Photos: Deven Solanki
NZPC: Hey Tiree, that’s one wicked Roadster. How did you get into modifying cars in the first place?
Tiree: In my early years, I’d say my dad was my biggest influence. He’s owned many cool cars over the years, such as a Renault 5 Turbo, Lotus Europa, and a Lotus 7 kit car, just to name a few. Other early influences for Japanese cars would definitely include the first few Fast and Furious movies and video games such as Need For Speed, Midnight Club, and Gran Turismo. In my teens, I was mostly into tuner cars and drift cars, with my first sports car being an S14 Zenki. One of my friends then bought an NA Roadster, which is what introduced me to these cars, and I instantly fell in love with them. As for Kaido Racer styling, my earliest introduction was through the Hightopfade blog by Park Baker.
How long have you owned it for, and what’s your favourite thing about it?
I’ve owned the car for almost seven years now, and it has definitely changed a lot in my ownership. When I first got the car my favourite thing about it was the driving experience and the handling of the car. Now my philosophy has changed, and my favourite thing would be the way it looks and the satisfaction I get from that.
In what state was the Roadster in when you got it? Did it take long for you to start modifying it?
When I first bought the car it already had the turbo kit installed, but apart from that it was mostly stock. After I sold my S14 and I was in the market for a Roadster, this one came up for sale for a great deal and with the turbo kit and being certified I couldn’t pass on it. After buying it I just enjoyed the driving experience of a lightweight turbo car for a while until I figured out which direction I wanted to take it in. My tastes have definitely changed a lot over my ownership, as when I first started modifying the car it definitely looked more like your average NZ MX5 with a GV lip, ducktail spoiler, side steps, etc. About a year or two into my ownership, I discovered the world of period-correct styling, and more specifically Kaido Racers, which have since been a large influence on the direction I’ve taken.
Old-school Japanese wheels, especially SSR MK IIIs are an absolute mission to find in 4×100! How did you get your hands on your set?
After I discovered small-diameter wheels and the styling that goes along with them, I was on the hunt for any 14-inch wheels. Originally I was just looking at NZ markets and managed to find a set of Work Equip 01s, which were 14×8-inch. I ran those for a while, but they were the new production ones with the larger face and 16 bolts as opposed to the old production ones with the smaller faces and six bolts, so they weren’t quite doing it for me. I was then set on finding a set of either SSR MK-II or MK-IIIs and began looking on Yahoo auctions to find some. It was quite a while before the right set came up, as 4×100 SSRs are difficult to find and most were either way too expensive, in bad condition, had bad specs, or all of the above. After a few months, a set of MK-IIIs popped up that were almost brand new and very reasonably priced, although the specs were pretty average (7j & 8j stagger). I bought them and then sent them to PINE Engineering to be rebuilt to the specs I wanted. More recently the plan was to put the rebuilt 8.5j pair on the front and send the 8j pair to PINE to be rebuilt to 9.5j B type and put them on the rear (about the limit you can fit in 14s under pulled guards with a 175/60), but with the car now being for sale plans have changed.
The Roadster is basically hugging the ground! What’s the driving experience like at such a height?
Yeah it’s definitely an interesting experience driving a car at this height. The frame rails are sitting 20 mm off the ground so you have to be very aware of your surroundings and don’t drive fast on roads you don’t know. Luckily the oil sump sits above the subframe so that isn’t a big worry. As for obstacles such as speed bumps and kerbs into parking lots, it’s sort of beyond the height where you can slowly crab walk it in, and instead you just have to send it at an angle to avoid getting it beached. It still gets stuck sometimes and I carry blocks of wood in the boot for when that happens. I’ve also got frame rail protectors that minimise the damage to the underbody.
If you could choose any set of wheels for your car, what would it be and why?
I would probably stick with the MK-IIIs, to be honest. For me, they are the quintessential old-school Japanese wheel and look good on so many different cars, whether that be a ’90s-style S13 drift car or a GX71 hardtop that’s a hair width off the ground. There are some other wheels I’d like to try though, such as SSR Formula Mesh, or wheels which only came in 4×114 like Tomcats.
What would you say the aim was during the build?
