Drive-By's Hentai Decepticon

Hi I'm Chris from Team Drive-By and this is my Hi-Ace which I had imported in 2005 and I have to say I have never regretted it once.

I thought the Japanese vanning and Boso scenes have embodied everything about their unique and very kitch car culture. It seems the worse taste it is the cooler it is and this is probably alot to do with the younger Japanese having such a need to rebel and be westernised. But oddly it is the most outrageous Boso gangs that make such anti Giejin statements.

I fell in love with the whole Japanese underground car scene and the vans just blur the lines between real life and a Manga style alter reality. As crazy as they are you just can't hate them.

I spotted mine on eBay, a UK importer was advertising the Hi-Ace with pictures as it sat in the docks in Nagoya.









I was just mesmarised OMG how cool was that. I contacted the imported and within' 2 weeks she was on the boat and 6 weeks later I would be at southampton picking her up and driving her all the way back to Teesside.

A week later after some TLC and a damn good undersealing, I took the Hi-Ace to it's first show. Ultimate Street Car 2005 and she went down a storm. I walked away with the trophy for Most Radical, some serious sunburn and even an interview on the USC 2005 DVD.















Later that season at TRAX 2005 the Hi-Ace made her TV debeau on Th Used Car Roadshow which was quite a shock to me when I was sat watching Men & Motors.

The van just make anyone and everyone smile on the motorway and shows and it's given me, Livy and the rest of Drive-By some great memories throughout the show seasons past.









I have some plans for her and I'm hoping 2009 will mean alot of tidying up and some cool changes but I'm not going to mess with that JDM magic

Bet that turns heads !!!.. Looks smart

Admin wrote:

Bet that turns heads !!!.. Looks smart

LOL she's not everyones taste but whenever she's on the road she's met with mostly smiles and people taking pics. Motorway journeys are fun.

There's plenty of tidying required on the body from the poorly fitted kit but I intend to sort that this winter, would have been alot worse if I hadn't paid for 2 spaces on the boat to keep the roof spoiler.

So that's what the inside of those wild machines look like. I've seen a few around here and thought to myself, that's a van just looking for a low tree limb. Of course mine could just as well be looking for a low bridge. lol.

its a corker of a bus.wouldnt like to take it to a drive through though .you not thinking of cashing in on this transformer film?i think i would be at the local cinema tellin the manager"stick this on yer front mate think of the publicity.oh yes and my fee is......"

JESUS DOES IT TAKE OFF???

I bet it's noisy in the Car Wash!

My boy wants one! thanks Driveby!! happy motoring

Dave Marsh

Pimp!!!

looks great but does it wash it's self. lol

We've had a pretty good start to the show season and I've had to bring the van out even though I was planning to make a start on changes this summer it's been the only show car I've had with tax and test, so it's been brought out again and so far we've attended;

ISTS at Donnington
YMS at Pickering
Ignition Extreme at Billing

and we're getting ready for MPNE at Croft Circuit

Had to do something quickly about the rust and cracked filler on the back door before we started showing her again so after Liv and I dug out the rust and filled it then a wrap of Ghost in the Shell fan art covered the impossible to match paint.

Damn, thats one mean machine...

My goodness, I thought mine was the Bee's Knees but crikey, yours really takes the biscuit for sure. Just as a matter of interest was it imported by Leadham Trading (Jap-link) in Folkstone? Mine was and I thought I had seen a picture of this in Gary's office. Brilliant!!!

Are you taking it to JAE?

Clive wrote:

Are you taking it to JAE?

Yeah we'll be at JAE, wouldn't miss it, best show of the year.

Crikey, that's a good word!

I hadn't intended bringing the van out to shows or events in 2010 as i've been putting off a resto and revamp of the van for too long.
But last month I was contacted by Tony Mathews of Global Automotive Connection asking if I'd be up for them featuring the van for there web magazine launch in October. Well i've made the mistake in the past of telling mags to wait til she's ready on other cars and now I'm older and wiser I don't pass up opportunity.

So last week with days to go before JAE some tidying up was desperately needed to make her passable as a show car


She fits on the ramp, just, which was a good start.



...and after plenty of filler and sanding (not perfect by any means)





...we made it to JAE and to a shoot just after with Tony

These pics were Martyns but the GAC shoot ones will follow soon 8-)






Thank's to Danny here's a couple of pics he took of us at the GAC photoshoot 8-)

Lot of work mate. Must be interesting when a truck goes past at speed with all the wings.

We have lift off!

Bloody dag Rex. We will have to meet one day

is it featured in the next transformers movie?