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Vladimir wrote one of my all-time favourite Speedhunters features last year.
It’s All In The Details: Experimenting With Macro Car Photography was a breath of fresh air for me. Seeing a colleague approach our world from a different perspective was not only fun to read, but it also featured beautiful photography.
Click on the link above and dive into that article – it offers a change of pace from regular programming. If you’re feeling lazy, though, I’ll summarise: a macro lens allows you to get incredibly close to your subject, capturing highly detailed photos with a wide, flat plane of focus. Think of those crispy National Geographic images of tiny spiders in the jungle – yes, macro lenses.
Unfortunately, Vlad’s article faded from memory over a year and a half of daily car content – until recently, when I got my own macro lens. Truth be told, I bought it mainly to scan my 35mm film photos.
While driving my BMW 740i, a story idea popped into my head. Over years and countless heat cycles, the interior wood trim in this model can crack – exactly what’s happened to mine. There’s a little crack in the gear knob that I can feel, but I love it as a sign of my car’s age. Let’s call it ‘patina-lite.’
Other small details I love include the ‘BMW Individual’ badge I recessed into the E39 Sport steering wheel myself. My car is an Individual, so no accusations of up-badging here, but the badge is from a newer model.
And then there are the titanium wheel bolts on my 19-inch AC Schnitzer Type II Racing wheels. Not only do they look fantastic, but I made sure every bolt is lined up facing north toward the centre of the wheels. Call it compulsive behaviour if you like – my spare wheel in the boot is the same.
My lens purchase reminded me of Vlad’s story. So, when I was invited to a little end-of-season meet, I decided to explore other people’s favourite details.
Dan & his B16-swapped Mk1 VW Golf
“It’s incredibly rare to find a car 40 years of age with its original dealer plates,” Dan says. “I think it shows how original – bar the engine and a few bits – the car is. It seems to be a detail Mk1 enthusiasts point out when looking at the car.”
“The interior is fully original, so finding seats has been the hardest part of this build. I was about to give in and re-trim some more modern seats when these showed up on Facebook Marketplace. They hit the nail on the head, Cobra SL5s from the mid-80s.”
“I purchased the Golf from the original owner’s wife after he passed away,” Dan recalls. “Shortly before his passing, he reversed it into the garage and caused that dent. He bought a new light and just slapped it over the damage! It’s a story tied to the car, and I pulled it out of that very garage. It feels wrong to wipe it from its history.”
Brayden & his static Lexus GS
“Apparently, 24 pairs of these Fabulous eyebrows exist,” says Brayden. “I got these before I bought the car, though I already knew what they were. They were on auction from a scrapper in Japan, off of a totalled black GS. The driver’s side was ruined and needed repair.”
“My catalytic converters were stolen on 22/2/22. I was fuming, of course – the car sounded like a bloody tank! I only had coilovers and LS430 wheels back then. I did have a full Artisan Spirits body kit I wanted to fit, but the exhaust openings were way too big for the factory exhaust. So instead of my original plan of getting back boxes with dual tips, I went all out and got a full 2.25-inch stainless header-back exhaust system. Tucked up higher than factory, sports cats, X-pipe and high-flow back boxes with dual 4-inch tips.”
“One day, a friend mentioned that he knew this guy making some one-off shift knobs inspired by the chrome hearts graveyard ring. I said count me in and totally forgot about it after that. A few months later, Ryan texted me saying these shift knobs were done, and he’s getting them brought over. What a surprise! The best part is Ryan and I got the pair. I’m stoked to be matching with my brother.”
Ghaleb & his BMW E36 drift car
“What are your favourite details,” I asked Ghaleb. “One, I love wood in cars, it’s kind of a ‘gentleman racer’ aesthetic. Two, back when I first started drifting, there was a list of ‘cheap things’ you could do to get started: buy an E36 for £500, E34 engine mounts and an M50 manifold for £20.”
“If you wanted a steering wheel, you could get a used 370mm wooden Nardi from an MX-5 V-Spec for £60. I learned to drift with one of those wheels, and ever since then, I drift best on a big wooden wheel. Finding a matching wood gear knob just goes with that whole thing.”
“The yellow headlights are a similar sort of thing since you’d find them on old-school Le Mans race cars and old French performance cars back in the day. Not to mention Japanese cars with yellow fog lights! I love the presence of yellow lights on a car at night. The yellow lights on my Boston Green car remind me of the old Lotus F1 colour schemes.”
“The GT Class II spoiler is another detail. I love the E36 M3 GT, and I want mine to look as close to that as possible. I also love Nissan S14s, and the kouki had a similar mid-rise spoiler. They always escaped me when I had an S14, though!”
No matter your taste in modifications and style, there are bound to be details about your car that are special to you. They don’t have to be upgrades or rarities; like the cracks in my wood trim, they can be imperfections you adore.
I’d love to hear about the details that make your cars special to you. Share them in the comments!
Mario Christou
Instagram: mcwpn, mariochristou.world
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