Sum of Parts

With a new generation of car enthusiasts coming through, and the rise of stifling ‘anti-hoon’ laws across Australia, it seems young people are less interested in performance and more interested in wheel fitment. It’s time for a revolution, to take back the horsepower, and the freedom and adrenaline that comes with it.

(Full disclosure: Brisbane Motor Imports thought Track Shun was so cool and knowledgeable, they asked us to write an advertorial on the benefits of engine swapping. Consider supporting a company that supports a grass-roots automotive blog.)

Don’t get me wrong, I love a good stance. But there’s a line between form and function, where choosing straight looks over how your automobile accelerates and handles makes you nothing but a poseur. It’s just a progression of the ‘VIP’ fad where kids would buy automatic E46 318i’s and stuff 21” chrome wheels under the car and two fifteen inch subwoofers into the boot.

When I was a teenager we used to laugh at them. They would call themselves car guys, but wouldn’t really have any idea about what it means to be a car guy. Cruising Chapel St or Brighton Le Sands or Cannon Hill Macca’s does not maketh a car enthusiast. There’s something about feeling the rush from a big turbo kicking in and propelling you down the road that you can’t get out of your bones. It’s twice as much fun if you’re in a car that wasn’t built to do such things. Three times as much if you happen to catch the look on the faces of the people in the other car.

This was how we spent our youth. There were countless days and nights preparing small cars for big turbo motors from defected donor cars that we would drive over from interstate. Or in friends’ driveways with gravel in our back, dropping high-compression Nissan engines into old Toyotas, Supra turbo motors into Bunderas, and Holden V8s into whatever we could find. Fitment was cool, but going fast was cooler. Come to think of it, it’s still how I choose to spend my weekends.

After years of experience, you quickly discover that Japanese half-cuts are the best way to do conversions. They come with the wiring loom, auxiliaries, mounts, and just about everything you would need to do a clean, quick swap. They’re also cheap. Buying a performance half-cut and stuffing it into your daily driver is significantly more fun and cost-effective than buying a pre-packaged performance car. Less unwanted attention from the boys in blue, too.

Waiting until you’re off your Ps before getting a loan and buying a fast car is fine. You know what’s better? Celebrating getting your full licence by dropping in a turbocharged Celica GT4 engine from a Toyota half-cut into the Corolla that your grandmother gave you when you got your Ps. Invite your mates around for the weekend and pay them in beer and barbeque. It beats the disappointment Nanna will have when you finally sell the car after having it on Gumtree for six months, and it’s cheaper than dropping $9,000 on a Celica GT4. You’ll have something unique, a package that you’re already familiar with, and a huge sense of accomplishment. Also, a very quick car.

I don’t even know why you would wait until you’re off your P-plates. Don’t tell me that you can’t have a fast car these days because of the restrictions placed on young drivers. You really need to drive pretty much any performance Honda to discover that an engine doesn’t have to have forced induction or eight cylinders or even much capacity in order to produce buckets of adrenaline. Buy an early-90s Civic, grab yourself a Honda half-cut from any Integra Type R or VTi-R, and watch the hilarity ensue. A revvy naturally aspirated motor in a light body will blow the doors off pretty much anything out there. Don’t like Hondas? Buy a classic 280ZX and a Nissan half-cut from a 370Z and get to work. Retro looks with kick-ass performance.

Maybe you’re already on your full licence and all your mates are driving V8 Commodores. You’re probably a bogan, but that’s fine. You don’t have to stray too far from the pack to have something decent. Find yourself the cleanest VL Commodore you can and pick-up a Nissan Skyline R33 GTR half-cut. For less than the price of a stock VL Turbo, you can have a VL Twin-Turbo that will destroy all those V8s that your friends spent way too much money on.

If the current trend is buying a slow automatic car and lowering it on some dished wheels with tyre stretch, then maybe drop an STi motor into a Subaru Brumby and put a set of semi-slicks on some ugly steel wheels. Stick a 20B into a 929 coupe and go to the Jamboree. Buy your uncle’s Cressida and install an Aristo engine. Go out to your garage and be a real car enthusiast. Be a trend-setter.


Brisbane Motor Imports have a bunch of really cool half-cuts available, as well as engines, transmissions, and new and used parts. Check out their website and get inspired.

At One

Years ago I heard someone say that what made Michael Schumacher such a brilliant driver was his ability to understand and compensate for tyre-slip in any circumstance. Tyre-slip refers to the way a tyre slides very slightly before it actually grips; and it’s hard to predict due to the high number of variables involved. You’ve probably experienced its louder, more obvious brother: understeer. Schumacher was able to dial-in the correct amount of steering input, braking, and acceleration to get the most out of the car without over-cooking it. The car became an extension of his body.

There’s no doubt that this is the sensation true drivers experience when they find their perfect ‘fit’ – that car that connects with them and becomes a part of their body.

Some people, such as Michael Schumacher, have an inherent talent that lies in their ability to somehow know how the car will feel and react in a multitude of different circumstances.

But it can be somewhat learned. I think most people don’t understand the appeal of spirited driving because they haven’t experienced the sensation of being at one with a car. And at the risk of endearing myself to crazy people, I have to say that it’s the same with guns. In controlled, safe environments, it can be tremendous fun honing your skills with a mechanical instrument that acts as an extension of your body.

Recently there was an article in New Scientist about how the brain sees tools, such as toothbrushes and mechanical grabbers, as extensions of the body (27/6, p17). Researchers stated that this was “the first evidence that tool use alters the body schema (map).” I couldn’t help but think that none of these researchers had ever driven a stripped-out Golf GTi around Silverstone.



Genuine driving enthusiasts and racing drivers have known of this hypothesis for years. They know the feeling of being at one with the car. They understand that often when they’re driving, they’ll make an input or correction that they’re completely unaware of. Their brain is already compensating for how the vehicle responds before they have any conscious awareness of what is happening.

A month back I was driving a mate home from seeing a band in the middle of nowhere. On a slippery road (a private road, of course…) away from other cars and residents, I coerced the car into a relatively low speed slide at a 90-degree corner. Afterwards Hagger pointed out to me that I had started pulling the wheel back to centre even whilst the car was mid-swing. Now, I’m no Schumacher, but since I was a young teenager I’ve been pushing cars into drifts (or power slides as JC calls them). So although I didn’t recall exactly what I had done to ensure that brief moment of fun ended safely, I trusted my experience enough to attempt it in the first place.

In the very, very distant future, when the time comes for me to become a father, my kids are going to be strapped into a car and forced to compete in motorkhanas – whether they want to or not. From an early age I want my children to understand the relationship between driver and car. I want them to know that just because you want the car to stop, it doesn’t mean it always will. How, as BKS wrote recently, cars react in dramatically different ways depending on the conditions. And as much as I want them to sharpen their reactions behind the wheel, I also want them to enjoy the experience of using a car as an extension of themselves, just as much as I do.