7Tune Travel: Thailand

Adam Zillin goes to Thailand for a break and comes away impressed not only by the country but by the car culture there as well.

If you’ve never been to Thailand you really owe it to yourself to visit at least once. It’s a perfect holiday destination packed with everything a vacationer could possibly want and at a fraction of the retail price. Sure you can burst your eardrum the second day you are there like I did and sure there are dodgy deals being done on seedy little corners filled to the brim with women or even men masquerading as women flirting with come hither to eyes. For a horsepower junkie like me though, Thailand provided solid doses of amazing food, a pumping nightlife, thoroughly sensuous massage, cheap booze and a little of something decidedly more unorthodox and definitely unexpected, car wise.

I visited Thailand in September and spent 14 lazy, sun filled days relaxing there, soaking up more than just sunshine, beers and cheap everything else. This place has a lively car scene and Thais really take pride in their own interpretation of what it means to “pimp my ride”. The majority of my time was spent in the South East of Thailand on the islands of Koh Samui and Koh Pangyan, the latter being the setting for what is probably the most hardcore and notorious outdoor party in the world. Whether it be a quarter, half or full moon, every and any excuse was used to revel. Not that I minded of course.

My Chariot for the two weeks was a 125cc Honda Click in Kawasaki green. Despite the fact international licenses are compulsory, no questions are asked and no explanations given. Thailand is a “speak no evil” type of place although I did have to suppress a small dose of concern when told I needed to leave my passport for security. Do so at your own risk.

Literally everyone uses these things in Thailand and many of the pilots are completely nuts. I regularly saw families of 4 piled onto them, helmets virtually nonexistent. Needless to say I wasn’t planning on forcing a road worker to scrape me off the asphalt during the trip so due diligence is the order of the day. In hindsight, I couldn’t think of any better way to get around the islands; beer in hand, wind in the face, Thai lady-boy on the back. Well, maybe minus the lady-boy. A car, on the other hand, would have been an intrusive bother to the freedom such a simple little vehicle provided for such little expense. Getting through Thai traffic on the other hand was a crap-shoot of Darwinistic proportions

Taxis weren’t safe either when it came to modifications. Yes, that is a Mitsubishi RalliArt wing fitted to the back of a…Chevloret?! Gaudy paintjobs and tacky bling abounded with many also sporting the “Brembo Caliper Cap Budget Pack”. These rip offs were everywhere, even on cars that are respected in their own right. Bling aside, just make sure you force the driver to run the meter. I was seatbeltless and pretty terrified actually on the return to the airport after having haggled the driver to take me the 40 minute trip for 260 baht, which is actually half what I should I have paid but I was in a hurry and it turns out so was he. I’d never been airborne at 140km/h in a rickety old Toyota Corolla before but I suppose there’s a first time for everything.

I like my Euros a lot, especially BMWs and in Thailand they are given the royal 2F2F treatment and not just superficially speaking. I’m talking about open-heart surgery. I came across 3 BMW’s that had been converted to Toyota power with two of them sporting over 600hp from boosted 2JZs – a fairly common practice in madhouse Thailand. Since when has putting a Toyota engine into a BMW become…common? I can appreciate horsepower and solid engineering but this was the automotive version of cannibalism. Not that the owner of this particular 3 series was in any way practiced in such things. He, like me loves his power in an engine and this was no exception. The Schwartz E36 looked decidedly stock from the outside giving away very few clues as to the chaos lurking beneath its skin. Even from the inside there was little to set it apart from a cooking version 320i for example. That’s when you start to notice little things that just don’t add up. The 330i badge is ever so subtle. Huh… is this a 3 liter? Well its not inconceivable he changed out the wheezy 2 liter with a 3 liter from an E46. Then you come across puzzling HKS products inside the cabin. This is boosted? A boosted E36? That’s when you get around to the pointy end of the car and are confronted with a monster intercooler filling up the front air dam. Now your head is really spinning. This E36 is the definition of sleeper, an iron fist in a velvet glove. You can’t help but get curious with this car and the more you see the more you want to see.

Hood goes up, jaw hits floor. The inline 2JZ-GTE fits surprisingly well inside the engine bay but the size of the snail is enormous. The Greddy T-78 is big enough to pump some big power and the 2JZ is the perfect base for it, the bottom ends in these achieving legend status years ago perfectly stock and able to handle up to 1000hp. This particular BMW was running 20psi and ramming 620hp through a Borg Warner automatic transmission and Quaife limited slip differential. There’s no way you would see it coming should you be silly enough to give your twin cam a rev at the lights against this monster.

This poor looking 5 series has an N/A 2.5 liter Toyota 2.5 installed, no doubt the Cresta this engine came out of is singing a variation to the old Tony Bennet song, “I left my heart in hectic Thailand”.

It wasn’t all horror shop chops though and I was pleasantly surprised to see some authentic Japanese rice in Thailand, this Galant or as they are known in other markets, the Scorpion, still wearing its original JAF badge with pride. The Enkei rims were a nice touch and suited the look of the car. Sure the body was a little beaten up but I somewhat believe that is part of the appeal with cars in this crazy country. If it’s not a little rusty you’re not doing it right. The dogs wandering every single street couldn’t have cared less either way.

I left Thailand thoroughly fulfilled, recharged and looking forward to getting home. Holidays are funny things you know? You absolutely die to get out for one and then relieved when you’re stepping back through the door of your own house a week later. I have always considered Thailand one of my favorite countries and have always felt enamored with the place. Like I said, you owe it to yourself to visit at least once to see what all the fuss is about, especially if anything auto related happen to be on the agenda.

Words/Images: Adam Zillin