One up one down

By

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Jun 29, 2009

It’s rare to see a vehicle that lends itself to excessive lowering as much as excessive lifting but Blazers are most certainly an exception. Two wheel drive Blazers have always been popular among mini truckers and the 4wd models are gaining popularity among wheelers. Here are examples from both sides of the fence.

Which would you drive?

Spotted On: S10forum.com

Featured Ride: Daves 1985 BMW 325e

By

DaveT

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Jun 29, 2009

8

The GTA has a lot of amazing cars that rip up and down the 400 series highways. Many have short lives and some live forever. Stance Is Everything is committed to bring the stories behind these cars: how these cars got to where they are today and where they are headed.

Today’s Featured ride is the founder of Stance Is Everythings first car: Daves (old) 1985 BMW 325e.

This e30 started spent most of it’s life serving as a daily driver for a long haul truck driver in Atlanta.

Turning into a father son project this rust free car, fully loaded and LSD equipped car was never fast but a good example of a straight forward diving board e30 build.

Initial Delivery
When I first got the car I was stoked to finally have my own set of wheels to whip around and it didn’t matter to me how it looked or that I could not yet drive standard.

When I got it the Atlanta sun had already done quite a number on the paint. — The Atlanta sun and years of neglect showed in the paint.

Sun tan lotion is essential to the longevity of skin

New Paint and rims
I spent a lot of time in the kitchen of a local Jack Astors earning money to paint this car and put wheels on it.

Sadly that cleared out my account so I couldn’t afford suspension until the year after.

Undersized tires, stock suspension, stock lips. Bleh. — Undersized tires, stock suspension, RM's with stock lips. Bleh.

I got the rims for $500 Canadian with tires and the paint job cost $1800 which was a lot for a dishwasher — I got the rims for $500 Canadian with tires and the paint job cost $1800 which was a lot of scratch for a high school dishwasher

Winter mode was not better, but this car did help me get to indoor parks all around Ontario — Winter mode did not look much better, but this car did help me get to indoor parks all around Ontario

Angel eyes

New suspension
I was finally able to afford to drop the car a little bit. After I lowered this car I knew I could never drive a stock height car again.

Eibach Pro kit/ Bilstien Sports combo was installed — Eibach Pro kit/ Bilstien Sports I lost a cap at this time though, a new one cost me $56

I went capless for awhile as well had kind of a budget race look

Pic from a Maxbimmer May 24 Wasaga cruise

Interior
I put a lot of seat time in this vehicle so I had to make it something I enjoyed sitting in, this mean the drivers seat and stereo had to be addressed.

I decided my comfort was far more valuable then that of anyone else in the car and got myself a Recaro

I had a short shifter installed at this point also, I love short shifters

I installed a pretty neat motorized JVC El Kamelon head unit — I installed already installed a pretty neat motorized JVC El Kamelon head unit

I also took the time to upgrade the sound system, this is the system sans cover — Originally I had dual bandpass boxes with 2 10s but that setup was bunk so I moved to 12" sealed

This was with all the covers installed, it clenaed up the trunk pretty nice — This was with all the covers installed, it cleaned up the trunk pretty nice

e30system2 — Sealed box built to JL's specs loaded with a JL 12w3v2 firing inside, thump.

Exterior
The e30 taught me that subtle tasteful, vehicle appropriate modifications win out over outrageous body kits and paint.

These air dams are no longer available and hard to find in good condition, this was the best I could find so it had to work

I had to get pretty creative with making up the missing piece, luckily I was able to source one. — I had to get pretty creative with making up the missing piece, luckily I was able to source that chunk. The rest of the lip is in flat black as I had a corner made of foam for a summer

I glassed the back and bondo'd the front, fixing the rest of the air dam was a cake walk compared to this

A lot of work later I got the piece ready for paint and made some fog light blanks

Rattled can base and clear, turned out pretty good.

mounted2 — Once installed it instantly changed the look of the car

I had it chipped and a Ractive muffler installed at this point sounded faster at least

I also finally got a proper sized tire set up for the wheels

At this point I loved the car and took as many pictures as I could

Sublte era correct modification went a long way with this car — Subtle era correct modification went a long way with this car

This was the last shot I ever took of the car, it is now someones Track Car — This was the last shot I ever took of the car before I sold it is now someones Track Car

You never forget your first.