The aim for how it looks now was to achieve a Kaido Racer-inspired Roadster. These cars are not a typical base to build a Kaido Racer, and at first, I hadn’t seen any examples of it being done. I then discovered some examples on Instagram from the team RDB, which I have since joined, and from the team Hanamaru Racing based in central Japan. Both RDB and Hanamaru Racing started building Kaido Racer-inspired Roadsters around 2014–’15, and prior to that, it hadn’t really been done much. RDB members are based around the world, but the team was started by Joel Jakicevich in NZ and Nathan Wohlander in the USA. Our members have also built other styles of Roadster such as period-correct street-style cars, drift cars, and grip-style cars, but the early Kaido Racer-inspired builds were a huge inspiration for me. As for Hanamaru Racing, both Mochizuki-san and Yamada-san were a big inspiration and I took a lot of styling cues from them, and I have since been lucky enough to visit them and see their cars in person. While some people frown at uncommon base cars for a Kaido Racer, particularly a Roadster, in my opinion, the car works really well with the style. When Mazda designed this car they took a lot of inspiration from earlier sports cars and the body lines really complement the Kaido Racer look, especially when slammed on the ground with wide wheels. A lot of Japanese Roadster workshops also made aero parts which work well with the look such as D’Cuatro, TRAP, and Kanspo just to name a few. The general formula for a Kaido Racer is a ’70s or ’80s Japanese car with low ride height and wide ≤14-inch wheels. Other styling cues are largely dependent on the region of Japan and the era. With my car other than the inspiration from previously built Roadsters, I took inspiration from ’70s base car Kaido Racers, such as early Skylines as seen in magazines like Champ Road. This can be seen by the stock body, Hakosuka-style spoiler, mismatched headlights, Vitaloni Sebring mirrors, etc. Also in the interior, with the TRD-style bucket seat, small-diameter leather steering wheel, teardrop shifter with bent extension, etc. Although turbo cars are uncommon within Kaido Racers, I’ve tried to incorporate them into the style with period-correct accessories, such as the gauges and turbo timer.
You have a few rare bits on your car, what was the hardest part to source and where did you find it?
Some of my rarest parts I stumbled across by pure chance. The Hippo bucket seat in black leather with the white gloss back, which I never thought I would find for sale, was listed by someone quite local to me. The Clarion City Connection speakers and yellow SEV Marchal lamp are quite hard to find and were sold to me by a friend. The hardest part to find, though, was probably the steering wheel. I had always wanted a Mizuno Works steering wheel in leather, but they only did a very limited run of them about 10 years ago. For those who are unfamiliar, Mizuno Works is a famous workshop based in Tokyo that has built many iconic Kaido Racers over the years. Everyone I knew who owned one didn’t want to let it go, and I ended up just settling for a Grant steering wheel. A while later I started asking around if anyone had a leather ≤280 mm steering wheel for sale, and a friend offered to sell me their Mizuno Works one. Although it isn’t the 265 mm version, which is generally preferred, I’m more than happy with the 280 mm.
If you could go back in time and do one thing on the car over again, what would it be?
If I could go back in time I would have bought a completely stock Roadster and done twin carbs with trumpets instead of a turbo before the new cert tags. While the turbo is cool, it doesn’t really fit the Kaido Racer style despite my best efforts. I can hear some of you saying ‘Why carbs instead of ITBs when it’s already fuel injected?’ and I have a simple answer for that: because it’s cool.
I see the Roadster is currently on the market! Got any thoughts on what your next car might be?
Yup, it’s for sale at the moment! If you’re interested please get in touch with me on Instagram @tireew. It’s sad to see the car go and I couldn’t fully achieve my vision for it (I was planning on sending the wheels back to PINE to widen more and run more stretch), but I’m grateful for everyone I’ve met through my ownership. I would like to own a more common base for a Kaido Racer, and I’ve currently got my eyes on an early ’80s Toyota sedan. I won’t say much more than that, but those familiar can probably guess what it is.
Cheers for the yarn, Tiree!
1993 Mazda Eunos Roadster (NA8C)
Engine: Mazda BP, 1839cc, four-cylinder; Flyin Miata turbo kit, Garrett GT2560R turbo, front-mount intercooler, RX7 injectors, Megasquirt ECU, cold air intake, alloy radiator, oil catch can, factory internals
Driveline: Factory five-speed, Torsen LSD 4.1, Exedy Sports Tuff clutch
Interior: Mizuno Works leather 280 mm steering wheel, Hippo bucket seat, GReddy mechanical boost gauge, Omori electric water temp gauge, vintage Safari shifter with extension, M2 pedals, Clarion City Connection parcel tray speakers, PYE cassette player, Garage 5 roll bar, KG works rear-view mirror
Exterior: TRAP spoiler, Vitaloni Sebring mirrors, SEV Marchal headlamps, R package front lip
Wheels/tyres: SSR MK-III (F) 14×8-inch (+0) (R) 14×8.5-inch (-7) (B type), 175/60R14 tyres
Suspension: Yellowspeed coilovers with 1.5-inch extended top hats in the rear
Brakes: Factory
Power: ~200hp
Fuel type: 95 Octane
Tuner: Unknown
Name: Tiree Weston
Age: 25
Location: Auckland
Occupation: Microbiologist
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This article originally appeared in New Zealand Performance Car issue 309