VW Harlequins are pretty interesting little cars. Like most people the first time I saw one I thought it was some sort of joke and was pretty surprised to learn that they were actually a limited run of Golfs by VW.
I don’t think any other car company would have had the guts to produce a car that looks like this, and I don’t think any fanatics other than VW guys could make them look good.
I know the ride height isn't all that low but we are just getting startedKids R Us? I thought it was Toys R Us? WhatWith mismatched panels you can rock mismatched rimsAnother shot at the same show, nice plate!Night time shot with matching BBS wheels with mis matched capsHarlequin sittin on DaytonsRollin shot, fitment on these is actually quite niceThis next Harlequin sits on Borbets and gets around...infront of a VW dealership......at a show collecting trophies, note the shoesHarlequin lawnmower on Ronal TurbosThe late edition, Keven reminded me I forgot oneJetta owner getting in on the funWas this foreshadowing on VWs part?
Apparently only around 264 of these Golfs exist, but a few of them have been repainted solid colors in order for dealers to move them off the lot so the number is a little harder to narrow down.
I got in late last night from a weekend long snowboarding trip I am a little tired and disoriented but thankfully today is a holiday. I am going to use today to catch up on some things Stance Is Everything related after I do some cleaning up here around the house. Until I get some time to write a little bit more here is two quick shots of a Mazda MX-5 dumped on some Equips.
I know a few of my Miata owning readers might say this height is impracticalBut they won't say it doesn't look good 😉
Alright first things first off to make some breakfast, clean up, design some stickers, and write an in depth about this magazine that occupied my time during the driving this weekend:
This was a good read
Let’s see how much I can accomplish. Should you want more pictures of cars on Work wheels check out iputinwork.com
This might be a little old now, I’m not entirely sure, but since I just saw it, it’s safe to assume that all of the internet has yet to see it. Although these pics look super gruesome the drive actually walked directly from this accident to buy a lottery ticket since he has a horse shoe way up his butt.
The story from HD9 WCPO says that the crash is still under investigation but it’s pretty likely that excessive speed was involved. Regardless of what happened the driver is very, very lucky.
From this angle it looks pretty bad but nothing too out of the ordinary for hitting a poleAir bag deployed always goodHoly shit!
Site Updates
Monday is a holiday here (Family Day!) so I will either be designing stickers or at the Toronto International Auto Show, either way I should have some interesting content for next week.
Speaking of stickers my illest/fatlace package arrived and I am sending out some stickers today after work to San Diego, Tucson, and Hamilton.
Siiiick
Traffic wise this weeks Theme Tuesday is continuing to do really well which I am glad because it took some time to put together and I was somewhat worried that not everyone felt the same way I did about car models. However the response has been good and I am already working on a part 2!
When Mike Latter bought his 2001 Subaru Forrester he had no intentions of modifying it, however shortly after joining the Toronto Subaru Club he was bit with what we enthusiasts like to call the mod bug. After plenty of online research hours, wrench turning and visa bills later, Mike’s car is on it’s third revision and currently awaiting its fourth.
Like most Mike’s first round of modifications started off fairly conservative, he installed a set of RaceGear coil-overs and OZ Superturismo wheels and called it a day. Since modified Forrester’s are such a rarity in the GTA Mike’s Forrester quickly stood out and turned a lot of heads in the Summer of 2007.
Unsuspecting little ForresterRevision 1Back end revision 1
With the mod bugs venom seeping into his veins via the compliments he was getting on his rides new look Mike began to modify his Forrester over the 2007/2008 winter months.
Once summer of 2008 rolled around Mike further improved upon his Subuaru’s suspension setup by adding a trio of Perrin suspension parts including: a 22mm rear sway bar, sway bar mounts and sway bar end links. Mike also got out his chop saw and welder to fabricate a set of heavy duty front and rear strut bars.
While the suspension was apart he improved braking performance by installing power slot rotors on all four corners.
Revision 2
Under the newly fitted WRX hood, Borla headers were mated to a custom vibrant exhaust system, while inside a GroupA Short shifter was added, along with a set of nex carbon bucket seats for summer use, and 2001 WRX seats for winter. He also took some time at this point to shave a few pounds of sound deadening weight.
When the summer of 2009 came around Mike was at it again installing a set of 19×8 OZ Ultra leggra wheels along with a set of cusco coil overs that allowed him to drop his car lower than his previous, RaceGear, setup would allow.
Garage shot
Near the end of the 09 season, after having some time to take in his cars new look, Mike decided that his wheel fitment left a little to be desired. Aiming to fill his wheel wells a little better Mike ordered a set of custom spacers, which required longer ARP studs, and open ended lug nuts.
