As a bit of a follow up on my previous post on DTP, I want to get into a little more detail about some of the fantastic rides that I saw there. I would love to do full on features here, but at the moment, the weather in our area is not the most cooperative for photoshoots, and driving about. So I'll have to offer further teasings of what we have in our local scene.
That 420z TT seems to have sparked a lot of interest. I saw people swarming around the car. The owner is a down to earth guy who was happy just to have other enthusiasts recognizing the amount of work that went into creating the daily driven, ~760 whp, monster. Of course it also had my attention because it's big, bold, and black. The hue, combined with the carbon fiber bits, lends itself to the sinister stance of this particular Z car.
For those of you wondering, the 420z is still VQ based, with a very aggressive stroker kit by GT Motorsports. (Which at the time was a brand spankin new kit) At this point if you're asking how much for this kit, you should take a stroll over to the GT Motorsports website.
There were also a few of these JDM Y32 Nissan Cima's in full VIP stance.
I think this white one was a great example. Hunkered down low over it's rubber.
Another great angle shot from Jim.
Look at that fender clearance!!!
I thought that another stand out sector of the show floor ended up being the Takeda Enterprises booth. They were there pimping a pair of track weapons. A corner carving FD RX-7, and what looked to be a straight line churning R32 GT-R.
The yellow FD was probably one of the cleanest looking builds I've ever seen. It has a great track ready stance, and probably the best put together package of exterior styling I could hope to photograph. And I give it instant bonus points for making the Enkei RPF-1's look mean.
And it's white R32 GT-R compatriot was packing one giant turbo, and a beautiful polished valve cover, which was sporting a very exciting name engraved upon it's surface "Tomei"...
Anyone who knows of Tomei's prowess in the engine building world (Both race and street applications), will know that there's bound to be a demon hiding inside this RB26!
I can't wait to get the inside scoop on what the end goal is for the single turbine fed rocket.
A fair number of my old favorites appeared on the floor. None have created as much debate as Adam's AE86/Mazda turbo. His creation has wound up in auto-x, drift events, and even hill climbs.
After talking with Adam, I found out that his day job as a fabricator sees him creating a large assortment of custom parts. He does this to help his fellow car nuts sort out their own rides.
He started out customizing an '88 Mazda MX-6 GT, but it's life was cut short by an accident. He then got himself an '86 SR5 Automatic Corolla as a base car, and set out to transplant the heart of his Mazda, into the lightweight chassis of the Corolla.
I was floored at the ingenuity of this guy. He used the transmission out of a B2200 Mazda pickup to convert the motor to a RWD application, and modified the rest to make it fit. I'll go into more details on this one when we stop getting our weather in liquid format, and get this car back in front of a camera! :)
Now for a bit of a car break. I think it must be said that Jim's took a few really great shots of something other than cars at the show.
Jayla Rubinelli was uber friendly at the show, and loved the camera (not surprising given her history on America's Next Top Model).
For those interested, the car that is holding her up is an S2000. 
I'll use this as a bit of an exit for today, and just because these are really great shots.
Cheers,
-mike
http://www.tomeiusa.com/
http://www.gtmotorsports.com/
http://www.getjdmcars.com/