Mitch Townson 1999 Toyota Chaser TRD

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Mitch Townson

1999 Toyota Chaser TRD

Instagram: @Y7_OOF

Being born in England, but into a family that is mostly Scottish, it wasn’t long until we moved back up to the sunny country itself. We’ve been here now for over 11 years, enjoying the British weather at its finest. I’ve had a few jobs in my short 23 years of living, but currently, I’m a Lightning Conductor Engineer. Essentially I hit copper with a hammer a bit and sometimes dangle off the side of a building. The salary doesn’t check out… Hobbies don’t tend to consist of much, as hitting copper with a hammer can be tiring. If I do have enough energy to move, it’ll be straight onto Forza with the boys. Gotta be car related of course. 

What got you into cars?

I remember very vividly, being flung about in the back of a fully straight piped, dark purple, BMW M3 E36.  My uncle was driving, and we were off to get an Indian. Dad's wheelchair was in the boot, I was attempting to see the speedo, and my uncle was attempting to get me to scream with joy. It works, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Forever one of my favourite cars, as previous to going in that car, it had been Citroen’s, and the occasional Ford Focus. My dad was into cars himself, but being wheelchair-bound, they have never been his favourite interest. The obsession has only grown stronger since. Only in the last 5 years or so has it turned mostly to Jap cars, but nonetheless, I’ve been hooked.

Why this car?

After getting into the Jap Scene, I was still pottering about in my wee 1.4 Polo GTI. Don’t get me wrong, it was one cool car for me. I still have a GTI now. Polo no.3, but anyway. After being subjected to the infamous R34 GTR, and skylines in general on multiple occasions, I started to see not how “common” they are, but in a sense, yes. They are common in terms of import Levels compared to other cars, excluding the R34 GTR, as prices at the moment are horrendous.

I wanted something different, but I still wanted a 6 cylinder big body spooly boy. I knew the chaser was an option, but never thought I would get one over an R33 until weirdly, the pub. Quite a few pints down, and pretty certain I couldn’t see 15ft away, a white on white chaser, fitted with TRD wing and bidda bad boy screamer pipe, soared past. That was it. I need one of them. Gonna do it. It’s gonna be done. 5 weeks later, I was at the same pub. Pint of coke in hand and my Bayside Blue JZX100 Chaser was parked opposite. Yes, it felt better than sex.

What made you customize this car?

Unfortunately customising hasn’t been a big part of the story so far as I’ve not had it an awful amount of time. One thing I needed was a set of wide hot-boy wheels, so I got them. 18x11 and 18x10 Work VS-XX 3 piece split rims. Was always gonna be Work wheels, but that was always the question. I need to address the spoiler though, as being a TRD model, it came with one from the factory. I need one again, but my god are they hard to come by. 700-800 British pounds is a funny amount of money to tell the Mrs about going on a piece of plastic, but I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. 

What's it like owning this car?

It never gets old. Never. Something absolutely terrifying, no driver aids, limited-slip diff, screamer piped terror that keeps it alive. TRC flashing at me constantly just to remind me that, yes, it is raining, so be f*cking, careful mate! I do still stand back and realise time and time again, that I do own one of my favourite cars. It’s a dream come true, and it makes me happier every time I do it. If you’ve ever listened to Midnight City by M83, and you’re cruising down an A road, the boys behind, windows down, still warm, sun setting, and that song up nice and loud, you’ll know how it feels. You can’t beat it. Something close to euphoria, and something that everyone needs to experience. 

What makes it unique?

Other than being a chaser for a start, being rare in the UK is a given, but if you’ve seen any coverage from Japfest 2021, I may be mistaken now, but at the time, it’s the only blue chaser in the UK. More to the point, it’s the only Bayside Blue chaser I’ve seen on the internet. Please, correct me if I’m wrong because I would love to see another. This is definitely the only chaser that’s been taken on Modball rally too… yes. Modball. Like gumball rally, but a bit smaller. Go check it out. Best experience of my life. 

Spec List

Engine:

• Greddy Intercooler and piping
• Greddy Intake
• HKS boost solenoid/controller
• HKS GT28-35 Hybrid turbo
• Mishimoto Exhaust 
• Fensport remap - 442hp

Wheels/brakes 

• Work VS-XX split rims
• MK4 Supra Twin Turbo brake conversion

Interior:

• Nardi Personal wheel
• (Recaro buckets in soon)
• Factory optioned TRD carbon

Exterior:

• Kamaza Vented front wings 
• Vraum skirts/bumpers
• Kamaza vented bonnet 
• Bayside Blue respray 

Suspension:

• HKS hyper max adjustable coilovers 

Unfortunately, the majority of the work was done by the previous owner, as a standard chaser was going to cost me as much money as this one, then I would need 10k Of modifying to do. That is money that I do not have. 

Future Plans

I’ve not had it for a long time, so there are still many plans for it. K sport big brake kits front and rear are a must for the bus, and a TRD spoiler for a start. Vertex Japanese wheels along with Recaro bucket seats are already sitting just waiting to go in during winter. The full respray is going down during hibernation too. Gotta get the bayside back up to standard!

Advice/Tips

One thing that is pretty obvious, but is still worse than you may think, is fuel consumption. No, you don’t buy it to worry about that, I know this, but my god. It’s just horrendous. I swear the death star would be more economical. A “wee drive with the boys” is 80 quid every time. Without fail. Tyres are not overly expensive, but you wanna go Ham on the accelerator, then you gotta be prepared to pay. If you don’t like attention, the cars are not for you. I’m the opposite. I love speaking to new people. I’ll talk to anyone about cars. Come up. Ask me. I don’t bite. I’m probably crying about the MPG I’m getting.

Groups/Clubs/Shout Outs

First things first, it’s gotta be Street Kings (Street Kings Collective). Quite simply a small car group based in Scotland, but hands down the most down to earth group of people I’ve ever met. Mostly JDM fellas, but not only JDM. E30 BMW’s and clean AF dubs are in there too. Well, put together a group of people. Other than that club, it’s gotta be the boys. It’s not A club, but the select people I hang around with are something else. Keep your circle small, but loyal. 

• @R9_AAR
• @BRAD_S15
• @ROBCURME
• @D7_CMO
• @HARRY_GTI
• @MATT_335D
• @LRCLARK28
• @KELV_S15

What has the car scene brought you?

Other than a lot of bills, bloody knuckles, and a very, very light wallet, it’s brought me my closet pals, one hell of a car, and one hell of a girlfriend to see it all through with me.  People who get into cars because they think it’s all about Tesco car parks need to realise that yes, sometimes you gotta peel outside an Aldi. But that’s how it is. Doesn’t matter where you are, it’s who you’re with. The times you have. The memories you make. 

Dream Car

Even though I love my JDM, my favourite manufacturer is still and will forever be Porsche. The perfect everything, and when they do, they make an RS model and make it better. Of all the cars though, it would need to be a 991.2 911 GT3. Not an RS,

What do you think? leave your comments in the comments section at the bottom of the page

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