With Japanese magazines and a number of friends helping to source out hard-to-find products, the first call was made to Japan in search of the highly sought after Jubiride body kit. Jubiride Factory resides in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, and is known for producing high quality fiberglass body kits and aftermarket parts for the Hachiroku. Interestingly enough, the body kit was hand carried on a chartered flight by one of Lee's girlfriends who was luckily returning back from an overseas trip in Japan. Jubiride front and rear bumper, Jubiride side skirts, and Jubiride over fenders, transform the once subtle looking commuter car into full-blown race appeal look. A J-Blood vented carbon-fiber hood supplied by Monkey Garage of Iwale Hawaii, replaces the paint-faded factory unit while Crystal Body Yokohama (CBY) side mirrors contour to the cars overall design. After all the body kit components were collected and mounted on the car, Mike of GX Auto located in Mapunapua Hawaii, replaced the rusted fenders and added the finishing touches with multiple layers of Nissan 350Z blue to the Corollas skin. Rounding out the exterior amenities includes a set of JDM front and rear lights, shaved door locks and shaved side marker lights.
With the car in the body shop, plans on devising a completely new engine assembly were in the works. The factory engine was discarded in favor of the higher compression 8.9:1 AE101 block from a '92 JDM supercharged Corolla and a big port AE86 head. HKS 264/265 intake and exhaust cams riding on a pair of Jubiride cam gears extract additional horsepower through the custom ported 4AGE head. On the hot side, a custom 4-to-1 exhaust turbo manifold was fabricated by Toni Martinez of J-Spec Automotive located in Washington D.C. The manifold is mated to a Garrett T/3 turbo with a custom front mount Spearco intercooler keeping intake levels ice cold. Spent gases are expelled through the rear of the car by a prefabricated 2.5-inch GReddy DD dual canister exhaust. Rather than opting to use the conventional factory intake manifold, Lee decided upon using the 20-valve individual throttle body setup found on the AE101 for his turbo application. Lee enlisted the help of a friend to fabricate and build a custom one-piece intake plentium to house the individual throttle bodies. The fabrication process began as a blank piece of aluminum that was CNC machined over a three-month period before the final product was complete. "I believe the 20-valve throttle bodies offer a quicker throttle response which work in favor with my turbo kit," says Lee.
Supplying the proper fuel/air ratio for a turbo car can mean the difference between life and death for any high horsepower engine. Lee, being all too familiar with the previous mishaps of his old engine, took nothing for granted the second time around when building up his new engine. A set of Supra 440cc injectors, and Magna Flow fuel pressure regulator are under the steady command of a Simple Digital Systems (SDS) EM-4F stand alone ECU. The SDS unit is programmed through a LCD programmer, which fully monitors all air temp, water temp, fuel applications and direct fire ignition sequences. To keep water and oil temps in running in optimal condition, a Koyo radiator, dual FAL fans, and Perm-a-Cool oil cooler was installed as added insurance. Earl's steel braided lines, GReddy catch can, Hyper Ground Control Wires, and a custom crank pulley finish off the engine upgrades.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Lee's Hachi-Go is the work and effort that went into the suspension work alone. With over a full page of upgraded modifications dedicated to suspension tuning, it's my guess that this sick ass ride is any Hachiroku owners dream come true. On all four corners reside Tokico 45-way adjustable dampers are sleeved with Battle Version coilovers. Battle Version negative roll blocks, Battle Version rear traction brackets, and Battle Version adjustable traction bars with lateral adjustments, ensure the rear wheels are firmly planted to the twisting Tantalus roads at all times. Negative camber, otherwise known as "Demon Camber" has been a longtime trend for drifters in Japan. Although "Demon Camber" doesn't improve the handling characteristics of a car, adjustments on the Battle Version front and rear camber plates enable Lee's Hachi to possess the ever popular J-style drift look. A rarity in itself, the rear suspension has been modified to accept a set of full coilovers. Martinez of J-Spec fabricated a set of brackets to accept the new coilover suspension setup, enabling Lee to discard the old independent spring and shock configuration. Lee states "the rear J-Spec coilover modifications have made a night and day difference on the cars handling characteristics."