Cycle of Death: Auto Manufacturers Bread and Butter.

Over time things change. Change is inevitable. Foresight is often derived from hindsight, calculated from observable results. Repetition is the proof of reality, the science of predictable results.

Understanding your butt.

The butt? An important tool of fun. Our posterior plays an important role in car fun. It’s often what we refer to when we discuss our experience in a fast automobile. “That one was a clencher, threw me right back in my seat!” Driving enjoyment is primarily decided by the feedback our body translates to our brains. Matt Tregars V8 Corolla is nick named ‘the roller coaster’ as the experience to an actual roller coaster is quite comparable. User experience. Let’s talk about it.

Ibaraki is quite pleasant in December.

So this story begins a few months ago.  I was biking home from work, when I decided to take the back streets home.  As I rounded the corner, I saw the familiar silhouette of a loved one.  It was a Levin hatchback.  Then I saw another.  Then I had to meet the owner of this magical place.

How Quinn Buys Cheap Cars.

I’m constantly berated with questions about acquiring cars. Although I’m touted for my success in enjoyment and reliability to value, so few ever take my actual advice. So rather than having to recite my script to them, after owning 65 cars by the age of 30, I’ve come up with this approach to acquiring junk cars.

#1 Rule:
Never spend more than $1000 on a car.

How to buy cars like Quinn:

1. First Start:

Check if the engine is warm when you view the car for the first time. (This is at best, a small red flag, if they’ve had it running before you arrive. Cold starts have a bit more information to them. If they do have the car warm already, no worry still check it out! )

I like cold starts as it shows the speed the motor turns over, how long it takes to fire and catch, any awful noises it makes while it’s cold, and any smoking it has before it warms up!

2. Fluids:

-Check the oil, see if there is any, how black it is. The more golden it is, the better. (To check the oil, pull the dipstick, clean it, reinsert, check the level now! Check the colour too, gold good, black, not as good. Foamy, not a great sign.)
-Coolant, as long as the engine is cold, check the coolant in the radiator! Low or can’t see any, bad sign, Clear, green, or red, good sign. Brown or black, very bad sign!
-Brake fluid, Clear/golden, is good, brown, not so good. No fluid? No good.

3. Wiggle the tires!

-Grab each wheel with your hands. Wiggle each aggressively left to right, then top to bottom. Any clunks might mean poor suspension joints, or a bad wheel bearing. Be rude when wiggling! It won’t injure the car.

4. Fiddle with all the bits!

-Try the signals, wipers, horn, brakes, hand brake, buckles, windows.
-Take it for a drive, beat it up a bit. Be rude on the test drive, try an emergency stop. If the seller is unwilling to let you take a test drive, this is a major red flag. Find something else, there is hundreds of thousands of other cars waiting for sale.

5. Things that don’t matter at all

-Mileage. It doesn’t mean shit. Often High milage is a plus for me, as it means I can get a good deal on a car that’s proven it’s build quality and good care.

-Newness/year. This means nothing. I’ve driven cars brand new right off the delivery truck that were absolute junk piles straight from the factory. Some of the most solid and well built cars have been some of the oldest cars I’ve owned. Year means nothing.

-Paint/visual damage/dirt. I used to buy dirty cars, clean them and sell them for triple what I paid. The dents, scratches, dings, and bangs have no direct connection with the mechanical quality of the vehicle. Inspect the parts that make the car run, stop and turn.

-Cracks in the glass. I’ve heard a lot of absolute nonsense about front windshields being structural. Unless your location in the world requires an unbroken windshield, then ignore the small chips and cracks.

-“old tires” is a lot of nonsense bullshit. The tires are the windows to the sole of the car. Look for wear patterns. I like old tires on cars as I get a good view of how evenly they’ve worn over time. The age or condition of a cars tires shouldn’t be the deciding factor of your purchase. Use the tires as a way of measuring the vehicles interaction with the road. Odd wear patterns are more of a red flag than the tires manufacturing date.

