Admiration Celsior has landed :D :D :D

It's FINALLY here!  My Admiration 'Blister' widebody Celsior which I bought over a year ago (self imposed discipline, I'm proud I lasted as long as I did :) ) finally arrived and was unpacked today:

[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/container1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/container2.jpg[/img]

... and that's it for teaser pics for now :)  It was FILTHY and the customs guys whisked it off to do their thing so I'll post more pics once I've picked it up and driven it home.  It's pretty much exactly what I expected (a good thing) although the 19's get eaten up by such a big car... they really don't look that big, or maybe I'm just used to 19's on my 300ZX.  So much I plan to do but first things first will be to get it on the road; yes I intend to daily drive it  :D  The more people who tell me I'm crazy the more determined I am to do it.

Ben

awesome Ben! The car looks great! I dont think the 19's look too small. I cant wait to see pics of your beast with a nice wash! 

They are fine! Its the offset which makes those 19"s have more effect than any set of 20"s you can find in Australia.

Damn that looks hot, so by your happiness i guess there was nothing wrong with the car when you got it?

WOW another VIPcar in the land of Aus................... SWEEEEEEEEEET  :smitten:

Wow...sick...

[quote]so by your happiness i guess there was nothing wrong with the car when you got it?[/quote]

Nothing unexpected, there is a small crack where one of the rear fenders meets the bit behind the door, and a crack to where the spoiler meets the trunk.... they've happened since I bought the car but I knew they had occured. You probably know more about this than me Dom, I guess a bit of movement and expansion with that much bog and fiberglass is to be expected, a bit of a fear I do have is a hot summer sun beating down on a black car.... things are going to get very hot, and the metal will move more than the bog.... fingers crossed I guess.

Ben

Sounds like you got lucky with the cracks. But if it has been stored for a year with only 2 small cracks, then it shows that they are avoidable. Just make sure its not parked in the sun on hot days. The killer is when it just sits there out on the street with a busted strut waiting for parts from Japan :-(

I think you should be alright in Melb anyway, bit cooler there than up in sydney. Cant wait to see full pics of it!

very nice, congrats!!! love the supremes and the tint on the tails

congrats on your purchase
head turner for sure
hope to see some washed pics soon

are you guys serious about not leaving it out in the sun for too long?  

Congrats on the purchase! Can't wait to see the cleaned up pics when you take delivery.

Wow...too bad Admiration doesnt make the Blister kits any longer. That looks very nice though.

eghhh i m jealous you damn aus guys get all the good toys :tickedoff:. Ohh well thats a sick celsior to say the least and you got it in that condition and not many problems. Honestly after a yr of waiting i dont know how you could manange after the funds have been paid n you being patient and only a picture to look at i probably would have been thee most inpatient mofo out there i give you kudos for the wait sweeeet.

thats a nice car.. i always wonder how it is to buy a fixed up car?
trial/error, experimentation, running around stores, and good old fashion
elbow grease is what makes me like the hobby and makes me proud of my car.

its definatly now bad getting a car like that for a starting point, but you know what
i mean about a pre-fixed up car?

sweet ride and a VIP car. :laugh:

dammit, thats it- im going to canada or aus.

[quote=carb0]
dammit, thats it- im going to canada or aus.
[/quote]

Tooooooooooo late to get them in Aus........ go to Cananda :buck2:

[quote]make sure its not parked in the sun on hot days[/quote]

Yeah I know, it gets hot enough in Melbourne, and while it's garaged at home, at work it's out in the open plus anywhere else I might care to park it so it will get baked in the sun in summer, it's unavoidable.

[quote]i dont know how you could manange after the funds have been paid n you being patient and only a picture to look [/quote]

Actually I had about 200 photos of it which is what I based my decision to purchase the car on, but it still didn't make the wait that much easier.

[quote]trial/error, experimentation, running around stores, and good old fashion
elbow grease is what makes me like the hobby and makes me proud of my car.

its definatly now bad getting a car like that for a starting point, but you know what
i mean about a pre-fixed up car?[/quote]

Buying modified cars from Japan is one of the main reasons why I like this business so much, it's a shame in Australia we can't really do it anymore (that's why we started selling to Canada :) ).  I understand what you're saying... that some of the fun is in building a car yourself, but on the flipside you save SO much by getting an already modified car.  In Japan they throw money at cars and then sell them for next to nothing.  For example, the price (in Japan) I paid for my Celsior is only marginally more than what was paid for the wheels and tyres ALONE a few months earlier.....  I don't even want to know what it would cost to build this car locally, yet it cost only a little bit more than a regular celsior in Japan.  According to the seller in Japan he's spent about 4 times what I paid for it on mods, EXCLUDING the car itself.

I agree personalizing your car to your desires is part of the point, in this case I was lucky enough to get a car that is very similar to what I would have built if it were up to me anyway (Admiration blister kit, black) so that's lucky, and there is still a lot of work to do.  Although the exterior is mostly there I still have a lot to do inside so it will still be "my" car when done.

