Roger Callan has a passion for drifting, and this MX83 Cressida is his latest backyard build. Sporting a rather worked LS3 V8 and all the right running gear, it has earned its place as one of Queensland’s best-engineered and most-loved Cressidas. I got a full run down from Roger, just to give u guys an idea of just how ‘engineered’ this Cressida really is.
Roger goes on to state:
“Alright.. the car when i bought it had a 1JZ and it was street registered. After painting it the first time and doing a small amount of upgrades, I started going to the track a lot more, and it’s then I realised how terrible it drove. It was at this time I decided it needed a massive overhaul. Once the first overhaul was complete, it started driving nice until I blew the R154 [gearbox] up. A mate of mine put to me the LS idea about 2 years ago, at which point I laughed at him and said that was shit. It was after that that I gained further knowledge and realised it was lighter and a more reliable way to make the same power. I soon discovered a mate had an LS for sale, so we got the ball rolling. I ripped the 1J out, sold it to my housemate and cut the car to pieces”. This is where things went crazy.
The car now comprises of:
Engine/Gearbox/Electrics:
The engine is a 6.2L LS3. 234/247 comp cam, solid lifters, pushrods, valve springs, fly cut pistons, decked heads, bumped up compression, fast “big mouth” manifold, 850cc injectors, aftermarket fuel rails, fuel cell, surge tank, fuel pressure reg, VE tremec 6060 6-speed gearbox, single plate brass button clutch and lightened billet flywheel, 2 core radiator with twin thermos, removed radiator support and custom removable support, custom headers and twin 2.5″ pipes with 2 mufflers, Haltech Sport 1000 computer and Racepak dash to match, full body rewire and strip, one piece tailshaft, oil relocation kit with cooler, power steering cooler and fuel cooler.
Driveline/Suspension:
Excessive Manufacturing camber arms, caster arms, toe arms, solid diff and cradle bushings, bottom pillow-ball bushes, front caster arms, roll centre adjusters, lengthened lower control arms, custom steering knuckles, rack spacers, BC Gold Series coilovers, custom spring rates, locked factory diff, sway bar relocation kit, BA front rotors, R33 calipers, full braided lines, Wilwood clutch and brake pedal assembly (all hidden masters).
Wheels:
17×12.25 -12 Work Equip rears wrapped in 255/40 federal 595s, and 17×10 -15 Work Equip fronts in 235/45 Federal 595 Evos. He also has a second set of 17×12 -9 Work Garmeisters and 17×12 Hart Racing Mesh and classic Rays mesh.
Body/Panels:
OEM GX81 rear boot lip, custom roof lip, big win rear bar and skirts, series 2 front bar, series one lip, and JZX100 lip, custom flares, front tubs, custom tunnel, custom mounts, custom sump, rear tubs, full cut out doors with glass removed, interior completely stripped, top half of dash refitted, Bride low max seat, Nardi Deep Corn wheel, custom short throw shifter with lengthened shifter and ball knob, vertical hydro handbrake, 6 point chromoly rollcage.
“All fabrication work was done in house, Jason Davis was the fabricator. There is no way I could thank him enough, he took a week off work to work solid on my car and his work is absolutely amazing. The shifter was made from an SR20 shifter, everything else I watched get bent up, welded and engineered in my own shed. There is no way this car could exist without him. Also Northfield car sound for having my back the whole way, Mum and Dad for the 100% support the whole time, Ben, Rob and Matt at East Coast Customs, Marty at STZ automotive, Jamie Swift as well as the boys at Hi Torque performance who made the car run flawless, Col Robinson for wheel alignments (I wouldn’t go anywhere else), and Darren at BMT Tyres Brisbane for supporting me (they are by far the cheapest tyres in Brisbane). All the mates who helped me, you know well who you are, and last but not least, my Girlfriend Jemma, who put up with the banging and grinding for four months straight. The car was a beer drinking good time to build, and turned out exactly the way I wanted.”
Be sure to keep an eye out for Roger’s new additions as the Cressida is constantly evolving. Not only that but his love of Toyota is very well represented in his garage. Keep your eyes peeled on a drift track near you. Who knows whats next, my bet is, his newly acquired JZX100 :)