UNEPIC FUN TIME

Tomorrow was supposed to be the day I get my S15 (Project Ichigo) tuned, emphasis on "supposed to." You'll see why that's so later on. But today I decided to bring the S14 out for some fun times. I wanted to compare how different the power and response was between the S14 and the S15.



I put the Gram Lights 57Cs on because I knew I was gonna slide it HARD.



First order of business, pick up my Z32 MAF from the post office.



Then I was on my way. Touring around, driving through city streets and whatnot.

I had my dinner at a super good curry place, the renowned CURRY HOUSE CoCo ICHIBANYA, then after a short drive I found myself within a parking lot near my house

I called up a friend, met up with him and told him to help me out by getting the R33 stockies from WestKyo, should I mangle the tires on these 57Cs and need those.





When he came back. YAP YAP, that was the G O ! signal. It was time to

A T T A C K

I absolutely shredded the living fuck out of the tires. And eventually I had to swap them out. Time to check: 1:47 AM.





I got the R33 stockies on...

Then after a LONG session of drifts. IT HAPPENED.

Definitely NOT good news.



It was pretty late and at that point I was pretty dazed, but from what I can remember (And from what Jack told me), I hit the parking lot metal fence. I swung around, hit my fender then proceeded spinning until my rear end hit some pole, and I stopped near another metal fence.



The next thing I knew, I was being transported/chauffeured in an S13.







Jack dropped me off at my crib. Thanks man!

:THE MORNING AFTER:

Gave Jack a call to thank him and to learn about what happened as previously mentioned. Then I asked where the car was. It was at the police station, impounded and awaiting penalty fees.

So without skipping a beat I hopped right into my FC1 and floored it.



I went into the station and asked for the car. After paying 400,000 yen (V$4,000) in infractions (accident caused by reckless imprudence, destruction of private property, license plate not visible, shaken expired). I was out to claim it and have it towed back to WestKyo.

My heart is broken. I don't know what to feel.

The damage was far more than I expected. I don't even know what the extent of it is. Doing that drift and that epic (apparently unepic) fun time was a HUGE mistake. Now I remember, I was getting a feel for the RB25DET, pretty much going hard on it and flooring it, then I saw a dog cross right in front of me. As my instinct was to dodge, I turned the wheel, that's what caused me to spin and eventually crash the car. But full disclosure I take full custody for what's happened. I really shouldn't have been drifting at a parking lot with limited lighting at 3 in the morning. Lesson learned, but it's sad the car had to go through something traumatic before I could learn my lesson.

With all of that said, I tried firing it up but it would only sputter and then die shortly after. I had it towed to WestKyo.







I don't know what to do or what to even say at this point. But either way, Project S14 is out of commission, for now? For a while? Forever? Who knows. But I guess I'll be focusing on other things for now. F.

Finances:

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V$82,474.91 - V$4,000 = V$78,474.91

New Vehicular Unit, Who Could This Person Be By Any Chance?

(WARNING: A ton of pics!)

Hey everyone! Remember that car Phonexius sourced out for me? He actually sourced 2! One of which was claimed by Muzahid (Niatross), you'll find out a little later when he updates his thread. Anyway, I purchased both cars sight unseen off the Bosnian internet for V$2,300. Though Ben (Phonexius) assured me that the car was exactly what was in the pictures.

Following the refreshing touge run I did with Yuan (BigSmoke) and Muzahid (Niatross) (If you haven't checked out BigSmoke's update yet, go do that first, GOGOGOGO!), I got my rest. Then one fine day at work as I was packing up, I was informed that my "shipment" had arrived. Got a good night's sleep then woke up first thing in the morning and headed to the docks.



When I arrived, I looked for the shipment and found out that only one car had arrived, and the other container was still awaiting clearance. Fortunately for me (Unfortunately for Muzahid), mine was the one that landed ashore.



After signing the papers and documents, I had the car mounted to a truck and brought to the garage.

Fast Forward To The Day After

After work, I headed straight to the shop, where the truck that had my car was waiting.



1989 Nissan 200SX 1.8 Turbo (RS13U)







Genuine European 200SX goodness. There's not a whole lot I can say about this car other than it was a project that was left stagnant for a long while. Paint is pretty worn but I have high hopes that a good detail job will resurrect the shine.







The European 200SX RS13U had a number of parts as standard that were Nismo optional parts in Japan. A water/oil heat exchanger, a differential oil cooler and an extended finned rear cover holding 0.6L more oil (even on models with an open differential), aluminum radiator, and a lower 3.916 final drive ratio (JDM ones had a 4.083 ratio) which was required as the RS13U 200SX had no speed limiter and any car in Europe could visit West Germany where on the Autobahn it could legally be held at very high speeds for a sustained length of time (Japanese cars are fitted with a 180 km/h/110 mph speed limiter).









Under the hood is, well, nothing actually. But everything else has been sorted out so any engine would be ready to drop in. Wiring, brake lines, have all been sorted out.









Interior is pretty fresh, but smells musty and is pretty dusty. Seats and trims still have no tears! And I'm told the factory 200+km/h cluster works perfectly. It even came with a European battery stored in the trunk, ready to be used (No the battery hasn't been relocated, it's just where the owner put the battery in for storage).









Ah yes there's the CA18DET. Albeit missing some components. Afaik the rest should be coming in along with the other car so when that arrives I can piece this thing back together

The FS5W71C gearboxes in these Euro CAs had different ratios from other S13s. A key change is the layshaft gear which was changed from 22/31 to 21/32, thus running the layshaft slower and at higher torque. This gearbox is considered weaker than other S13/S14 gearboxes, but if need be, the front of the SR20DET gearbox with the bell housing can be removed and a CA18DET bell housing can be fitted to allow the gearboxes to be swapped.

