I Bought an AE86 in Japan – Chapter 1
I bought an AE86 shitbox off Yahoo Auctions in Japan, and plan to bring it home.
10 min read
How to Transfer Your Car Home in Japan Without Shaken (車検)
If you buy an old car in Japan (for example, on yahoo auctions), there’s a chance that the car doesn’t…
3 min read
How to Remove the BIOS Password from an IBM ThinkPad 240
I bought a second-hand classic ThinkPad in great condition, but it had a BIOS password (supervisor password) set. The ThinkPad…
3 min read
What goes wrong in the Battery Monitoring System (BMS) of the Honda Insight ZE1
When Honda built the first generation Insight, Automotive battery technology was in its infancy. When the Honda engineers were tasked…
12 min read
Typical Rust Spots of a Nissan Skyline DR30 “Tekkamen”
I visited a DR30 Skyline and shot some pictures of the body, documenting the usual rust spots. I evaluated the…
6 min read
The Story of my Nissan Sunny B12 GTI #1
My Nissan Sunny B12 GTI was owned by a caring elderly couple for 16 years. It should have become a pristine classic car, but instead it went through the misery of being a beater car, being abused, and failing inspections due to lots of rust. It went through several hands before I took care of it and restored it. This is its story, part 1.
8 min read
What is the “Vinegar Syndrome” and how to fix it?
My ThinkPad 240 from 1999 suffers from a warped and bubbled LCD panel surface, emitting a strong vinegar odor. In…
5 min read
How to Refurbish a Sony Discman D-10/D-100
The Sony Discman D-10/D-100 portable CD player is a neat piece of retro audio equipment, but being introduced in 1986…
7 min read
The Parking Lot of the Tokyo Mobility Show 2023
In today’s blog post, I would like to share my experiences from the Tokyo Mobility Show 2023. However, it may…
3 min read
1979 Honda Civic Found Rotting on the Roadside in Malaysia
Honda built the second generation Honda Civic from summer 1979 till fall 1983. In 1980, it was upgraded with a…
2 min read
Why I Love the Automotive Section in Japanese Bookstores
As a car guy, the Automotive section in Japanese bookstores is a great place to spend some time. Within the…
2 min read
Impressions From Japan’s Largest Classic Motor Show: Nostalgic 2days 2024
After seeing the poster for the Nostalgic 2days (“The largest classic motor show in Japan”) at a 7-11 in a…
9 min read
My Secret Love for Malaysia’s National Car: The Proton Saga
When you visit a country for the first time, it usually doesn’t take long to get a sense of the…
7 min read
Skyline C211 Awaits Restoration in a Small Workshop in Chiba
In July 2022, I went to pluck strawberries in the Chiba prefecture, two hours from Tokyo, when I spotted today’s…
3 min read
A Snowy 1987 Nissan Sunny Coupe
This snow-covered low mileage 1987 Nissan Sunny B12 Coupe crossed my path on a cold winter day in November 2010.…
3 min read
Proton Saga Being Parted Out in Malaysia
Have you ever heard of the Proton Saga? No? I don’t blame you. Allow me to explain: Proton Holdings was…
2 min read
’89 Nissan Sunny Hatchback with rare German Pfeba Body Kit
In Germany, the Pulsar N13 is known as the Nissan Sunny: for the European market, Nissan decided to market the…
3 min read
An Unmolested Toyota AE85 Survivor Hidden in Downtown Tokyo
If you lived in Japan for a while, chances are high that you have been infected by the foodie obsession:…
4 min read
Visiting the Largest AE86 Festival 2023 in Japan
Shortly after I moved to Japan in late 2022, I learned about Japans most famous AE86 meetup in Japan: the…
6 min read
The Ultimate Nissan Sunny B12 Rz-1 Wheel Guide
Over here, I listed an extensive list of popular wheels for the Nissan Sunny B12 Coupe. I listed wheels that…
1 min read
Mazda MX-5 NA “Hot Rod Flames” Edition
I encountered this exciting hot MX-5, resting at its final resting place on a junkyard in Hamburg, in November 2015.…
1 min read
How does a Worthless Car turn into a Valuable Classic 15 Years later?
