SC 2019 Graphics
SC 2019
So there is much to catch up on, but for now here are the 2019 revamp images before the graphics go on the car.
And an image of what the graphics should look like if I don’t mess up.
Time to update…
Man, a lot has happened in summer 2017. I was blessed enough to go to two F1 races.
The first in Canada at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve where Hamilton broke Senna’s pole record and was presented with a race worn helmet by the family.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35128251642/in/dateposted/
Link to blog here:
https://fantasticvoyagesunlimited.com/2017/11/01/canadian-f1-gran-prix-2017/
Then Mexico where Hamilton secured the 2017 WDC.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/24295304308/in/album-72157688581498464/
Blog here:
Car wise, things have changed.
I traded my 18/19 staggered Equips for an 1996 240sx with a VQ35 and CD09 from a 350Z already in it.
It’s not wired up yet and needs lots of time and money that I don’t have at the moment.
It was a dumb idea but whatever.
The interior is in pretty decent shape. The dash has no cracks.
The body however has dents, and clear coat peeling everywhere. No real rust though.
It is FILTHY.
It’s a pile but I am happy to have another S14. These things are getting rare for real and the prices are stupid. So even if I have to sit on this thing for years before I finish it I will unless I can get a 95 or 97.
Engine looks in decent shape. Sitting outside in the weather has made this thing filthy though. Plus the tubs have been cut out.
Z calipers all the way around. Not fully bolted in or plumbed.
The pile of mess that came with it.
The few purchases I have made for it so far.
I finally got around to extending the LS400 lip for the Q45 and painting and installing the sideskirts. I also painted the grey trim on the car body color.
I have put in quite a bit of time and effort into this thing. Not a lot of money but sweat and frustration.
That was a major process but it MAJORLY improved the look of the car.
It’s crazy how just a tiny bit of aero can drastically change the look of a car.
No later than a week after I finished all this was the car sold. I was going to put the full VSSD set on the car and restore the paint. Sad to see it go.
I had been trying for two years to sell this car to replace it with a truck. All it needed was some aero. and paint.
The night I sold it. I had to drive to my friends Scott’s house to pick up some S14 wheels. Scott lives almost an hour from me. By the time I got home and swapped everything over it was almost 2 am before the new owner drove away.
While I miss that car it had to go to get something more practical. A mini van.
After doing stuff like this with my Lexus (wiring broke in Q45) I needed something to tow with and to carry tires to get mounted.
No trailer yet, but that is coming soon.
I did a little bit of driving. I think I’ve done 4 events this year. No grip or bike days this year unfortunately.
Man Zol out front in his IS300 at Piedmont
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35029686112/in/dateposted/
Piedmont is HELL on cars. The first entry is like 30% grade and you hit it straight on.
Then you can catch a little air at the 3rd turn and fully compress your passenger side suspension.
As a result my body work is taking a beating.
Local hero Chris Cotrupi leaving me for dead.
Whut is you doin’ baby?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35716885621/in/dateposted/
Lip and overs are in need of attention. I plan on going to 19’s and my Vertex front is painted and ready to go on.
But at that point I don’t want to drive the SC at this track anymore to destroy it.
So I plan to have the S14 running for local events.
So I am waiting for a few things before I freshen up the Lexus. I want to keep driving while I finish the S14. I might just use the M3 for grip days or focus on bike days.
I realized SC’s look best on 19’s but do not have wheel clearance for decent sized tires. When I do go to 19’s I will have to run rubber bands OR raise the car.
You know what I’m here for.
Following Scotty too hotty at the end of a train. We all over the place.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35716878441/in/dateposted/
Found some 19″ Equips in my storage.
Visited Asheville to see the eclipse.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/35911637274/in/dateposted/
Then played in the dirt.
Next up trailer and “restoring” the M3 to go to VIR for a few track days.
2017…
For 2017 I am thinking of going to 19’s on the SC.
I also purchased a Contour for the few events I do.
Fixed some things on the Q45 to get it ready to sell.
Moto…
I bought another moto. 06 with 3,008 miles. Fresh.
Also picked up new gloves. The goal is to do some track days on this thing at VIR.
End 2016…
This event I almost didn’t make. I had a conflict of interest between the Mexican GP and drifting. I really didn’t want to drive without transporting my car via trailer anymore because it takes so much energy to do and the anxiety of breaking and being stranded are so old. I had not procured a truck yet so I was on the fence. I had just fixed some issues though and wanted to try them out. I had found my PS issue, a line to the factory cooler was kinked restricting flow and causing a stupid wine. I had added a cooler, removed the factory lines and added new fluid. But on the other hand my downpipe was so crushed the car felt like it had 150 hp. So I decided to go and do two hours then jet home for the race.
