Its not just junk!

Over the weekend, I had to find replacement parts for my 95 civic hatchback project(more on this later). Since most oem parts are very expensive, even at employee cost(I work for a honda dealership), the easiest way for me to save some money is to go to the local junkyard.
Junkyards to me are more than just junk. Some can find some truely amazing gems or even rare parts there. A friend once found a set of 17" Works VSXX there and he ended up only paying $300 for the set, which usually would cost over $1100 for a new set.

This was something interesting that I saw there, its a 93 Honda Prelude(though the car was beat) with a turbocharged H23 engine:

Its neat to look at but the more I looked at the kit, I noticed the reason why its at the yard. All parts that was used on the build was replica's of well known brand. On Engine builds, let alone turbocharged ones, I would spend more money on quality parts. Its not that I'm against replicas(easiest way to save some money), but when its as important to the car as an engine, its something that you wont want to skinp on. You never know how parts, like the wastegate or even the turbo, will perform under such heat or loads that the engine produces.

Fire is not a cars best friend. Looking at this near new Mini Cooper convertible, fire will decimate everything in its path. With enough heat, plastics melt and burn, even metal components start to bend and deform.

I wonder what this civic owner did or why this happened, I wont  show the interior(bloody) , but the car is riddled with bulletholes. The bullets went through both sides of the car. Hopefully who ever was inside came out alive...

Being a big fan of track cars, I feel sad sometimes when I see cars that has a lot of potential end up at the yard. Cars can sometimes be saved, engines replaced and everything swapped out to let the car live again to be appreciated by the next generation. This Mazda Miata could have been one of those cars but the owners have just neglected it and let it die:

Reminds me of my friend Jerrel's Miata (http://kropsblog.com/) when we had to pick it up and it was still in pieces.

After a couple hours at the yard, on the way homoe, I spotted this cool work truck. I would mind driving this thing daily if the gas wasn't so expensive.

And this Black on black Mercedez CLS. This would be one car I wouldn't mind having for a daily

I Ended up spending only $8.61 for all the parts I needed for the civic which would have been over $50 easily at the dealer. Though the parts are used, they still work and Im happy to keep the money where it should be, in my pocket!

Rough World

Just so you guys can see how massive those fender flares are on the RWB porsche check this:

RWB from Stephen Knoop on Vimeo.


and heres a vid of them racing around putting those beautiful machines to work!

RAUH-Welt BEGRIFF from Luke Huxham on Vimeo.

ITS A ROUGH WORLD!

If you're into any type of motorsports, one can't really deny or forget the presence of Porsche ino matter where it may be.; Being a big fan myself and being into JDM, one can't deny that those two worlds will sometimes mix. With tuners in japan having their own unique style, its not a hard fact to see why RWB(http://www.rauh-welt.com/) is a stand out among the crowd . If you've been online this past year, it's no suprise that RWB has become such an Internet sensation. With Naki-san's vision of how each car should be, based on the owners character, no two cars that come out of his shop is the same. No wonder that his style is unique.

Nakai-san's personal ride is Tunerhaus; just look at its presence just sitting there. It looks like its ready to paunce and destroy all cars that gets in its way:

This 996 is his newest creation just finished a couple days ago: Amazonian sports such a unique colorcombination. Who would have thought that cream and red would flow so well together!

I just love how RWB incorporates canards into their builds. Not only are they in front of the car, but they are also present  on the side of the vehicle, on the massive rear overfenders! I have not seen any other tuners out there that has done this let alione make it look so good! Check those canards out on Afromania!

Look at how even without a GT Wing Nakai's build looks amazing:

"“Whatever it is, the car has to look good. If your car doesn’t look good, sound good, and feel good, you’re not going to drive it like you should.”
Nakai-san from RWB!

Cool Vert

Being a former S2000 owner, I am very fond of convertibles. Convertibles give a freedom that normal coupes, sedans don't quite make you feel. Having wind brush up on you hair and tussle it to and fro, theres just nothing like it in the world. Its almost like riding a motorcycle but more safe and secure. Hence when I saw pictures of the N's Factory Lexus SC430, I immediately fell in love. The car evoked aggressiveness while still looking very high class. The Stance is just perfect and fitment is spot on!

Can you just say WOW!

Freeway Spotting

Southern California is a very unique and interesting place. Being that we have the best weather anywhere, and since we don't really have a winter here, Motorist can enjoy their cars on a daily basis all year round. We don't have to worry about snow and adverse weather so theres nothing really stopping us from enjoying our drives other than traffic!

On my daily commute, usually from home to work and back,  I often see cars that are intriguing or unique in their own sense. some have style, some have spunk, and whatever they have, they manage to stand out from the crowd. Hence the reason why they are posted here.Forgive the pic quality,  Most pics are taken with a I-Phone so quality is not the best

Lets start off with one of the more iconic vehicles in TV and in movies. The bug that can do it all and one that reminds me of speedracer. The bug with  Characterand style! The one and only Herbie!

Funny thing about this Herbie was that it was driven by an Asian guy with a fro! lol

Being that California is a Tuning Car hotspot, I often see company cars on a daily basis; like this ARK Performance Genesis:

And sometimes these Cars have to be moved And sometimes they break down. Don't know the reason why this is on the tow truck but regardless, this car that I dubbed the Kaiser car/truck is:

Maybe its on the way to put a V8 motor like this Suicide Runner:

From the Expensive: Merc SLS

To the affordable , yet unique ae86 Levin Taxi:

California rides do have some style! Agree?

heres some more before I have to get back to work:

So We Shall Begin

Fist things first, My name is Elson E. An automotive consultant/designer for over 12years, specializing in the High performance field of automobiles. Making Cars unique and different from what is normally seen in the streets and highways of Southern California, where I currently reside.

I will be using this post to showcase what is out here in SoCal and What is seen out in the world. This is just for my personal preference of my taste, and all the opinions here will be my own and will not reflect anyone elses.

Here are a couple of cars I've built that I'm proud of. Most I no longer own but still they are/were a part of my journey:

My 01 Honda S2000  that went through many different looks. It was the first expensive( to a college student) car I bought and its the car that I've kept for the longest. This Pic shows it at the Best Form it ever was in my opinion.

Then there was this 03 Nissan 350Z that I installed a turbo kit on and eventually got into Import Tuner Magazine: here is the full feature: http://www.importtuner.com/features/impp_0709_wendy_cheng_nissan_350z/index.html

Well thats it for now...