride . Get comfy, get a brew and set aside 10 minutes to watch this.

Corolla Day 2011 from Lab17/Andrew Bohan on Vimeo.

86 Day

2011-08-06T13:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was 86 day and as such it would be rude to not
post up a selection of pictures to celebrate the old rear wheel drive Toyota we all love.

Brother Jay's old UK Coupe in Action (image courtesy of Doristars.com)

Brother Paz's old Trueno in its early format (image courtesy of Doristars.com)

Brother Tony's 4AGTE powered Trueno in Action

Brother Rob's awesome Hill Climb weapon Black Betty

Team Tekno Twinky

Brother Will in the Euro Levin (image courtesy of Doristars.com)

Brother Topi's 2 Door Levin (image courtesy of Racer86)

N2 Line Up

N2 Levin (image courtesy of 7 Tune)

Brother John's (aka Cloko) very tidy Gold UK Spec GT Coupe (image courtesy of AE86irl)

These are just a few of the examples of the many that come to mind when we hear 86 and are the reason why we are so nuts about them, whether they are grip, drift or factory fresh.

AE86's in action at Awesomefest..

2011-07-31T13:43:00.001-07:00

Just seen this video of brotherhood members Tony (incar camera) and Adam (Panda Trueno) in action at Awesomefest, a weekend long drifting festival hosted by Driftworks at Mallory park. While the circuit tends to favour the higher powered cars, both AE86's really go for it!

Video Roll - Absolute Perfection

2011-07-25T13:55:00.000-07:00

Quite possibly the most perfect video known to man (Yes that is a fact). I have watched it a million times and makes me happier every time I watch it. Katsuhiro Ueo in his old old Trueno (In it's most pretty stage IMO) with breath taking driving (as ever with Ueo 86 videos) on the stunning Japanese Nikko circuit. The flick at 0:24 just makes me smile every time.

Set your volume for 10, view it in full screen and enjoy.

I fell to my knees and weeped after watching! Marry me Ueo!!

Well I'm off on holiday for 2 weeks from tomorrow so no post's from me for a little while! But I'm sure Brother's Chay & Ad will keep you entertained:)

James.

Snapshot - More from the Major Force!

2011-07-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

James.

Sneak Peak at the Track Culture AE86

2011-07-24T10:02:00.000-07:00

Whilst at my work the other day, young Dan was out cleaning the Track Culture AE86 Trueno and it seemed a good opportunity to grab a sneaky photo of it out in the fresh air.

Stunning right?

It's also rocking a very special CB rear window sticker;) These arn't for sale though!

P.S- The Photos were from my phone so I apologise for the "not up the canon 5d mkii" standard your used to for the Brotherhood photos :D
James.

'Your Corollas' Facebook album!

2011-07-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

If you havn't checked out our new Facebook Fan page then where have you been?! We started a new "Your Corolla's" Photo album and it's really picking up steam now. Basically if you havn't seen it, all we ask you to do is drop us an e-mail on corollabrotherhood@yahoo.com with an attached photo of you corolla(s) and your name! Then We will upload the photo to the group for all the other Corolla Brothers to see!

Click HERE to see the album so far

Looking forward to seeing some more of your old Toyota's!

James.

Snapshot - MajorForce Train!

2011-07-21T02:45:00.000-07:00

A gaggle of stunning 86's from Major Force in Japan. Photo sourced from Beeoneoneoh

Snapshot - I can't get enough of 90's Style!

2011-07-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

Nori Yaro's Alexi popped up this awesome photo of Manabu Mitsumori's amazing 2 door Trueno and I've found myself looking at it ever since! Cool photo, even cooler 86 with bags of my much loved 90's style. Super Cool!

James.

Oh and have you joined out all new Facebook Page yet? Well why not?!?! Click the link below;)
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.164045800334887.40856.164016757004458&saved#!/pages/The-Corolla-Brotherhood/164016757004458

Facebook Fan page changes!

2011-07-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

So, basically Zuckerberg screwed us over and is apparently phasing out the current facebook 'Groups'. The Brotherhood family know how much you guys love the Facebook updates as it enables you to quickly see the latest updates direct to your Facebook Feed! Fancy eh?

So the all new Official Facebook Fan page has been set up! Head on by to the page and click like now! Also don't forget to tell your FB friends about it too:)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Corolla-Brotherhood/164016757004458

James.

Snapshot - On the Money

2011-07-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

The Tekno lads are SO on the money with this car it's unreal. Awesome work Brothers

James.

SSR loving...

