FEATURE: CAR OF THE MONTH - TA28

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FEATURE: CALL ME BUGGY

An unplanned trip had brought me to this beauty during my study life in Selangor, which was nicely parked in front of the faculty. To be specific, it is 1967 BMC Moke Convertible. From my observation, this 50-year-old body shell was still great and no major rust can be found. A very ideal platform for weekend leisure; drive straight to nearby beach with your Rayban on, roll down the top and enjoy evening breeze.

To me, one word best describes this Sir Alec Issigonis’s creation; “Unique”. Long time ago, it was not the best selling vintage during its era compared to its smaller brother, the Mini Austin. Today, the exclusivity of Mini Moke is priceless.

Surprisingly, collectors and hardcores start to hunt this chassis down for restoration in the late 90’s. Some rich fella would not even think twice to purchase a mint condition one with a price tag of a new Perodua Myvi 1.5 Extreme, which is twice the price of fully-restored Mini Austin.

A very good friend from Pakistan, Mansoor looked happy with the Moke. Hope he was sufficiently ‘poisoned’ to get one classic ride once he back hometown.

Bye.

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FEATURE: WONDERFUL WOLSELEY SERIES II

Never heard of Wolseley? Neither do I. Came across this beauty while transporting a cousin of mine to a car dealer in Borneo. This model was actually a joint-venture of Wolseley and Morris Minor, and was released in 1960 with a large B-series 1500cc engine.

Surprisingly, the Wolseley 1500 Series II also shared the same platform with another car maker, the Riley One-Point-Five. They are common in term of subframe, steering, suspension system, plus the Magnette transmission from MG. Only the twin SU Carburettors added an advantage to the One-Point-Five models.

Here is what I found a few minutes later; judging from the badge which is still intact, I believe this car is really well-taken care of. The uniqueness of the trunk opener and the trim light cover added sentimental values to this car.

Since Wolseley 1500 is equipped with larger engine, I can say that it was quite powerful in term of passenger cars in 1960's. A test conducted by The Motor in 1957 revealed that the Wolseley 1500 can get a maximum speed of 123.4 km/h. Not fast enough? Get yourself a Riley One-Point-Five with an extra 20 horsepower, and you could go further.

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MEMBER: INCREDIBLE ROLLA

During my primary school, there was an uncle who is a close friend to my father; and he sometimes helped to pick me up from school. That time I was noob about cars, but I can only recall it was an old Corolla based on the trunk badge. I think that was the moment that I gets started to admire second generation Corolla models, after I took a ride in my uncle’s yellow KE20 Sedan 4 door.

Ok let’s get back to the track. This is not the car that I mentioned before, but this Corolla KE20 Sedan 4 door is owned by another OCCC member, James. He kept his KE20 quite simple, with normal rusty condition for a 40-year-old car and a set of aftermarket wheels. But do not judge a book by its cover, James got the best K-series engine condition compared to other OCCC members (including me); with a super silent engine while running and an automatic 3-speed transmission.

As a result, Kuching-Miri trip (around 1,000km uphill and downhill road condition some more) was not a big deal. James made his crazy journey and he managed to reach at the destination without major problems; which I bet other oldskool drivers would think twice (or thrice) to run the journey even with their car’s best condition.

When every E2 Corolla owners craving for the kouki Levin grill, James managed to find one for his beloved KE20, and he mated those zenki Levin garnish complete with side markers to get a fresher look.

Undoubtedly, we learnt something from James. That not all new modern cars are reliable, when you can rely on your old rusty Corolla running on K-series engines. Cheers mate!

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FEATURE: JY'S HYPER LEVIN - BUILT FOR RUN

If you guys wondering why I am so deeply into second generation Corolla Coupe (Mango), so this is the answer. This was the car that made me fall in love at first sight, and eventually this was one of the car that influenced drag scene in Miri few years back.

With a huge fully functional intercooler, it was not an ordinary Mango that you may tailgate during midnight run. The owner, Johnny Yong had put much effort to make his zenki Levin balanced for daily ride and weekend fun.

Bearing the T-series chassis code, this Mango was before powered by a 2T-C engine. The stock engine was retired and Johnny swapped a 16-valves 4A-GE with 20psi forced induction system for the sake of speed. The tuning progress did not ends there, the block was changed with a higher capacity 7A and the whole complicated system was then managed by a MicroTech ECU. Based on the setup, I believe a few hundred of horsies were ready to wet gentleman's pants; once the boost triggers.

