I'm finally in Vegas, thought I'd throw up some pics

[sicwitit]

its official, I just finished unpacking all my crates from Japan, and have found a pad here in Vegas. Thought I'd throw up a couple pics, and one of a random JDM pathfinder I saw days before leaving Japan.



JDM wheels FTW!!


towing one of my project cars


JDM love

[01silvapathy]

How much faster does the wing allow you to go

[iceman14n]

HAHAAH... 01silvapathy... BE NICE

[fueler]

nice pics. i like the JDM spoiler.

[SBK03SE]

Welcome back to the states!

Spoiler +37 whp. +4mpg

I think it looks OKAY. I personally wouldn't do it though.

Meaty tires, your wheels are SEX; Not sexy, SECKS!
Please get some shine on the tires though, they look like dry boxer's knuckles.

[Finkle]

I like the white color on these. Its the only other color I like more than mine. The wheels need center caps and I do not like the wing. But other than the wing... I'd drive it.

[PathDetector]

I like the whip. Glad the move went smooth for ya. Suprising, giving the distance?! How did you have the vehicles moved though? Or did you not have them in Jay-pan?

[sicwitit]

lol, its all good, I expect the rice comments to be flowing. The wing is an actual Nissan part. Its not like I threw on some topspeed or reactive parts from autozone. Oh well, its something different and they are rather hard to find in the states, so I shouldn't see anyone bitting it for a while. I've got a couple other parts too, just havn't got around to installing them yet.

I know it needs a wash and detail, its been sitting in my parents garage for the last 3 years, and maybe had 100 miles put on it. Off to service it goes for a full tune up, and refresh of what ever went bad from sitting.

as far as what I brought back...some of you know I mainly road race, and actually shipped my Lexus IS300 to Japan so I could have it built there, and hit up some tracks that most of us only get to drive on while playing Gran Tourismo. I brought it back, and I was allowed to bring one more car back with me. Now the obvious question is did I bring back a Skyline...Nope, too much of a headache. R32's will be legal in 3 yrs anyways, so If I did want one, I'd have one shipped then. So I had to find something really special. I threw around some ideas with things like a Suzuki Alto works AZ-1, Mazda Cosmos, Nissan Pulsar GTI-R, but I eventually settled on something even more spectacular. something most people have never even heard of. This car is really something cool I think. a 1979 Toyota Century. This is the type of car that only high roller Japanese Mafia, high ranking government officials, or wealthy business owners roll in. They are all hand built from the ground up per the customers request. A little VIP I know, but hey everyone needs a cruiser IMO. anyways, here it is after I loaded it up at the Port of Los Angelas. I think there is only one other Century in the USA, so this is Ubar rare.

[Chris.m]

How much did you pay for it?

[sicwitit]

right around $16K after the conversion rate

[Chris.m]

Ouch, that's a bit more than I would have thought.

Is it low mileage?

Also since it's built to order, does it have any cool options?

[sicwitit]

The conversion rate is what killed it. plus I had a restorer put about 5K's worth of work into it to make sure it was in tip top shape before bringing it back. so its got all new suspension, seals, etc. its not like I can walk into a Toyota dealer here and ask for parts. It only has 32,000 Km on it, so thats like 20K miles or something? its got retractable rear foot rests, reclining rear seats, fridge, tray tables (think airline style) every window minus windshield and back window are all powered and either roll down, or pivot. The paint is original, and flawless. With the exception of an aftermarket stereo, and all the hoses on the engine have been replaced with -AN fittings, the whole car is original.

[sicwitit]

Oh, and what makes it kind of cool is some high ranking CEO type that worked for Toyota for a number of years had it in a collection, after he died he passed it on to his son, which turned around and sold it after sitting on it for 10 or 15 yrs or something like that...Not as cool as saying like an Emperor owned it, but still, it was owned by someone influential at Toyota.

[DAiNiUS]

Todd Cooperider (anyone know him?) restored a Toyota Century a few years back. So there's at least one more that's for sure. In any case the car is seriously rare! What year is your century? From what I heard, they all look almost the same whether you have a 30 year old one or a 3 year old one.

[sicwitit]

Mine is a 1978. I saw that whole write up Todd did on the restoration. that was quite impressive. They do look quite similar from the early years to now. They are even considered the "Rolls Royce" of Japan. IDK about that, sure its nice, but I've been in Bentleys and Rolls before. The century is close, but its still got that Japanese feeling.

Oh and on a side note, I towed this all the way from LA to Vegas. I'm going to guess the total weight of the Century and the trailer must of been around 5500 lbs.

I made it back safely.....but I almost lost it a couple times coming through the mountains. I had severe brake fading (I actually had to use both the foot brake, and the hand brake...and down shifting at one point to slow down, and that just barely kept me on the road. My brakes have actually warped since the trip too. Unless your staying under 45mph, do not go over Nissan's factory recommendations for towing weight. I've driven some seriously heavy vehicles in my life so I can honestly say I have experience to fall back on, but even then this load had me on the edge of my seat a couple times.

[Towncivilian]

I made it back safely.....but I almost lost it a couple times coming through the mountains. I had severe brake fading (I actually had to use both the foot brake, and the hand brake...and down shifting at one point to slow down, and that just barely kept me on the road. My brakes have actually warped since the trip too. Unless your staying under 45mph, do not go over Nissan's factory recommendations for towing weight. I've driven some seriously heavy vehicles in my life so I can honestly say I have experience to fall back on, but even then this load had me on the edge of my seat a couple times.

If you don't bleed your brake fluid every couple years, accumulated moisture can lead to brake fade due to a lower boiling point. If you tow frequently, it's even more important to maintain your brake fluid and driveline fluids.

[GRNMACHINE]

Welcome Back! Nice Path, dig the wheels/tires and really dig the JDM "Rolls"!! Very cool story