In the Beginning - Toymods History

[TheToyman75]

Well I wasn't around for the beginning but was fortunate enough to meet most of the people who gave birth to what has become the toymods car club of today.

Some of the original guys are still around and I have asked them to add to this and make some corrections where required. If you were around when it started and can add to this please PM me and I will post it up. There is allot of history in the clubs 6 years of existance and I think its important for the newer faces and members to get a bit of a feel for where the club came from.

Toymods as far as I am aware started back in May of 1999 Hopefully Mos, Michael or Max can confirm or correct that. A small group of hills based guys got together for what is noted as the first ever Toymods gathering. It wasn't "Toymods" back then it was 8 guys who one way or another had bumped into each other and met up under the direction of the clubs first preident, Luke Sheerman. If you check the previous events section of the website there are some pics from that meeting. Either way, this is them:



Luke is pretty busy these days with work commitments but I think its fair to say he was the driving force behind the clubs creation, he didn't do it alone but he was the public face and point of contact. He was the man in the crowd. Toymods became an entitiy with the support of 10 members, 10 guys who were willing to cough up some cash and get things started. Each paid for what was then a 3 year membership and things got going. The first 10 members were:

1 Luke Sheerman
2 Lukasz Szymanski (MOS)
3 Bill Sherwood
4 Joseph Moore
5 Michael Alexander
6 Darren Cowling
7 Sean Langley
8 Michael Seymour
9 Paul Pyyvaara
10 Peter Luong (Max/Nark)

It was from the $$$ of these guys that the clubs first flyers were printed, sponsers were hunted and slowly in the hills at least word filtered slowly around.

I personally joined around 2000, I know becasue I asked for membership number 25 as I was that age at the time. the actual membership numbers were notthat far yet. I got handed a bright orange Flyer from a Shop in Castle Hill so before I waffle on any further I'll leave the thread for a while so the guys who were there can fill in some spaces

Updated to restore the Photo - Thanks Stew

[Nark]

For me, I'd gotten word on the grapevine that there was a new Toyota club starting. A perfect way for me to enjoy the company of like-minded individuals.
It all started out with a humble email, I think I still have the original emails stored away somewhere, I might have a look for them and stick them up in this thread.
Anyway, our first meet was a simple BBQ at Luke's place to get to know each other. There were probably only 7 people there, but a few faces at that meet are still around. From memory, Luke (#1) Mos (#2) and Joe (#4) were there. Can't remember if Michael (#8) was there?
I'd dragged Darren (#6) along (I knew him from the Old Celica Club mailing list) as well as Boris (he bought a 3 series soon afterward so disappeared from Toymods).
Those first days of the club were quite hectic with us furiously spreading the word. Any Toyota that we saw would have a note left on their windscreen. The cruises were pretty crazy too with some rather "enthusiastic" driving...
The mailing list grew, especially once Mos set up a Yahoo group for it, and more people joined the club. We formalised the structure a bit, voting people into important positions such as President and Secretary, etc.
In early 2000, we had our first dyno day. This was a big step for the club because it marked the fact that the club was financially stable enough to run such an event. The dyno day was a big success and has been run every 6 months ever since!
Another big step for the club was the forumlation of the forums (thanks to webspace donated by Sam through his company Qnix). Once the forums were formed, history was made.

[Nark]

Alright. I've tracked down the Toymods first email!

From: luke sheerman
Sent: Thursday, January 20, 2000 3:32 PM
To: michael alexander; Taz Ali; Stewart Ford; Boris Kotevski; Peter Luong; Joseph Moore; Phil Patelis; Gonzalo Servat; Michael Seymore; Bill Sherwood; luke Szymanski
Subject: Toymods Car Club News

Hello again,

Please keep spreading the word around about the club and anyone else you know with a Toyota, please get me there details. Welcome Peter to the club.

There will be a list of things that people can become involved in. Web Site is the first. It would be good to have a page that has a list of members and their cars. I'm going to put forward a membership fee shortly. Please remember this is a non profit organisation for those involved, all money goes to the club and monthly statements will be in the newsletters.

Membership fee for 2000 will be $30 which will include a membership card, monthly newsletter, car sticker (would be good to advertise the club and also form a simple kind of uniform) and also a number of discounts at various car stores.

Please voice your opinions as this will be finalised this week.

Yours sincerely,

Luke Sheerman (Club President)

Out of the people on that original mailing list:
Luke Szymanski (MOS), Michael Seymour, and Joseph Moore are still active.
Stewart Ford disappeared for a while and then came back to the forums.
Michael Alexander disappeared for a while and came back to the forums as well
Taz Ali, Boris Kotevski, Phil Patelis, and Gonzalo Servat were active participants for a little while. All but Phil bought non-Toyotas and disappeared from the scene. Phil started hanging with the MR2 Club.
Bill Sherwood never showed his face at any Toymods meets but was active on the mailing list and forums for a while.