2011-07-12T10:03:00.000-07:00

This scan of this page from the old SSR catalogue amazing. Some of the wheels are reasonably common while others I've never seen.. Which is your favourite?

Circa 2003 Doriten Mag Scan's

2011-07-11T11:08:00.001-07:00

Fumbling through some old Doriten's and spotted these cool Trueno's! Enjoy.

James.

Snapshot - Mis-matched Jigsaw Pieces

2011-07-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

Mis-matched jigsaw pieces don't normally fit together. But you never know without trying eh? Well here's a perfect example of how it can work courtesy of NoriYaro. Two pretty used & abused looking Levins sat here with the one on the right sporting what looks like a KE style front lip spoiler on a Kouki Bumper, A little bit different to your usual Kouki bumper, Zenki Lip combo! Check out the rear wheel poke on it as well. Real 90's Rough World Style from both cars.

James.

Event Report - A Return to the Birth-Place of BDC

2011-07-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

I have been a fan of Drifting for a few years now & visited lots of tracks, shows & championships all to get my fill. But there was one place where it all clicked for me and I was hooked for good. What was the name of that place? The Brilliant Teesside Autodrome in the north of England. Being one of the driver favourites with classic events like Drift UK, Big X & Night Fight it was there for the birth of UK drifting and also the venue for some legendary battles. For those of you that didn’t already know, Teesside was also the home of the very first round of BDC back in 2008, so I’m sure it was a fantastic feeling for the BDC organising team to return there three years later with an the incredible show they have developed over that time.

Corolla Brother and BDC main man Mark "Sweeps" Buckle ensuring everything runs smooth.

What a return trip it was as well with a huge entry list of Semi Pro, Pro & Super Pro drivers all with amazingly well presented cars all ready to do battle with one thing in mind, to take the win. I had been looking forward to this round as I was unable to attend round two at Norfolk arena and was ready to get re-acquainted with the BDC vibe. The circuit chose to run was based on the main track consisting of a long right hander into a tight right then left hairpin combination flowing into a up shifting-smokey exit via a smooth right hander around the Maxxis Tyre Truck!

Ade Brannan finding himself a little deep in the dirt going into the first hairpin. Kept it going though!

Camera gear packed & the daily hog filled with fuel I was all set to get back to visiting my old friend Teesside. I arrived Saturday morning to find a full car park of spectator’s cars which was a great sign for a practice/Qualifying day to come! Number one on my agenda was to get out on track and catch the drivers trying to find the sweet spot on their lines, get to grips with the car and figure out how they could pull off a win. Straight away I was greeted with a track time mitzvah! Drivers being sent out one after another filling the bowl shaped track area with Tyre smoke.

Corolla Brother Marc Huxley taking it to the high Power Datsuns.

One car in particular was incredibly refreshing to see, Marc Huxley’s SR Powered KE70. Myslef and Marc had been planning to do a feature on the car for a while now, and one thing I wanted to do in the feature was show some photos of it doing what it was built to do; Big Smokey Skids! I had plenty of opportunities to get those photos as Marc was on it all weekend showing you don’t need a Million horse power, Body-kitted up Nissan to go out and drift competitively. Marc was seeded in the semi Pro class alongside a field of equally well prepared cars and drivers and it was great to see the Semi Pro guys& gals step up to the plate.

The most intimidating car & driver of the weekend?

One surprise for me was to see Irishman Christy Carpenter attending in his truly fearsome looking Advan/Yokohama Tyre Sponsored S15. I was yet to see this car since its colour change to black after its old Leary purple colour scheme and I was blown away. The car had a huge presence both on & off track and Christy was out to prove that the Irish style of Drifting was the biggest hurdle for the British guys to defeat that weekend.

The High level of twinning was found in the Semi Pro class as well as the top Super Pro class.

Saturday was an action packed day, but Sundays Top 16 show sure knew how to step it up a gear! With some brilliant close twinning from all three classes it was a great credit to how the level of driving has developed since that first BDC round at the very same venue all those years ago.

This pic showing just how much faster in the tight section Hux's KE was compared to the higher powered Nissans.

There was some great standout driving for me in the semi pro class, with Marc’s KE pulling so much speed through the tight sections and Sam Holt’s super low S14 looking incredibly comfortable dealing with the track pulling off some of my favourite twin drifting during the day.

Super close twinning whilst actually clipping the clipping point! Top Driving from the Super Pro's.