Quarantine has cleared the car so picking it up and taking for a first drive tomorrow.

Ben

looking sick!

is it possible to do some first drive highways vid's that would be killer to see some or at least a simple engine rev lol. agh im still drooling.

Very nice post pics asap :knuppel2: Im sure Im not the only one who wants to see the rest of this black beauty.

I thought you were living in the US. I was about to say...

Alright some more pics, it's just parked on the road and don't really do it justice, it could still do with a polish.

Picked it up yesterday, the girl at the bond store thought it was a "gangster car from LA" :)  Got 500m and it ran out of fuel, got it filled up and then the jumper pack to get the inevitably flat battery was dead... so professional!  It drives ok, kinda gutless compared to what I'm used to but nice V8 sounds.  There is a seriously boned bush in the suspension somewhere, when you accelerate hard the whole car rotates to the right by about 2 degrees and then straightens again as soon as you lift off.... doesn't feel so great.  The indicators are all hyper white, it looks cool but is a recipe for trouble I think.  Gave it a wash and it could do with a polish to really bring it up, things are a bit wavy around the areas with body filler but that's too be expected, especially with black.

[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior1.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior2.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior3.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior4.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior5.jpg[/img]

Before you totally wig out, it's a small phone :)
[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior6.jpg[/img]

Build plaque.  I'll have to check again in the light as I couldn't see very well, but I think it's build 524.  It's a wonderful world where there are over 500 of these cars, I'm guessing that's maybe for the front bumper part only?  There's one on the rear bumper also, but it's been painted over :(
[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior7.jpg[/img]

The stock Celsior I imported for my Dad.  So narrow and tall :)
[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior8.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior9.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.j-specimports.ca/forum_images/celsior10.jpg[/img]

When I first put fuel in I had to tell a total of 4 people at the service station what it is (one guy: "What is it?" Me: to keep it simple "a Lexus" Him: "the new one?" Me: "....").  I'm used to driving on occassion some pretty outrageous cars but that's got to be a record, it could actually start to get annoying, or maybe that was just a fluke.  

The suspension's as slow as I expected but I think as long as I don't drive around with it dumped too low I shouldn't get into too much trouble.  Does anyone know of a Data Systems ASE664 english manul online?  I'll give it a polish, get Craig (VIPBOY) to move his bones and I'll get some better shots of the 2 cars together once I've got mine on the road.

Ben

reall nice, i love the wheels and kit

one word : PHAT!
how i wish we had such "easy" car laws here in switzerland :/

Wow... amazing! Sneaky buggers, you always keep the best stuff for yourselves huh ;)

Actually looks very much road legal (cept for the height of course) and not too extreme that you will be stopped by every cop out there...

amazing !! Love the blitster kit. Such a difference when pictured with the other stock Celsior.

So exactly what has changed with the AU import laws and why were you still able to bring these 2 in if the 15 year rule has been withdrawn?

SO SEXXXXXXXXXXXXY

IM LIKIN THAT alotttttttt :o

What's up with the grille?

That car is so hot! When I first read the title, I thought you just got a kit, but you got the whole damn car!  :smitten:

That is just crazy, seeing such a wild car in the neighbourhood. I personally have never seen a Vip car in person, I'm sure I would be staring at it with a question mark on my face like those other people if I hadn't known about the style.

So is that a red R33? ;)

[quote=AME_VIP]
amazing !! Love the blitster kit.  Such a difference when pictured with the other stock Celsior.

So exactly what has changed with the AU import laws and why were you still able to bring these 2 in if the 15 year rule has been withdrawn?
[/quote]

They were in the proccess of shipping them before the rules changed.......... just took awhile for him to get his NICE VIPcar.

bBoxed, thats a Kakimoto Widebody R33 if i'm not mistaken; 18x13" on the rear!

AME, the 15yr old rule ended officially in Feb last year, but they fart-assed around and basically said "If you have a receipt to show you bought it before feb you can still apply for import approvals until the end of 2005". And since 99% of receipts were printed out word documents, only a simple change was needed to get the necessary 'proof'.
(although i'm sure this one is all by the books s ;))

The new import rules are:
Made before January 1, 1989 (i.e. '88 model cars and older) can be brought in with modifications etc; just need to have minor things changed to be allowed to be registered here (seatbelts/side intrusion bars/flat mirrors etc)

All other cars: If it qualifies on the import list (i.e. significantly different to any local model sold here, and either very unique, powerful or a collectors item), then it is 'elligible'. Then you need to find a workshop which has spent close to $50k on proving that model is safe for our roads (i.e. this will only happen for popular cars like Soarers, Skylines etc). The car must be completely bone-stock when it is imported, and if any accident damage or rust is found on the car then it must be exported or destroyed. You then pay this workshop to do the 'compliance work' on the car (much the same as for 15yr old cars but the workshop must do it), then finally you can register it.