It was hotter than expected and I was exhausted from lack of sleep. The runs I got were decent though, nothing broke and I made it back in time to catch the green flag. A good day.
Limited media of course since I only drove the early part of the day.
Adjustments…
I can’t find the photos but when I got home I started looking for new ways to correct camber aside from the crappy drift works uppers. I contacted Figs but they weren’t super helpful and dragged their feet on giving me an answer. So I hit up Megan and they were extremely helpful. Installing the arms was a pain mainly getting the old ones out. They clearly had not been removed since the car was built. I ended up having to cut them out and buying new hardware from Lexus. It took about a week to do. I finished just in time for the second event of the summer. I had also installed new Megan fronts to replace my old TC Sportlines. I measuring tape aligned the car and went back to the track. The car felt much better. I was still having issues with my PS despite the new lines and fluid. But a vast improvement.
Also tried to go get some tires mounted and it didn’t work because the Infiniti got a flat.
Much more forward grip.
Articulation.
Pointing out where to avoid if you don’t want your oil pan or suspension broken.
Many more runs this time.
Taking the punk line. Those tractor tires are scarier than a K-Rail.
D-Days…
I moved on the exact date of a drift event at Piedmont so I had to wait a month to catch the next one. Unfortunately it started off as a rainy an dreary day, pretty rare in this area. But towards the end it dried up and the course got a bit faster. The course however is very rough and not low car friendly. I got a few ok runs in before I broke my axle and pulled the threads out of my upper control arm.
With no friends in the area to carry tires for me I had to get creative since the SC does not have great cargo space.
There wasn’t much media and after finally rigging my car to drive home I was beat. It started to rain again and I was driving home on one axle with a welded diff and a heavily loaded car. The lightening that came was super impressive and the thunder felt like it was going to cave my chest in.
Relocation…
I recently left the north east and moved back to the dirty souf. I did some research before I left and found there was a place of drift not far from me. Also a track I have always watned to drive, VIR, is fairly close as well as the Blue Ridge parkway and some other interesting spots.
But before that a quick catch up. I stripped the rest of the old chassis and had the car towed off. A huge load off my shoulders.
One last rompe at Richmans
One day while cleaning out the garage I dropped a tie rod on the back glass of the SC so I had to take it to get replaced. Expensive and hard to find.
I put everything up for sale with the plans to let go of whatever sold first. Hoping the Q45 would go first so I could get a truck for a daily, however the Bike sold first. I was sad but not really.
As a going away gift I got to see a RWB creation and ran into an old classmate of mine.
I can’t find the picture but Damien Bagley hooked it up on shipping. The SC and M3 went on his trailer and I towed the Q45 down behind the Moving truck and the Virago was inside.
I had a week off before work so I went out to a few meets to get a feel for the area. A photographer caught some images of the SC.
I wandered around and did a few of the M3.
And some of the Q.
Attended a Food Truck Festival/ Car show in Greensboro.
Dori…
Thanks Jeri. So much cussing but this song goes hard.
And this commercial just got me. Someone emailed it to me recently and it had me thinking about Nico, and the fact we were planning to go to Final Bout with the guys.
Freedom…
I was determined to do a Club Loose event this year. It had been 2 years since I had been on that track and it presented some challenges I wanted to surmount in the SC, namely the first entry. I had never done the course with a working ebrake and most of the time I had no power steering.
This time I had both so I was looking forward to the challenge. The car is heavy and not well suited to a track like this but I was satisfied by the end of the day. Next time will be even better.
Richman
This day was also our friend Jonny’s birthday. So we put together and got him a cake. If you look close at the picture below you can see us tearing into it. He was super surprised and really happy. That made the day!
Then we went and got Pizza and drove home.
Just Being Stupid…
Every car I had built up to this point was restrained. I did the safe road on them and while they looked good I wanted to go hard this time. So the over fenders, hood vent, red interior were all part of the plan. But I wanted to top it off with something I didn’t see on any other SC. A GT wing coupled with a low slung spoiler. I had no idea if it would work but I just did what I felt.
Test fitting the Bomex spoiler on the wingless trunk I wrapped Gold for extra nuts factor.
I measured and cut the bomex to fit around the GT wing and then painted it with some rainbow flake.
The gas flap broke off so I pulled one off my old shell and wrapped it to match the trunk. Kind of cool!
The homey David Lu caught me at work parked all alone.
