26 June, 2023
Here’s a glimpse of this Japanese supercar, the first attempt at a car from Japan to take on the supercar establishment.
Read all about this 1991 model in the July/August 2023 issue 388.
Get a copy of this edition of the magazine at our online shop, magstore.nz
Ewen’s Starion is a little different and special. He saved this one – literally ‘found in a paddock’ — just in time, as he relates.
“Mine is a 1983 Starion. I’ve had it about five years. I first saw it in a paddock at Ryal Bush [north of Invercargill], and I went past it three times. The third time I went back and knocked at the door, but the owner didn’t want to sell. He rang up a year later, and put a price on it, which we accepted. Only thing wrong was the motor was totally dismantled.”
Ewen then set about getting the car back to its current state.
“It took me six months to find somebody suitable to refurbish it back then. Simon Bradley at Midas in Invercargill offered to do it and he did a great job on it. The head was badly damaged around the valves, and Simon said you could get generic cylinder heads now, so he installed one, and it cost $800. It’s made such a difference to the car. Mine is an intercooled, fuel-injected turbo model, fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox. It’s a great car to drive too.”
Except for a small patch of surface rust, Ewen’s car was in surprisingly good condition despite its paddock life.
Coaching from the bench: Casting plastic knobs and rubber parts
Casting rubber items is simple if you have a good original to work with. The item doesn’t have to be perfect. You can use plasticine to smooth out cracks, and you can even make whole prototypes out of low-fire modelling clay available from craft stores if you need to. Prototypes can also be made of wood or metal.
You will need mould dams to contain the liquid urethane moulding solution until it cures. You can build boxes out of strips of wood, but I have found that small plastic boxes and bowls such as those you would use for leftovers in your fridge work well if you spray them with a mould release agent.
Temperature is important to the chemical processes involved, so work in an area that can be maintained at around 20 degrees. You will also need adequate ventilation because the fumes can be dangerous to breathe. And you will want to wear latex gloves to protect your hands.
