1990's Max Power shite

[sierraman]

Whats peoples memories of modified cars in the 1990's?

 

Mine is of the proliferation of tat like Dimma fuel caps and cosworth bonnet vents on everything.

[davehedgehog31]

Can remember getting my granny to buy me a Max Power magazine when I was about 8 or 9, told her it was "Just a car magazine". This issue had a wet T-Shirt supplement, I didn't notice if there were any cars in that issue at all to be honest. 

[Lankytim]

Wasn't there a yellow Lotus Carlton that was given away in a competition, written off quickly afterwards and then baled?

[sierraman]

Remember the Carlton, was a 3000 GSI iirc. Although the in cars to mod were 205s and RS turbots you used to see the ads for the crappy fibresports kits for Capri's and porthole kits for escort vans.

[Sir Snipes]

Lowered Escort cabbys with venoms, turbo bomnets and lurid paintjobs.

[Crusty Sills]

I bought Max Power all through the mid 90s, I was 17 when it came out and my first car was a Max Powered Nova 1.3 SR. Always wanted a Dimma kitted 205 GTi.

Then it got all stupid with huge bodykits, welded number plate recess's and idiotic wings.

[Guest Hooli]

Wasn't there a yellow Lotus Carlton that was given away in a competition, written off quickly afterwards and then baled?

 

Project Thunder. 3000GSi with a Lotus kit & four Lotus front wheels (as the rears didn't fit without more bodywork). It got put through a record shop window from memory.

 

It's also the only project car they ever did that I liked. Afetr ripping all the gopping stereo etc out it'd have been a fun toy.

[aldo135]

Was late '90s when I started driving, remember "venom" alloys on everything, and the magazines were full of wide bodied clios and 205s (were they dimma made as well?). I had an '82 mini metro and my own mods were mg seats, mg pepperpot wheels and the best one, a fake vdp grille made by sticking silver exhaust repair tape to the top and bottom bars!

[Shirley Knott]

Remember the era well, TSW Blades, ludicrous bodykits and Peco Big Bore 4 backboxes.

 

I was about 18 and had just started driving when that whole scene seemed to be at it's peak and despite having thumbed through copies of it I could tell it was all a bit naff even then.

 

From a motoring history standpoint I suppose is was an interesting time though, just before Japanese cars and the whole JDM thing took over.

[fordperv]

I loved the max power era of modified cars hell im still stuck there in my head hell ive even still got the modified car I had when I was 18, im glad I was part of the cruising scene before it got killed off,oh the modified cosworths, rs turbos, the first ever time I went to festival park there was a black 3 door cossy hanging its arse out on every corner then came into McDonald's sideways the things wheels didn't stop spinning, I don't think I've had a car ive not modified in one shape or form

 

Does anyone remember max powers escort rs turbo RS kicker?

[Christine]

I was a grown up in the 90's, so I was never interested in such a drivel magazine .

 

 

However , in the 70's my older cousin used to give me his old Custom Car mags,which always had  tits in the centre pages..   Viva front ,rover V8 , Jag IRS rear ,Ford Pops...

 

I then, at  16 - 17, used to buy Street Machine and Hot Car , which promoted flaming wings and bonnet  paint jobs., and RGA spoilers ,flashbacks, Gary & Tina sunstrips ..

 

At 20 , I used to get Cars and Car Conversions ,as I did like modifying and going faster . After several big crashes , all my fault , I became a brilliant driver and still am ...Did the usual Mini stuff

 

 

At 24 onwards , I used to get   Kit Car  mags , and built 2 1275 Scamps and a Burllington SS   . Then I got married ,bought a house , and that was the end of pissing around with cars ..

 

At  48,  I rekindled a dormant love for cars and on a whim bought that yellow Fiesta mk1..and lost interest again. More recently , after buying a Fiat Cinquecento  ,then a Seicento Sporting ( on a whim,) reminded me of me Mini days..such fun them small Fiats . On a roll now...  

[Crusty Sills]

Project Thunder. 3000GSi with a Lotus kit & four Lotus front wheels (as the rears didn't fit without more bodywork). It got put through a record shop window from memory.

 

It's also the only project car they ever did that I liked. Afetr ripping all the gopping stereo etc out it'd have been a fun toy.

It had colour coded TSW Phoenix three spokes on it

[overrun]

I remember it all well, both the Max etc mags and when car cruises were at their peak.

Good times!

 

The UK map for ‘Cruise Patrol’ was great. I remember them being impressed at the police helicopter turning out at Sunderland Block Yards.

That was worth an extra point in the league table iirc.

[Guest Hooli]

I've still got the boy racers handbook that fast car gave away.

[Pillock]

I thought Project Thunder (the Carlton) had some godawful three spokes rather than Lotus wheels? They did chop out the back arch to make it round like a Lotus though rather than flat.

