SPOTTED: HEAP OF GLORY - A GEMINI

Let’s call it your lucky day when you found a platform that is only in handful units in the land of Headhunters. On the other side, I had my precious time in West Malaysia counting few units finely-restored Gemini. Hopefully they were not dumped at scrapyard due to parts limitation few decades ago in Borneo. A message to the owner, please bring back this old chap in action!

Bye.

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SPOTTED: A BRIGHT SUNNY DAY

One bright day had brought me to this ultimate second-generation Sunny in Datsun family, which is specifically called Datsun Sunny KB210. The liftback form is really eye-catcher, in which also aids the aerodynamics of this chassis for the sake of speed. One cannot deny that it is one of awesome engineering creation in late 70’s, and you won’t get bored watching it all day long. For your information, the KB210 can only be found in handful units in Malaysia, and this is the only one in Oil Town, Miri. Do not ask me whether the owner intended to sell this beauty or not, because I strongly believe that you can only buy it in your dream.

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SPOTTED: NON-COMPACT DAIHATSU

Another handsome Charmant in town, driven by a mechanic. A stock body, slammed suspension and deep-dish vintage wheels is always a recipe for success when it comes to old Daihatsus like this Charmant.

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SPOTTED: IT'S ME FORTY

Talking about Starlet family in Toyota, we were usually exposed with KP30, KP60/61 and FWD EP series. A bright day had brought me to this superb condition P40 Starlet/Publica, which I believe it just stepped out from paintjob garage.

Without emblems and decals, it was totally clueless to obtain the identity of this car. Really glad to see this forty-year-old P40 in an excellent condition. Kudo's to the owner (In other words, Please join OCCC!).

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SPOTTED: SWAN CITY HUNTING PART 2

'Poison' mode again, this is the predecessor of Part 1 and I am gonna start with this Corolla KE20 2 door sedan. A good alternative for KE25 (Mango) and undoubtedly, I started to fall in love with this model.

The chassis was still in a good shape with essential parts were still attached.  And importantly, it was covered by a canvas and parked on pavement. So this helped to slow down the rust formation.

A late model (kouki) peanut based on the tail light.

This was what I found hundred meters from the KE20, a candy blue 3 door hatchback Charade G11. Super rare!

It seems that the owner was a Charade hardcore, and he had the outlook improved with Charade Turbo kits. The outer shell was pretty rusted, but it looks salvageable.

Surprisingly, a Celeste was spotted at a junkyard with most of the parts had been dismantled. No hope to make it road legal, plus it is a rare model too.

More cars were sacrificed for parts and metals.

Sad but true, a first gen Honda Prelude was chopped, and a wagon Corolla KE36 as well.

This time, spotted a Mitsubishi Tredia, KE70 GL and Subaru Leone, and few other unrecognized models.

Looking for a sunroof? A hope for 323 hardcore, this Mazda BD was left unchopped and the parts were still there.

More and more sacrificed oldskools such as Starlet KP, KE70 DX, Charmant, second gen Accord, Corolla liftback and few others.

And I bet this is the most disappointing panorama, you can not resist feeling hollow upon seeing the 323 GLC, Mazda 808 4 door sedan, KE35 hardtop and second gen Civic, were the members of the junkyard paradise.

Is that you Mr. Bean? I believe the junkyard owner knows the sentimental value of this Mini, so he put it on top of the container; or intentionally waiting for a potential buyer. OK that's all for now and will 'poison you guys with more pictures sooner. Chow!

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SPOTTED: SWAN CITY HUNTING PART 1

I do love hunting oldskool cars whenever I reach new places, since they are packed with some nice cars that may not be found at my hometown. The first car that caught my eyes from last vacation; this Celica coupe on Magnum wheels, next to a workshop.

Sitting around the corner from the Celica was this poor Jimny. The chassis was actually in a good shape, only few parts missing.

Spotted few bumpers and parts on top and surroundings of the Jimny, apparently no parts that caught my attention since they were for modern cars.

As I walked around, there was a Pajero undergoing extensive facelift conversion. Not a big fan of this kind of modification, but I can imagine if the effort was spent on original restoration, fully slammed ride height and installing chrome parts.

Mini anyone? This particular model is pretty rare in Borneo, I have only ever seen a handful of these. If only someone could save this chassis and put it back rolling on the road.

Sadly, another one. But this time with most of the parts attached. If you noticed, there was a nice yellow Suzuki Jimny behind there, undergoing some repair process, and a modern T230 Celica.

Oldskool Prelude fans would not happy to see this. Famously known as second generation Prelude and it was pretty popular for the pop-up headlights design.

I go weak at the knees when I spotted this stock to the bone Starlet KP61. The frames are still in good shape and the lines are straight. It was nice since to see the owner maintains fender side mirror. Sorry for the crappy image as my camera fails at night shot.

See you guys in Part 2. Chow!