White Castle…
After the oval event I was kind of drained. After about 4 years of trying to get the SC together and finally having a “successful” outing I just wanted to relax and not stress about getting into the garage. I didn’t even wash the car. I parked it in the garage and focused on getting back in shape and riding my motorcycle. Around this time my friend Nico passed away a week after my grandfather. Going to his funeral let me realize how many people have become important to me just through this hobby. I took some time out one weekend to go to visit Rich Whiteman aka Richman at his new house. It’s so huge I named it White Castle. The plan was to take a few shots of our cars together but it was stuck at the dyno. Tony from Freedom Motorsports came through and we just sat and talked all day. A good time. No work, no stress, just chill.
Kato saying “Bruh, What Are Thoooosee???”
Action…
I got an invite for a stylish car day at a private track. So after getting the car pretty I had to address the biggest issue on the SC. The power steering and the angle. Richman had cut up and welded my knuckles for me but I had not yet installed them.
Off with the front.
New rack.
Old out.
I wanted to get these coated but I didn’t even have time to paint them.
New knucks in.
As I was putting my AN fittings into the new rack I had a complete brain fart and used an impact gun.
Completely sheared apart the fitting. I was frantically calling places to see if they had any fittings for me to use. Then I remembered I had recommended my friend Punch to use the same lines that I had for his Cressida. but they turned out to be too short. I called Punch and he was going to take a lunch break and would meet me at his apartment and give me the brand new kit. I tried to pay him for it but he wouldn’t take any money. A great friend! I hustled back and got everything buttoned up. Thanks to Brent for driving me out to Punch’s. I would have missed the track otherwise. I didn’t take before or after pix of the angle but I noticed a big difference. I also ditched the rack spacer which for some reason blows the seals.
I took the SC out to “The Oval”, a private track near Penn State about 3 hours away. This was the first real test of the car since I redid the brakes and suspension. On the highway the car was smooth aside from some rubbing and sideskirt to road contact. My brother followed me out and my homie Punch met up with me at the track a few min. after we got there.
I love how low the car is and that it tucks rim under compression. Sadly the car has so little grip I may have to remove some camber.
Alex is an excellent driver. Hans Lessig takes some great shots too!
Some cheesy footage.
Overall the car felt good. I was happy with the angle. We could have gone a bit more aggressive but it was a vast improvement. The rack was smooth and I didn’t have to muscle the car as much. But I needed to get rid of some camber for more grip. The car had not a lot of forward bit mid drift.
Stank Booty Gets Paint…
Eric sent me a photo to let me know how much he loved my car and its horrendous body.
Rich texted me a few times to let me know the prep on my car was taking longer than expected. I tried to warn them!
I did a few things to get it ready but couldn’t get to it all. I fixed a hole in my rear bumper, and a few other plastic spots, got rid of a bunch of tar and a mystery rubber all over the car.
This was the next shot I saw and I was amped. I decided to go with no added pearl and I’m glad. Eric and Rich’s cars looked nuts but I wanted a more simple quiet look since my car isn’t making 400hp and I don’t drive nearly as good as those dudes.
Matchy Matchy
Car could use a good cut and buff.
Monday I got the car home and started to assemble it.
My ocd was screaming when I dropped it off knowing it wasnt going to be perfect but I was super happy with how it came out for what it was.
A spot on the bumepr I filled that previously was for DZus fasteners. I didn’t prep it right and the paint just seeped into it.
It can always be touched up later!
Thursday night I took the car to my local home depot parking garage and finished attaching everything. New roof spoiler and some other additions.
Fixed a few issues with the headlight and got the alignment a bit closer in. It was way way way off in a rush to get the car drivable to paint.
Paint Preperation H…
With 2 days to get ready for paint I needed to swap my chewed up front fenders for the straight ones I bought about two years ago. I also needed to clean up this weird rubber spashing on the car. This chassis had some super strange stuff with it since I got it. Actually when I saw it in person I decided not to buy it. But Ali who was selling it gave me a decent deal. Being that it was a 5 speed manual car I bought it. But I wish I went with a nicer body.
Having a small garage with no light has its drawbacks. As darkness fell I had to use touch more than sight. I cut myself so many times and smashed many parts of my body.
I had a spare bumper and new sideskirts as well to get painted. I put the fiberglass bumper on because I knew I would not have a truck to carry the spare and the oem could be folded into a car.
This is the reason I went to a 235/35/18. The frame on the SC is insanely low and 40 series would get caught on transitions. The car bottoms out but I went with a 20kg spring to try and limit that.
