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T
he first time that we met Tim Johnson — during the
unveiling of his RX-2 at the 2015 Nationals — we were
floored by the perfection that the then-21-year-old had
achieved with ‘LETHL2’, as were many of you when we
featured it on the cover of Issue No. 221. That car was
insane. Inside, outside, underneath — anywhere you looked — it was
polished or painted to a level rarely seen in those days, never mind
these days. So, for many, it will come as a shock that the charred
remains of this high-roof 323 are the follow-up build. It’s not that Tim
has fallen off the back of a glass pipe or anything like that; in fact, it’s
the complete opposite. Over the show scene, and wanting to focus
on building his skill set, he’d achieved all that he wanted to with the
RX-2, so moved it on, purchased a MIG welder and a TIG welder,
and found the cheapest Mazda shell that he could get his hands on.
If you can recall the RX-2 article, one of the more impressive
facts was that the car was built by Tim and a small group of mates, all
young 20-somethings. Even then, fresh off an 18-month build, Tim’s
mind was already shifting gears to the next challenge. During our yarn
at the time, he mentioned that he wanted something to really sink his
teeth into and with which to learn some new skills. The 323 is that
progression, despite starting out as a very modest build — just an
event car that would be at home on the skidpan and at the drag strip,
for cruising around in with mates, and for even the odd bit of drifting.
“I wanted a smart car, something that was really easy to
work on. For instance, I have blown up the motor once; it was only
eight bolts, a handful of bulkheads, and we had the motor out and
stripped in an hour and a half. Whereas, with the RX-2, it was a pain
to work on, trying to keep everything perfect,” says Tim.SHOES
WHEELS: (F) 15x9-inch (0), (R) 15x11-inch (0) steel D-window
TYRES: (F) 195/45R15 Laufenn LK01, (R) 245/40R15 Maxxis Victra RC-1