The Kids Are Alright:</br> Fitted Lifestyle Toronto
What’s In A Name?

It’s been a while since Speedhunters graciously let me pen an article, and in that time I’ve watched the diversity that keeps me coming back to this site steadily increase.

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Yet no matter how varied the content is, when a post appears even slightly dedicated to the land of the low, grumblings of ‘Speedhunters not Stancehunters!’ appear in the comments.

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However, located in the homepage title bar, not all that far from the Speedhunters masthead, is the the tagline ‘Car Culture at Large’ and hate it or love it aggressive fitment has become a highly relevant part of today’s car culture.

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Aesthetic-first car modification is really nothing new, and aggressive fitment is just the current evolution of the path started by builders whose eye for style often yielded a few performance sacrifices.

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Here in Ontario, Fitted Lifestyle has established itself as the event catering towards individuals who like to push the boundaries of ride height and wheel fitment.

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The Toronto stop is their flagship show and what makes this event so great is that while its main focus is a fairly niche group, its audience is wildly diverse.

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There are few shows in the greater Toronto area where you’ll find the owners of a ‘69 Volvo 144, a barely street legal Foxbody Mustang and a near monster truck status Ford Super Duty all gathered to look at the same cars.

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But respect for all car culture, and the fact that the Fitted staff are doing their part to keep it alive is what draws people back to this show year after year.

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Today, instead of going through an all-encompassing rundown of the entire show, I’ve been tasked to deliver a sampling of the cars that make this event so great.

Parking Lot Super Stars
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While doing my initial walk through the show halls I caught a glimpse of two cars outside that simply had to be photographed – regardless of the fact they were not officially entered.

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If I owned either of these two Datsuns I probably wouldn’t want to see them sitting stationary for the better part of a beautiful day either, so I can’t really blame the owners for opting to park them on the grass instead of the show floor.

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Both cars struck the perfect balance between function and form. The 240 had body-matched flares hugging a set of healthy-spec vintage SSR MKII wheels.

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The 280 had contrasting flares and sat low on top of more modern Work Meister CR-01 wheels.

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The 240 managed to sneak away without my noticing, but I did hear the 280 start up and drive off, and I’m pretty sure a very healthy L-series motor remains under hood.

The Colour Of Royalty
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Moving inside once more, the next car I decided to take a closer look at was this outstanding Subaru Impreza WRX wagon.

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Like several other cars at the show it had fender flares on all four corners, but unlike most of the competition these were not affixed unmodified. The owner, Alex Lachance, widened each flare 1.5 inches before adjusting the radius to better suit his tastes.

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The flares alone couldn’t house the 295-section Yokohama Advan rubber he was intent on running, so Alex replaced the factory fenders with JDM V7 STI units.

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In the rear he went through the labour-intensive task of fitting sedan doors and quarters onto the wagon in the confines of his own garage.

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The refined fit and finish might give off the look of a race-inspired show pony, but make no bones about it – this car gets driven! Just recently it left its mark on Calabogie race track, proof of which can be found on Alex’s Instagram feed.

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After finally convincing myself to move on from Alex’s Subaru, I spent the next few minutes pointing my lens at the S14 above.

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I don’t know about you, but I could easily picture it sliding alongside a few of the cars pictured in Mike’s most recent visit to Fuji Speedway.

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The fact that the Nissan’s owner, Jon Prem, recently switched from bags back to coils for a firmer ride at this low height suggests that local drift days might not be out of the realm of possibility.

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A favourite to the judges as well, this car took home third place Best of Show.

The Pursuit Of Perfection
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The next car I’d like to present is one that has won awards at this event as far back as I can remember, and has honestly deserved every single one.

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However, today I won’t be showing you the entire Civic. Instead, I’ll just be focusing on the recently-overhauled engine bay.

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The previously-swapped H22 motor’s transition from naturally aspirated to Precision 6076 turbo fed couldn’t have been cut any closer to show day, with owner Brian working alongside Will of Auto Select Tuning until 4:00am show day morning in order to get the car presentable.

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Notice how in the cover photo you can’t see much at all in the engine bay besides the motor itself?

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That’s because everything else has either been eliminated, tucked, or hard-lined.

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The end result is akin to a ring sitting in a jewelry box, though it probably cost significantly more!

Bavarian Brawlers
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The final two cars I’d like to show you sat in the booth of local media outlet, and all around great crew, The Scraped Crusaders.

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I’m sure some of you are looking at the pair above and thinking, ‘Yeah sure, I get why you would want to showcase the E46, but why the E30?

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That would be a fair call too. There is actually nothing new about an E30 on Borbet Type A wheels, but as clean examples become rarer by the day, sometimes you just need to step back and appreciate the simple things.

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But other times you really just need to take a look under the hood and have your socks blown right off.

