What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Or does it? One thing’s for sure: they never tell you about the aggravating road thousands of people in the aftermarket automotive industry must endure to get their latest builds to the annual SEMA show on time. Come late October and American petrolheads really start feeling the crunch when the final weeks, days and inevitably hours of last-minute preparation run out.
With the stress placed on everyone – sponsors and builders alike – it’s become a bit of an accepted fact that the majority of the cars on display at SEMA are ‘show cars’ in the most literal sense. Late nights, missing parts and other gremlins often lead to bandaid fixes meaning very few of the cars entering the convention center do so under their own volition.
But that doesn’t apply to all. The car you see here is indeed a SEMA demo car, but that’s about where the similarities to the typical Vegas-fare end. The engine bay might look as though it’s incomplete and inoperable, but that’s exactly what Chasebays specialize in. Chase McMaster and his team offer custom wiring harnesses and other slick tucking solutions for a variety of cars. Most recently they built this FR-S from the ground up to demonstrate a practical application of tuning parts.
At first glance this FR-S might not strike you as being very fancy, but once you start taking a closer look you realize this is a man-hour monster, not your typical fly-by-night SEMA build. Starting by stripping the car down to the bare shell and going from there, the guys built a clean, high-performance car that was reliable enough to drive from Alabama all the way across the country to SEMA, but not before a quick detour the long way around through LA.
When Chase arrived, the car had its share of bug guts from the two-thousand-mile trek to the west coast. Fortunately I knew just the spot to rinse the teal FR-S off before our photoshoot.
What I hadn’t counted on was the fact that daylight saving had just come into full effect and the sun would be setting a full hour earlier than I had anticipated. No sweat. With just a few moments of daylight left we drove to downtown Los Angeles, went to an old faithful location and I frantically made my way around the car.
After taking a look up close at the craftsmanship put into this car it was a breath of fresh air compared to many of the SEMA cars I’ve shot in the past. It’s an honest example of a car that can be daily driven, flogged on the track, hooned in a parking lot, trekked across the entire country and put on display in the largest aftermarket exhibition in the world. It gives me hope that cars like this will continue to be built; cars ticking all the boxes indeed.
i always wanted to see what a boxer engine looked with the wires tucked. n that charger! that black is very stealthy!
When did the shopping list down the doors make a come-back, or did it never die? It's really not a good look. Bay looks amazing though!
Very nice and clean engine bay!
whoa! that looks like the other FRS on speedhunters....
I LOVE YOU SEAN!!
slightly surprising build with all the "quility dialable"ness for someone that's known about tuckin shit since you sold me those red cf48s ;D
Keep on keepin on brotha! as with all superiorly quality addicted craftsmen in this world will do as they must!!
cheers partna!
Spaghetti to me it's a SEMA thing, you gotta support the sponsors. Only the hot rods seem to get away with no stickers.
nice to see a 86 without a rokcet bunny kit once in a while!
2xthefun Spaghetti Even then...my Kaiser had a window full of sponsor decals last year. It's a necessary evil and the least you can do for the support the industry provides.
Great, now I want to yank the engine out of my FR-S. That engine bay is simply outstanding.
I live in Birmingham right next to the owner, I get to see this thing next to my apartment all the time
that bay dear god
seen this car at formula d nj this year, not running but the color and interior is amazing....... why is the clutch cyl in the middle of the firewall? lol
@chrisgotta86Ask Subaru/Toyota; that's the OEM location for the clutch master cylinder.
suprizm I fucking love that car
@hipstirs suprizm Glad to hear that
Bosae86 not bad eh?
KeithCharvonia LMK Keith, I can get you hooked up with Chase
ATXBoy Thanks man!
Aesthetics45 What other FRS?
KeithCharvonia 2xthefun Spaghetti Ya it's kind of a necessity for SEMA.
d_rav I'm sure in Chase's mind this is only stage one. He'll probably go even further with it in the future, if he doesn't total it on the track first. Rumor has it that he may yank out the boxer though...
Great photos, any close up shots of some of the chasebay products used on this frs?
Nikhil_P My thoughts also.
Nice! Totally agree that cars that "tick all boxes" should continue to be built. After all, most of the people who buy these aftermarket products are those who use their cars for almost everything. Here's another 86 from our side of the world which has been a test bed for some of the products exported from here and showcased in the SEMA Show:
http://custompinoyrides.com/2013/01/the-stivo-racing-toyota-gt86/
Simply clean.
My favorite color
I luv BRZ,FRS AND 86