(Originally written for and posted on JDMStyleTuning.com Featured Rides section)

Some time ago I was faced with the need to purchase a new car,  my second.  Fortunately for me, the time to purchase a new car came two months before my 25th birthday.

Seeing as I was in need of  a car and would soon be eligible for insurance on a vehicle with a turbo, I decided to find something that meet the following criteria.  Rear wheel drive, turbo, power to shove you into the seat under acceleration.

Back then Skyline’s weren’t that popular.  They still had a premium price, you’d often find late model R33 GTST’s at around $30k, and seeing an import on a daily basis was unheard of.  Because of this I decided that I’d only look at locally available vehicles, and there was only one in my price range, the Nissan 200sx.

I almost bought a red 1997 S14a with BBS rims and lowered springs.  But the day that I was going to see it, was the day I got a phone call from the owner advising that it had just been sold.

Over the next few weeks I would have a look at and test drive some very sad examples of s14′s.  Scratched-to-buggery interior plastics advertised as “immaculate interior”,  fading and peeling paint advertised as “one owner, always garaged”, and oil stained engines advertised as “always serviced”.

The drive wasn’t too enticing either.

Then, one weekend I decided to buy the Trading Post.  It was there that I found my car.  Listed with low km’s, 1997, white, R33 Skyline GTST.  It was listed at a dealership in Parramatta.  After lunch on the Saturday I went down and test drove the car.  It ticked all the  boxes, threw me into the back of the seat under acceleration (with the potential for more), rear wheel drive, and turbo….and it was immaculate.

The only mods that had been done were a cat back 3.5″ Apex’i exhaust with “Super Megaphone” written on the tip, Tein coilover adjustable suspension, and air filter.

But I fell in love with the drive, and how clean the car was.  Inside and out it was much cleaner than any of the s14′s I had been looking at.  The sound of the RB was quite a bit nicer too.

After I put the deposit down I went home and began to google “Nissan R33 Skyline GTST series 2″.  Nowadays I’d probably be googling first, joining forums, researching the car, finding one, and then putting a deposit down.  But back then, not so much.

The day I took delivery of my car was the day I joined a forum dedicated to cars like the one I just bought.  One synonymous with the name of the car and my country of origin.  I was welcomed with open arms, I had never felt so accepted before.

Back in those days if I happened across another Skyline, the driver of the other Skyline would flash their headlights and frantically wave their hand out the window.  This happened on more than one occasion, and I felt good every time it happened.

Within a few days of owning my car and joining in on the forum banter, I decided it was time to attend one of the meet-ups happening near my place.  It just so happened that this was also a dyno-day.  It was going to be held at Unique Autosports in Castle Hill.

The day was to be sponsored by a few companies, one being Zoom magazine.  The editor at the time was the one covering the event.

Alone, I arrived with hoards of scary looking Skyliner’s staring at my stock car.  Their judgmental eyes making me want to run and hide.  A sea of unfamiliar faces, and a lonesome me.

After my car went up, the editor of Zoom magazine came over to speak to me.  He asked me about the car, my plans and dreams.  I didn’t know who he was until he started to take notes, when I looked at him strangely and  asked, “why are you taking notes?”

I stayed the whole day.  One of the first to arrive, and one of the last to leave.  I saw many nice cars, and quite a few beastly examples.  Even met a couple of people.  I think the first person to say hello to me was a guy by the name of John (silver-gtst on the forums).  I didn’t know who he was till he mentioned his forum name, and even when he did I didn’t believe him.

Silver-gtst on the forums was obnoxious, outspoken, and most of the time came across rude.  The guy infront of me, one of the only people to come up and start talking to me did NOT resemble this online persona at all!  Quiet, and friendly.

During the presentation I wasn’t expecting to receive anything.  I just wanted to see who won.  Little did I know, the editor of Zoom had organized a special prize and nominated me for it.

I won a stack of High Performance Imports and Japanese DVD’s.  The encouragement award.  These were presented to me by John (owner of UAS).

That night, and the next day I spent watching the Japanese in awe.  The things they could achieve with cars like mine.  The modifying bug struck, and struck hard.  My wallet still hasn’t forgiven me.

A few years after this event I was hopeful to run into that editor of Zoom again.  To thank him, and let him know the progress on my car.  Sadly, I never did run into him again.

So many years have passed since that day.  Back then I had no idea I would be where I am today.  I can still remember how I felt when I went up to collect my prize, and I can remember thinking to myself,  “I’m going to keep this car and turn it into something special.”

***

Over the years I started to research engine and turbo modifications eventually settling on a combination that would net me 274kw at the rear wheels.  The body I’ve kept pretty much standard, although at one point I did have an East Bear carbon fibre bonnet fitted.  The bonnet now proudly graces the walls of my garage.  The bootlid still remains, and needs to be painted, well, I’d like it to be white.  It seems my tastes have changed, nowadays I much prefer my cars to have clean lines than outrageous bodykits.  Wheel fitment though is something that I’m keen on, and keen on rectifying with this car.  But that will come in time.

271kw at the wheels during this run

My eagerness to be a part of the club grew over the years. For a brief period I would attempt to be at every event, and at one stage the track bug bit.