Installing stuff months after you get it is such a bad idea. I found out while putting the drivers side fender on that ALL the mounting holes not under the hood were broken off and missing. So I fitted it the best I could in the dark. I had to hammer the lips flat as well since I didn’t have my fender roller. So they came out pretty bad. I should be able to smooth them out with the roller later though.
My neighbor friend Nate loaded up the bumper in his Camaro and we drove 1.5 hours to Eric’s house to drop the car off.
Then Eric showed up with the other cars. FC and S13 both LSX making around 400hp each. Boss.
Knuck If You Buck Boy…
I got word recently that my homies SC went up in a fire. Super bummed about it. I plan to give him my old shell and all spare parts so he can get a ride out mobile asap.
I hit up my dude Richman to get my knuckles cut finally. The steering on the SC is insanely crappy. I installed a Maverick Motorsports rack spacer, and while it greatly improved the angle it has blown two racks. I spoke to Alex Pfieffer and he let me know that he has never been able to use one without blowing racks. So I decided to get my knuckles cut (although being against them in the past) as the SC has the worst angle stock.
Science
While there and checking out the shop he let me know that he and his cousin Eric were going to be painting their cars that Friday. We had attempted to coordinate colors in the past, specifically LP2 Midnight purple but the paint was just too expensive. Eric had gotten a significant discount so I decided to jump in. I went home and immediately started to prep the car.
The Bridge is Over Fenders…
I took a friday off to go over to my friend Collins shop. He was stopping in only for a short time to do a few things before he went to NY. But he was kind enough to let me use the space and tools to cut the car up for over fenders. I had to raise the car to get it to the shop as the speed bumps going to the shop were pretty big. That morning I pulled the car out the garage and jacked it up. I walked back to get a jack stand and heard a loud crash. The car fell off the jack. something made me wait to pull the wheels off and I’m glad I did. Twice I left for Collins shop and had to return to the garage to tighten the suspension. Hicas on full lock.
Electricity everywhere!
It took me a while to warm up to doing overs. The fact that the paint on this car was so bad made it easier.
I used a razor to mark where to cut.
One motion had cut the inner fender already so the bacon method was out the door. Once I started cutting I felt totally good about doing over fenders.
The entire quarter was bondo. So much that dust covered the shop and the car.
I didn’t want to cross the body line in case I decided to go back to metal flares.
Then I realized that was stupid.
My welding plus the contaminated metal and the not greatest welder made for some sucky welds.
Celebretory burnie.
On the way home all five passenger rear studs broke leaving me stranded. Luckily I had just gotten off the main road.
Before this the suspension felt great on the street.
Thanks to Jackie, Punch, and a fellow named Ron that stopped to help out I got it back home about 1:30am.
That Sunday I trimmed the overs to fit, i primed the welds, added fender liner, and filled the gaps with expanding Urethane.
Unfortunately I did not have the fitting I needed (M6) for my rivnut gun. So I ordered one and just mocked the quarters up.
Now that the quarters were sealed I was able to instal my rear seats finally. They make the car feel soooo much better. I have a few trim pieces to swap out and the belts still need to come out.
I also started to work on the ashy rear deck that had the GT wing on.
On a whip I decided to wrap it in Rose Gold. I stink at wrapping and it came out pretty bad. I had to cut it in two and sand the peeling clear coat down. I plan to get a Bomex rep spoiler to hide the seam.
That finally brings us current. I missed a ton and some is out of order but whatev.
It’s been a…looong Decemberrr…
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95068106@N08/18651714006/in/dateposted-public/
On the red SC I kept breaking the rear lip from dirt drops and general foolishness. So I found a company called Rideskins selling a urethane lip. It was $325 plus shipping but I figured it would last me forever. It fit like general stankness but whatever. AT least the back of the car didn’t look unfinished anymore.
I actually had a flat in this picture.
A friend who is pretty much responsible in some shape or form for almost all the wheels I have, Jonny, found some Weds for sale on Zilvia and I drove to NY to get them. The guy was pretty cool. He had just moved back from Japan and he told me of his drifting experience there. The drive to NY sucked so bad as I was in the SC. I was supposed to drive to a friends house and then we would take his truck up. But when I got to his house he was knocked out and did not wake up until I got the wheels. The ride actually shook some bolts loose in the car! But worth the trip.
Bumper number 7 and sideskirt #2 for the M3.
After searching for a few years for a decent priced legitimate Gardis 3 I found one on ebay in Thailand. I hopped on it despite the 3 month shipping estimate 
3rd brake light delete and LED brake light
Failed attempt at flocking.
It only looks good wet.
Tire run. This never ends.
