As some of you may or may not know last weekend a memorial meet for Luke Bliss was held up at the Drift Limits circuit on July 1st 2018.
Luke Bliss was the founder of Pacific Works which started out as an MR2 specialist shop. Luke adored the MR2 and his knowledge about the chassis was truly endless. He soon found himself with a large customer base within the MR2 scene as well as being a trustworthy and long standing member of the IMOC (International MR2 Owners Club), always there to offer help with a level of genuine care and enthusiasm that is rare to find these days.
Luke eventually merged his business with Drift Limits to create Drift Limits Performance as his mechanical skills were useful for not just MR2s but a whole host of other potential customer cars and the Drift Limits fleet itself.
I started working at Drift Limits a few years ago as a photographer and instructor which is where I first got to meet Luke, during that time we got to spend a lot of time together. Whether it was driving MX5s, working on the fleet cars, or helping me fix my own MX5 when it was broken, he was always there when you needed help and could always find a way of cracking some jokes and making a tough situation way less stressful. I no longer work for Drift Limits but I was lucky enough to stay in contact and saw each other at least every month.
Nothing really prepares you for losing someone, and it’s something I’ve been very fortunate enough to not have to go through before so it’s something I’m still trying to come to terms with. I’ll always wish I could have spent more time as his friend or seen him more. As sombre as it is, it was wonderful to see how many people turned out for the meet and just the sheer variety of car cultures he brought together on such a beautiful day at that.
His light hearted nature and positivity in life will always be missed. We all miss you buddy x
A steady trickle of classic cars from the 70s and early 80s has been making it’s way into the Japanese car scene in the UK, and while there’s not many, the ones that are here are usually quite special. One of my personal favourites from the most recent Retro Rides gathering was Ben’s ‘76 Celica GT2000 Liftback RA28.
After spending a few years falling deeper into the black hole that is geeking out over cars on the internet, and a few visits to Japan later, Ben soon found his love for 70s Japanese car culture. Ben imported the car around three years ago from Racing Service H.D.O, a tuning shop in Japan that specialises in unusual drift or circuit racing projects. Most notably their SR20 powered RA28 Celica drift car that competed in D1GP for a few years - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6Q9g8vqYlc
Attention to detail is what makes modifying a classic Japanese car either a hit or a very big miss and many people have fallen into the trap of opting for tasteless “bosozoku” cliches which obviously have a time and place, but throwing an upswept exhaust and oil cooler on something older than 1990 and calling it a day doesn’t always work out. Fortunately Ben has spent his time well, curating a whole host of quality genuine parts and oddities that give this Toyota a very authentic feel.
The car sits on rare Work Equip Sprint 11s in 14x7.5j up front, and on the rear an equally if not rarer pair of Riverside R109s in 14x8.5j. These are wrapped in a full set of Advan A048s which have that timeless tread pattern. The suspension has been modified to suit AE86 coilovers from Driftworks which combined with the wheel and tyre setup helps achieve a tough looking ride height and fitment.
Powering the Celica is an 18R-G with twin Mikuni/Solex carbs and inlet trumpets through a custom stainless steel exhaust system. Oh, and love.
I wish I had shot a few more photos of this car but I aim to make my way down south soon and shoot Ben’s car in some more detail! I highly recommend following him on Instagram for more of his Celica and other interesting project cars - @shootall
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