Need For Speed 2015 180sx kouki + PS13 + AE86

Well ive been lurking on here long enough, thought its time for me to share.


ive been working on nissans, tuning, toying, driving, and breaking them since 2003. Had dozens of s13's and i still love them. as long as i could remember ive always wanted a 180sx type x, its just the classic for me. back in 2010 i came across a beautiful clean example of a kouki 180sx, it wasnt a det type x but the de type s variant, it was however well within my tight budget at the time, i paid £1200 for it :)

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/IMG_1713.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/IMG_1711.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/IMG_1712.jpg

so that was me hooked into building a nice tidy, clean daily s13.



fast forward to 2013.

i was contacted by a friend who works for EA games in Sweden who was after certain stock vehicles to take many in depth pictures of to send back to their modelling team. The idea was to aim for an enthusiast market rather than just dumping a base model 240sx s13 into their game. obviously keen and excited this was the outcome.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/IMG_1908.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...202/latest.jpg


2014.

i was contacted again by EA who wanted to pay to borrow my 180sx for a week, at the time i was very wary as this was new to me plus i had just done quite a few modifications to the car and it was my baby. they passed me over to Bryn at Speedhunters who were after using the car in an underground scene in London, he assured me the car would just be used static and not driven/raced/drifted. it felt very very weird meeting someone id never met before, parking the car up in an old underground car park and walking away leaving this stranger the keys. luckily there was another vehicle there, a few bits of set, vans and Bryn let me in on what was happening.
tbh i didnt really know exactly how many shots my car would be in, thought it would probably be just a minor background shot. when i got to pick the car up i was told that theyd used it as one of Manu's choice cars in a few scenes with Ken Block :D

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...318_132844.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...318_135226.jpg


2015.

the game came out, got a free copy, played it and saw three or four scenes with the 180 in it plus got to choose and drive my own car is cool as :D

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...106_091753.jpg


things have since taken a turn for the worse but onto that later

Pics dont work mate :-/

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pointz

Pics dont work mate :-/

---

ok thanks. theyre working on my computer but ive recently moved across to dropbox so maybe the forum doesnt like it. ill do them through photobucket :thumbs:


EDIT: re-added, hopefully theyre working now

Working nicely now :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Evilchap

Working nicely now :)

---

sweet thanks :thumbs:

the other cars i currently own.

PS13.

i used to own a sil80, not a factory one but a uk 200sx conversion. it was my drift/track car and over the years its got beaten up pretty bad but thats what i expected of it. eventually i fitted a bmw 4.4 v8 as the ca gave up, used it on track and in competition until it took a few nasty knocks and decided that was it, a new start needed.
i was after a s body but something simple and capable that would bring back the fun and enjoyment for me so i ended up importing a two one ps13 that had a decent base spec but needed a little tidying. originally i was after a solid body colour so i could put my mark on it with a kit and wheels etc but that wouldve been a slippery slope so in a way the two tone has saved me and meant ive kept it near oem externally.

ive done a few little modifications since importing it but nothing too drastic, just some external mods, hubs, lock, wheels, cams, and a few small interior touches.

recently drove to Scotland for a two day drift event, had an unfortunate meeting with the wall which meant light panel damage to the nearside, and the 2 way decided to eat itself on the drive home :( so thats off the road awaiting some body work and a slightly different direction.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...ps13/OMG-2.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...301_092813.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...303_171537.jpg


and in the mean time. always had an itch to own an ae86 so in March i bought a 2dr kouki trueno. its been a steep learning curve and ive had a mountain of problems to fix but its getting there.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2011.52.55.jpg

Brilliant story so far looking forward to the rest, think I know what happened to this though, it involves driftland and fire doesn't it :(

I remember playing NFS and thinking who's car did they use for this as it was obviously a UK car

so the 180 started life as a kouki type s sr20de auto. it was the perfect base for working with, the car was unmolested and totally mint.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/IMG_1924.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/IMG_1925.jpg

first port of call was to convert it to manual, the auto was fine but it just bored me on the motorway and didnt feel right.

then, i was after the full kouki bodywork extras. i struggled for months trying to source a genuine kouki front lip, needed skirts, and the rear spats and lip. found a lip but it was with a complete genuine kouki kit and the seller wouldnt split so i was forced to spend out £1200 and sell on the parts i didnt need. the worst part was drilling mint sill panels to take the kouki sideskirt clips, took many weeks to grow the balls to do so!

