I can hear you now. Yep, I'm a dick, I know. Otherwise I wouldn't suggest that cruising is a relatively new phenomenon. Cos in reality, cruising, 'laps', street racing, or whatever slant one places on it, has been in existence for more years than I've been on the planet. Like going way back I remember when dear old dad used to cruise the streets in an old twin carby fed 48-215 (FX Holden), which so happened to be one of the fastest cars around. The old mule probably would have cut maybe an 18 second quarter, which was - for a daily driven streeter - pretty quick in the late 50's.
Nothing much has changed in the decades since, with lots of street racing and 'cruise streets' traditional fare on Friday and Saturday nights - the only real difference being that today's cars are normally quite fast and bloody loud - thanks to mega audio systems.
The newest addition to the cruising phenomena is the organised cruise. These are events whereby an organiser takes it upon him or herself to invite, arrange and encourage as many 'improved' cars as possible to attend. Invitees aren't limited to what cars they own, in fact people really don't give a shit what a car look like, sounds like or even how hard I goes, it's more a case of everyone getting together to enjoy a common interest - full stop.
As you're probably aware, AutoSpeed readers have arranged many such cruises with good success and attendance - go to the AutoSpeed Shootouts Forums for more details.
To better experience what goes on at a cruise, I bit the bullet and attended a Melbourne Car Cruise Registry (MCCR) event. Described as a 'high performance' run where only owners of the faster cars were emailed, the design was fairly typical of any other MCCR run except that there were vastly fewer entries (other runs attract as many as 500-600 cars) with everyone asked to meet at a Maccas where for a cost of $1, 'entrants' were given a running sheet describing the entirety of the event.
Our interest in attending the MCCR cruise was three-fold. Having fun was of course a priority, further to which we were interested in dissecting what the revellers expect from a run, and we were interested in their rides and their interests. Here's just a small description of the attendees.
For the record, the run kicked off in Glen Waverley Melbourne, headed off to Frankston before ending up at Mount Martha.
- Danny Bourner, 23, Nissan 300ZX twin turbo
Danny is a 23 year old from Hoppers Crossing (which is about as far away from Glen Waverley and Mount Martha as any suburb in Melbourne!) who only three months ago bought a 300ZX twin turbo. Danny's history started with another 300ZX, an Australian delivery version, and via some Internet surfing he became involved with a local 300ZX club. "I got in touch with some guys from the Australian 300ZX Owners Association, and we got together for a few lights. There I was offered a ride in a twin turbo," Danny enthused.
"After the run all I could think was that I wanted one. I like tinkering with cars and a twin turbo is much easier to extract power from than a normally aspirated version, so that was what I wanted."
Danny bought his current 300 from a local importer, just as it's seen here. "The car is as I bought it, except that it had to meet compliance before I could take delivery. What's more, it was already equipped with a front-mount intercooler, AFC, electronic boost controller (set at a max of 1 Bar), twin HKS air filters and three-inch twin system for 185 rear wheel kilowatts. Actually, for this power run the ignition was retarded and I think we can get even more power out of it."
Other mods include a Veilside rear spoiler, GReddy front air dam, aftermarket snout panel, Volk 18-inch rims, and a gauge pod.
Danny's participation in the MCCR events came about through the 300 club, this being his first run. "I must admit, with all of the other cars in attendance, I am really looking forward to having some fun."
Kiwi Dave has been into cars basically all of his life thanks to a similar interest by his father and older brother. When in the land of the long white cloud he owned a number of modifieds before coming to Australia four years ago and lashing out on a then one-year-old WRX.
Having previously owned two turbo cars, puff power was a natch, with more power and overall performance the target. "When I bought the car it had an AVO clutch and exhaust and was putting out 128kW on the dyno. Since then I've fitted a 450 horsepower AVO turbo with 500 hp comp housing and three-inch mandrel bent intake, BPM air filter, GReddy front mount intercooler, Microtech ECU, APEXi AVC-R, underdriven pulley set, lightened flywheel, AVO BOV, and BPM exhaust. The trans is fitted with BPM internals including a straight cut first gear, it has a BPM clutch and rides on 17-inch rims with Yoko AVS sport tyres."