Since this car was prepared for 400m run, Johnny decided to customize the traction bar for better launching. This ‘recipe’ was also adapted on his drag-mate's car, Johnny Voon’s B110.

Moving to the interior, it was full stripped to remove the unnecessary weight. The bars were also extended at the rear seat area for extra rigidity. Since then, this Mango was officially no longer a legal daily ride since Johnny was seriously involved in local drag event.

For those who follows up annual Borneocup Drag Championship in Miri, you know how monstrous this car could be. The only oldskool participant from Miri who entered Open Turbo 2WD Class and managed to get a place on podium.

With all the effort that have been put on this project, Johnny did a great job by exposing to the local drag scene that a 38-year-old chassis can clock a surprising number for 400m run. Hats off man! It takes a lot of courage to achieve this stage.

Photo courtesy of Steven Pui

Few years later, the latest progress reveals this Mango on Hoosier slicks, before it was permanently terminated due to some circumstances.

Recalling the yesteryear moments before this Mango was repainted to special effect chameleon purple color, this car was in solid 2k red when I first saw her. With mango fruit shaped design element and aerodynamic rear portion, I can not resist to like its character. Since then, I committed to myself that one day I am gonna get myself a Mango too. 

May you rest in peace Mango. You may not be the most powerful or fastest ever built, but you're nonetheless a legendary oldskool creation!

*All photos are courtesy of Johnny Yong, else mentioned.

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FEATURE: FAIZ'S WICKED SR70

If I recall the yesteryear moments, this is the car that has a big impact in our study life. Started its life as an ‘uncle’ car after being swapped with a Corona TT132, Faiz decided to send this precious for chassis and panel restoration few months later. Since then, this KE70 DX spent more than a year in Banting for body restoration. It was a long journey where we had to drive few times from Malacca to Banting to catch up with the restoration progress.

Three years before, it was a DX square light model and it has now been facelifted to GL front parts with fender side mirror.

Mean looking rear end view. The tail light has been swapped to GL, and the rear trunk as well. This kind of bumper-less KE70 reminds me of my late DX Blackbelt, which has been chopped-off and melted for Toyota FT-86 I think.

A nice pair of SSR Star Shark 15” do its job as front navigator.

… while BBS Mesh 15” for the sake of fun going sideways. Notice the ‘zip-ties’ mark of owner’s creativity and completely wiped off tire wall.

The interior has been influenced by Nissan ‘feeling’ with Silvia steering, steering column, and meter panels. In term of cornering, it is more fun now with Bride full bucket seat to hold the driver.

Most of us (Malaysian) are unable to read Japanese, but we like to collect parts or items with Japanese tags. Here are some production data in 1980’s for owner’s reference, and Google translator please.

Due to height issue (owner), he fabricated a custom welded extension e-brake for the ease of ‘locking’ rear wheels. The gear lever has been moved far behind the original mounting since the new transmission is longer than stock K50.

Thanks to Habib’s miracle touch from Pandan Indah. The silvertop SR-20DE from Silvia S15 took place under the hood, enabling this KE70 to obtain more than required power its needed for wangan run.

For the sake of efficiency, the SR-20DE was mounted as close as possible to the firewall to reduce the angular moment.

Who need aftermarket filter when you can make your own.

Going sideways is more easy with fully adjustable camber set, and you can alter back to 0deg for midnight wangan. Spot welded engine bay is a must when you have this configuration.

With larger engine, you can not expect the stock fuel delivery system to do the same task, so Faiz installed a custom made fuel surge tank to supply ample fuel to the engine.

Same goes to the drivetrain system, Townace axle is trusted to transmit the power from the engine since the stock axle would not be able to handle the massive power. Faiz can now smiling from ear to ear as his three years hard-work paid off.

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FEATURE: HOMOLOGATION GTX

I have to admit that I am not a big fan of Mazda (excluding the RX series), but this 323 GTX really caught my attention during the last celebration visit. It is the fifth generation of Familia/323 for Japan market with B6 engine producing 140ps under the hood. Quite a surprising horsies for a sedan in 1985 right?

The 'GTX' and '1.6l' emblems prove that it is not an ordinary sedan in its era. For your information, the 323 shared the same platform on Ford Laser models for their marketing strategy. The Laser models were assembled by Mazda, but rebadged to Ford.

I believe the interiors are well preserved since this GTX are properly covered with canvas. Any 323 hardcore out there looking for a B8 210 platform? This is a good choice for you.

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