The Modifications
Suspension: Eibach Pro Kit/ Bilstien Sport shocks
Wheels: 15 x 6.5″ BBS RMS
Tires: Falken 512’s 205/55/15
Motor: Jim Conforti Chip, K&N Drop In Filter
SSK: Motronix
Stereo: Pioneer Head Unit, Rockford Fostage 4 channel Amp, Infinity Reference components, Jl 12w3v2

WTF Fridays: Xtreme Civic

By

DaveT

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Jun 26, 2009

0

This car is a mess.

There is a lot going on here so make sure you take it all in. The X is for Xtreme

Well cut speed holes in the door, nevermind the missing roof

Taking out the passenger seat was a good idea, no one would want to be seen in this but the driver

Event Coverage: Applewood Plaza Show & Shine 06/24/09

By

DaveT

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Jun 26, 2009

0

I totally forgot about this set of weekly show and shines as well. I had sometime yesterday before going riding to swing by this show and shine with the point and shoot. There were so many nice cars that I plan on going back next week with the SLR to shoot this event properly and maybe get some photos of the burnout rumored contests.

1923 Star Touring
There were a few of these really old cars at the show, I didn’t take shots of all of them just because I was in a hurry.

Imports

The only RHD car at the show was this Skyline

This clean Civic parked right near me, I guess low hatches stick together

The Pantera
Wow, two days ago I unveiled that this car was the header car and now I see one in person for the first time.

Everything about this car is unique especially the wheels

One of the cleanest engine compartments I have ever seen.

Meat Eaters
If you remember from my Canadian Tire show coverage this is what I call cars hiding big meaty tires in their rear quarters.

The shadow obstructs the view a little but but belive me they are there. — The shadow obstructs the view a little but but believe me they are there.

Oh my. — Another Barracuda you can see what this cars packing a little better

Low Lows

Rats

Saw this Meteor at Canadian Tire on Sunday and didn't have my cam then saw him as I was leaving he's a slippery one

The weird odd balls

This dude goes against the grain, check out the hand the bumper left side

I'm not really sure what kind of kit this was or what it's based on

Some tom foolery was afoot with this car, but I couldn't find the owner to confirm

Starsky & Hutch Torino

Muscle

The over the top

This Mustang was a little much for my tastes

But I agree with whats going on under the hood

The owner of this car let his daughter drive it out to the show, that's trust — The owner of this car let his daughter drive it out to the show, that is trust

Interesting way to get around license plate laws, the owner says this is the third car he has done it on

Featured Photographer: Sam H

By

DaveT

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Jun 25, 2009

0

Stance Is Everything continues to bring you local GTA photography talent, this week we are proud to showcase the work of Sam H. Sam is a good friend who whips an m50 swapped 318 e30 and spends some time behind the lens when not under the hood, or behind the wheel of his car. He sent over quite a few nice shots, MX/ATV, track, cruisin and your standard parking lot fare. Check them out.

Automotive

I have to get the location of this shot from him

Vipers have a fairly photogenic gauge cluster

Rolling shots can be tough but Sam nailed this one.

Sam did a good job here of catching two rare hatches on the track (323 GTX and a Pulsar)

Motocross/ATV

Sam knows some people who like to play in the dirt as well

Berm sliders are classic moto cross action shots

Another great berm shot picture from Sam

Check out the rest of Sam’s work on his flicker account.

Thanks to Sam for being the second Featured Photographer on Stance Is Everything.

If you want to be a featured photographer on Stance Is Everything email me at [email protected]

Red Beauties

By

DaveT

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Jun 25, 2009

0

A member of a local message board recently picked up an Audi A3 S-Line and posted up some pictures of the car he wanted his to resemble. I’ve never really followed Audi’s that much though I do like most of the modified ones I see. This one however is just gorgeous, and when you add the red GTI into the mix you have a vicious European combo.