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/IMG_1927.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/IMG_1931.jpg

when i was sourcing the kit and trying to keep the car clean, i came across the 'easter egg' thread on Zilvia which started me off sourcing a few of the nice rare extras. i found a Cool Box in the states, some cup holders in Ireland, a set of wind deflectors locally, and my favourite.... quater louvres which came from Japan. still looking for a few more though.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/47a03591.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/d52c6e1b.jpg


so i had the car roughly where i was happy with it, it was technically a type x replica but there was something missing. it really needed a few more external modifications, namely wheels.

i 'borrowed' the wheels off my drift car, although not a style i liked for the 180 the size and look when combined with the coilovers was such a difference. also did some work for a friend and was given the dmax bonnet as payment.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...927_183039.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...2/IMG_0218.jpg

now by this point i was sort of happy with the look, except the black bonnet really bugged me. i drove the car round for a year or so comfortably but there was still something missing.

i recently rebuilt a friends vvt sr20det and he had an accident on track which lead to it overboosting to 2 bar breaking the 4th piston ringland. so he got annoyed and bought a 2jz and i ended up with a very cheap sr that just needed a piston and ring set fitting.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...804_144932.jpg

i really wanted to use a straightcam sr20det but i couldnt pass this up, but then it would be sacrilege fitting a vvt sr into a kouki 180. with a little bit of searching i found that with a few minor modifications i could fit a straightcam cylinder head and setup to the vvt bottom end, sort of winner!
now theres three small things that are different on the vvt and straightcam block, theres a push in hose pipe that needs swapping over under the inlet manifold, the oil breather pipe at the back of the block needs bending up, and the oil port in the block for the vvt needs blocking off. some people just bolt the straightcam head on and use that to block the vvt oil port but i thought it was asking for tropuble and probably leaking out the head gasket messing up my nice tidy engine/bay. so my answer was, tap a m12 iirc thread down the vvt oil port, cut the end off a bolt and slot it to make a bung. its worked wonders.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...001_162922.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...1_163929-1.jpg


from then on everything was cleaned, gaskets replaced and everything painted. a cosworth 1.2mm metal head gasket went in for good measure. i sourced a redtop head and manifold from Mitch and whilst that was off i thought it would be rude not to pull everything apart, clean, replace the gaskets and stem seals. i ported and polished the runners whilst it was all apart, port matched the manifolds and throttle body.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...0-07191849.png
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...001_131328.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...004_075334.jpg


looking for an alternative for high flow injectors i found a top feed rail kit and sard 660cc injectors come up cheap, looked like a good option.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...1_091956-2.jpg

head back together, using stock cams for now. i wanted it tidy but not crazy power for the road, ideally 350hp.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...016_123005.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...325_191046.jpg



head back on i toyed around with fitting a set of pulsar itb's but it ended up being too much work for little gain so scrapped the idea

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...030_170802.jpg


im one of these people that loves doing new things, fancied having a play with paint and ive got a good friend whos a painter to give me pointers so bought a load of stuff (with a bit extra for other bits ;) ). starting off small decided to paint the rocker cover in candy purple, yes a little ambitious for my first go at spraying but hey, its the only way to learn

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...225_132035.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...305_074752.jpg

and the finished cover. bearing in mind id never painted before and its in a semi dusty workshop with no regulated heat, i thought i did well!

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...325_132614.jpg


my painter friend however thought different and decided to redo all my hard work and marble painted it instead using the purple candy :wack:

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...4-10125719.png


so engine all back together. i needed a cheap solution for the turbo/exhaust side as this build was getting a little pricey. i bought a used tubular manifold and 3" exhaust system from a friend. i needed a good sized turbo cheap, and took a chance on a gt28 copy from ebay. now id heard ebay turbos are hit and miss and most die from improper balancing and people taking them over 1bar of boost so i sent the turbo off to be balanced before fitting and had them give the whole thing a good look over, to my surprise it was perfectly balanced and the condition report was very good so fingers crossed. turbo on, heat wrapped the manifold.
looking for a set of coil packs and knowing the common issues sr's have with coils i did my research and took a chance on a set of vag 1.8t 115d coils, i bought them second hand for £20, thought if it doesnt work then ive really nothing to loose.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...4-15192236.png

with the engine built the time had come to swap out the de :)

the problem was id spent so much time and care getting everything on the engine painted and tidy that it would look odd in the engine bay so with the de out it would be rude not to undergo the task of respraying it.

i wasnt a fan of drilling through the stock battery tray, it just looked ugly to me and the oem try is a sponge for hiding rust. so the tray was removed and a new one made. i fitted it in the stock postion but rotated it 90 degrees so the intercooler pipework would pass and i could still have the oem washer bottle in place. everything was treated, threads cleaned and resprayed body colour silver before refitting everything in the bay including the new engine.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...717_170847.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...09-WA0002.jpeg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...217_145358.jpg


a power fc was needed for all the modifications alongside a wideband and boost gauge. the car was mapped by a local tuner on the road, not the best and i dont know the power output but if feels around 300-350hp area

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...223_132300.jpg


plumped for some nice new Works. i went for a staggered setup with 17x9 et 20 up front and 18x9.5 et12 at the rear. the idea was that the 17s would allow movement up front whilst retaining the stock arch liners and the 18s at the rear would make the car sit nicely.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...319_165357.jpg


took a trip to my painter Daves where he painted the bonnet for me at the last minute before the nfs filming. Ganadors were added as well for an extra cool touch :)

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...316_203517.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...317_005033.jpg



everythings all great and happy, yayy. enjoyed the car on the road for quite a while until...

