Humble. Chill. Natural. Pure. Are all words that one would use to describe Nick and his raw Nissan 1991 S13 Coupe that's been purpose-built for drifting. I met Nick about 2 years ago at a casual winter car meet that he brought his Nismo Z33 to ( I actually remember it started snowing that day and worrying about making it home ), and after hearing about what he had done to his Z as well as future plans, I knew we'd get along.
Before picking up the S-Chassis, attempts at drifting the Z were made but because of its weight and awkwardness at times ( and the cost to fucking fix / replace parts when they break ), Nick decided to go another route for fulfilling his need. The car was purchased just under a year ago, and turned into a daily habit of getting it where it is today; Meticulously planned and prepped before purchasing parts and making moves on the chassis. Hours upon hours were spent, night after night - weekend after weekend, in order to build this car back up from the state it was in. Some choice picks were made on Nick's part that seem to give off an "I don't give a fuck what you think" aura, which is one thing I like most about this car, and his overall attitude about it. And I don't mean at all in a way that anything was half-assed with the build, but in a way that he chose parts for this car that some people might otherwise stray from, or have hesitations towards. For example, the Saftety 21 cage that was installed to stiffen up the skeleton. Being a Cusco cage owner, I know the struggle of dealing with people hassling over the fact that it's a "show cage," or this or that, blah blah blah. Well, the fact of the matter is that Cusco / Saftey 21 cages are installed with sandwich plates, and although the Cusco cages aren't legal for basically anything ( unless you're in Japan ), they actually do serve a purpose and they do indeed stiffen-up the car a shit-ton. I'll usually end up showing folks these pictures from the Nori Yaro blog as well to prove the point: http://noriyaro.com/?p=1772.
Anyways, back to the S13 - Nick basically said forget paying $1,500 for a 4-Point cage just because someone made it with some pretty welds. Things like that are what I respect about this car - And to be totally honest, it took me about halfway through shooting the car to really understand and appreciate his vision with it. I mean right away, looking at the car, it's sick and looks awesome. But it really takes some time to see and appreciate what all went into the process. One thing that's really respectable also, and that I personally love how he did it, is the consistency in brand choice. PBM X, Y, and Z this; Tomei A, B, and C that...It's really nice to see.
Of course talking to someone who actually knows what they're talking about too is always a great thing, and being such the chill dude that he his, Nick and I got wrapped up in talking about tons of other stuff before realizing we were basically out of time to shoot. He took me to these two really cool spots - The one was a sick glass building that just reflected everything, and the other was this random run-down warehouse that was sketchy at first, but really turned out for some amazing shots that I'm really excited for.
With a solid SR20 Black Top to work with, Nick just built up from there, and well you can just see the extensive mod list below for yourself -
Motor
Nissan SR20DET Black Top
Tomei Expreme Exhaust Manifold
Tomei Turbo Outlet
HKS Adjustable Wastegate
NISMO Motor and Transmission Mount
NISMO Thermostat
APEXi Dual Funnel Power Intake
MAX 3-row Aluminum Radiator with Dual Fans and S14 Radiator Stays
MAX High Mount Intercooler
MAX Radiator Hose Adapter
MAX Turbo Inlet
MAX Magnetic Oil Drain Plug
Blitz Downpipe
Custom 3" Exhaust to Dual Blast Pipes
Chase Bays CM1 Engine Harness
Chase Bays AN Fuel Lines
Chase Bays AN Power Steering Kit
Chase Bays Stainless Steel Coolant Overflow
GKTech Eccentric Throttle Wheel
Xcessive Manufacturing Steel Skid Plate
I love the galactic sparkle black glitter paint in the engine bay.
Drivetrain
ACT 6-puck Sprung Heavy Duty Clutch
Fidanza Lightweight Aluminum Flywheel
NISMO Slave Cylinder
NISMO Clutch Fork Pivot
C's Short Shifter
Shaftmasters Aluminum Driveshaft
AN Clutch Line
4.636 Final Drive
Wheels/Suspension
Volk TE-37 17x9
Work VS-KF 17x9.5
5-lug Conversion
Brembo Rotors
Hawk Pads
Stainless Brake Lines
MAX Competition Coilovers
MAX Pro Front Lower Control Arms and Tension Rods
SPL Solid Subframe Bushings
SPL Pro Rear-Upper Control Arms
SPL Pro Toe Rods
SPL Pro Traction Rods
Interior
Bride Zeros II
Status 3" Harness with Cam-lock
MAX Handbrake Knob
MAX Shift Knob
Broadfield Angled Triple Gauge Plate
STACK Boost/Vacuum Gauge
STACK Water Temperature Gauge
Nardi Deep Corn Wood Grain with Polished Spokes (350mm)
Splash Works Bell Hub
D-Max Quick Release with Spacer
Mazworx Harness Bar
Safety-21 13-point Steel Roll Cage
Exterior
OEM Silvia Q's Headlights (Bricks)
OEM Headlight Brackets
OEM Silvia Fenders
OEM Silvia K's Bumper
OEM Silvia Grille
OEM Silvia Hood
OEM Silvia K's Rear Trunk Emblem
OEM 180sx Chuki Side Skirts
The reflective glass building I mentioned before.
Attention to detail with so many aspects of this vehicle.
We got so many awkward looks on the drive to the two spots to go shooting. Pictures unfortunately don't do this car full justice. You really have to see it in person to get the full effect. But the TE37's that Nick went with on the front of the S13 sit so perfectly in those fenders, and then personally I think it's hard to make a set of WORK VS-KF's look bad..
Above is a rushed shot I got of Nick out on the Jefferson Circuit of Summit Point Motorsports Park a few Sunday's ago at Drift Nirvana. Rocking the MB Battles on the rear as his drift set, it's nice to see a car that looks so good on the street actually get slid around some turns too.
And a quick HDR edit I did at the glass building. Stay tuned for some video of Nick out on the track at Drift Valley coming soon. I will edit the post and add that in later on, as soon as I can. In the meantime...
Bushido!
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