One of my favorite shots of the M3. Sat night after church.
Finally got around to installing the bride fabric.
The paint even looks sus in a render.
Early fall snow. Thanks PA
Jonny coming through again found these on YAJ. Finally a full set of Diablo’s as we call them.
They were in decent shape but in a bad need of polishing.
So the SC still far from done was put into “winter gear” and then eventually put in storage. I swapped the GT wing and hood vent for the hood and trunk from my SC400. I actually love the stock SC400 spoiler. And as much as I love the Equips on the SC they will not be staying.
Around this time Clazzio finally delivered my back seat. I hate gutted cars. They look so unfinished and uncomfortable.
There was no way to attach the back portion of the seat. I contacted the company and they had no clue why. They said to just tuck it in. So instead of waiting another 6 months for a new cover I just used hog rings.
Brake flush and bleed in attempt to make the hydro not suck.
On the way home from a doctors appointment I was hit by an SUV switching lanes. Not much damage but the suspension and the wheel.
But getting out of the car I slipped on ice twisting the ankle I just had surgery on.
Around this time I had been saving up to get another GSXR-600. I sold my 08 2 year prior and had messed around with cafe racers in between but the itch could not be scratched.
So I found a cheap GSXR that needed what I thought (was told) was minor work.
I rode it home and it felt decently solid. But I soon found out it was pretty botched together. I still currently cannot get it to charge properly.
The seat came a bit early! I wasn’t quite ready for it but happy that it came in one piece.
Macho Man Randy Savage inspecting it.
To my parts pile it goes.
Suspension and brakes among other parts just piling up.
Driftworks rear camber arms.
EBC Yellow stuff front pads
finally got my divorce pipe back from being modified. It only took 10 months! But it was free so whatever…
recessed so you can actually bolt it down.
I also did something I thought I would never do. I bought overs. Test fit.
Taking apart the old PBM’s to redo.
You’re not helping.
Anti-seize on all the arm and threads. I learned my lesson.
designed some stickers for Lexus heads.
Off roading in the Q
Did the M3 coils, plugs, and valve cover gasket to fix the misfire at high RPM. Worked like a snake charmer.
Took a mini vacation for a 4 day trip to a winter cabin. Frozen lake was so good.
Took a trip to the homie Richman. We split a set of 235/35/18 KDW’s for fronts. Mounting them was fun as you can see.
Full set finally together.
All in an effort to emulate probably the best car I’ve done.
Another Flat
I lent Mishimoto my M3 to develop a radiator and oil cooler. Because most BMW guys hate the styling of my car they attempted to bail on the deal. But to their credit they did send over the parts for free. Just no install. Whatever.
Then another flat.
TRIED to polish the front Equips.
Panda Junction 2015
This was a Herculean task. Insane how much time and energy it took just to get the arms OFF the car.
Working in this space was just insane. So cramped, dark, and worst of all no electricity.
But I got it done. Pulling the car out of the garage. It was too low to get out. It actually got stuck so i had to jack it up and raise the front.
Test fitting the over fenders.
I bought an LS400 lip for the Q45 but its about an inch too short. Evan wanted to try it on his GT0 and it fit almost perfectly. Here its being held up by nothing.
The blunder years…
If you read the first entry that will take you up to last year about June? I’m not sure. This will fill you in during the media blackout hopefully. I stopped using my camera as well so there will be plenty of horrible cell shots.
But first!
My friend Michael “Trainwizard” Pearson was kind enough to take some pictures of all three cars for me. At this point I had lowered the Q45 and was using it as a daily while I worked on the SC and the M3 pretty much sat. So I had a few friends over to drive the cars for me while Mike took shots.
Jonny in the Q45 looking like a hitman. (click on the photo for full size)
Evan in the M3.
This wheel fitment killed me, so terrible.
…and me in my favorite of all three, the SC.
We stopped at the carwash to clean up the horrible paint some.
Jonny had some difficulty with cleaning the Q45.
M3 in dire need of a paint correction.
Lexus just in need.
When I first got this car I turned it down. It was in such bad shape I told the owner to take it back. He had driven up from Baltimore so he watned to make a deal. I got it for much less than the asking price and the only selling point was that it was an OEM 5 speed. Nothing else on it was sweet. The suspension was destroyed and the body work was just terrible. This picture shows that pretty well. You can also see the scratch on the car and black spray paint where One Motion backed their trailer into it.
3 cars I’ve wanted since I was a kid (except the M3, I always wanted an E36 M3). I would have been happy with one out of three, never did I imagine I would own all of them. God is good.
#joyofpoo 
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