The owner of this kept it simple with a red/black complimentary color scheme that works flawlessly

Clean and simple, can't go wrong with BBS wheels and proper stance

This rolling shot really puts into perspective how perfect the stance on this ride is

These two owners have a similar taste in colors and modifications

Staggered setups on fwd cars are always risky but these newer models can pull it off pretty well

Or we can go southpaw with the 2 1 punch

Spotted on: VW Vortex

More stock suspension

By

DaveT

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Jun 24, 2009

0

Seriously people… stop doing this!

Maybe some sort of rings need to be installed to prevent roll overs.

Featured Shop: Seche Media

By

DaveT

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Jun 24, 2009

0

In an effort to promote some of the hard working business owners in the GTA car scene Stance is everything is going to run bi weekly features of fair, reputable, quality shops. This weeks feature is, Seche Media, a vinyl specialty shop.

Seche Media is an online operation with a store front in Ottawa. Their online representative on the message boards is Mathieu Leblond who is located in Kingston but periodically commutes to Toronto on weekends.

As a result most of the goods purchases from Seche Media are done so through their online store or through Mathieu directly. Shipping within Ontario is free and fast with most products arriving in less than a week which makes them a great place to consider for that last minute show addition.

Seche Media sponsors the local Mazda 3 message board and as a result has a large selection of products for Mazda 3s. However they are capable of doing products for nearly any application.

All of the products I have received from Seche Media have met or exceeded my expectations and the one time Mathieu forgot to ship my product he sent me two to make up for it.

The next time you need some vinyl work done be sure to consider Seche Media, once I get a design finished I am going with them for StanceIsEverything.com decals.

I’ve included pictures of some of their available products below.

Seche Cailper Decals for almost any application

They can do custom intricate decals for your wheels

They also do Carbon Fiber work, such as eyelids

Hood stripes and roof overlays are no problem — Hood stripes and roof overlays are also no problem

UPS knows whats up

By

DaveT

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Jun 24, 2009

1

Proof that the right wheels and the right stance can make just about any vehicle look great.

What Can Brown Do For You?

Imagine this came to your door delivering your new set of rims?

Spotted on: ClubRoadster.net

Theme Tuesdays: Vans Can play too

By

DaveT

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Jun 23, 2009

1

The concept of theme Tuesdays here on Stance Is Everything is simple, every Tuesday I pick a theme and post a collection of vehicles with that theme that meet the stance criteria (modified suspension that fit the vehicles overall theme). This weeks theme Tuesday topic is: vans.

When people think of modified vans its hard not to think of those monsters from the 70s these days certain vans in the right hands can look down right amazing. Here is a collection of a few of the better ones I have seen recently.

VW
The Volkswager crowd are pretty much the innovators of the extremely lowered vans (well bus to them but lets not split hairs).

Since these vans like to return to the earth so easily they are normally not in your typical show condition but that ads character — Since these vans like to return to the earth so easily they are normally not in your typical show condition but that adds character

While a little beat up this VW Bus/van is flying both the stance and hippy flag — This VW Bus/van is flying both the stance and hippy flag

This is just enough Vw bus for me to put it here. — This is just enough VW bus for me to put it here.

Imports
Import vans (the tasteful ones not these things) are sometimes done up in ‘tuner’ style but more usually VIP style, really the VIP style suits them best.

V.I.P. style odysseys are really popular — The Honda Odyssey is a very common platform.

I preffer the black ones myself. — I prefer the black ones myself.

Front and back of another black Odyssey notice the camber

Mazda5s are also another popular platform being a large 3 after all, this one looks a bit different these days — Mazda5s are also another popular platform being a large 3 after all, this one is local to Toronto and looks a bit different these days

Toyotas Previa's are also pretty popular platforms, the fact that they are mid engine rear wheel drive is also pretty interesting

Domestic’s
I’m sure all of us have seen a modified Safari or two. The 70s American van craze might have blown over but that doesn’t mean people stopped modifying American vans.