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SPOTTED: DRAGON IN WHITE

Oldschool Celica Liftback anyone? This particular generation is pretty rare in Malaysia, not to mention in Miri. I have only ever seen a handful of these in town. I took these pictures long time ago in Miri and just discovered it in my old hard drives.

What a nice clean looking Celica TA28 and I believe it was just finished restoration progress that moment. I heard it was shipped to West Malaysia few months since these pictures were snapped. Hope it is in better hands now. 

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SPOTTED: FABULOUS STEELIES

Just another B210 in town? Wait, its got deep offset OEM steelies and I have to admit that Datsun designers did a great job in styling the shape of this car, which is so muscular looking. Looks like the owner enjoyed his weekend by rolling around in his Datsun.

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SPOTTED: CROWN CORONA

A trip to Batu Caves brought me to this TT141 Corona and it looks like the owner had put a great effort to keep this car in this amazing condition. Undoubtedly, it looked like it just stepped out of the dealership!

With proper ride height for daily drive, aftermarket wheels, well-maintained exterior parts, and OEM two tone bumpers, it was the cleanest TT141 I ever spotted.

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SPOTTED: UTE FEVER

I know it is Pickup/UTE season where most of old-timers are looking for a platform to start with, since OMG 2012 (Olskool Mega Gathering) is getting closer. Meanwhile in KL with heavily congested traffic Saturday night, this lucky guy made every oldskool enthusiasts out there envy, by driving around his Mazda 1300, which was sitting low on SSR Casablanca. Nice ride man!

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SPOTTED: CLEAN STOCK A40

During the last holiday, this was the car that catches my attention as I had to make a U-turn to get a closer look. As I approached the car, I was really impressed with the condition of this Celica A40 which is still in stock form, except a set of nice Magnum wheels which makes it 'tougher'

This A40 has been well-taken care of, with all of original parts are intact. Moreover, it was difficult to spot any rust on the body, which I believe it is a good platform for a second generation Celica lover to start with.

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SPOTTED: KEI ACTIVITY

Pickup truck by Honda? Yes it is. If you wondering, this Japanese automaker who is a success in producing sedan cars, used to come out with their kei trucks in 1977, the Acty.

Judging from the size of Proton Saga right next to this kei truck, you will have the idea; how compact and cute this little Acty is. With a micro 549cc two cylinder motor hiding under the bed, this is a true kei class vehicle.

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SPOTTED: FORGOTTEN LIFTBACK

Who like an A40 liftback? Please raise your hand, honestly. I bet only 1 out of 10 oldskool Celica lovers is interested on this model. It is truly forgotten, due to its 'uncle' design in stock form. But, the owner of this A40 should be proud to own this masterpiece, which is still in a perfect shape and line. Only the replacement of broken right tail light will be a nightmare.

Photo courtesy of market.onlineoops.com

Trust me, when this Celica Liftback comes to the right hand, it will look like this.

Photo courtesy of market.onlineoops.com

...and this. Hunting for your Liftback now?

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SPOTTED: RX-J 1300

Another heartbreaker, and do not get me wrong, RX-Jumbo seems OK for this cute little sedan and with the badge bearing '1300', you know it means power, speed, and business for this compact sedan.

The best things is, most of original parts are intact on this Jumbo, plus the bodylines are straight and perfect. Notice the shiny and perfect condition rear chrome bumper, envy! However, the main frame is unsalvageable thus it is nearly impossible to get this beauty back on the road.

Wooden finish meter cluster and 3-spoke steering prove this Jumbo was a mid-luxury car during its era.

Noticed something weird? Yeah the studs, it is designed to hold the wheels by inserting it to the mounting bolt, unlike the ordinary wheel lugs.

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SPOTTED: WAGONIZER

Spotted this beauty in her perfect condition. Daily driven by a mechanic and we know why oldskool enthusiasts are craving for this model, as the experts also prefer this 808 wagon.

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SPOTTED: EMPTINESS

Found this perfect shape Corolla KE74 lying at the roadside. How could the previous owner scrapped this beauty.

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SPOTTED: MR. BUG

It is not that sporty, not that aerodynamic. But this is the car that created a fenomena around the world. Everyone loves this uniquely designed Volkswagen Beetle. 

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SPOTTED: IMMACULATE SJ40

Spotting a clean SUV in town is something that you can not experience everyday. But this Suzuki Jimny did not fail to impress everyone including me. In India, the Jimny are popularly driven by the police and defense forces so you can often see it on the road. Malaysia in contrast, the Jimny can be considered as rare.

Managed to keep the wheels shining all the time. I bet the owner is a careful person, and a Jimny purists too.

Looks like the owner managed to find new replacement for the tail lights. One thing that is unique about oldskool SUVs are, the door/hood hinges are visible from the outside.

Even the gaps of doors and front fenders are symmetrically aligned, and the hood as well. This is how a proper restoration should be done!

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