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
I just dropped my latest Outsiders feature over on Driftworks. I'll never forget the nights spent in Nagoya, and I really wish I could share all the photos I took, but for now this will have to wet your appetite.
Sekido was one of the most happy, laid back people I met on the Outsiders tour. His S15 is pretty awesome too so I asked him if I could shoot a feature on it and he was more than happy. You can check it out now. Feel free to leave a comment, like it, or share it.