6. Advanced tips:

-“Where is this car parked usually” is a question I like to ask. You can then look for any long term leaks.
-“How long have you owned it?” Find out some history, some people spill about problems and abuse they’ve experienced or subjected the car to.
-“Will you take -60% of asking price- for it?” Just ask, don’t be afraid. It’s only rude, if you make it rude.
-Try some of the worse advertised ads. The worst the info/photos, the better the car can possibly be. Also, the more likely no one else has called.
-Offer trades, it doesn’t have to be all cash all the time. Be friendly, don’t be a jerk!
-Dealerships are a HUGE waste of money. They have incredible overhead that you are paying for. If you are having trouble with sellers with private sales, you, yourself must be the problem. Have a good attitude.

7. Things to remember.

We’re all people, individuals with different traits. It never helps to be rude or aggressive. Inversely, don’t take crap from anyone. Don’t feel rushed, it’s your money. There is thousands of cars for sale every day. Be friendly, have fun, maybe you’ll make a new friend! Everyone has stories of their cars, and although people might not be ‘car people’ their cars are often still a member of the family, so show some love and respect for the seller and their car.

Good Luck!

Taking an Artistic Dump.

Although this blog was the original medium showcasing the spirit of Speed Hero, it has slowed drastically. Other mediums have become more convenient or at least more obvious in their actual reach. For those of you who still subscribe to this, here’s an open dump of some Speed Hero propaganda created since the last time you saw.

 

Circuit board inspired graphic. A t-shirt design that never panned out.

 

 

 

An actual T-shirt, Only a single was printed and sold as a ‘Mystery Shirt’. The buyer, forced to pay before seeing what the shirt was. Lol

The original shirt design for my Mystery Shirt idea. I printed a two prototypes, but couldn’t find a local company willing to bring in the material I wanted it printed in.

Two versions of a modernized Speed Hero Team Decal. Friends voted and selected the top design. It was printed and sold in an okay volume.

 

A heading image for this very blog. Being YEARS out of date on payments for the blog, it no longer allows me to upload artwork. The current banner is here to stay I guess.

Brutal and direct rip off of the Animal Style logo. I didn’t feel too bad creating this, as their logo is heavily borrowed as well. :P

 

I don’t actually know how this happened, but I liked it, so I kept it.

Probably already posted to the blog, the Island Style decal was a great success, my most popular sticker yet. The Japanese reads ‘Speed Hero’. If you look close the silhouette is not of Japan, but Vancouver Island. :P

 

Designed to look like the graphics from a Walmart T-shirt, this X7 Chassis car was taken by James while him and I were touring Japan.

 

Highway racer inspired. True to the audience; the cars we build are solely for the affordable sports.

 

Modernized Speed Hero Team Decal.

 

Almost everything I do is a copycat of styles I like. I am in no way, nor have I ever claimed to be, original.

 

Stealing artwork from the corners of the internet, mash it all together, and you get something new that represents something old.

 

A watch inspired by the digital dash of an AE86. Never actualized.

 

An oval shaped sticker, which reveals the full printing of the cut sticker area. I like to put some extra artwork on the parts that you don’t use. If you look close there’s a dragon or a fish or some shit in the back round. If you look REALLY close you can find some subliminal images too.

This is a two colour image James and I printed and installed on my current polo bike. It’s placed on the wheel cover and looks awesome. The dark silver was done using a reflective material. It’s pretty sweet. Seen here: https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8600/16328023741_874da800f0_b.jpg

Another design made for the Mystery Shirt idea, this too was far too difficult for every shop in town to print for me. Whatever, lame.

 

Crank up your Speakers

Turn them up, full blast. This shit is about to get nutty.

Happy New Years! Tsukuba Play Mat!

Maybe we should start this year off by doing cool stuff.

Thanks to Sean Nesbit loaning me a decent PC to use, I was able to whip up this idea that was stuck in my head.

Tsukuba kids play mat! Now your toddlers can time attack!