Dave loves competing in club level racing hence adjustable Whiteline front and rear bars and an anti-lift kit, APEXi T-Max struts and progressive rate springs, plus there's 1999 front brakes.
Having heard through the grapevine about the MCCR a couple of months ago, Dave's attended every event since and plans to attend every one he can. He likes the camaraderie, the quality of cars and the fun times.
- Trent Callender, 22, VR Commodore
Trent only became aware of the MCCR only a couple hours before this run, a mate phoned advising he was going on a run and asked whether he would like to attend. After chatting with Trent for a minute I realised I'd done a story on another of his cars a couple of years ago. Another Commodore, Trent had equipped the radical VC with every possible modification, transforming it into a car which was simply too advanced for street use. So, the logical answer was to buy another less modified Commodore. I mean, this is something we do, isn't it?
He sourced the manual backed 5.0-litre VR around nine months back intent on 'just a few improvements', however as was the case with his show car, things have progressed at a rapid rate!
Mods to date include lowered suspension, tinted windows, VT SS rims, some engine bay chrome, head work, cam, extractors and exhaust, while on the inside is an array of 'out there' gauges, various carbon-fibre add ons, and colour-coded parts. But these additions simply aren't enough for Trent who is planning to emulate his VC by not only stroking the engine, but further upping the ante with a supercharger.
Just like all MCCR newbies, Trent was keen to have a bit of fun.
- Johnny Staverou, 18, R33-GTS-T
Man, talk about lucky. See, the Nissan is Johnny's second, the first being a GTS4 non-turbo 4WD. Which ain't too bad for an 18 year old!
"It's sort of strange how I got into the high performance imports. At first I was looking to buy a full-size 4WD, but then I was taken for a drive in a Skyline and I was hooked. So I bought an all wheel drive with the intent of equipping it with a GT-R 2.6 engine. But when I realised how much the conversion was going to cost I sold it and bought a turbo Skyline."
Johnny met the importer of his new wheels at a cruise night back in October, taking delivery of the GTS-t a month later. "Part of the deal was that it was equipped with a GT-R front bumper, side skirts, rear wing extensions. The engine is also a little better in that there is a 3ΒΌ-inch exhaust, APEXi AVC-R and HKS air filter for good power; like I've gone through two sets of rear tyres in two months!"
- Jarrad Brushel, 25, Toyota Corolla - 302 Windsor
Given that Jarred designed his 1971 JE20 Corolla to be a sleeper, the TWO-89 number plates do tend to confuse the issue a little!
Over the years he's owned a bunch of super quick cars, whereas the Corolla was only ever meant to be an economical hack. Bought four years ago for run-around duties, it remained stock until Jarred blew the trans up and at the same time, his brother blew the engine in his XW Falcon. In fact, the driveline was the only good stuff in the Falcon, so the driveline was retained and the body scrapped. Discussions had, Jarred's brother made a bet that he couldn't fit a V8 engine in the Corolla. But this was all Jarred needed to pull out the measuring stick and make things happen. "It took me five weeks from driving into the garage with a four cylinder manual to driving out with a 302 V8, C6 auto and Borg Warner Falcon diff."
Mods are mild; I mean with a car as light as the Corolla, a lot of horsepower isn't needed! Engine enhancements are limited to a Sig Erson Hi-flow 1H camshaft, 302 closed chamber GT 4V heads with Chevy valves and 10.8:1 compression, studs and guide plates. Fuel is by a 600 cfm Holley and Edelbrock Performer manifold plus there's a Mallory Pro Comp 9000 ignition system. The engine is backed with a Dominator 2700 rpm converter, modified Falcon tailshaft, beefed auto and tightly locked lsd diff. "As it sits, the cars weighs in at 1080 kgs," Jarred enthused. So, with a mild engine the car is good for high 12 seconds quarter mile times! Now, did I mention sleeper?
Engineering wise, the body is heavily strengthened with a full chassis, boot brace and chromoly engine bay strut brace. Brakes are 1969 Falcon discs with a remote VH40 power booster and PBR dual master cylinder, fitted to strengthened 1984 Celica struts with custom Pedders springs. The rear suspension is essentially Corolla with an extra leaf and strengthened mounting points.
Jarred, like all other entrants, got much more than their dollars worth at the MCCR run. If you know what we mean. The bottom line here is fun!
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