Andy’s first car was a Suzuki Swift “Xtreme”. It was silver with yellow stickers down the side proclaiming the car’s “Xtreme”ness. It was a good little car, but even before he got it home from the dealer he was thinking about what his next car would be. Fast-forward five-odd years and Andy couldn’t be driving a more different car! Ironically, it came from the same car dealership but that is where the similarities end.

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No major update today, other than this badass little photochop of a C110 squashed into a chibi version of itself!  We’re guessing they simply cut out the wheels and anything else they wanted to keep the same size, then squashed the body and put the wheels back in place.  Very cool, very clever!  The larger version can be seen by clicking the “Continue” link.

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We’re always on the lookout for interesting JDM classics for sale – and today we have an especially unique car for sale in New South Wales, Australia. Steve’s “RB30ZED” is a famously (in Z circles) straight, clean and otherwise simply perfect modified 240Z. Unfortunately it’s time for the car to go after 22 years of ownership.

The price is something of a talking point. Surely a Z so modified & pristine is worth this much – or is it? Yes S30’s are appreciating but this is due to them being more widely seen as a collector car. Modified cars in this case tend not to see the same skyrocketing prices as original, unmolested cars. Do you think this particular car is worth the price? Would you rather an pristine original Z or a modified one?

RB30ZED Specifications & Sale Ad
RB30ZED Picture Gallery

There are thousands of beautiful old skool JDM cars out there – you only need to look at the photos from the various events  and shows around the world.  But, of course, getting in touch with the owners is another thing all together.

So, if you own a great example of a classic JDM car – whether it’s a sports car or a saloon, or even a truck! – and would like to see your car featured here at grandJDM, send us an email to discuss it.  We’re ideally looking for cars older than 1980, but we’re happy to discuss the possibilities for especially great examples of 80s JDM too.

Old School Toyz, as you’ve no doubt guessed by now, is a website dedicated to old school Toyotas, from the 60s through to the 80s. While we don’t focus as much on the 80s yet here at grandJDM, we’ve got no shortage of love and envy for the bevy of gorgeous classic Toyos featured on this site. Head over and check it out!

Do not adjust your screen. If you’ve been noticing some screwy behavior in the blog, it’s just because we are in the process of tweaking the look and feel of the site right now. We will return to your regularly scheduled website shortly.

Ok, so this warning about various municipalities putting modified cars into the crusher may be only tangentially relevant to owners of Japanese classics, seeing as how many of our cars are not even capable of breaking the speed limit (or even leaving the driveway, for that matter). Still, for those of you rolling old school with a 4AG or SR20 swap, we offer this public service announcement.

Last week, police from inland So-Cal counties crushed six modified cars used for allegedly containing stolen parts. In the LA Times example, Charles Hoang had the receipts to the transmission of his 350hp ‘94 Integra, but the fuzz deemed it stolen and examples had to be made, so Hoang’s car was scrapyarded. Ontario (that’s CA (which means California)) Police Cpl. Jeff Higgins and clever punner says, “We’re making a dent” in street racing activity. According to the article this amounts to a roundabout attempt to curb racing, because such cars are run hard, which means they need more frequent repairs, which will more likely result in the use of stolen parts. Rube Goldberg, eat your heart out.

Not to be outdone, Ontario (Canada, this time) Attorney General Michael Bryant has warned that just plain modifying a car with speed parts is cause for a crushing, says the Toronto Star. We’ve heard Canada was socialist, but come on! Says Bryant: “Just on the balance of probabilities if we can establish that a car is being used for the unlawful purpose of street racing, we will seize it and you will never see it again,” which means that if your car even looks like it could be used for illegal racing, it’s toast. He even likened speed shops to bomb factories. Yes folks, fear of death by bomb is the new Nazi comparison.

Source [autoblog.com]

The owner and administrator of Australian S30Z enthusiast website – and home to the Victorian Z Club – viczclub.com, has been maintaining a blog chronicling the ongoing trials and tribulations of restoring and maintaining a Nissan S30 Fairlady Z – Datsun 240Z to those of us here in the west.

So if you’ve just bought an S30 yourself, or you’re considering restoring one, you should consider Gavin’s blog to be something of a bible!

Gavin’s blog @ VicZCar.com

Automotive news site Autoblog have stumbled across an astounding C10 GT-R replica. Considering the prices that the genuine item can fetch these days (anyone else wishing they’d bought one in the 80s/90s and held onto it?), it’s no surprise that people are choosing to go The Way of the Replica so often these days. And when it’s as lovingly done and as true to form as this example, who wouldn’t be happy to take it off his hands for the right price?

There’s some discussion in the Autoblog comments that the seller’s asking too much, but frankly, we think it’s a more than reasonable sale!

Visit Autoblog for more information and photos.

On Sunday, the Goodwood Festival of Speed of 2007 drew to a close. We’ve been waiting for pictures to filter in, and Autoblog, which has made no secret of how badly they’ve wanted to go after missing last year’s (sort of the position we find ourselves in right now), has posted galleries galore since their triumphant return to the States. Our favorite car in the recent photo batch has to be the 1968 Honda RA301. The F1 machine, piloted by John Surtees during the ‘68 season, was notable for its water-cooled V12 and monocoque body, made ultra-light due to liberal application of magnesium. Sadly, gremlins and crash avoidance manuvers conspired to rob Surtees of several podium finishes and at least one first-place victory.

Goodwood isn’t just some fancy lawn party for jodhpur-wearing, pinky-lifting tea-sippers. To give you an idea of its significance, Nissan even brought out the clear winner of the “Most Chased by Spy Photographers, 2005-2007″ award, the Skyline GT-R prototype, for the hillclimb, complete with black camouflage disguising the nose!

Jolly good, then. I think that just about does it for West Sussex. Oh, what the hell, here’s one more shot of the Toyotas up in the air.

Images courtesy of Autoblog. GT-R tip courtesy of Jalopnik.