Oh yeah, small ichigo update. The SR20DET has been dropped off at Koguchi Power, where they're gonna balance EVERYTHING, and replace the necessary components with forged units. Head and manifolds are getting polished as well for optimized air flow. Can't wait to get it back!

I also borrowed Muzahid's extra spare of SSR Type-Cs for my car to stand on while sitting at the shop, awaiting its reborn beast of a heart. I'm surprised they fit pretty well specs-wise.

Finances:

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V$78,845 + V$940 (Weekly Paycheck 1x) + V$9,800 (Accounting and Law Services Payment Received) - V$2,300 = V$83,285

STATUS UPDATE LEZGO

Following Yuan (BigSmoke)'s migration back to Tokyo (check his RP thread out, check out his Evo 3 build and his latest acquisition, an S15!), I've been pursuing a very hard decision. This actually came out as a bit of a surprise, but I've been negotiating the sale on my FC1 for quite a while now (since after the S14 crash). But now the time has come to end my ownership of FC1, and the time has also come for the FC1 to continue its life under a new owner.









There's not much to say about this car. It's been tastefully modified with nothing but the best of goodies, no shortcuts were taken here. Simple formula, simple results, that's just how it works. Bearing in mind all of the mods I installed, we agreed on V$18,000.







Farewell Civic, it was nice knowing you. I had fun, some real good times. And owning you is something I will never regret.

Now, moving on...

NEW ACQUISITION

Marc and I had a talk and I ended up buying his S13 to help him out. Funnily enough, this car never left the K-S team. It was first found by Muzahid (Niatross) who built it up into the the very fun drifty boi it is right now. And eventually it ended up in Marc's (Macaron_moon's) hands. And then I got a hold of it.



Car is pretty shipshape with a clean shell, no bog or anything. A genuine Works 9 Kit (which Marc mangled the front bumper, more on that later). Interior is stripped with some Blitz gauges, a hydro e-brake system, a Bride driver seat and a half-cage. Under the hood is an SR20DET with a GReddy TD06SH-25G turbo, a GReddy Oil Catch Can, some custom plumbing, custom exhaust manifold, and a blown 4th cylinder.



Last month I compensated him handsomely, with V$11,000, to pay for the car and to help him out with his CZ4A build and his new car purchase ( H U E ). Also last month, I had the front bumper sent to a body shop, I had it refibered, and then repainted to the car's shade of red. Looks new!

Can't wait to see how this car transforms because I myself don't know the plan for it yet. For now it'll probably stay that way. I gotta work on getting it running.

Moving on again, we have something UNEXPECTED

NEW ACQUISITION x2

At this point and in this particular situation (I'm pertaining to the S14 here), I have realized that it simply isn't worth the time and effort to restore and reshape the current shell to its original figure. Therefore I have decided to sell the S14. JUST KIDDING. OKAY I WAS JOKING. CHILL.



I scoured through the internet classifieds to find the perfect donor car. Something within the reasonably realistic budget, but packs a lot for what it's worth. Something kept with care, a vehicle I'll want to handle gently and with utmost safety. And alas, I came across this gorgeous vehicular unit.

I went to see it in person right away. It was right within my expectations, higher even, considering the ad only had one image. Everything was just what I was looking for in a project.





As the ad listing denotes, this my friends, is a 1997 Nissan Silvia Q's Aero SE.

1997 was the last year they offered the 4 lug on the S14. This car is pristine. With a mere 107,259 km traveled, it's in overall decent condition. One owner, who cared for it all its life. He didn't even modify it!





Trunk and interior are all intact along with their respective carpeting, even the stereo is factory, works great too! This car was perfect because it was a manual, much more than just a bonus.





Under the hood is a bone stock SR20DE 2.0L Naturally Aspirated Inline 4 Cylinder. It's even got the factory airbox! The only modified thing I've seen is a Koyo Aluminum Radiator in place of the factory plastic one. SR20DE manual. WHAT A TREAT! This is the PERFECT donor car for the S14 rebuild. I'll be slowly swapping over the good parts from the wrecked one to this car. Probably starting with the small goodies like the interior stuff (except the cage which has been welded in). A 5 lug swap is in the books for sure though. But for 498k yen (V$4,980), I can't possibly go wrong with this car. I'm SUPER eager to get the build process going.

And finally

What Is The Definition Of Stock? Cuz This Ain't It Chief

With the FC1 gone I've been dailying my AP1 S2000 these past few days. And all in good time, my parts have arrived!



I got myself Bilstein B14 PSS Coilovers for V$1,248.66 on FRSport



And I got a GP Sports EXAS EVO muffler for V$199 on UpGarage via Crooober.

After passing sha ken and obtaining my registration plates, I went straight to the mods. This was the car for a while, sitting on stockies with the coilovers installed at max low, and with the muffler on.







Then yesterday morning I went to the shop to test fit the Gram Lights 57Cs again.





Fronts are poking out a bit too much



But the rears are PERFECT with the current camber setting.



I mounted all 4 of them and then proceeded to Benny's to get my alignment done for the fronts. I had them dial in some more front camber to keep the poke flush on all 4 sides.

Then it was finished.









One night out, a few VTEC pulls here and there, I was in my element. A car that looks good, sounds AMAZING, and performs like a WINNER. All of these factors have cemented the fact that I bought the right car.

B L I S S

That's all for now, thanks for reading. Next time I'll update on my S15 (Project Ichigo). I hope to start progress on the S14 soon and eventually the S13.

Finances:

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V$83,285 + V$940 (Weekly Paycheck x1) + V$18,000 - V$1,248.66 - V$199 - V$4,980 = V$95,797.34