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Distro in Photo: An April container

It’s hard to try and document the unloading process as its an all hands on deck process at the shop when a container arrives from Japan. JDM Distro is a small enough operation so all four of us are usually working together to get these unloaded as quickly as possible.

We get the first two hours for free when unloading, and because we do not have a loading dock, we’ve gotten this task dialled in. After the first two hours, we start getting charged for delays.

If you watch the Vlogs you have probably seen our ratchet strap technique for pulling the pallets out of the container. Unfortunately, our little pallet truck is unable to lift these custom pallets under its weight.

The greatest part of this job is unloading and unboxing the freshly imported stock from a container. Being overly enthusiastic Japanese car enthusiasts, this is a dream scenario. It’s almost like being a kid on Christmas morning.

We work our way around the warehouse floor, checking names on boxes and ripping open the packaging to see if any gems have arrived at the shop.

For example, these Watanabe Gotti’s were an absolute sight to behold. The customer had been waiting over a year for them to be manufactured as Watanabe only build these wheels on request. They have made an incredibly low number of these wheels, maybe under twenty sets ever!

We unboxed them and decided to do a quick photoshoot before sending them out to the customer. We may never see a set of these wheels ever again. Based on a Le-Mans wheel for the 70’s Nissan works team, these are one of the coolest items to ever pass through the store.

Watanabe wheels are just a bunch of old school guys in a warehouse in Japan. To contact them you have to send them a fax. Imagine that in 2019!

It’s hard to beat the VS-XX design. These were a fresh set ordered for a customer, we always open the boxes to double-check everything and grab a few quick snaps before we send items to their final destination. I’ve been popping these boxes open for almost four years now and it never gets old.

The blue tape comes on all-new wheels to protect the lip. We left if for the customer to enjoy the satisfaction of setting up his brand new wheels.

This set came in great sizes too, measuring in at 19x10J with +25 offset. The VS-XX is a timeless look.

Another gem which arrived on this container was a set of rare 18 inch Type 03’s. The price for these hit boi wheels has tripled in value over the last two years, and the eighteens are almost impossible to come by.

This set was specially ordered for a customer so we missed the sizes but I’m pretty sure they were 9.5/10 inches. They were in pristine condition.

A truly iconic wheel from the early Millenium.

That brushed lip finish was something I had never seen before either. This would be an incredible set of wheels to add to the collection.

There were fewer engines on this container. A couple of weeks before this one landed we received a huge shipment of engines which you might have seen in a Vlog episode.

The 2JZ’s and RB’s sell a lot quicker than the rest. The extra engines we purchased didn’t hang around.

All the wheels are stacked into two piles, ones with tyres and ones without.

Eventually, it becomes one gigantic pile of wheels without tyres. We have to check them for buckles, welds and sizes to ensure everything is as listed on yahoo. There’s always one or two surprised with each container.

It’s always nice to see some of the newer wheels from brands, and some wheels we’ve never seen before. We try to buy some lesser-known wheels to open people up to the vast array of options which are available in Japan.

We’ve also started to import a lot of new Enkei wheels and hope to push the brand a lot more in the new year.

The Advan RS is such a good looking wheel, we’ve imported a few sets of these recently. It’s super light and incredibly well priced. It’s easy to forget just how many great-looking wheels have been manufactured in Japan, theres such a variety.

We bring in as many of the old reliables as possible but it’s always worth the gamble with each container to bring in a lesser-known wheel.

The most well-known wheels are well known for a reason. They work on many cars and they are just a great all-round design. The CRK-AI’s the TE37s, the SSR SP1’s the VS-XX’s these are wheels we see a lot of here and the ones we sell quite a lot of.

The poor 200sx is almost suffocated when a container arrives. Space is limited and the first couple of day are chaotic until we get a handle on stock and break down the engine pallets.

Wheels, wheels everywhere. This is something that would rival a scene from an Up Garage!

As we work our way through the wheel selection start organising them. It’s hard not to be impressed by such an epic collection.

Working here gives us the chance to layout cool wheels and get a few cheeky shots before they are shipped out. How about most of the Rays Volk mesh series in that iconic bronze anodizing. The SE37A, 37K and the CE28N. That’s enough container porn for this article.

Till next time!

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