 

There was also Project RS Kicker which was a green RS Turbo (reg H---ELP), one of the last ones I remembered was a bright pink Mk6 Escort with WRC kit on it.

 

I remember there being a decent amount of seriously expensively modified cars.... Dimma Peugeots (Peugeot Ecosse got a lot of mentions), there was a company churning out R5 GTTs too. It was the heyday of Turbosystems and Severn Valley Motorsport, Prima Racing. RS Turbos with chopped up bumpers all over the place.

 

At the time I loved it. I'd have given both my bollocks for a wide-arched Corrado. Still would I think. Looking back there was a lot of utter shite though especially when you got past the feature cars.

 

As a 14 year old boy I did like the journalism involved in going to a retail park at 10pm and asking some fuller figured 18 year old lass to whap her breasticles out.

 

I also distinctly remember an article on alloys involving a red Renault 5 Turbo, and a woman in (and out of) riding gear lounging on some hay bales. Remember that distinctly. Mag used to fall open at those pages.

[Guest Hooli]

I must be thinking of the wrong wheels then. Three spokes are only fit for the bin at any time.

[Rod/b]

I used to enjoy early Max Power, mainly for some of the pisstake photo captions i.e. “Eric drives everywhere with his lights on because, as everyone knows, it gives an extra 50bhp” and “Trolley jack for display purposes only and is removed before driving”

[bezzabsa]

OMG cop a load of this lot......

http://autoglym-blog-au.cygstage.co.uk/2016/10/13/plastic-fantastic-a-look-back-at-the-max-power-modified-car-era/

[Junkman]

Like so?

 

[bezzabsa]

Dead Carlton

[vulgalour]

Oi, do not be dissin three spokes.

[cort1977]

I will confess that I used to read this although once i got my licence in 94 my interest in it faded a bit as I was more focused on just keeping whatever heap i had going.

 

Did used to love going to Southend on a weekend when there were modified cossies cruising about, that turbo whine still does it for me...

 

Edit - sorry Vulg but three spokes are minging with the honorable exception of Saab factory ones.

[vulgalour]

Three spokes are for winners.

 

 

I say this as a winner.

[Lord Sterling]

I've still got the boy racers handbook that fast car gave away.

I've got the exact same book, a bit dog ear'd now but it lived with me through my teens, I think I had it since I was 14/15, I'm 35 now:

 

 

I remember the era very well, a big part of my growing up. I never actually went to any meets but there were plenty of cars to drool over see the mods/build specs. Fords were a very popular choice for the modder,, endless talk of XR3s, XR2s and a lot of base models being highly modded. TSW Hokenhiems, TSW Venoms, moulded on bumpers, rear plates hanging off the bottom of the rear bumper, whale-tale style spoilers, blacked out windows, lairy colours like Yellows, Greens and Pinks, big sound systems etc...

 

I started with Max Power, then Fast Car, Revs, Redline, then I started to get into the BMW Magazine (yes, really), the Max Power scene just drifted away in my senses.

 

Wasn't the Yellow Carlton involved in a robbery?

[Felly Magic]

Mk3 Escort vans slammed, with roof spoilers, one piece rear door, interior trimmed out in whatever Allied were doing at 99p/sq yd, el cheapo Fibresports body kit, with of course RST stick on bonnet vents, and powered by the asthmatic 1.6 diesel with a BFO drainpipe for an exhaust, oh andf a Fat Willy's Surf Shack sticker in the back window, and OAKLEY Thermonuclear Protection along the top of the windscreen

[sierraman]

The cruise articles were always good. If you'd got a Renault 5 Turbo in those days fanny was on tap.

 

Remembered the massive Pioneer stickers advertising to all the scroats you had an expensive sound system. When in fact you had an Alba cassette deck running through 2 10 watt speakers.

[vulgalour]

Actually, thinking of 3 spokes and 90s stuff, I genuinely and unironically think the Suzuki Vitara Fatboy/Wideboy/Widebody thing was and is a cool looking thing.  Here's the most dishevelled example I can find a picture of.

 

L249 KAR by Nivek.Old.Gold, on Flickr

 

They're one of the lesser known vehicles on my want list, but only if it come in a lurid colour like that turquoise they did and only if it has those swirly deep dish three spoke alloys.

[Des]

I worked in a garage with a rolling road that was frequented by the wankers from that mag, or it might have been another one, the air would hang heavy with a rich mixture of bullshit while they'd make a dogs abortion of some awful fucking white Escort with gaudy bits of UPVC  tacked all over, was tiring shouting at the cunts to keep their jism sticky fingers the fuck off my tools.

[Guest Hooli]

 

 

OAKLEY Thermonuclear Protection

Damn I'd forgotten all about that. Did sun glasses I think?

[sierraman]

Oakley sunglasses and a cream 'townie' smart casual jacket.