We know all you nostalgists out there are wheel fiends at heart too. The problems is, if your wheels are as old as your car, it’s probably well worn from decades of abuse as the first line of defense from harsh road conditions, debris and jutting curbs. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get those rims restored back to their shiny, original splendor. It’s in Japanese but you know how many words a picture’s worth.

And if you’ve got your own set of rare wheels to show off, go ahead and post them in the Not-So-Ultimate Wheel Guide in the JNC Forum. Thanks to KurumaOtaku for the tip.

Just came across these vintage JDM wheel ads from Racing Hart and your favorite JDM wheel named after a Tolkien character, Bilbo. Follow the jump to see more ads.
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This weekend begins the National Cherry Blossom Festival in our nation’s capital. The sakura were a gift from Japan to the USA in 1912 and the first festival was held in 1935. We’ve seen some sweet old rides with the trees already, so let’s talk about the wheels they inspired.

Although sometimes called sakuras, we learned that the proper name is Yayoi. The originals stopped production in 1980, their rarity fueling an ascension to holy grail status among nostalgists with a full deep-dish set commanding $10,000 at auction. According to this user, in 2006 Hayashi Racing began reproducing 50 sets, in pink and gold alongside Techno Racings, “by hand,” whatever that means. Now, they’re a permanent fixture on Hayashi Racing’s website, which makes no mention of any production limitation. All we know is that, pink or not, they look killer on this yonmeri (four-door kenmeri Skyline; yon = four).

[Image: RX-7 'Verts & Welsh Corgis (Japanese)]

Fasten your safety belts make sure your seatbacks and tray tables are in the full upright position, and all electronic devices are off. We’re going back across the pond to visit Ratdat.com, another British bloke with an absolutely brilliant website. In his latest post, he compiles a positively jaw- dropping list of wheels made for old school J-mobiles, putting our own meager attempt to shame. Well done, Ed!

So you’re an aspiring bosozoku looking for a that stretched tire look on your old school cruiser. You could go to a tire shop, but they might turn you away or scratch your super rare ultra-deep dish SSRs, and then what? A proper bosozoku would have no choice but to break some heads open right there.

But say you’re no good a intimidation and strongarm techniques. Well, for the price of some cinder blocks, a flammable aerosol spray such as deodorant or brake cleaner, a match, and a few singed eyebrows, you too can have your own wide rubber bands in no time! Thanks to super-reader gamby for posting this video in our forum, showing how to do it without chipping those shiny polished lips. Do we even need to say it? This involves fire. Kids, don’t try this at home. Not without your parents or Aquaman around, at least. Then again, facial hair is overrated anyway!

Speaking of clothing, we had the chance to meet Antonio Alvendia of Cipher Media Group while he was MC-ing at Motoring J Style. Antonio is a super cool guy who has an encyclopedic knowledge of all things nostalgic and drift. In fact, he’s written a book about the slide-happy sport called Drifting: Sideways from Japan to America. He also operates his own Cipher Garage label, which produces everything from a clothing line featuring old school wheel designs to reproduction Japanese license plates. Check out Cipher Garage’s myspace page here.

Thanks to forum member BuddyJ for digging up the shirt design pictured.

We couldn’t very well mention classic JDM wheels without paying our respects to Racing Service Watanabe. Their iconic eight-spoke wheels look good on any old school cruiser. It is rumored that amongst the nostalgic tuner crowd, the phrase “Get your own Wats!” is often heard. Whether legend or truth, heaps of drivers who couldn’t stand the standard metal pancakes their cars came with have done just that. In fact, the RS Watanabe website has an enormous gallery featuring the Watanabe-shod cars of their legions of devoted customers. Check it out, there are some really choice rides in there.