OS Giken LSD (con't) & WB goods !

After getting the side bearings from Hiro's Auto
and getting it pressed in along with the new side
seals, the OS Giken Super Lock LSD is finally in !!

This thing is very heavy ! I need to be careful not to
drop it on my face during installation..... It's been a long wait, but the IS300 is finally back on
the road !! I've been driving my 1JZ Cressida for a
while, but I've been having some serious issues...

The Cressida seems to have a hole/leak somewhere
that the exhaust fume comes into the cabin and I always
get headache and sick after driving it for only about 15min.
I've tried to plug all the holes, but still can't solve the problem.
I seriously thought I was going to die yesterday when I got
home and collapsed on my sofa and dozed off...

I also received this in the mail today. It's a JDM parts from
WorksBell. I'll take more picture when I install it on my car !!

hiro

U.S. Earth move !

I went to help Jin-san move his stuff to a new office today.
Since he's got so much stuff, we won't be finished for
another several days . . . . maybe weeks...

I found these old school Advans on MkII's
If you know what engine/car this is, then you are
the JDM expert !

It looks like I was just taking a tour of the shop and
not really helping out, but I did help out a little.
I was just way too dusty and dirty to hold a camera
while I was helping the move (^ ^;)

hiro

sore fingers and white nose hair

Today was a pretty hazardrous day for me and the earth.
I cleaned the floor with some fuel, scuffed it with scour pads,
and wiped with acetone, and finally began painting . . . .
the primer layer.

I really didn't want to spend time on masking anything,
so I decided to use white (since the car was white).
It looks alright in the picture, just don't come close.
It's not a show car for sure.... but it's ok because it's
a drift car !
After inhaling the white powder all day, my nose hair
and head hair began going white at the tips . . . .
Should I take a shower or just cut the hair ?

All of my fingers are so sore from alternating and
pressing down on the spray can...
Sorry earth for the slight destruction of the ozone
layer in the Orange County.

I bet my lung is white too, but it'll be a good offset
for all the black tire dust I've inhaled in the last
several years !!

hiro

gas tank off & OS Giken LSD

The dirty filthy stock gas tank came off today.
There was a black widow between the tank and the body,
but I managed to get her before she got me !
Trying to decide whether to go fuel cell or not... hmm.

While I was trying to decide on the fuel cell issue,
I worked on to test fit the OS Giken Super Lock LSD
for the IS300.
The stock IS300 diff. Looks like torsen ?

OS Giken on the left, stock on the right.

The ring gear is on the OS unit, so it should all fit
when the side bearings come in.

Maybe the IS300 will be back running by the weekend !!

hiro

Drift Eliminators ?!

I think this dude was trying to chase me and eliminate me . . .

well, it didn't say "Drifter Eliminators". . . . , so
I might've been safe (^ ^;)

hiro

OS Giken diff & the roll cage !

I'm working on my IS300 to test fit the OS Giken
Super Lock LSD.

The pumpkin was on there very snug, but it finally
came out. A super heavy paper weight !!
It's so nice when things are not oily and greasy.

And the car finally came back from Technosquare
with the new roll cage !!!
Thank you Richie san for a nice cage !

So, the rest is up to me for finish this thing before
FD Long Beach !!
Also, thanks for everyone who's contacted me regarding
"helps" that we might need. We are looking for sponsors
give us some financial help so that myself and Taka can
travel to Formula D east coast events.

hiro

Tamaen dinner . . . !?

Takatori san came over from Japan, so we went
to Tamaen for dinner. I'm sure you all know that
Takatori san drove the light blue R34 Skyline with
the cute sakura petal graphics !
And whenever he comes over, we always go to
Tamaen . . . . . for some reason.
Here's master chef Kie chan who put a slight
touch to the dessert ". . . . . bomber"

Takatori san takes a bite first . . . . . he loves it !!
Then Shinnosuke takes his bite . . . . . he loves it more !!!

Luckily I was able to to avoid the wasabi kick on
my share of the dessert !

Tamaen is in Torrance. We ata a lot and got so full !
Gochisou sama deshita ~~~~ !!!

hiro

sunday field trip !

This Sunday, we made a little team field trip to the
junk yard in Pick Your Part in Wilmington.
Here's what I got, a couple struts, 4 front control arms,
and a spare pumpkin.

But Taka got the parts of the day !!!
Everyone was saying "Cool !" to his new rear end !
The body section is gold chrome plated and the brake
dust shield is silver chrome plated... amazing !
Taka said it was off a show car (used to be...) and lots
of the parts were polished !
You never know what you'll find in the land of treasure,
the junk yard !!

hiro

my exciting Valentines Day !!!