But hands down, my award for close “Breathing down your neck” twinning for the weekend had to go to Paul Smith of Team Japspeed & Matt Carter of Team Falken. Those guys really put on a show for the huge sun drenched crowd showing how much confidence in each other’s driving ability they had to pull of close drifting like that. Really was a pleasure to watch, even through the camera’s shutter.

A Masterclass in agressive drifting from Simon Perry & Mark Luney.

Another stunning battle was between the king of smooth drifting, Mark “Buff” Luney and king of balls out drifting, Team Skyline owners very own Simon Perry. The second myslef and the rest of the media guys heard that Buff and Perry were set to do battle we feared that the world would implode from the shear extremities of the two cars, and our estimations weren’t far off! It was an incredible set of battles that even saw (To everyones surprise!) Buff in the SATS Cosworth Supra clip the tires on the final corner of the judged course.

Team Falkens Matt Carter in full attack.

One bit of sad news I encountered over the weekend was the news that Brother Hux was unable to compete in another round and Teesside was set to be the last event the little KE was set to see. But this didn’t set Marc back as he went all out to go out with a bang by winning the Semi Pro class! Really was amazing to watch the entire crowd cheering and blowing the air horns every time he drifted past and that secured in my mind that I had to do all I could do to help Hux finish the season properly. You may have read in my previous post that due to Marc’s amazing driving at Teesside and the brotherhoods “Help a Brother” Campaign he has been able to obtain the financial support from new sponsors to finish the season so for me and The Corolla Brotherhood this was the cherry on top to one amazing weekend.

Team Japspeeds Shane Lynch showing his rear bumper that they are no longer friends.

Here is the list of the top winners from each class -

Semi Pro Class Top 3 –
1st- Marc Huxley
2nd- Matt Campling
3rd- Christian Lewis

Pro Class Top 3 -
1st- Micheal Marshall
2nd- Wesley Keating
3rd- Francis O’Shea

Super Pro Top 3 -
1st- Steve Moore
2nd- Matt Carter
3rd- Paul Smith

Super-charged E46 BMW vs. Nissan Skyline= Viewing pleasure

Each round that I attend, the BDC does nothing but impress me more and more with a well organised team, lots of well prepared cars, top class driving and right down to the brilliant company I have from my fellow Camera wielding brothers track side. If you are still yet to attend a round of BDC this year make sure you do as you’ll be blown away. Round Three at Teesside was a perfect way to spend a weekend and I’m lucky to have so much mental drifting action to point my camera at. Let's hope the next round see's a Corolla Driver top the podium again!

Marc Huxley keeping the crowd entertained in the KE70.

More of my Photo's from the weekend can be found on my Flickr account...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesgascoignephotography/sets/72157626983908315/with/5902569812/

Roll on Round Four.
James.

The System Works!

2011-07-05T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well I post on here bearing some good news. As most of you will have hopefully seen, last night I posted up about the "Help a Brother" Campaign. Since that post I've had a great response from everyone backing the idea, sharing the link on their Facebook pages and Blogs all because they want to see Marc Huxley and the SR powered KE remain in the BDC.

No longer than 12 hours later I received a phone call from Mr Hux saying he had just come off the phone with his new backer's for the remaining part of the 2011 BDC season! I am chuffed to bits that the Brotherhood and the drift community agreed with what I had said in the post and pulled together, it's truly awesome!
So a MASSIVE thank you goes out to Nick Spickett of DriftRacing & Bob Inglis, the man behind the awesome FCD:MP drift days and in the organising team behind AwesomeFest 2011! Those two guys are true Hero's for backing brother Hux and I'm sure you'll all agree that it's brilliant news. Massive thanks to Rich Newton of DB Automotive for supporting & helping the campaign! and also much brotherly love goes out to the folk who shared the post on their blogs/Facebook pages!

So make sure you get yourselves to the final few rounds of the British Drift Championship and show your support brothers!

James.

The Help a Brother Campaign...

2011-07-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

What you have found yourself reading here isn’t the usual beg and plead charity advert crying out for you to empty your pockets. This is a situation where the Corolla Internet community and Brotherhood needs to come together and help a brother out!

I attended the latest round of the British Drift Championship to shoot some photos of Marc Huxley’s SR powered KE70 rip around the Teesside circuit. What I found out on the run up to the event was that Marc’s key sponsor had dropped out and it was now due to be his last round of BDC in the little KE. This was obviously an unfortunate situation that happens to probably a lot of drivers trying to compete.
But after watching the whole round from the centre of the circuit shooting photos one thing I noticed that THE biggest cheering from the crowd was for the only Corolla in the competition. Hux’s KE!

