I met Brad for the first time back in August when I hitched a ride with him down to Calgary for the Sunday School Show and Shine. Having just moved to Edmonton and really not having a clue about the scene here, Brad filled me in on events and local tracks. It was pretty obvious to me that this guy loves motorsports that and he drove 10 hours flat out to Seattle for Formula D.
This Carbon Silver Z definitely stands out on the roads with style in mind. It sits on 19″ transparent blue Varrstoen 2.2.2’s with Achilles ATR sport tires.
In the stance department we have a set of Fortune Auto coil overs and Battle Version toe arms and camber arms.
Brad is full of character and happy to show it! With future mods including sway bars and a front lip, we can’t wait to see the progression of Brad’s Nissan 350Z later on down the road. But for now, let’s appreciate the cleanliness that Brad has attained with his build so far.
Suspension
Fortune Auto coilovers
Battle Version toe arms
Battle Version camber arms
Wheels/Tires
Varrstoen 2.2.2
19×9.5/10.5 +12
Achilles atr sport tires
Other Modifications
Hawk pads
Stop Tech stainless steel brake lines
JIC Magic single exhaust
JWT intake
Enjuku racing harness bar
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.
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
Got a set of pictures from last nights meet, its getting harder and harder to shoot out there with it getting dark so fast, so I apologize once again for the crappy quality pictures. Try to make it out to these meets as there isn’t much time left in the season.
And for those of you that don’t know, the 5th Annual 403 Honda/Beyond OG/Everyone SuperMeat is on September 26th, 7-10pm. Hope to see you guys there! More info: HERE
These and more pics from this weeks meet on our Flickr: HERE
Had a chance to attend the weekly 403 Honda/Beyond.ca meet on Wednesday. Hopefully you guys continue to come out and hang out while the weather is still decent. And speaking of which, watch out for the announcement coming very soon of the annual Beyond.ca SuperMeat!
Here are a few of the pics we caught, more pics can be found on our Flickr page: HERE
And last one, just because it was apparently a weight reduction mod performed by the owners significant other. Headlight glass is useless and is way too heavy:
With Driven 2012 coming up quickly, we thought it’d be a good idea to look back and see what everyone had to offer in 2010 and what we can look forward to for this year. Since Driven was skipped for us in 2011 – there has been a significant amount of time for everybody to get their whips refreshed. From new cars, to new parts, complete overhauls or tweaks to an already existing minty car, we think this will be the best Driven yet. We have a handful of fresh new faces joining us this year and it’s only a matter of time before we all gather at the Olympic Oval once again.
Looking back – many cars are now gone and have been passed on to new owners and some remain alive and well and will be joining us once again. Let’s take a look…
Dal’s K20 Type R – this was a long-time build for Dal and it was pristine. Reggie now has possession of it and stripped it apart with new plans. From what I’ve seen, he’s doing a great job and going from the ground up with new parts left right and center. It should be at the show this year, so look forward to that!
Alan’s JDM conversion CSX Type-S. So clean and one of the first (and probably still only) to do the conversion with legit OEM parts and tastefully IMO. This is out of his possession now.
Jackie’s infamous S2000. Jackie has some plans for the upcoming year and he won’t be showing in Driven, but he’ll be coming out for our show & shine with new toys to boot.
Hoang’s K20 Civic. One of the most unique and cleanest builds I got to see in 2010. Everything from the J’s wing to the custom splitter and canards and his I.C.E. set up. Not to mention the K20 under the hood.
Steve Poyntz’s 2JZ swap Cressida on 350Z wheels. Super simple and clean build with a whole lotta power.
Chris’s Triumph TR7. Funny story with Chris and his placement in our booth. We had just finished setting everyone up and cleaning our cars and we were just about to leave the place when we were told that there was one more guy in our group. None of us knew of anyone extra and we had placed everyone on our list. We agreed to see the car and the first thing we said was “fuck yeah, we’ll take it”. Chris and his triumph are one of his kind – nothing you’d ever really see on the streets and it’s powered by an SR20. Definitely a keeper.
JC’s Corolla. This is also going through a nice change for 2012 and I’m looking forward to see it. It’s gone from simple and conservative to… well… you’ll have to see.
Jamie’s S2000 – this thing is beat on the track like no tomorrow. Jamie drives it hard and rightfully so. He had got his wheels powdercoated that day or the day before the show too so they were clean as hell.
Punit’s Integra. I remember this was the year that he did the K24 swap and it took weeks on end to get it done. One problem would come up after another and the show came up super quick. Luckily he got it running and entered. Wait till you guys see what he has in store this year.
Gopesh’s GTI – this is also going through a nice overhaul for this year as well.
Terence Wah’s S2000. Another S2000 that saw the track often and built with function in mind. Also another that is no longer in Terence’s possession. He now has a new toy…
Derrek Poyntz’s recently finished Integra RS. This was finished hours before roll-in and ready to go. All the graffiti on this was done by hand! The Calgary skyline is also on the valve cover.
Terence Ng’s Merc. More plans for this later on as well…
The GT-R has been Nissan’s flagship performance car since it’s debut in 1969. Because of Nissan’s commitment to performance, the GT-R badge has become a worldwide icon. As a car nut, I absolutely love the GT-Rs, old and new. That is why I jumped on the occasion to shoot a local car guy’s GT-R, not once but, twice.
