iM Feature: Eric Zapata’s 1989 Nissan 240SX

Driven with a purpose.

The car scene certainly has a sort of hilarity to it. If we sit back and think about it, we are all guilty of buying what is considered “baller parts” and we floss the shit out of them to our peers in the community and even our friends, but for what? To simply hard park and have our cars look good on our driveways, inside our garages, and sit pretty the local car meet or even at the grocery store? Sure, there are many of us who have taken our cars to the track and have even built our cars purely for the circuit, but how many of us can really say that we’ve pushed our cars to their absolute limits and have REALLY driven them? One look at HOTBOYZ ambassador Eric Zapata and his drift machine Sahara Tan Nissan 240SX, and you might want to rethink your answer.

A basic overview of Eric’s 240 and what is immediately noticed is the battle damage that this car has endured throughout it’s many trials and endeavors in the drift circuit. Sporting zip ties to piece together what’s left of the BN Sports Type II aero kit on the front and rear, it’s these exact battle scars that are found throughout the car, that truly give Eric’s 240SX so much character. While the rest of us are so damn busy trying to keep our cars painstakingly clean and free from any damage whatsoever, here’s Eric putting his car to work day in, day out, driven by the passion he has for the art that is drifting.

With the exterior being elegantly “used and abused” if you will, the belly of the beast has an even greater story to tell. Pop the hood of Eric’s drifter and low and behold sits Toyota’s 1JZ power plant, paired with a Borg Warnger s200sx Turbo. Complimenting the hybrid swap is a 3″ straight pipe and a custom down pipe; getting this 240 sideways is no problem at all for Eric. Whether he’s rolling on his daily Work Ryvers or drifting with his SSR Gartmaier/Rays Gramlight drift spares, “beautiful” is the an understatement when Eric’s 240 is in motion, on the street or track.

The interior is nothing short of a drifter’s dream as Eric sits comfortably in a Bride Vios 3 seat (also found in the passenger seat) with a CNC Hydraulic e-brake by his side, while the chassis is suspended by a Cusco 6-point roll cage. Ease of steering is complimented by a Sparco R215 350mm steering wheel. A long story short, everything inside the car is in the car for good reason, and serves great purpose when Eric is out there doing his thing.

To get his 240 to achieve that perfect balance on the drift course, the suspension components powered by MAX Ruca, and Max Comp coilovers ultimately enable Eric to maintain contact with the road ahead of him. Also found in the suspension department are Suspension Techniques front and rear sway bars, Limit Factory Max angle knuckles, Kazama front tension rods and ISIS rear toe rods. Being in the sport that he’s in, it’s only right that Eric uses the parts that he feels are up to the task.

Sporting nothing but quality parts for his build and utilizing every single part to perform it’s drifting duties, we gotta hand it to Eric for keeping that passion for doing what he loves to do, and showcasing it all on his Nissan 240SX. There is no doubt in our minds that every single scar and battle damage found on his 240 has a story of it’s own to tell, and it’s for this very reason that Eric’s Nissan is truly one of those vehicles that is driven, with a purpose.

So next time you get that little door ding or minor dent on the hood of your precious hard parker, just think about what drifters like Eric have put their cars through, and the damage they receive putting themselves and their cars constantly at risk on the track, all for the love of driving.

…HOTBOYZ!!!

Engine.Bay
Toyota 1JZ
Borg Warnger s200sx Turbo
Driftmotion t4 twinscroll manifold
Tial MVR 44mm wastegate
JDM 2JZ 440cc Injectors
Custom Downpipe
3″ straight pipe
Apexi neoSAFC
Chase Bays Powersteering Reservoir
Chase Bays Coolant overflow
Mishimoto Radiator
Mishimoto Intercooler

Suspension
Max Comp Coilovers
Limit Factory Max angle knuckles
Kazama Front tension rods
Suspension Techniques front and rear sway bars
Powered by Max RUCA
ISIS rear toe rods

Exterior
Sahara Tan Paint
BN Sports Type II Aero
Dmax 20mm front over fender
Unknown 30mm rear over fender
326 Power Manriki Wing
Kouki s13 Tail lights

Interior
Bride Vios3 Red Driver and Passenger
Cusco 6 Point Roll cage
Weld in Driver door bar
Sparco R215 350mm wheel
Greddy Grex shift knob
CNC Hydraulic Ebrake
Schroth Racing Harness
AEM Truboost
AEM Uego

Wheels
Daily Rollers// Work Ryver
-Front: 18×9 +8
-Rear:18×10 +3

Drift Spares//
SSR Gartmaier
18×10 -12
Rays Gramlight
18×9 -20

For more pictures of Eric’s 1JZ Powered 240SX check out our flickr page HERE