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Yep, what you are looking at – despite what the tongue-in-cheek badging says – is a VAG 1.8T motor sitting between BMW strut towers. It’s not the first swap of its kind, but it is the first one in Ontario and I do believe the first one to be showcased here on Speedhunters.

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The motor isn’t the only thing borrowed from a different maker either. Behind the VAG engine sits a Toyota Supra transmission amounting to a pretty unique and effective mix of kit.

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Now onto the E46… What you’re looking at is Stephen ‘Money Gang Steve’ Van Sleuwen’s newest Formula Drift Canada bound competition car.

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Built by himself and a few trusted friends, Steve’s car features a Formula D spec Mitchy’s Speed Shop cage, BC Racing suspension, Cosmis Racing wheels, and a bevy of NERP Tech suspension components.

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As equally interested in style as he is in function, Steve has also dedicated a fair share of his time to making the car looking as good as it will drive. That’s where the flares, ride height, and towering wing come into play.

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While getting the look sorted he noted a lack of aggressive side skirts available for the E46. To fix that problem he made his own, and they’ll soon be available through his brand: 999 Tech.

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The livery was completed by friends Lucas Stanois and Mitch Amoyette, and would you believe this is their first design?

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The car is currently a roller, but don’t go thinking that an LS motor will not be the powerplant of choice. Instead, Steve plans to run a M52 BMW motor with a Garrett GT35 turbo hanging off the side

And with that we are at the end of my look at Fitted Lifestyles’ 2015 event – hopefully you enjoyed it. And who knows, maybe Speedhunters will tap me on the shoulder once more for an even closer look at one of the cars from today’s post…

Dave Thomas
instagram @stanceiseverythingcom
stanceiseverything.com

Additional Photography by Drake Nolte

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64 comments

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1
Jensen Pennelli

Great selection of cars love the subbie

2
DontStayStock

Well if everything has been hidden in the bay of the civic then they didn't do a good job. I can see the brake fluid reservoir and the servo

3
DontStayStock

But still a beautiful car

4

Is it true the purple G35 got his plates taken? and also sorry for photobombing your rocket bunny pic haha!

5

Hey, so those are both 240z's. Lovin the mkii's though!

6

+1 for some more on either (or both) of those S30s.

7
Dimitry Mochkin

How the hell did I miss that?! When was the event?

8

Did SH update or is my phone glitching

9

Why not more outdoor pictures ?

10

Dimitry Mochkin It was May 23rd. There are two more coming up, one in Ottawa on July 11th and one August 15 at Ontario Place

11

@yoshi_w Doh!

12

Phunger It's true yes, the car beside it too.

13

Dimitry Mochkin

14

Dimitry Mochkin Check http://www.fittedlifestyle.com for details on upcoming events!

15

Dimitry Mochkin We've been hosting FITTED for the last 6 years. We got two more events on deck as Dave mentioned. More info here: http://www.FITTEDLIFETSTYLE.com

16

Dimitry Mochkin The article didn't mention this, but we've been hosting this event for the last 6 years. You can get more info about upcoming dates at http://www.FITTEDLIFESTYLE.com

17

Thanks for the article @DaveT. Thanks for checking Canada out Speedhunters Community!

18

Great coverage on an event close to home! I also appreciate your enthusiasm for car culture AT LARGE, scenes will be scenes. It's fun to learn to love aspects of all! Really digging that WRX wagon, looks like an absolute beast.

19

DaveT Sweet, I won't miss the August show.

20
Timothy Corbin

Oh cool, That my 240z with the mk2's , nicely done

21

Phunger Like taken for legal reasons or some jackass nicked them?

22

Jagdroach for legal reasons I believe. Not exactly sure.

23

I'm surprise that there isn't any skylines or other imports featured. I wish 'merica had the same import laws as Canada. But anyways, nice article Dave Thomas I liked the wagon but hands down the 240z's are beautiful.

24

Jensen Pennelli Subbster the best.

25
bluestreaksti

Timothy Corbin Looking clean! One of the most iconic shapes imo

26

more Canada coverage please!

27

scottcpynn Cannot like this enough. You should really become Canada's roving reporter for Speedhunting DaveT !

28

Should come out west. We have cool things. haha

29

scottcpynn No doubt, must be nice not having to ship/drive your fresh-off-the-boat JDM vehicle halfway across the country.

Central Canada has it's share of cool things too. Hell, the whole country does!

30
Timothy Corbin

Thanks man

31

Woo, finally something in my city!

32

MrSOLOMON85 It updated, or down graded, seems like a backwards step in it's layout to me.

33

Phunger Jagdroach It was pulled off the road for being an "unsafe vehicle" which means it has to get a new safety and all that.
-15 degrees of rear camber will do that I suppose :)

34

@j_kouki I was asked to present a small selection of show vehicles this time around. The show was only indoors and since I already presented two cars outside the venue I stayed indoors for the rest.

