Drift Tengoku — September 2004 · Page 9
Page 9 — English translation
Here is the underside. A homemade frame is mounted to the original hinges and connected to the middle of a normal commercially available FRP hood. Rivets secure the joint, while the pivot arrangement allows the necessary movement. With this construction, Kawamata could probably turn it into a kit if he wanted. Will you try copying it, or wait for a commercial version? Some small construction details are unclear in the OCR.
The original instruments still work! The instrument panel has been neatly rebuilt, as you would expect in a demo car. Behind the smoked acrylic on the dashboard sits the original instrument cluster, functioning as a complete backup set of gauges. 'You could throw it away, but the speedometer and warning lights are useful, right? Doesn't having two instrument panels look stylish?' says Kawamata. Clever ideas all the way through.
An inventive tuner behind such ideas as a distributor-relocation kit for 20-valve engine swaps and what was probably Japan's first fully adjustable AE86 coilover setup. His work stands out without unnecessary expense and always retains practical function. An active drifter with twelve years devoted to the AE86, he also supports the Sugita drifting team competing in the Silvia championship. Several details in the source OCR are damaged.
Captions and page details
Excellent maintenance access: hood-opening ingenuity
An attention-grabbing opening mechanism!
One person can open and close it easily! The construction is surprisingly simple.
Strictly confidential! This is the trade secret!
Utility-model application pending
A cleverly integrated support rod—a purchase from a ¥100 shop—plays an important role. It supports the hood in the normal-open position. In the fully open position it fits against a mount on the windshield: the square aluminum plate with urethane padding. It is not used when the hood is half-open, so it folds neatly away. A clever design!
...it opens in the normal way, and in the fully open position the hood moves out of the way of work in the engine bay. This AE86's radiator support...
...is removable as well, so the engine and transmission can slide out together for a swap. Plenty of readers will appreciate that convenience. Gullwing doors are becoming popular on drift cars as a way to make opening body panels into a spectacle, but Drift Tengoku firmly favors this approach!
Designed and built by Satoru Works, the AE86 tuning specialist
An unconventional innovator
Mr.
Satoru Kawamata
There's ingenuity in the rear hatch, too!
This rod holds the rear hatch open. The original gas struts were removed, so this support takes their place. It stows properly, making it much neater than propping the hatch up with a random stick.
That's my philosophy! Never forget functionality.
'Make it cool with ingenuity and creativity'
Drifter-style custom styling!
029-298-8604
64-1 Nishikinokura, Naka-machi, Naka-gun, Ibaraki Prefecture
Feature assistance: Satoru Works
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About this issue
ドリフト天国 (Drift Tengoku), September 2004, is a Japanese drifting magazine. This archive preserves 316 scanned pages in their original right-to-left reading order, including the covers.
English translations are available through the outlined text areas. Hover over a box on desktop, or tap it on mobile. The original photographs and Japanese lettering remain visible on the scan.
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