I have a confession to make. The first time I shot *B-TOWN*’s GT-R, the pictures were horrendous for two reasons:
One, it was the first time I had seen an R35 GT-R in person. One that I could touch, in a non-perverted way of course, sit in, and truly appreciate for it’s raw beauty.
Two, I sucked at photography. There is no other way to put it. In any case, the second time shooting this wondrous GT-R was magnificent. The pictures turned out great, and *B-TOWN* had done a few modifications to this already perfect “GodZilla”.
His mods included:
Complete Car 3M Wrap
3M Headlight Rock Guard and Darkening
5% All Around Tint
Titek Gold Lug Nuts (Short, Open Ended)
COBB GT-R SF Dual Intake System
Harman Motive Catless Downpipes
Harman Motive Catless Non-resonated Midpipe
Meisterschaft SUS Catback GT Dual Side
COBB Access Port w/TCM + Custom Tune
Stock from the factory, the 2010 GT-R produced 485HP/434 lb.ft of Torque. His car, now has 551 HP / 561 lb.ft of Torque @ 18 PSI of boost. Yeah, it’s nuts. And the sound of the COBB/Harman exhaust is one a kind. At idle, it’s quiet and tamed. But, when all hell breaks loose, you can hear the four horsemen of the apocalypse riding past the gates of hell! No joke.
Now, for the pictures!
Thanks for reading everyone. You stay classy………..Planet Earth!
If your an avid reader of our site then you’ve seen a couple snapshots of Ger’s dumped and flushed 350z in the past at various events out east. He is a member of the infamous Level One crew out of Toronto, and in true Level One fashion his car is jaw dropping with a long list of baller, top notch parts.
Ger started out in the scene with a couple euro cars. First one being an Audi A4 with a respectable list of upgrades (wheels, suspension, lip kit and various other bolt ons) however after running into some problems with that project car he quickly sold it off for a VW Jetta GLI. In typical euro fashion the Jetta was promptly slammed on some flush BBS wheels and it was also rocking 6 pot Porsche brakes.
At this point he wanted more. And he wanted JDM. Enter 350z.
Over the 4 years+ of owning the 350z Roger has transformed it from stock to an all out track car and then into an extremely clean, show worthy daily driver. This is mostly due to the large time and financial commitment that comes with beating your car up on the track.
Regardless of what the car is currently use for this iteration is looking mighty fine! And as mentioned above its clad with only the best of the best, JDM parts from Nismo, Amuse and Top Secret to name a few.
Fresh off the heels of Giuseppe’s Nissan Skyline feature, we would like to share with you all a little video we worked on featuring Giuseppe’s RHD Monster! Enjoy!
Around 2004-05, Canadians were allowed to bring in vehicles from Japan and have them registered to drive on Canadian soil. When Canadians were given such an opportunity, cars that were once unheard of or simply dreamed about slowly started making their way from Japan. With more and more RHD vehicles being brought into Canada, cars like the Toyota Chaser and Nissan Siliva started becoming household names. One of the more popular platforms brought over from Japan definitely had to be the Nissan Skyline.
With a crazy surge of RHD Japanese vehicles being brought in from Japan, what once was a dream for many, slowly started becoming a nightmare for enthusiasts and even RHD owners. Parts were simply unobtainable for a few vehicles, while other enthusiasts were bothered by the ignorance of some RHD owners on the road.
Forward to the present, Japanese RHD vehicles are certainly still around, but not as popular as they once were. There are certain RHD vehicles that do stand out however, and these are the ones that everyone can have appreciation for.
As most will agree, a car can only be appreciated, if it is in the hands of the right owner. Have a look at Giuseppe’s RHD Nissan Skyline, and you will find a true testament to this statement.
The exterior appearance of Giuseppe’s car showcases his ambition towards making this Skyline unlike the others seen on Canadian streets. With a fresh Shadow Grey finish, Version Select V.1 Kit, Carbon Fiber Accents (Hood, Trunk, Mirrors, Canards) and a nicely stanced set of Work XD9s complimenting each other on the exterior, one look under the hood and this ambition goes a step further.
Giuseppe’s Skyline is powered by an RB25DET with power assistance from a Garrett GT30R Turbo, “Godzilla’s roar” can be heard through the A’PEXi Exhaust. Should this Skyline need to be brought to a sudden halt, a GT-R brake conversion answers the call.
A look at the interior of the vehicle, and you will find that whoever is in the driver’s seat, is given first priority. A Bride Seat and Takata Harness provide the driver with a better feel and more focus for the road.
Since the Skyline’s RWD platform is a favorite amongst drifters, you better believe that Giuseppe’s Skyline has it’s suspension game on lock. With suspension goodies from Tein, Whiteline, JIC, and Megan to name a few, there’s no doubting this Skyline’s grip & drift abilities.
Displaying an overall impressive package, we gotta give it up to Guiseppe for having one hell of a Skyline that we can all appreciate. As common as it may be for Skylines and other RHD vehicles to be on the roads in Canada, it is uncommon to find ones that are well thought out, and orchestrated in the right hands.