I hope everyone had an excellent Valentine's Day !
I had a pretty exciting V-Day myself.
It didn't start off too well when my Seiko's band broke off...
AND had a flat tire on the way to Andy and Cindy's wedding.
The only time in few years that I wear a suit&tie, I have to
change my tire on the shoulder of the buzzing I-5 freeway...

But luckily, I am pretty used to changing tires (wonder why?),
and managed to get to the wedding on time !
Who's that guy in the middle holding the mike ??? (^^)

Here, Andy and Cindy exchanging the vows...!
It was a very organized wedding as we each had this
champagne glass to seat us to the proper table.
And the prime rib was sooo good ! It was huge and
more than an inch thick too !!
The first dance !!

Yoshie, Taka, Andy (groom), me, Dai, Joon, Herb !!!

Before we left, we took a group pic inside the photo box
with the bride Cindy !!! Who's making the funniest faces ?
Hahaha~, pretty obvious (^0^)//

Although my day didn't start off too swell, the awesome
wedding made my day and I had a good Valentines day.
Congratulations to Andy and Cindy !!!

hiro

my Drift102 Cressida

My Drift102 rental car Cressida just got a custom
exhaust completed by Alex at Battle Version.
He shares the work area at a shop in City of Industry
called G-Dimension.

Also, thank you Megan racing for providing the piping
and the muffler !!

I painted the muffler canister to keep it low tone
on the streets. The car sounds great !!

hiro

Manpuku in Costa Mesa

I went to a Japanese BBQ restaurant Manpuku in Costa Mesa.
From left: Kevin, Andy, me, Ken, and Sergio.

Kevin is the mechanic for Chris Forsberg and he
used to be a teammate at Falken a few years ago.
But now we're both with a completely new team.
(well, my situation is not yet decided...)
And Andy is one dude you don't want to make angry
at the Formula D events ! Haha, don't worry he's cool.
Ken should kick ass this year since RS-R is making
more improvements to the TC !
And Sergio works for Kevin to help Chris.

hiro

to Technosquare =====>>> Fab time !!!

My car is now ready to go to the fab shop at
Technosquare Inc. in Torrance. Richie at Techno has done
all of the cages for my past personal drift cars !
I've been lagging a bit on what to do, but I've decided
to rely on my credit card for the rest of the build cost.
(Don't know how I'll pay it all back yet . . . . lottery ?!)
If ANYONE is interested in helping us to compete in the
Formula D 2009 season , please PLEASE let us know !!!

This is how I load the car onto the trailer by myself.
Dual manual rachet motion. The car moves up about
half inch every rachet click, so after like 1 million
clicks . . . . . .
. . . . . it'll be all the way the trailer.




hiro

WSIR !!!

Today I was at the Willow Springs International Raceway.
We were supposed to have a GripDay at the Horse Thief Mile
track, but due to so many last minute cancellation, we had to
cancel the event. However, we were able to join the
Speed Ventures event at the Balcony so the people who showed
up didn't have to go back home. Thank you Jeff and Ken !!!

Our good fellow drifter friend Ken Gushi showed up
with his Scion TC. As you can see, it was super COLD !!!
This is Tommy from SpeedTrialUSA.
He also let us join their event at the Streets of Willow
track. Thanks Tommy !!!
The weather was pretty crazy all day.
It was constantly changing from rain to sunshine...
But we got to see a nice rainbow !!

Here's when we had a blasting sunshine !
But a few minutes later, it was raining again....

Here's a video of Taka attacking the Streets of Willow with
his personal AE86 Turbo !!!

You can check out more info on these events at :

DriftDay : http://www.driftday.com/

SpeedtrialUSA : http://www.speedtrialusa.com/index1.html

Speed Ventures : http://www.speedventures.com/events/Default.aspx

hiro

Motivation. . . . .

Finally, a little motivation to get back to working on
my car has been born. So, I was chipping away all
day using the dry ice. This procedure kinda sucks
because you cannot really take a break.

Because when you take a break, I feel like I'm wasting
the dry ice while taking the break.
Right when I was getting into a good rhythm and feeling
zoned in, rain starts to fall. I was working with all the
doors closed, so I'm a bit intoxicated with CO2 (;_;)
But I'm still alive.

hiro

MariMokkori

I was talking some random pics on my desk and this particular
pic came out pretty cool, so I decided to post it here.
This character is called "Marimokkori" and it was in the souvenir
shop everywhere I went. The Marimokkori originated in
Hokkaido, where "Marimo" is somewhat famous there.
Somebody made this marimo into a character and thus became
the Marimokkori.

This Marimokkori character is the "Kyoto version" Limited Edition.
Of course I bought it at the Kyoto train station.
In front is the life-size "Edamame" toy. If you press it like eating
the real thing, an edamame comes out and sucks back in when
you release it. It's one of those very simple, but super cool
JDM toys !!

hiro