The fourth Manila Auto Salon featured more than 100 cars and trucks on the show halls of the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia Complex. Here’s some of the cars which we thought that got the concept of the show. And of course, made it to our theme “Rides Modified the Way They Should Be”.

Atoy Llave of A-toy Bodykits pushed the envelope this year when he converted an R33 Skyline GT-R to look like an R35 GT-R. Impossible is really nothing when you have a broad imagination. Also in the A-toy display is a Nissan Cefiro A31 with an R34 Skyline front and rear end conversion, and another with an R33 Skyline conversion, both powered by twin turbo Toyota 1JZ-GTE engines.

Here’s some more of the cars that made it to the TUNED pages… One includes an BMW E46 transplanted with an 6.2-liter V8 LS3 Corvette Engine built by Ian King!

[Show as slideshow]

Drifting is about showmanship. It’s not just about the turbo under your hood, the exotic suspension setup you have, or the number of horses your engine is pushing out. Looking good is part of show drifting. Wild bodykits, hot rims, shiny paintjobs, and cool graphics play a big role in the drifting world. Make them work together with a top-performing car and you’re on your way to the top.

To give the boring executive car some serious attitude, we went to A-toy Bodykits who hooked up with a set of fiberglass bodykits for our A31 Cefiro project car. The main man Atoy Llave provided us with a custom aero hood, Type-U front and rear bumpers, aero fenders and side skirts.

With the new bodykits, a new paintjob was in order. We chose DuPont, the world’s leader in paint as our refinish partner. The car was brought to Fil-Carrozzeria paint and body shop to give it a new shine as they fixed some slightly rusted parts of the nearly two-decade old car. After nearly four weeks of preparation, the car was rolled out of the spray booth with its new shiny silver and blue combination DuPont finish.

Graphics come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Since this was going to be the AutoIndustriya.com Drift Car, we decided to go with stripes in a very familiar color – blue. It took one whole week to come up with the final design for the car, which was supposed to be edgy at the same time properly represent the website as its rolling ambassador. Many thanks go to Archie Garcia for coming up with the design.

Nice bodywork needs to be finished off with a hot set of rims. Our good friends at Rota Wheels provided us first with a set of wide offset Torque-R’s in gloss white finish. Michael Rojas of Rota Wheels then told us about this new wheel finish he was planning to try out. We chose the Rota D2 wheels as the design to be used for the prototype of the RS (short for Rainbow Shot) finish. The RS finish is similar to what a burnt titanium exhaust tip looks like. The result was a very unique finish, which matched up really well with the whole new look of the car. Wheels need to be finished off tires. Kumho liked our project and sponsored us with their KU31 Ultra-High Performance Tires.

For the interior, Momo provided us with the drifting-inspired Atomik lineup of products, which included pedals, shift knob and finished off with the deep-dish drift steering wheel. For the seat harness, Momo also provided their 3-inch racing harness. While your three-point safety belts are good enough for the street, proper four-point or five-point seat restraints are a must in motor sport competition. For seating, we chose Recaro, the world’s leading manufacturer of sports and racing seats. We installed the Pole Position Furious racing shell, the entry-level model, which is FIA certified for motor sport competition. An FIA certified racing shell can spell the difference between life and death in the event of a serious accident in motor sports.

Although not completely necessary for a regular drift car, these aesthetic modifications however will be necessary if you want to actively compete in the world of drifting.

Once regarded as an executive’s car, the Nissan Cefiro was a popular car in the early nineties when it was released. But now, the car is seen in a different light or in drift terms as a different approach angle. The once reserved and serious car is now being used as a project car for drifting because of its long wheelbase and rear wheel drive configuration.

Also in a different light is Atoy Llave of A-toy Bodykits who is more often known for his wild bodykit creations and extreme aesthetic modifications who is now into the performance scene as well. Being bitten by the drifting bug recently after he joined one of the drift clinics organized by the DMF Drift School, Llave has built his own drift car from a Nissan Cefiro.

However, a plain looking Cefiro would not be enough for him, so a custom widebody FRP aerodynamic bodykit and ground effects were added to the car to put the A-toy trademark on the car, while carbon-fiber aero mirrors and a carbon-fiber rear wing adds some contrast. Custom graphics made by Winner Graphics were also added to further enhance the car’s drift car appeal. The look is finished off with white ROTA P45Rs wrapped with Avon ZZ3 tires.

Under the hood is an RB25DET engine transplanted from a Nissan Skyline R32 GT-S. The intercooler from the R32 was also used and custom intake and exhaust pipes were done by Fremuff. Some additional parts are an HKS Super Mega Flow filter, Blitz blow-off valve and an Apex-i AFC Neo for instrumentation and minor fuel delivery tuning.

In the roadholding section, suspension is handled by a set of TEIN Type HA coilovers and a custom built rollcage. To further stiffen the chassis, it was also seam-welded by DMF. The brakes from the R32 were also transplanted to compensate for the engine’s extra power.

