When was the last time you did something crazy? Allow me to share with you, what is currently one of my Top 10 life experiences! An eventful day where I left everything behind and went for a drive with a local AE86 clan.
Everything started when a good friend of mine, a fellow Zerotohundred.com senior member who is obviously an AE86 owner, briefed me that they (the AE86 clan) were having a group drive to Kuala Terengganu for the 5th instalment of the Olskool Mega Gathering (OMG). Knowing for sure that he will potentially be travelling throughout the journey by himself, I immediately requested to ride shotgun with him for the trip; which was less than 48 hours before commencement of the drive.
In the wee hours of the morning, the journey started from Cheras at 6.50 am, where we then converged with a couple more owners at the Genting – Sempah rest stop at 7.30 am. Since the roads were generally empty, it was a relaxing drive to the next meet-up point and the morning breeze and fresh air offsets the absence off the air conditioning in Sukun’s AE86.
During the journey, I was promised by Sukun, that a very special AE86 will be taking part in the expedition, but he’d kept it secret the whole time. Curiosity was killing me. Upon arriving at the rendezvous point, It was finally revealed and it sure was not a disappointment as the promised AE86 was more than special. The car in question was an AE86 alright, but in ultra rare, left-hand drive configuration, which was brought into Malaysia from Saudi Arabia! Don’t ask me why or how!
After waiting for the final two owners to arrive, we grabbed a quick breakfast and had a little chat before resuming our drive at about 9 am. Since we were not in a rush to get to Kuala Terengganu, we simply decided to maintain the relaxed driving pace, accompanied with some occasional speed fix.
You learn new things every day, and i’m not shy to admit this little yet peculiar thing I discovered. During the journey, I learnt that an AE86 has a built-in feature that emits a chime when it hit speeds of 100 km/h and above. And as you go faster, the ringing amplifies with an increased frequency. Interesting! I believe it functions like a speed limiter but instead of restricting speed like in modern cars, it gently warns a driver the speed he is travelling in, then allows the driver his own judgment. I do not doubt it’s common in Jap cars and their taxis, but something about it in an 86 tickled my fancy.
Our next stop takes us to Temerloh, Pahang. Here, we were scheduled to meet another AE86 that had recently changed hands (the car was advertised in the Zerotohundred.com marketplace). I could never get bored of seeing AE86s in person, especially one in a clean and mint condition. For a car that is almost 30 years old, it is surprising how anyone could keep it looking as if it just rolled out from the production factory. Dollops of dedication is the spirit, I believe.
Soon after the mandatory trip to the loo, we hit the roads once more to our next point which was in Gambang, for lunch and also to meet up with yet two more AE86s; one from Melaka and the other from Johor. During the stop, we bumped into a group of oldskool car owners who had traveled from both the western and southern part of Malaysia. Of course I could not resist my itchy trigger-happy finger, and so snapped some of them. They were too good to be missed! Each of the cars bear their personal characteristics, ranging form subtle to out of this world wild!
After a quick stop at Cherating for a sip of fuel, we took an alternative route to Kuala Terengganu as the usual route was starting to show signs of heavy traffic, something to crucially avoid especially in temperamental classics! Along the journey, we passed by a rather huge oil rig/station which belongs to Petronas, somewhere in Rantau Bukit/Kerteh. The view was rather hypnotic, featuring flames occasionally blasting out from the chimney at tip of the tower! Unfortunately, we could not afford to stop for long to enjoy the view, since we were behind schedule and the weather was rapidly turning dark and gloomy.
When we had finally reached the end-point at about 8.30pm, It was a sight to behold as many of the participants from other convoy groups had already gathered around despite the main event being scheduled to take place the next morning. As everyone was famished from the long and tiring journey, it was time to grab a meal; which also proved to be one of the toughest. With hundreds of cars congregating from various parts of Malaysia in a small place, locating a restaurant to fit our convoy proved very challenging indeed. We ended up having our dinner somewhere substantially far from the venue, but fortunately closer to our accommodation for the night.
After dinner, we’d checked in the hotel, where the usual drill is to hit the sack. Then again, after having traveled a considerable distance, it’ll be a true waste not to spend it, so most of us voted for a Teh Tarik session instead. As Sukun was keen to know the way I work shooting four-wheeled beauties, I decided to share my talents with a quick photography crash course to return the favour. After all, Sukun was generous enough to have me in his beloved Panda throughout the journey. Our victim was a white AE86, and since our homestay was just a stone throw’s away from where a group of school kids were living, we figured it’ll be rude to disturb the peace with rumbling exhaust noise, at 2 am in the morning! So being the gentlemen that we are, we decided to push the car out instead.
Charging up our batteries with a couple of hours of sleep, everyone was pumped to start the day, even when the weather was shy of being friendly. The slight drizzle did nothing to dampen our spirits and since we were staying pretty close to Terengganu’s Stadium Sultan Mizan, we took the opportunity to mobilize a quick shoot before our breakfast.
Upon reaching the venue, our convoy was ushered to a special parking spot reserved only for invited clubs. Surprisingly though, some of the AE86 could not be registered into the event as it only accepted pre-1984 cars. Even so, the AE86 line up was a magnet to the visitors, not surprisingly.
At around 3 pm, we decided to call it a day and started our long journey back to KL. Before saying goodbye to Terengganu, we made yet another quick stop to bring home some mandatory ole-ole in the form of ‘keropok lekor’. Luckily we had with us a fellow AE86 owner who had actually helped secure a booking for this delicious delicacy, or else we would have gone back empty handed. Yes, it is that good!
With an empty highway providing a picturesque backdrop, I took this golden opportunity to capture some rolling shots of the convoy members. As we said goodbye to the convoy, I finally reached home at 1 am in the morning. It was a long and tiring journey, but making acquaintances with new friends and gaining new experiences along the way overshadowed any of those two.
A special thanks goes to Sukun for letting me ride shotgun all the way to Terengganu and the way back!
Words and pictures by Zahid Kasim
