“Well, it certainly has been some time between drinks! However, Rodney has new shoes so it was time for a photo shoot.”
I know, I know; it has been some time since I have posted here. To be honest, I have had a lot happening this year with my personal life, so photography, motorsport, and unfortunately the Altezza have all been pushed to the side. That doesn’t mean to say that I haven’t had a few side projects on the go, of course…
Rodney, my Altezza, was purchased for around $1500, with a blown engine, full of cigarettes, pills, and all sorts of other trash. It has been a project, that with the help of talented friends, we’ve been able to make something fairly decent out of it. However, with my love for BTCC and JTCC of the ‘90s, it wasn’t long before I started to want that styling.
Initially, I was running Mitsubishi Evo X wheels, as they’re a quality OEM wheel made by Enkei and they fit a nice 225 or 235-wide tyre. This sparked the touring car look, as they large multi-spoke wheels and sedan body were begging for more. After locating a touring car-style wing in Australia, I had it painted and installed — we were getting close!
Unfortunately, though, there was something missing. One thing that was missing was a lower ride height, but the true component missing was a set of motorsport-specific wheels and tyres. Enter, the Speedlines. After doing my usual Facebook marketplace daily check, I stumbled upon a VERY affordable, rashed, curbed and bent set of Speedline wheels, measuring 18x.8.5-inches (+34P) and 5x114.3 stud-pattern. They weren’t for sale long, as I snapped them up extremely quick.
Over the coming months, I had them painted by a good friend Andrew, and had the decals remade in TimeattackR red, instead of the usual blue or black that they normally come in, by Greg Martin of WRC Signage. Greg did an incredible job on the decals, matching the radius of the Speedline wheels perfectly. However, when Andrew went to paint the final wheel, we noticed it was incredibly bent. Knowing I would need an expert, as to not lose a set of wheels, I entrusted the job with the team at Brugar Engineering in Takapuna.
After leaving the wheel with them for a couple of weeks, I was incredibly happy to find out that they were able to repair it. It was straightened, welded, and balanced — then primered, ready for Andrew to work his magic with the paint gun.
To finish the wheels off, they needed a decent tyre. After talking with Dustin Ng of DNG Automotive, he told me he had a set of near-new Dunlop O3G tyres, measuring 225/40R18 — so I snapped them up!
After lowering the car another 10-15mm all round, I couldn’t be happier. In person, it has a real touring car stance. Next on the list, I need to sort the engine. It’s incredibly gutless as it sits, besides being a rev-happy two-litre engine. I plan on installing ITBs, a Link ECU and a set of tuned headers and exhaust system. This should give it a little extra boogy, while still sounding cool and being a reliable package. When I have some more updates, I will let you all know. Ciao!
