Hey everyone, thought I should make a little build thread of my car over the past few years.. Start from the beginning.. This is when I first picked up the car way back when. Was a little upgrade from my old s13 I learnt in. Almost bdc spec, reliable 300hp and modified rack, knuckles and everything else that can be cut and improved . A long drive and a lot less cash later, I ended up with this. Used as a daily for a while, which was fun . Then started collecting parts and putting interior back in to the car, changed bumpers and skirts. Lowered heavily and enjoyed doing a few Norfolk arena drift days. Drove it around for a while with paint like a chalk board and purchased some nice satin black from ebay. Much sanding and practice I was left with a 'reasonable' finish I was happy with. Then one late night after work, this happened. The result was police turning up and a few locals walking down to see what all the noise was about. Throttle was stuck on and exhaust snapped in half Made a phone call to get it picked up using a forklift (1am) as the police wanted 300£ for them to take it away! The next day I went to see the damage caused. The whole drivers side was bent, everything was pushed up to where the cage bolts by the pedals. Also had a couple of creases under the drivers seat and sill, for me that was the decider. Was instantly on the hunt for a new shell. Looking back at it, it may have saveable with a decent amount of work. That day I posted on Facebook for a chance someone has a shell for sale. Always dreamed of a ps13. Realy didn't want anything UK even though I would be doing a bare shell build. Just the thought of rust in every corner puts me off. Then I got a message from Driftbitz in Cambridge stating they have an s14 silvia shell sitting around. With papers. A plan was made! So I stripped everything from the shell I could ~ Was locked in the garage all day to get this done! So I could drag the bent shell out ready for the new one. Did a couple of heavy days at work so I had cash for the shell and also extra to do a bit of part shopping while I was there lol After the comfortable hour and a half drive loaded the new shell up, was impressed with the condition and the fact it now had a spare jdm dash and spare jdm loom! Got home and instantly got to work. Started with a deep clean with a pressure washer. Found a couple of bubbles of rust on the rears, wasn't too fussed as the plan was to cut for my overs to go on. While all this was going, me and my girl were trying to move into our new house, which was delayed massively! Making life a little tuff. But a plus was living with parents and having all my cash go into this car. Out with the old...... More soon
Gutted to see this man! Saw it up norfolk in may i think it was the day i pranged mine into a bmw haha.
update Thanks for kind words. Car is built. this is just my journey. ___________________________________ Got straight into cutting rears out, and sealed and fibreglassed up the edges to hopefully stop rust. Cleaned interior to then install cage and weld up the rear quarter gaps that are hidden by trim. I went ahead with tubing the arches and making cuts for lock clearance. I stuck with the same gold colour for the interior and the bay. Spent a good couple of days with a wire brush and grinder on the underside. Ended up finding a couple of holes where the front brake pipe comes through. cut and welded followed by a good primer.~ I had my old car undersealed, and made a mess of your hands, face and everything that gets near it when trying to work on it. So stone chipping the whole car was the option. With all the parts painted, it was time to install. With the engine in, I had to think about an intercooler set up as the old one is a bit squashed. I chose to go high mount, using a cheap universal ebay cooler and ordered pipes to suit. Excuse the messy workshop, was working split shifts and only had a few hours every other day. rear subframe was the biggest pain! Would not go into place on the studs. A decent amount of persuation finally got in in place. Couldn't resist throwing bumpers and skirts on for a little sunlight. ......
update Yeah it was quite gutting, though it gave me an excuse to make things how I wanted. Well, how much budget allowed anyway ______________________________________________ Time finally came for paint, did things a bit different this time. I painted all bumpers, skirts separate to the chassis. Seems easier to control the finish. Results before polish were.. And after.. was more than happy with the paint finish this time round! More top coats and wet sanding the primer really paid off. Saucing a windscreen proved difficult but got a local company do do it for a decent price. All the cost is in the ribber trims on s14 s, super glad I didn't throw it away. And this is how it the car stands today. Recently relipped some 18inch Work Rezax to a more than decent size. That's all for now. Until my latest parts order arrives
. I have managed to get some good ( refresh ) seat time so far this year in car. Living so close to Norfolk arena, its super easy for me to drive there on breaks from work. My first outing was getting a feel for the car as it has been so long. Started to come back to me! The lack of handbrake was different, really nice to have it as a last resort angle fixer. The car seemed to feel quite 'boat' like in feel, with hints of understeer at certain points in lock. I had a play with the stiffness of the rear shocks and lowered the front tyre pressure a little. All seem to of helped! With the trackside tweaks made, it was time to have some fun, and enjoy the car a little The car really loves to squat! Not sure if good or not? Results are my tyres are rubbing on the top of the inner arch on load... Next up will be a hydro update