This is one mean car inside and out, and goes sideways. What more could you ask for?

Engine: RB20DET Engine, HKS Super Filter, Blitz Blow-off Valve, Front-mount Intercooler, FREMUFF Custom Exhaust System, APEX-i AFC Neo
Suspension: TEIN Type HA Coilovers, CUSCO Front Tower Bar, Nissan Skyline R32 GTS-T Brakes, DMF Custom Rollcage
Interior: Momo Drift Steering Wheel, Kazama Shift Knob, DEFI Black Face Boost Gauge, DEFI Black Face Water Temp Gauge, Cobra Bucket Seat, Drift-spec Handbrake Lever
Exterior: A-toy FRP aero hood, A-toy FRP front aero bumpers, A-toy FRP rear aero bumper, A-toy FRP aero front grill, A-toy Carbon Fiber Drift Wing, A-toy FRP Front Diffuser
Wheels: 17 x9.0 ROTA P-45R Wheels, 215/45R17 AVON ZZ3 Front Tires, 225/45R17 AVON ZZ3 Rear Tires

[Show as slideshow]

12►

From its humble beginnings in 1996 as a small paint shop to becoming a major player in the Philippine aftermarket industry, A-toy Bodykits has truly come a long way and achieved a level of success not common in the automotive aftermarket industry. It all began with Victor “Atoy” Llave’s vision of making cars look good. The idea of getting into custom body kits came after observing the different cars that were winning shows ten years ago. It was also this budding fascination that drove him to start the business now known as A-toy Bodykits.

Llave first took time to learn the basics of fiberglass manufacturing by researching and attending seminars. However, as he was a new player in the industry, the market didn’t really accept his creations immediately. It even came to a point where thought about giving up the whole thing at the end of 1998. But in 1999, he decided to give one last shot as he participated at the Trans Sport Show. Needless to say his entry was able to win a major award. This was the major turning point for the business, as his products garnered recognition and new customers began to come to him.

The year 2000 was his first recognition as a bodykit maker through winning the Best Bodykit award in the Trans Sport Show. It would not be the only one as he would win more and more awards in the next few years. It was after this that Llave decided to diversify and look into making wide-body modifications in 2001. And thereafter, Llave introduced several trends to the country like vertical doors, suicide doors, and full body modifications.

AI: Since when were you into cars?

VL: Ever since high school I was interested in cars already. But during college, I got more into it that I planned to start the shop during my last year of college.

AI: How long have you been in the aftermarket industry?

VL: Technically, it would be 10 years now for the shop which started in 1996. But I started with bodykits in 1997.

AI: What inspired you to get into this business?

VL: It started out as just a hobby for painting cars. But the idea of body kits came when I was inspired by Andy Cheng of Starbright Bodykits, who was quite successful already at that time despite his young age.

AI: Do you think the industry has gone a long way since you started?

VL: Yes it has, especially now, consumers are more demanding. Their needs have become more dynamic that car manufacturers actually consider additional body styling to sell cars. Even the media has been paying attention to the aftermarket industry.

AI: Do you see our industry growing still in the years to come?

VL: Yes. We have many good players and I want everybody, even my competitors to grow. I don’t want to monopolize things because the market is so vast.

AI: Would you consider yourself as a prominent part of the industry?

VL: I would not like to put it that way, as people have different opinions on that. I can say that I am a trendsetter in the car styling business.

AI: What’s your take on the carshows we have today?

VL: We have too many carshows already as of now, but we still do participate in the major ones. I have begged off joining the minor shows to give chance to small players and amateurs who might be discouraged if professionals came and overshadowed them.

AI: What do you classify as your best work so far?

VL: I would have to say, that my Japanese car customized to look like a European car. With it came many criticisms as well. I even got a complaint letter from the German car manufacturer and much more slack on the various Internet forums. But for me, it’s just the thought of making this a reality that mattered. It was more of a business card to show what A-toy Bodykits can do.

AI: What would you consider as your best achievement?

VL: Modesty aside, I would have to say that I am partly responsible for putting the Philippines in the aftermarket map right now. My designs are now well accepted by major Japanese car manufacturers, some of which are even approved by their principals in Japan.

AI: What are your future plans?

VL: I’m planning to diversify into mass production and investing in plastic forming to achieve this.

AI: Do you have any last words?

VL: With regards to competition, I don’t really take it personally that some of them copy my designs. But I would like to encourage them to make their own designs, because they might even turn out to be better. That way they can really feel their achievement. I really hope all of us can continue to grow, whether small or big shops, so that we can all better cater to the consumers.

I would also like to give credit to Andy Cheng of Starbright Bodykits who helped me out a lot back when I was starting. Even though we have this kind of competition between us, I think it’s all just about business.

And lastly, with the criticisms I have been receiving, good or bad, I just accept these as suggestions on how to better my products. Sometimes I even learn from these criticisms. I don’t claim to know everything just because I am part of the industry. I actually thank my critics for their contribution to my work.