right so this is were it all goes to pot and my luck steps in.

so the story goes.


i was booked onto a weekend drift event up in scotland, all paid up and the missus was flying up to meet me there whilst i drove up in the ps13. i got about an hour down the road and the ps started missfiring, luckily had some friends and a full tool kit with me, checked the compression and no.4 had none :( presumed id blown a ringland or something (turned out to be a snapped rocker!) i managed to drive it home.

annoyed i would be missing a nice planned weekend and the money id spent i came up with the great idea of getting the diff, shafts, hubs, seat, and a few other parts off the ps, throw them in the back of the 180sx, steam up to scotland, swap the parts over up there and drift the 180 carefully. it was a tough decision, i didnt want to miss out and i didnt want to damage the 180 but decisions like this either pay of greatly or not at all.

spent most of the first morning fitting all the parts id need to turn the 180 into a driftable car. road tested the car before even considering taking it on track.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...7249341164.jpg


then..

went out in my first session, did some very careful baby skids on a few of the corners, three laps in something went wrong on the intake side, a fuel hose burst or a an fitting came loose i dont know but what it cause was a fire and i wasnt initially aware. in the panic trying to get out i somehow locked myself in the car, managed to get out and the crew at driftland were the greatest, they went above and beyond to put out the fire and get the car off track.
obviously i was upset and in shock, couldnt look at the car or do anything for the rest of the day. there were a lot of people on hand asking how i was and offering parts/help but i was past help at that point.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...7537406766.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...5762770920.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...5430245647.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...854234485.jpeg



checked it the next day, it was covered with powder. i had already planned to break it and salvage as much money as possible and start again.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...627_162935.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...892197658.jpeg


anyways, luckily i had a friend on had to trailer it home for me in what turned out to be an epic (i dont usually use that word) 16hr drive home.
it got thrown on the drive and ignored for a few weeks. then one day i decided to give it a clean up and truly assess the damage and see what i was able to sell. i really needed to see if the engine still ran. so with a swift clean up, a new loom and a few choice hoses the engine fired up and pretty much purred! maybe it isnt that far gone after all.

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...630_181023.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...630_180229.jpg
http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...630_180212.jpg


so ive had a change of heart, there isnt really any great damage, yes the engine and bay will need a refresh, and the rear lamps are gone but everything else looks fine or saveable.

so the 180 has been pulled back into the garage and will be getting a complete strip down and rebuild. i think its the perfect time to give it a bare shell rebuild and respray. might even consider taking it back to scotland in the future for one lap of the track.

That made for a great read and I look forward to your updates. Best of luck with the 180 dude!

Love the cars and love the thread. I will be keeping an eye on this one.

Dude, Type X and Dmax bonnet, you the man! :notworthy

Stupid question really but does the bonnet let rain in and if so what gets wet? Just worried about the electrics, coil packs etc

norfy i hope this thread get bigger, because im proud to say you're the real meaning of Drifter :clap:
Behind thoses cars and thoses words i see what passion for drift means. "Build, Drive, Crash, Build ..." those's beautiful words that everyone keep posting on instagram are bullsh*t most of them dont know that meaning here on this thread they can find a small part what that phrase mean's.
Hope you never give up of S-Chassis because they're the perfect car's to build memories.


#UKATEN

cheers for the kind words guys :)

the car has sat for over a year since the fire, totally lost the love for it, hoping to regain that love when i start work on it. ive slowly been collecting parts to repair it but things like the kouki lamps are quite pricey now.


shikari, the bonnet does let a little water it but the last few ribs havent been cut so it stops at the cam cover. i dont have a plug cover, its never quite fitted right with the vag coils but i rarely get water in there. just be careful shutting fibreglass bonnets, mine had a few cracks along the leading edge where it had been pushed on incorrectly to shut it, luckily my friend filled the cracks before painting but i think ive damaged it again shutting the bonnet.

this is where im kind of at for the moment. but the manifold is back on and the car is out the garage. my garage is a terrible formed concrete 1960's build, everything seems to leak or get damp no matter what i do, most of my tools have gone rusty being in there so im on a mission to sort it out at the moment and need the space to work.

the plan is to board out the garage, get rid of a load of old parts and stuff, buy a compressor, pull the engine and repaint the bay. chances are ill be stripping everything off the front end and undersealing everything, i fancy using that overpaintable underseal and painting the underside of the car in silver to match the body.

im heavily into wiring and neatness, so very tempted to give the engine and bay a full tuck but initial plans were to keep the car oem+ and this could be a step too far. the idea behind the oem+ was to make things simple and not create work where i didnt need to, like if i tuck the bay/engine loom then ill need to relocate these items inside the car and there really isnt enough space inside a stock dash setup without cutting/damaging something. its all about the careful pre thought haha

http://i578.photobucket.com/albums/s...404-WA0003.jpg

So glad the damage wasn't beyond repair and that you are carrying on with it dude, look forward to the rebirth :)

thanks man. its quite surprisingly ok considering the extent of the flames