HAYDEN SMITH
AGE: 29 // LOCATION: CHRISTCHURCH OCCUPATION: IMPORTING AND MECHANICAL, ELECTRICAL REPAIRS
NZPC: Hayden, that’s one seriously cool Chaser. It’s not often you see them wide-body here in New Zealand. How long have you owned it for now?
Hayden: I’ve owned it for three years now. I wide-bodied it in December last year just to have something a bit different — it was always a pain trying to run bigger wheels on with a stock body and I’m not a big fan of negative camber unless it’s necessary.
Have Chasers always been a platform you have been into? If not, what were you driving before this?
To be honest, I didn’t really like Chasers. I’ve had three Mark II JZX100s before this and they were my favourite. But this one popped up and I couldn’t really pass it up. I initially bought it to rebuild the car and on-sell, but it really started to grow on me and wasn’t as cheap as rebuilding it as I thought (laughs). Prior to all these Toyotas, I was a big Nissan fanatic but can’t go back now.
What attracted you to owning and modifying a JZX100 here in New Zealand?
At the time of transitioning from Nissans to Toyotas, they were actually pretty affordable, like a turbo auto one was around $7000–$10,000, so for the build quality and the reliability of the JZ motor platform I couldn’t say no. I saw so many while I was over in Japan. That gave me massive inspiration to bring some of those styles home and incorporate them into my own car.
What do you use the Chaser for predominantly — street or circuit?
Currently it’s just a weekend car, it doesn’t get used too much. I took it to a semi-local abandoned go kart track a month or so ago in the South Island at Kaikoura, which mainly destroyed the rear guards and just made a mess. But definitely wanting to get back into my track days and use this car for sure.
I STARTED BUILDING CEFIROS, LAURELS, AND SKYLINES IN MY DRIVEWAY YEARS BACK WHEN I WAS 14 AND 15
What’s it like to drive with over 400hp at the wheels?
Honestly, the first 20 minutes of driving it was definitely fun, but like anyone it’s never enough. There’s definitely some more gains coming for this car in the coming few months, 400hp on a 1JZ these days is just a starter number — these engines have been putting out big numbers pretty damn easy these days.
Do you have any future plans or upgrades in the works?
I just ordered a water meth injection kit, G30-900 turbo, Kelford 272/278-degree cams with springs and retainers, and have made a few changes to the fuel system, so I’m wanting to ramp some big numbers out of it soon.
How did you get into cars in the first place?
I started building Cefiros, Laurels, and Skylines in my driveway years back when I was 14 and 15 — taught myself as much as I can to keep the ball rolling and just go have some fun with my mates.
If you could have any JDM performance car, modified to any level, what would it be and how would it be done?
Honestly, probably just this with some genuine wheels and definitely a 2JZ with a sequential, roll cage, and some nicer seats, haha!
Thanks for talking with us Hayden!