They call it the Specialist Enthusiast Vehicle Scheme because it is supposed to allow 'enthusiast' vehicles into the country without flooding the market. Problem is that due to the high cost, only very popular imports will ever be catered for by compliance workshops. So even more popular crap comes in, and the 'special' cars stay in Japan (Cedric/Glorias/Cimas/Presidents/Crowns/basically any car i am interested in).

do u have the wheel specs?hmm.. i've always wanted this wheels :'(

wow look at the cars on the front lawn.
thats very nice grass?
how come your roads look so damn smooth?!
oh nice car!
whats the list of modifications done to the car?

[quote]Actually looks very much road legal (cept for the height of course) and not too extreme that you will be stopped by every cop out there...[/quote]

To my disbelief I think only the wheels and fiberglass front guards are technically a problem, surprising such a wild looking car is mostly legal.  Tt will get a lot of attention from the cops regarldess so I may have to get the wheels engineered :(

[quote]What's up with the grille?[/quote]
Black mesh with chrome horns that you can see behind it, I think I'll move them, a few people are trying to talk me into a chrome grille of some sort

[quote]So is that a red R33[/quote]
Yeah, Craig's widebody Kakimoto R33.

[quote]whats the list of modifications done to the car?[/quote]
Admiration 18 piece Blister body kit
19" Auto Corture Supreme wheels (either 10's and 11's or 11's and 12's, will have to pull them off to see)
Bonnet mascot (brand unknown)
Aftermarket exhaust (brand unknown)
Data Systems ASE664 air suspension controller
Curtains (brand unknown, has a "G" on the clip... anyone?)
Cup holder thingy for the passenger glovebox (I'm sure there's an official VIP name for these :) )
Aftermarket tail lights
Admiration brand fog lights
Chrome mirror covers
Chrome trim around windows
Chrome door handles
Aftermarket shifter
Junis steering wheel (which will have to go, want airbag)
That's about it....

Ben

Curtains: Garson DAD most likely
Cup holder thingy for the passenger glovebox: Passenger glovebox table or anything similar
Steering wheel: I am very interested.... Let me know how much you want for it!

sweet ride....
quite a list of stuff there...
sweet!!!

Nice !  Thanks for the info regarding the 15 yr rule. I've heard lots of different info regarding the rule change but never from someone who is in Australia.   Here in the province of BC in Canada, our government is starting to crack down slightly as well. They are mainly focusing on Skylines and how the headllights are not DOT approved.  It looks like the prices are dropping as well on Jspec for many different cars as well.

Engineer the wheels? I'm surprised the police are so strict there. I haven't had any problems with my wheels thus far. *Knock on wood*

[quote=Blipman ]Black mesh with chrome horns that you can see behind it, I think I'll move them, a few people are trying to talk me into a chrome grille of some sort[/quote]

Ah, I didn't look closely enough at it. It looked like there wasn't a grille at all. ;)

how much is it to get things engineered? i heard in sydney the cops were defecting ppl like crazy last weekend, approx 20 cars in 3 hours i think, and the cars were all impounded straight away, no more yellow stickers

im in melb and i think its getting stricker also here, a friend just got defected last week by the TMU (traffic management unit), and the car was grounded on the spot and towed straight away

im v interested to get a few things engineered for my car, cuz i dun want to waste my money on paying fines and impound fees, but most importantly i want to keep all the parts on the car :-\

Regarding getting things engineered I've not looked into it too closely, I'm thinking a bare minimum of $500 just to get an engineer to sign his name, and things would go up from there depending on how much testing has to be done. In the case of my car the engineer would basically be signing off that the tyres don't hit the guards (easy), and that the hubs are strong enough to take the extra width (don't know how they'd test that). Don't need emissions test or anything else, if you've got a lot of work done I'd imagine it can cost thousands, and of course some things will never pass.

Ben

How does the engine perform after being dead for like a year? I hope it's nothing catastrophic, cause I heard prolonged unuse is very bad for the engine...

Congratulations.

That car is the sex. :)

nice car!!! so how many necks your crack so far? i bet everyone stares when you drive by :2funny: :)

Engine runs fine, it's usually not a problem not being started for that long, we bring in cars like that all the time. The battery is usually flat and maybe 5% of the time has to be replaced if it was on it's last legs, on some cars (especially some Nissans) sometimes the spark plugs need to be replaced but that's also not very common. Engine's really don't seem to mind not being started for ages.

Ben

Darth Vader, your car has landed.

^ LOL

I like the car! Very sexy

Holy cow?! U import the whole car? Fully done up summore?

*respect*

its a nice car.  there's something funny about the wheel fitment

you forgot to dress the fenderwells heh

Not sure if Blipman even comes on here anymore, but if he see's this..got a question for you.  Is this the same Blipman I knew for years on TT.net?  This is BooZTT (Hawaii).  Good to see you're still doing your thing.

Possibly, he runs (or ran) the Aus300ZX forum here in australia, and was quite big in the Z32 scene. Last i heard he bought a white lowrider 300ZX from Japan, complete with all the gold trimmings!

nice and clean!

that celsior is boss man... lovin the RHD action!