You know, I'm starting to think '01 is going to be a breakout year for women in the scene. Think about it. Wasn't it novel when, a couple years ago, Battle introduced the Quick Chick class? It gave girls who wanted their pictures taken in the driver's seat of a car rather than draped over the fender an outlet to compete in a class where they would be recognized. Back then though, what they were mainly recognized for was going slow--and as for the show scene, female-owned rides were few and far between. Not anymore.
Today we've got two of the top racers on the 1320 in Ms. Proudfoot and Turbo's own ROTY, Ms. Kubo--and 2NR is starting to lose count of the gal-jocked show rides that have graced these pages (except you, Gemma!). In fact, we're seeing more female-prepped, quality rides at every event, both race and show. My friends, the times are a' changin'.
Which brings us to our next jewel, Rochelle Christmas' jazz blue turbocharged Toyota Tercel. To be honest, it's hard to know where to start because everything about this car is fine. It's daily driven, it's rare and no detail was overlooked. An uncommon choice for tuning, this Tercel is an uncommon commodity in a land dominated by Honda badges. And we're proud to present you Christmas' goods.
"A Bit More Original..."
Christmas said she just wanted to make her Tercel "a bit more original," so she started with the gold-finished 18-inch Axis Se7en wheels wrapped by gooey 215/35ZR-18 Toyo Proxes FZ4s. Then in went the B&G sport springs, then onto the paint--and that's where all hell broke loose. She and her boyfriend Ali spent two weeks tearing down the interior and sanding every inch of sheetmetal before the Toyota made its way to Fair City Auto Body in Fairfax, Va. Fair City shaved the badges and antenna before massaging the 'Cel with a Wings West body kit and several quarts of VW jazz blue hue. A Fuba antenna was applied, along with a custom mesh front grille, APC fog lights, Mackin Industries Koito headlights, clear corners and clear taillights. If you're wondering (and we know you are), the front clip is a Wings West Big Mouth piece for a Civic that was custom-fitted by Johnny at Today's Kustoms in Delaware.
Along with the sheetmetal, the mirrors, door handles, all the trim pieces and even the calipers were painted in matching jazz blue. The finishing touches are out back, where a Corvis GT aluminum wing from Mackin Industries was affixed to the trunk and a polished heat shield was molded to the exhaust system section of the rear bumper. It's not there for show--but we'll get to that later.
Interior Dynamics
According to Christmas, she and Ali got the interior together in a weekend, but the real fun started a couple months later. That's when they went to work on sculpting the Tercel's insides--themselves. A Max Speed shift knob, aluminum pedals and e-brake handle found homes on the levers and the interior was tinted white with jazz blue trim. Jamex seats now reside up front--and this is the one area that Christmas left to the pros. The front buckets and the rear seat were bolstered and recovered in blue and white vinyl by Melvin's Upholstery in Fairfax. Autothority in Fairfax also went the extra mile by fabricating custom seat sliders and seat brackets for the Jamex buckets so they would bolt to the factory locations.
The trunk is as clean as the interior, and for good reason. In addition to the electronic goodies and fat, custom-enclosed JL sub, a big purple Plymouth-eater is bolted to the trunk floor. Even before the turbo, the Zex bottle had a home there feeding the Tercel at stoplight showdowns.
To please the auditory senses, a JVC CD/head unit commands front and rear JL Audio 5.25 XR525 CS speakers and the JL Audio 10W3 sub through a JL 500/1 four-way amp. Simple but effective, Christmas' audio system combines top-dog components with flawless presentation.
11 PSI of Whoop Ass
Perhaps the best part of this turbo kit is how it came to be. Christmas felt the car was up to spec in the looks department; however, she needed more power because she didn't want to have to squeeze the bottle all the time. With a turbo, she could break off the competition at will without having to fill the nitrous bottle every other day. Kind of like buying that billet accent you had your eye on because you need change for gum, huh? Anyway, this is where the experts at Autothority really stepped up.
It's not like turbo kits for Tercels are plentiful. You're likely to be met with roars of laughter if you called one of the big aftermarket manufacturers looking for one. Which is why it helps if you're in the market for a one-off kit and happen to live near one of the premier performance shops on the East Coast. Autothority Performance Engineering has been in the biz since 1975 and is known for burning wicked chips for Euros, building fast engines and having the ability to fabricate whatever you can dream up. In this case, the dream was boosting a legitimate sleeper--an automatic Tercel.
A Mitsubishi TD05-14B turbo serves up 11 psi of boost from an Autothority custom turbo manifold. The forced air is chilled by a GReddy V-Spec front-mount intercooler that is fed through custom Injen intercooler pipes into a 2mm-overbored throttle body. A GReddy Type-S blowoff valve was plumbed into the intake pipe to prevent compressor surge when Christmas backs off the throttle. On the back end, an Autothority downpipe and custom Autothority 2.25-inch stainless-steel exhaust with Thermal muffler quickly route spent gases. The oil filter was relocated with a GReddy/Grex oil filter relocation kit and an Injen catch can was added under the hood to round up ventilating oil. The Tercel relies on a Celica fuel pump and adjustable FSE fuel pressure regulator for consistent fuel delivery under boost, while Zex Innovation spark plugs and Vitek 8mm wires ensure a healthy spark in the combustion chambers.
This new motivation is monitored and controlled by a grip of GReddy hardware now located in the cockpit. An A-pillar-mounted boost and oil pressure gauges monitor, well, boost and oil pressure levels, while psi levels are dialed-in with a GReddy TVVC manual boost controller. To reduce heat soak after shutdown, Christmas also had a GReddy turbo timer installed in the dash. Back under the hood, Vitek blue braided hoses are combined with polished Weapon R engine cap covers and a blue powdercoated valve cover for the finishing touches.
Proving again that she's no fool, Christmas beefed up the suspension with B&G springs that team with a custom application of Tokico shocks.
Up front are units intended for a Corolla and the rears were originally meant for a Subaru Legacy. Torsional stiffness was bolstered with a Freedom Design front upper strut tower brace and a custom unit designed specifically for this Tercel in the rear. The brakes were fortified by adding a Zex performance brake kit and stainless-steel brake lines. Two often overlooked areas in the never-ending quest to go faster, brakes and suspension enhancements in the face of serious power mods are a must.
I Love What You Do For Me
I bet the marketing gurus at Toyota never had anything like this in mind when they came up with that slogan.
Right now, Christmas is stoked that the work is done and she can enjoy driving her Tercel everyday. She thanks her long list of sponsors (see hit list), but especially her boyfriend Ali and the rest of the guys at Autothority. We hope to see Christmas' Tercel assault the show circuit, and when it's not humiliating ponycars on the street, make some runs down the quarter. Regardless of what she does with her 'Cel, one thing is certain:This car goes way beyond being just "a bit more original." Way, way beyond.