Bagging himself the First place qualifying spot in the Semi Pro class two rounds in a row now and of cause taking the win at Teesside autodrome has only made all us media folk more annoyed that Hux can’t attend any further rounds.

SO! I decided to come up with the “Help a Brother” campaign! This has no involvement from Marc directly, this is purely because all of us will agree that the best Drift championship in the UK NEEDS to have an E chassis slaying the high power Nissans! And seeing as the Corolla Brotherhood has quite a cool following, I figured this was the place to make it happen!

This is where you can help...

A good 90% of the Corollas in the UK run 14” wheels right? Well so does Brother Hux.
I imagine, like me you have got an old pile of 14” tyres lying about in your shed that your Wives & Parents keep on asking “When are you ever gonna get rid of them bloody tyres?” Well, here’s an opportunity to get rid of them! Providing they have got usable tread left, DONATE them Brothers!!
Don't worry if you haven't got any tires to spare, you can help out massively if you just spread the word of this campaign! Whether it's by posting the link on your Facebook, Twitter, Blog well anything! It will all help in spreading the word and hopefully gaining Marc the sponsorship needed to finish the season.

It’s a simple thing that will help a whole lot in making a round of competition that bit more realistic. If you can help in any way drop The Corolla Brotherhood an e-mail and we will be sure to pass on your message. Or don’t want to use e-mail? Drop by the Facebook group and add to the discussions page!
CorollaBrotherhood@yahoo.com

Sponsor help...

Are you a company in the position where you can contribute to the entrance fees? Sponsorship is a much sort after thing for drivers in the BDC, but finding the right car to advertise your company on can be a tough choice. Do you go for the fully body-kitted car that never wins? Or go for a crowd favourite, competitive, well built, round winning car? Surely that answer is common sense!
The Huxley Motorsport KE70 has bags of character and a spec to match and it will get your company noticed so get in touch with him and help the little Toyota slay the run of the mill Nissans and take the Semi Pro Championship!!

Vehicle Spec -
Toyota Corolla KE70
Engine swap to a Nissan SR20DET turbo motor running 240BHP
Full Huxley Motorsport TIG welded roll cage to BDC Specification
Toyota Hilux converted rear axle running custom Moser Mustang Half shafts
Toyota Corolla AE86 Suspension and brake conversion

BDC Season so far -
Qualified 1st at Round Two at the Norfolk arena in the Semi Pro Class with a Top 16 finish in the finals.
Qualified 1st at Round to at Teesside Autodrome resulting in taking the 1st Place spot in the Top 16 finals.
Finishing 1st in the Team event with fellow Drivers James Bull & Martin Richards.
Help a Brother.

The UK’s Drift championships NEED an E Chassis Toyota in them. It’s what the crowd want to see!

DB Automotive have confirmed they will also be helping in anyway to keep Marc & the KE in the BDC. Huge thanks to owner Rich Newton from DB Auto for backing the "Help a Brother" Campaign!

Motormavens X Tekno Twinky

2011-07-04T11:08:00.000-07:00

This set of photos/write up is set to be my most anticipated bit of visual awesomeness I've had to look forward to this year. Mr Uber camera talent Daniel Bridle made his way over to visit Brother's Killian and Kevin of Tekno Twinky to shoot some photos of their amazing Corollas. Mr Bridle posted this teaser up on Vimeo to show us a taste of whats to come. I CAN'T WAIT!

TEAM TEKNO X MOTORMAVENS TEASER from Daniel Bridle on Vimeo.

James.

BDC Round Three Man of the hour

2011-07-03T14:26:00.000-07:00

Well I'm back fresh from the third round of the British Drift Championship at the legendary Teesside Autodrome and WHAT an event it was, but specifically for us Corolla Brother's.
Even though I am sat here still picking bits of tyre off my face I had to edit at least one photo and post it up to announce the awesome news that KE70 driver Marc Huxley pulled off an incredible weekend's drifting both qualifying first in Semi Pro then taking the win in the Top 16 today! It was truly amazing to watch and everyone in the crowd was loving watching the little E chassis tear round the brilliant Teesside track.

Teesside has a certain vibe to it that seems to fair well for our much loved E Chassis corollas, and all of it was on Marc's side this weekend.

On a sad note due to Marc's key sponsor dropping out he isn't able to complete any further BDC rounds which I'm sure you'll agree just can't happen. So stay tuned on the Corolla Brotherhood as I am currently planning the "Help a Brother" campaign to get that KE70 back to fight another Nissan!

(Full Round Three report coming soon)
James.