Mike knew that a set of Work Lug nuts would be the perfect way to set off his new fitment so he placed his order. Unfortunately for Mike these lug nuts were back-ordered and as month, after month, went by Mike soon found himself in the middle of a snowstorm on summer tires.
Dark Knight
This is when tragedy struck, one snowy November night in Burlington Ontario, in the form of a very stubborn pole. With a significantly damaged front end Mike was put in a position that none of us as car enthusiasts want to be in.
That was some pole…Beat but not beaten
With time, love, dedication, and money invested into this vehicle it was heart breaking for Mike to see his Forrester now almost fit for the scrap yard. After much debate on what to do with his bent ride mike eventually pushed his emotions aside Mike and decided to rebuilt his prized possession.
After spending two days locked in his garage Mike was able to get his car back on the road with a new rat/hoodride inspired look.
This car has soul
Mike’s Forrester now wears it’s battle wounds with pride and while one day Mike plans to transfer his parts over to a clean chassis he currently loves his car now just as much as he did before the accident
Mike’s plan, once he gets a new chassis, is to continue to modify his car in a way that makes it unique and eye catching.
Personally I can’t wait to see what comes next, and with the dedication and passion Mike has shown so far the sky is the limit.
Here are a few more photos of Mike’s ride in its current winter and battle ready condition:
Ratted and readyWashing or rusting?Flared, rackedReady for a Canadian winter
Every year when winter comes around I have taken the lips off my cars, I take the one of my Mazda because it is fiberglass which gets really brittle in the cold, and I took the air dam of my e30 because I spent way to much time fixing that just to have some cold water mess it up again.
If I had a nice non damaged ABS example like I can only assume this civic owner does maybe I could leave my lip on…
ABS plastic is much more resilient to bumps and thumps than fg and all you would really have to worry about is it breaking at the mounting clips and paint chips.
I like the BBS RX's on this civic, damn fine looking winter mode
Still seems easier to me to take it off though…
As for our ‘big’ snowstorm today I got to work the same time I always do however it is still snowing so this probably means that it will just take me longer to get home to my ps3. Bah Humbug!
Until then though I have a draft featured ride I am going to push up on my lunch break so be sure to check back.
Car modeling is an interesting thing, I never really know how to interact with models at shows since I figure that by the time I show up (usually late) they have already dealt so many assholes that they have written off the entire male population for the day. Often for good reason as we can be pigs when women are dressed in their skivvies.
That’s why for today’s post I decided to pull together a collection of classy, mostly fully clothed, models that would be more approachable than a girl in a bra and some ‘got ass?’ shorts.
This was a lot more difficult than I thought and I had to spend hours upon hours looking at women, the stuff I go through for my readers…
Ready for a night on the townCar needs a little down and outI posted this one before and it was well received Santiago Gomez had the privilege of shooting this young ladyLocal shop Next Mod has done a few shoots with nice modelsAnother with their is300ExclusiveBoth the girl and the car are unobtainable to me.This photo shoot is super popular shouts too @solefoodOG on twitter for finding these for meLow car long skirtThis pic works your emotions... get it? ...yaNice hand tat hereAnother internet famous shootCar matches the shoes girls gotta accessorizeThrew this one in for my gf since she drives a SoulThis one came from an escort service site hahaThe poor mans BentleyAnother FerrariPhoto wise this shot is amazingJust another pretty face...This picture is awesomeMaybe this is why models normally don't wear dresses?
If you are like me and ever wondered what goes through the mind of an auto show model be sure to check out Do You Come With The Car – a blog of an unidentified auto show model. She is also on twitter at: @DYCWTC. I’ve already spent a few hours at work reading this blog…
Cars like this are the reason that I am glad I started this blog. When I originally saw this car on jdmrides.ca I thought it was amazing and sent it to a few friends but really wished I had a chance to share it with more people since I think cars like these make the hobby more interesting.
Thankfully the one year old thread was bumped recently and the pictures were still live so I can now share this ride with a larger audience.
Looking at this car how much horse power do you think it makes? 150? 200? 250?
Just looks like someones clean daily driverUnder the hood is a b16 with a giant snail.......Tuned by full faceProof is in the pudding
Well if you guess 900hp, could you please guess some lotto numbers for me as well? When I first saw this dyno sheet I stared at it in awe and amazement for a good five minutes.
I’ve heard of a wolf in sheep’s clothing before but this is on an entirely different level.
