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
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