And this was the email announcing the first Toymods meet!

From: luke sheerman
Sent: Monday, January 24, 2000 1:03 PM
To: michael alexander; Taz Ali; Stewart Ford; Rick Johnson; Boris Kotevski; Peter Luong; Joseph Moore; Phil Patelis; Gonzalo Servat; Michael Seymore; Bill Sherwood; luke Szymanski
Subject: First Meeting

Hello Everyone,

We have decided to call the first meeting of the club this coming Sunday.

Details:

When : 6:30pm Sunday 30/1/00
Where : My place

Address Removed

Why : To discuss the future of the club and to give you all a chance to voice your ideas in the clubs early stages.

Bring : YOUR CAR!! and a bottle of drink or beer. I will put on a BBQ.

Hope you all can come and bring your ideas because everyone will get a say on the night. This club is a friendly club and a drivers club. Let's have a great night.

Luke Sheerman ( Club President )

As you can see, Toymods started from a very small bunch of guys. But we grew VERY rapidly!

[TheToyman75]

Crap, its been another 2+ years since this thread was started, talk about how time flies.

Toymods is of course still going strong and beleive it or not some of the origianl guys are STILL hanging around I have opened this thread up in the hope they will post up some and add a little more History to what is arguably the best Toyota Club around.

[Billzilla]

I can't remember much of those days, but I remember watching Luke Sheerman working on his Sprinter when he put the 4AGZE into it.
Changing diffs, changing gearboxes ....... : he should have used Velcro mounts to make them easier to change.
I went to a couple of cruises in my Sprinter but I changed jobs and left Sydney before the club got really big.

Maybe good news - I've got a new job and am moving back to Sydney early next month.

[oldcorollas]

i remeber chasing these cars up and down the road to wisemans ferry in what really was.. back then.. a shitbox.. but at least the red bonnet had been painted..
in many ways this set the direction of the club.. go for a leisurely cruise somewhere, with minimal hooning.. have a pie or something and talk crap....

help me out because my memory is a bit rusty
L->R. Phil 4AGZE KE30, silver MA61 (Paul P?), maroon? MA70, red MA70, white MA70, Rob of Robs GZE MR2 page fame, Mos in pastel with spoontah, and me with shitbox and long hair....
one of the MA70's was Gerry/jerry? low km mint example.. apologies to those that haven't appeared from my fog of memory...

[kingmick]

I can't remember much of those days, but I remember watching Luke Sheerman working on his Sprinter when he put the 4AGZE into it.
Changing diffs, changing gearboxes ....... : he should have used Velcro mounts to make them easier to change.
I went to a couple of cruises in my Sprinter but I changed jobs and left Sydney before the club got really big.

Maybe good news - I've got a new job and am moving back to Sydney early next month.

Luke used to change Diff centers with ever tank of fuel he put in the sprinter.Can remember having one of my spare sprinters sitting at his house and the diff centre from it was donated to his sprinter.If Luke still had his sprinter i reckon you would be lucky to find{diff centre} one in Australia now days.
I don't think there was a Toymoder or anyone for that matter that did not have a whack on the drums anytime they entered his house.There are only loads of two things in the Sheerman's house, Car Parts and Musical instruments and equipment.
Had a few great nights listening to Luke play at Scruffy Murphy's, he is one good guitar player.

[Camryman]

These are my personal memories of Toymods.

I think I joined in 2000 and was at the first meeting where we voted in positions of the board in Castle Towers carpark of all places.

I had been on the US Camryman forums and somehow found the Autospeed forums. I posted on Autospeed asking if there were any Camry drivers. SmellyTofu off the Camryman forums saw it on Autospeed and told me I wouldn’t have any luck and to try contacting a new club called Toymods. ( Incidentally it would be a few years later that Toymods had enough Camry members to have a cruise to Newcastle )

Call the mobile number and Luke said they were meeting for the first time under the name Toymods at Unique Autos. I’m sure there is a photo lying around somewhere. Can’t remember why but we ended up driving from Unique to Castle Towers carpark to vote board positions.

Mos wanted to be Vice President, Wayne was Secretary, Mick was Treasurer and Luke was President. Once that was done we ate at the food court. I paid for an introductory 3 year membership.

I think a few weeks later we cruised through Galston Gauge and I quickly discovered how clumsy the SV21 Camry on family car suspension is when pushed through hairpins. I think before we got there Joe hit a stop sign in his AE86 and retired for the day. I remember Billzilla was there with the AE86.