Brother D-Mac Confirmed for AwesomeFest!

2011-06-30T03:42:00.000-07:00

Driftworks HQ have just dropped the news that friend of the Corolla Brotherhood, D-Mac has just been confirmed as a demo Pro Driver at AwesomeFest! Darren will be nailing the freshly built N2 wide arch, super lightweight, rotary powered AE86 around the amazing Mallory Park! It's one not to miss (Unless your me and on Holiday!!) But BE SURE to go buy your ticket as it's going to be...Awesome?

http://www.driftworks.com/2011/06/d-mac-confirmed-for-awesomefest/

James.

Stolen: French Trueno Coupe

2011-06-29T13:22:00.001-07:00

Some of you that came to the Ace Cafe meet back in April had the chance to meet Henri, who drove all the way from the French Alps to take part.

Unfortunatey Henri's Panda Trueno Coupe was stolen yesterday. While the likelyhood of one someone reading this blog may see the car is slim, the odds of parts being sold on through forums or at events is far greater. Henri has given us a spec list and a few photos of the car to go from so if you do suspect any of the parts you hear about could be from his car, please let us know. After all, how would YOU feel if you knew people had the chance to speak up but instead bought dirty parts?

Details:

VIN / AE860157876

Red Top HC, with 256 hks camshafts and T3 plate on exedy clutch

TRD red wires and blue silicon hoses everywhere.

Cusco strut front bar and Tougeworks rear

standard gearbox T50, rear axle with 2way Kaas LSD

Braided brake hose all round, Black diamond disk on mintex pads

4 coilovers around, D2 coils, Tein springs and Tokiko dampers

TRD mounting, bushes, anti roll bar front and rear

SS jasma manifold, and SS no brand exhaust line

Hayashi street wheels : 8x13 et -5 front and 9,5 ET -23 rear, on falken 912 185/70/15 around, the spare wheel is standard one

Standard interior except Veilside gear knob and Nardi deepdish silver with nardi button.

Chay

Teaser - Track Culture AE86 Taking shape

2011-06-27T11:51:00.000-07:00

Here's a bit of a teaser shot to show the Track Culture AE86 taking shape. It's almost there now, and The Corolla Brotherhood is first in line to feature it. But for now, here's a hint at it's awesomenesssss :D

James.

Snapshot - A spot of team building at MSC

2011-06-25T02:22:00.000-07:00

Photo from the official MSC Japan site.

P.S: Sweet flame design on the silver Levin!
James.

Not Long Now...

2011-06-24T12:38:00.000-07:00

..To the biggest Extreme sports/Drifting festival the UK's seen! Yup, AwesomeFest is nearly upon us so have you got your Ticket yet?
With Weekend long Drifting, Skate, BMX, MotoX and the Big Top Music tent keeping the tunes pumping it's set to be a truly "Awesome" event.
Tickets only available at http://www.driftworks.com/ so go get some, and also take your Corollas along to represent the Brotherhood huh?!

Snapshot - The FD brotherhood

2011-06-21T11:34:00.000-07:00

Properly Loving this super clean photo of the Megan Racing 86 brothers cars sat in the FD paddock. I'm sure you will to so here it is.

James.

MotorFIX 1UZ KE70 in testing..

2011-06-20T02:34:00.000-07:00

First video of the MotorFIX KE70 being driven in anger out on the track. Such an amazing car and it sounds/goes just as well as it looks! The combination of V8 power and lightweight shell means it has an awesome power to weight ratio perfect for drifting. Turn the sound right up for this one!

Video Roll - Hachi Heroes

2011-06-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

James.

Mag Scans - JDM Option treasure trove

2011-06-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

Having a casual flick through an old JDM option magazine resulted in a good result this afternoon. A nice treasure trove of Drift & Grip AE86's. So I've scanned them in for your enjoyment...Enjoy!

James.

Japspeed Subaru Stolen from Santa Pod

2011-06-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

Right so this isn't Corolla based news, but the word needs to spread!

As you may or may not have already seen spread across most of the UK's Drift based media sites, the famous Japspeed Subaru has been stolen by a bunch of thieving scum at the Performance Vauxhall show held at Santa Pod yesterday. A video has been shot of someone spotting it driving down the M25, but both Team Japspeed and Crimestoppers are after as much info as they can which can only be recieved from everyone out there keeping there eyes peeled for it. If you have any info or spot it call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

NAMS N2..

2011-06-09T13:08:00.001-07:00

Looking awesome.

Seem to be some aero upgrades from last year...