Browsing through the pictures of junkyards I took 15 years ago, it astonishes me what kind of cars were discarded…
2 min read
1987 Silver Nissan Sunny Coupe SLX
In Germany, when you are living on the countryside and turn 18, one of the most yearningly awaited rights is…
2 min read
USDM Corolla GT-S AE92 Being Scrapped in Germany
The AE92 Corolla 2-door coupe was never officially sold in Germany, which – I assume – is due to its…
2 min read
Rare Sunny B11 Coupe Awaits the Crusher
The B11 generation of the Nissan Sunny Coupe is a car that has vanished from the roads and most people’s…
3 min read
This Flashy Opel Manta B CC Waits for the Crusher
In March 2012, during a regular visit to a junkyard in Lustadt, Germany, I found this bright green 1980 Opel…
2 min read
Nissan Sunny with a big Peace Sign on the Bonnet
I found this ’90 Nissan Sunny B12 Coupe, resting on the roof of a Seat Marbella, on a junkyard in…
2 min read
A Complete Skyline R33 ends on a German Junkyard
This scrapped Skyline R33 was the most incredible finding during my junkyard visits over the years. It turned up on…
5 min read
In Japan, you can Buy This 1/8 Scale AE86 Model Car Kit
Update: follow my AE86 model car build on YouTube. During my weekly visits to the Japanese bookstores, I saw this…
5 min read
How to Use PayEasy in Japan
A few days ago, I had to request some tax certificates, which I have done online via the Japanese eTax…
1 min read
How to Convert your 80ies Sony Discman D-10/100 to Li-ion Battery
In 2023, Japanese textbooks still come with Audio CDs. If you want to listen to them during your commute, you’ll…
5 min read
How to Replace the Li-Ion Cells of a Classic IBM ThinkPad 240 Battery Pack
A while ago, I purchased a ThinkPad 240 online, and upon receiving it, my excitement grew as I discovered its…
4 min read
Mein Honda Insight ZE1
Fakten: Baujahr 2000 Deutsches Modell Historie und Verbrauchswerte: https://www.spritmonitor.de/de/detailansicht/829879.html 410,000km TÜV bis 10-2023 Mängel: mangelhaft reparierter Frontschaden: Motorhaube und Stoßfänger…
2 min read
Nissan Sunny Rz1 Digital Cluster Adapter Schematics and CAD
I would like to make the Nissan Sunny Rz1 Digital Cluster Adapter open-source and allow DIYers to build the project…
2 min read
Original German Press Kit for the Honda Insight ZE1
I was fortunate enough to get my hands on the original press kit released in Germany in the year 2000,…
1 min read
Digital Cluster Conversion Kit Launch
I am pleased to announce that for the Nissan Rz1 digital cluster conversion kit project, all development and testing steps…
2 min read
My Honda Insight ZE1 Hybrid Car
After driving my Nissan Sunny B12 Coupés for many years, I felt I needed something more environment-friendly and a bit…
6 min read
How to Implement 3D Object Triangle Selection?
keywords: 3D geometry; triangle selection; vertex selection; When developing 3D software, you might want to allow the user to select…
4 min read
Honda CRZ ZE2 CAN Bit Assignment Sheet
A while ago I hooked a CAN logger to a friends CRZ, and reverse-engineered the CAN bus on both thr…
1 min read
How to fix “Can not find free FPB Comparator!” Error When Using OpenOCD in Eclipse
TL;DR: What is my Problem?You have too many breakpoints set. If you have no breakpoints set, look out for implicitly…
5 min read
Building a Digital Cluster Converter
Today I would like to share some exciting news for you, and make it official – I am building a…
6 min read
Nissan Sunny B12 Rz-1 Digital Speed Sensor
Today I finally managed to measure the signals on the digital speed sensor. I don’t own any of the Rz-1…
1 min read
Honda Insight ZE1 OBDII Smartphone App
I’ve been using Peters OBDII C&C for quite a while now, and while I like it’s features, it lacks the…
1 min read
Nissan Rz1 Digital Cluster Conversion
A few years ago, I modified a LHD Nissan Sunny B12 Coupé Rz1 and fitted a RHD JDM digital clusters,…
5 min read
How to Reconstruct a 3D Circle from 2D Ellipses?
I came to the idea of publishing this software part I have been working on during my Master’s Thesis. During…
9 min read
Writing a 3D Flight Simulator – in Delphi
There was a time before I became a die-hard fan of C++. Back then in high school, I believed –…
5 min read