In track trim the car looks a bit different but still I can just imagine a few unsuspecting car owners just getting obliterated by this car.
Racing a car with this much power on the streets would be ludicrous so he does it at the trackIn a more updated photo this car looks a little less sleeper ish but no less mean
While collecting pictures for next weeks Theme Tuesday I came across this funny picture of a girl sitting on top of a huge double blower setup on a pro street looking Pontiac GTO. With my interest peaked I decided to investigate further.
As it turns out this GTO has a 474 motor with an 8-8-1 blower on top of a 6-71 blower. The owners car domain page says that both blowers are fully functional and together they make a total of 32-35 psi of boost.
The entire setup is almost 1000lbs and the height of the engine is 57″ from the oiplpan to the top scoop. The owner also says that the car makes 1300hp without nitrous but there is some debate about that on a lot of forums.
Quick someone start it and rev and see if she can hold on
The saddest part about this all (to me) is that he says he has NOT run it down the quarter mile setup like this as the motor makes too much power for itself and would grenade.
It seems in a typical one blower situation it can run down the strip just fine but as it’s currently configured any times are strictly speculations.
The owner goes on to say that this car is neither a complete show car, or a race car, but a car built to please him. While I can’t argue with that, as everyone should build cars they way they want, I wish this wild ride could actually run down the strip like this because it sounds and looks pretty impressive (if not over the top).
Girls like to ride it I guessClose up of the setupLol at the blower being as tall as herPhotos from the High Peformance Pontiac Feature
and a quick video of it running:
While this is all well and good someone needs to build a blower capable of being turned on and off ala Mad Max. Don’t tell me it’s impossible! (I already know this)
Things are about to get pretty crazy here at work over the weekend and early next week so I am going to spend what time I do have this weekend getting as many posts ready in advance so I don’t miss any days.
Luckily nothings broken so I don’t have to fix anything and since the ground hog saw it’s shadow I can keep slacking on the new sticker designs for a few more weeks…
Today’s blast from the past doesn’t really go all that far back, just to a time when GTA e30s were low with wheels were sunk into fenders.
Though now sold this alpine white e30 will be remembered as one of the first e30s in the GTA do go down and out.
While I don’t quite remember the first time Leonard popped up on maxbimmer.com I do remember the reaction he got when he posted pictures of his 325is. Jaws dropped and people gawked. No one could deny that hate it or love it this car was pushing the boundaries of GTA e30 tuning at the time.
Slammed on KW Variant 2’s Leonard’s car sat on 16×9.5 and 16×10.5 BBS Rs wheels with an et of 0 and -3 respectively. These now rare wheels (production stopped in about 91 or so) were originally seven inches wide and shipped in all the way from Germany to the USA before Leonard picked them up.
To get these wheels to fit the rear fenders had to be rolled, flared, and cut, in addition to running serious amounts of camber.
I still remember my girlfriend asking me what was wrong with his wheels the first time we drove behind him on a max cruise, funny to think about that now since she’s pretty up on slams now though she won’t admit it.
It wasn’t just the wheels, height, and m-tech add-ons that set this car apart from the crowd like Randy was one of the first people to run HIDs in smoked ellipsoids on an e30. This was a big deal since at this time HID kits were still pretty costly.
The Euromobile
Leonard also had one of the most immaculate e30 I.C.E. trunk setups I have ever seen. He did it all himself and it looked very good in person.
Having thought my setup was pretty clean this one made me down right jealous, not to mention it was done to match his equally gorgeous interior.
Amazing set upV.I.P. e30?
Once Leonard’s original m20 motor gave up the ghost (thanks to a pooched head gasket) Leonard went to RMP Motors and had an s50 power plant and 5sp manual transmission swapped in.
This swap made this car a complete package and helped quiet the people who were grumbling about the car being all show and no go.
s50 swapped in
I’m not sure where this car ended up after he sold it but thankfully Leonard is a gifted photographer and images of his e30 threads all over the internet (most notably vwvortex).
Enjoy the collection of photos I was able to scrounge up of this car.
What's to hate?Leonard had a knack for choosing great locationsstance on pointI almost don't need to caption theseUnderground maxbimmer Mississauga shootThe fender and tire were close friendsThose rear wheels are so wideI might write about the purple mtech in another blast from the past
I also happened to find this video of Leonard in winter mode (all year round!) on youtube.
UPDATE:
Leonard was nice enough to send me a photo of the car the last he saw it. Seems that the MTECH wheels have been removed as well as the BBS RS wheels. While still very nice looking I much preferred how it looked before.
I am going to guess these wheels are either Type A’s or B-1s.