The next cruise after that was through Wisemans Ferry which I’d never been to before and was a nice drive.

There have been many fond memories of cruises. A few notable ones include one evening trip to Newcastle. We had stopped at a local street meet when someone with a scanner shouted the cops were coming and we ran Lemans style to the cars to drive away. I didn’t even know where I was going, I just followed the line of cars to McDonalds.

Then there was the year that the Toyota Nations was cancelled because of the national insurance crisis at the time. We ended up on Luke’s family farm hosting Motorkhana. I think it was also the first time a few of us got organised and bought CB radios. That made cruise even more fun with some of the funny chats we would have, it because more of a group event being about to talk with each other.

Was also there for the first Dyno Day and the 4AGE boys couldn’t believe the 3SFE was cranking out more power than them at that particular day. Then there was the time I went to Eastern Creek off street meet where I posted a Toymods record holding time of a scorching 19sec down the ¼ mile. The Camry also held the Toymods dyno record for the over 1.8 litre NA class but due to a technicality in the rules it never won the trophy on the day, instead going to Rod's stroked Celica to avoid having to hand the trophy to a Hyundai Accent. The rules were changed after this.

As far as the club becoming incorporated, that conversation got started at Auburn McDonalds one day when I asked Max what would ever happen if Luke got bored with the club and left. Originally had nothing to do with insurance and liability, but to somehow put a structure in place so the club was not just effectively one person.

Little did I realise that HIH insurance would collapse and we would reached 150 members in 1.5 years when I had estimated it would take 3 years which would have give us heaps of time so sort out incorporate and public liability insurance. Then there was a fatality at the Auto Salon speed battle so I hit the panic button and through a lot of sweat and drama from the guys on the board the club became an incorporated association with public liability insurance.

I’m glad after all this time the club is still around. There were other Toyota clubs that started around the same time that have since disappeared.

[river]

Hi,

I have only been with the Club for 3 years, but I joined purely for the hot chicks.

Though I do recall ringing pretty-boy a week or so before I turned up to my first meeting. He asked what sort of car I had and I said I had an RA25. There was a few moments of silence, then he replied something along the lines of "Oh yeah, sure you do." I even told Riverina that this mongrel doesn't beleive I got an RA25. So, I jsut had to turn up then to prove it.

My greatest achievment is to create the 5 most handsomest men in Toymods list. I'd like to create one for the chicks... but there are just sooooo many fine looking lasses I don't know where to start.

seeyuzz
river

[ian]

hi river
if you need a hand with all the fine looking lasses give me a call , i can be the victorian rep
lol
ian

[Suprathai]

And thats how I got hooked onto Toyota's....Through Max/Nark, back in 2000 and it sure has grown to be quite big.

Its Thai if you happen to forget, tutoring on the weekend, dunno what percentage of that time was spent talking about cars though. Thanks to you I ended up doing engineering...

I also finally ended up finding out how fast your Ra-60 was with the 1ggte, its freakin awesome. My first memory in a boosted car and it was not at all disappointing!!

[Koffee-Black]

I still see Taz Ali, he now has a 350Z. Top Bloke!!

I remember getting a flyer on my GT Starlet back in the day, but back then, i didnt even know what a forum is haha, so i threw it out.


I remember teh camryman, i was on his site all the time as my first car was a SV21 Camry heheh

[4DaDrift]

Edited post.

[big80]

Geez, the memories!!

At last count, Luke (4agze AE86), Darren (1GGTE RA40), and myself (1GGTE RA23)went through 41 "T" series diff centres in about 4 months, they started to become quite hard to find ! Clearly remember changing 2 at my old's house in Epping on New Years Day, 2001, one in the sprinter, one in mine.

Remember helping Max put the "new" Gen 3 1GGTE into the "Wedge" at lukes old place, and that motor only lasting maybe a week, because SOMEBODY (Max!) only tightened the sump pickup up finger tight

Will rack the memory banks for more.......

[TheToyman75]

Geez, the memories!!

At last count, Luke (4agze AE86), Darren (1GGTE RA40), and myself (1GGTE RA23)went through 41 "T" series diff centres in about 4 months, they started to become quite hard to find ! Clearly remember changing 2 at my old's house in Epping on New Years Day, 2001, one in the sprinter, one in mine.

Remember helping Max put the "new" Gen 3 1GGTE into the "Wedge" at lukes old place, and that motor only lasting maybe a week, because SOMEBODY (Max!) only tightened the sump pickup up finger tight

Will rack the memory banks for more.......

Dude !

How the hell are you ? Awesome to see you online man.