35

AndrewCinch scottcpynn Thanks for the kind words, I'd love the opportunity if it came up but if not I'll keep sending the odd guest post in.
I have not been out west in awhile, last time I was there was to snowboard probably about 5 years ago. Completely ruined snowboarding for me here in the East. From what I'm told the same thing might happen with cars!

36

DaveT Aw that sucks, still kudos for really pushing the limit, I'd imagine a lot of those static guys having a tough time getting there since Heart lake Road is a complete disaster.

37

Instagram List


Purple S14 @jonathanprem

Gold Miata @douchebagged

Black G35 @jazzy_gee35

Brown IS300 @mattbrunett

38

@Spaghetti @MrSOLOMON85 I think I downgraded cause I honesty think it looks like it hasn't loaded correctly and it looks silly

39

It's unreal for the gta to be able to make its own little dent in the Speedhunters community. Much appreciated. 
And nice job on the article!

40

I love this stuff! Between Speedhunters, Jalopnik and the Roadkill videos on YouTube, I get my fix of old school, new school and no school. I don't care if it's stanced or a jacked gasser, cars are a hella fun.
Not big on bro trucks though. Just sayin.

41
Dimitry Mochkin

Thank you!

42

That E30 setup is pretty interesting... I love

43

I can't understand how someone can swap a BMW engine with a VAG one...I mean the sound of a BMW...why would you replace that??

44
mbretschneider

I would say it might be about local avaliability of parts and ease to tune. Here where i live (Brazil), the drift scene is on its early steps, and everything VW is _at least_ 5 times cheaper than anything bmw. That said, 1600cc 8v to 2000cc 20v turbo vw engines (or a mixmatch of parts being 1900cc 8v the most popular) makes reliable power much more accessible to enthusiasts. They're used from chevrolet (vauxhall/opel) chevettes to bmw and subaru to build cheap drift cars. I dont know about canada, but the reason here is easy to find parts, and there is a strong knowledge base (they're tuners choice since early 80s).

45
MichaelMcCarty

Any idea what kind of power that civic with the h22 is putting down?

46

DaveT  haha yeah Alberta has pretty lax laws on modification and such so we get some pretty wild stuff out here. I see gt-r's and jzx's on the daily, not to mention a particular Stagea 260RS Autcech. oil money helps the scene too. makes used cars even cheaper. check out @403media_automotive on Instagram they have some pretty good stuff from out here.

47

JPRedhead As mbretschneider said the reasoning was cost and availability. I think if you play your cards right and part out the original donor you can actually end up with money in your pocket at the end.

48

matthewyaa DaveT Noticed your from london. Will you be at the event at Plunketts this weekend?

49

DaveT mbretschneider but it's a E30 BMW so it has either a L4 or L6 in the bay when stock. As Canada is more wealthy than Brazil and has cheap gas prices, I can't see any reason why you would replace these marvellous engines...

50
GillbertChandrabose

JPRedhead DaveT mbretschneider
More reliable hp.  And the oil pan is way higher up.  Also we do not have cheap gas prices lol.   Its way cheaper to do this and an m50 or something.  Everyone seems to get this other than BMW fanboys.  the 1.8T is way better than anything from BMW in the same price range.  It is what it is.

51
GillbertChandrabose

VtecLOL
MoneyGang E46: @moneygangsteve
E30:  Bloodclot666ananaz

52

I love it when DaveT posts guest stories! Well done man.

53

DaveT matthewyaa Hey Dave, I am planning to go Saturday morning, likely be there for 7am when it opens up, gets so crazy for parking usually. Will you be there?

54

matthewyaa DaveT I'll be there on Sunday. Have not been in years so I am really looking forward to it!

55

DaveT matthewyaa That's awesome, I've actually been involved in setting up the Meguiar's booth for years but never had the time to really go out and wander the show. Since I'm not working this year I'm taking advantage of the free day. Sunday is starting to look like a better day for me too, looking forward to it!

56

scottcpynn +1 for more Canadian coverage please!

57

Timothy Corbin Saw you at Cars 'n Coffee before. Did you have a child seat in it?

58

Having lived in Toronto full timid for almost 4 years, I can tell you that the car scene has a little bit of everything. It's a really great mix of cultures and the cars they produce. CSCS events are a good time too, especially the last one of the season in August/sept.. Nice article @DaveT

59
The average guy

Stancehunters!

60

Awesome, Dave. Awesome!

61
Timothy Corbin

Yea man that was me , hoping to be there this Sunday as well

62

MichaelMcCarty I don't, I don't think the owner knows as of yet either. It has not been on a dyno yet

63

Barely legal foxbody? That's a LX my friend. Fox body, yes, but must be clarified that this is a LX Mustang. Much more special than the average, driven by most teenagers, fox body.

64

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