Last week we introduced you to our 2011/2012 project, a Nissan 200SX S14a. The plan with this car was to take it from standard to BDC-ready in just two days, and where we left Part 1 it was beginning to take shape after a solid day’s work. For Part 2 it was time to make the S14a look pretty, finish off the all-important paint job and fit/setup the remaining parts ready for Trax just a few days later.
The first job was to finish off the paint. Having applied the base coat last night it allowed just enough time for the paint to set before we could mask off the relevant areas and apply the second colour to give our trademark Japspeed two-tone scheme (albeit with a slight twist!). After the second colour was applied a fresh new set of Rota T2R wheels were fitted up in 18×9.5in to really fill out the arches. Naturally the tyre of choice was the Maxxis MA-Z1 Drift which we’ve proven time and time again on our competition cars it’s the only tyre specifically designed for drifting. We’ll be driving this to and from shows occasionally, so keeping it completely useable and driver-friendly is a must.
As you can see from the picture below, when you’re doing such a big build in such a short period of time you’ve got to use every bit of space possible, so every spare pole or doorway we could find was used to help dry the huge amount of body parts now freshly painted. By late afternoon all the important suspension components were now fitted including Daiyama coilovers and a Japspeed full handling kit including camber arms, lower braces, steering and tension rods. A Japspeed carbon boot and BGW were also fitted to achieve the ultimate ‘drift’ look, and when you’re running a bodykit a big wing is essential to even up the appearance of the car.
The braking system was left relatively standard to keep the build as ‘achievable’ as possible, and with all the relevant parts now fitted it was time for the final (and most-important) job – polishing + sponsor stickers! Put simply, Japspeed wouldn’t be able to do what we do with ALL our drift cars without the help of all our sponsors – Maxxis Tyres, Meguiars, Rock Oil, Monster Energy and Quaife Engineering. Another big thanks goes to Rota Wheels, Corbeau Seats and Fabricage for their help throughout the build – it makes all the hard work seriously worthwhile when the car looks this good!
Oh and one last thing, we intended to build this car in 48 hours. Unbelievably it actually took us far less than that – 36 hours to be precise! Once again this couldn’t have been possible without our hard working team and friends who came along to help – all that’s left now is to find out how she drifts!
Make sure you buy next month’s issue of Fast Car Magazine for a full detailed build and feature on the car!