[big80]

Good evening Mr Try

Im good mate! We have been on the road for just under 2.5 years now, loving every minute of what we are doing. Havent had reliable/if any net access in that time (bit hard to get in most parts of the country). We are currently in Mandurah, just south of perth. MAY be back in Sydney mid year to kick our tennants out and renovate the house, then back on the road again..........Sydney sucks the wang, never living back there.

Hows the family goin?

[ira11y]

Toymods started for me after first being chased down then racing (with the wife screaming at me to slow down from the cheap seat) along the then brand new M2 motorway at about 10 one night. At that point I still had the red sprinter and it was none other than the club founder Mr Sheerman. We stopped after the tunnel and Luke told me about the club and I said I had been thinking of something similar having found not much in Sydney after moving over from the promised land (UnZed).

Not long after that the original email went around for the first get together, unfortunately I did not make that one but did get to the next meeting, well really it was a get everybody together to change Luke's diff in the garage again event

At some point in there I also met up with Mr Sherwood after purchasing some parts off him, I think not long after that he got a gig flying overseas for a bit which is why he was a bit scarce.

After Mos set up the email account there were many long winded and sometimes heated discussions on various setups with Toyota's and eventually the forums came along which bought its own form of both pain and pleasure. The club grew very quickly after that and of the original members the debate started about where we wanted to be headed and what we wanted to become. Some wanted the club to remain informal as it was, just a group of blokes getting together talking cars and b***^^it and occasionally disturbing the peace. Others wanted to become a formal club and hold events and then a smaller number really wanted to make it a drivers type club and become CAMS affiliated.

It was often a very heated debate at Darren's home where the pros and cons were discussed, at times more aggressively than others, of each possibility and in the end the club was incorporated and became what it is today.When I look back on those times I remember how it became all so political, we were all so determined to get what we wanted for ourselves out of the club (myself included) and unfortunately this whole process left some people wondering if it was worth all the hassle. As a result some good people drifted away from the club. I have to really thank Darren and his family for providing a place to have those debates during that time. Im sure his wife must have given him some stern talking to's after we all left each night

Once the political stuff was out of the way the club surged foward, forums grew at an astronomical rate and so did the forum arguments, moderators were installed to calm it all down a bit, there were more events including the starting of the official Dyno days. We had some great cruises. One in particular I recall ended with two cars that had separated themselves from the main group ( some say deliberately ) on an Old Pac Hwy run and surged on ahead only for the rest of the cruise to catch up a several kms down the road and pass by as Mr plod gave both of them a stern talking to

At another the Galston Gorge was well and truly lined up with a few cars doing a late night pass.It lasted about 5 corners before a certain gay sprinter wanted to kiss a wall after loosing traction as it was air born over the breaking point. A quick turn around and a lot of sparks flying off the heavily damaged rim and front sill on the way out of the gorge with no steering before our favorite boys in blue rocked up.I think that may have been the end of that particular cars dubious history wasn't it Rod?

Anyway they were some of the interesting moments in the history of the club.

There were a lot of people on the way that helped make up the spirit of the club, so many different backgrounds made for some wonderful conversations. In particular at various cutovers and conversions Rod and I had no end of fun winding up poor Mos over some silly little technicality until he got too angry with us to continue talking... sorry Mos but we did have fun and no one could do up a bolt like you.. MosTight . A few of the others that deserve a mention would be Joseph Moore, Oldcorollas, The Witzl, Sprinter Steve (go the gay sprinter!), Scrote (saw you on the M2 a week or so ago still in the Cressi!), Dave with the turbo GZE Seca, Yogi and the jolly green celica that stunned all at the first Dubbo event.

these guys may not have made up the original crew but more than contributed to making the club what it is today.

I haven't had much to do with the club over the last few years, kids and a career sorta stopped all the fun there for a while but its good to see that its still running and people still enjoy modding and getting together which is what the club is all about.


Cheers

ira11y

Michael Seymour

[river]

Hi,

Interesting.... got any King Mick stories?

seeyuzz
river

[GUN METAL]

this is a great read, never seen this thread before, i love a bit of history !

great to see an adub in the first pic.

Bit of confusion tho oldcorollas thinks the adub is Rob of GZE fame but Rod has car 6 (the adub) as Darren Cowley ?

I knew a Robin San, from the MR2 club he went through the various mods he did on his red adub before he put the GZE in there. I remember him doing small changes on it then we would go for a drive and see how, different sway bars, wheel alignment, cams , tyres etc improved the car. I got the shock of my life when we went for the first time after he had put in the GZE with the LSD..............IT WAS AWESOME !!!!

[JustenGT8]

Jeez i met some of these guys (and a few others) on Aus.cars back in the early 90's...then the same culprits on the Old Celicas mailing list. A couple became good mates even though it was years before i even met them...the interweb is a weird place