One event that I nearly didn’t go to turned out to be something that would lead to a significant part of my life.  Silver-gtst called me up the night before a show n’ shine.  I didn’t want to go, it was far away.  But he convinced me, and we met up for the long drive to up the coast.

It was there that I would meet my girlfriend of 4 years.  Within a few months of being together we would start shopping for her own Skyline.  We eventually found one, in white, with white wheels.  An R32 GTST.  The perfect match for my car.

Our lives revolved around our cars and the events being held by the club we belonged to.  From meets to track days, we’d be there with atleast one car, if not both.  But the time came to sell my girlfriend’s car.  The day it drove away with it’s new owner my heart broke.  I can still vividly see it turning the corner and disappearing.

Sometimes I wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t ever ended up with a Skyline.  I’ve met awesome people through owning this car, forged friendships, and developed a lifelong relationship.  Who would’ve thought that that could happen.

In the years since, a lot has changed.  It’s impossible to go a day without seeing a Skyline on the road, track days that I attend are few and far between, and I no longer attend meets (lack of time and laziness on my part).  But, I’ve made memories with this thing, to me it’s more than just a car.  I can still sit in it and remember the night I picked her up.  Looking over the unfamiliar dashboard, noticing the boost gauge, all the lights, pushing the clutch in and slotting her into first, and the feeling of anticipation as I pulled out of the lot about to undertake my very first drive.

Happy Mothers Day Mum!

Another dream come true for another person close to me, the above photograph is a photo of the car my Mum bought quite a few years ago.  One of my earliest memories, from when I was a child, is of Mum pointing at a Mercedes convertible in a magazine and telling me that’s what she wanted.

Never one to spend money frivolously, for Mum it took a long time and a lot of hard work, but finally she allowed herself to buy a car with that three pointed star she desired so many years ago.

Good things come to all good people.  It just takes a lot of hard work and determination on the part of the person…and sometimes quite a bit of patience.

Happy Mothers Day Mum.  I hope all is well over there. I love you!

Tomorrow I may walk into an unfamiliar world.  There has been one very large change at work that came straight out of left field, and has affected many.

Those affected are those that have had an unfamiliar reality forced upon them, the rest of us, well, the unfamiliarity will come from a change in morale.  There may be hard times ahead.  But not all unfamiliarity is bad.  It’s those that embrace it and change with it the soonest that gain the advantage.

I recently contacted an old acquaintance that had allowed me and my old business partner to photograph his Ferrari F430 Spyder back in 2008.  Fast forward to 2010 and I have a new set of photographs of this car.

Prior to working on these I spoke to a friend that gave me some advice.  I took that advice and ran with it, attempting to push my retouching ability to the next level.  I personally like the way they’ve turned out.  I’m yet to hear from the owner of the vehicle though, I hope he’s pleased.

Last night I watched the American Chopper finale.  Apparently the show had been canceled earlier this month, but I only found out by chance last night.

I use to watch American Chopper religiously.  For those that don’t know, it was one of the first TV shows/documentaries that detailed the fabrication of chopper’s…with a side story, the father (owner) and son (co-owner/designer) clashed heads quite frequently.  They did so in much the same way as my father and me, but we were never as dramatic.  It was also good to see first hand at how things were put together.

Every episode detailed the design and fabrication of a new bike, as time went on they started being commissioned to design, fabricate, and build bikes for large commercial companies to use as a promotional device.

There was always drama though.  Fists flying through gyprock walls, doors being kicked down out of frustration, etc.

Anyway, the only reason I stopped watching was because the channel it was on kept showing episode re-runs mid season.  That and the horrible way they treated their fans when they came to Australia made me stop watching.

Anyway, after watching this episode it appears that the father and son had a rather big falling out, and are no longer in business together, or on speaking terms.  I’d obviously missed something big.  I guess it has been nearly 4 years since I last watched it.

I now feel the desire to watch the season’s I’ve missed.  But do I have the funds to buy the boxed sets? …and even if I did, can I justify the cost?  Not really.

While watching the finale, I could see their pain.  Especially the father’s.  He had built the business from nothing with his son by his side.  Starting in a basement and finally ending up in a multi-million dollar architecturally designed facility, they had become multi-millionaire’s, and had the means to buy whatever they wanted.  But it was apparent, after watching that episode, that Senior (the father) felt that he had nothing.

In this episode Paulie Jnr (the son) actually got engaged and had an official dinner with the “entire family”, except for one.  His father.  That’s just sad.

Throughout the episode you could see the pain in Senior’s eyes.  The man had everything and nothing.  It was also physically apparent that he had also lost a significant amount of weight.  The last time I saw him he was a brickhouse with a thick neck, and arms as large as his thighs.  This episode, not so much.

There’s no point in having all the money in the world if you don’t have anyone you love to share it with.  Parents, children, or family…

update:  Just found this youtube video.  It briefly shows the argument between Jnr and Snr that essentially killed the show and the family.  It appears Snr was actually sueing his own son for $1m in damages at Christmas time of all times.  Anyway, watch the vid.  It’s pretty short.  Excuse the young guy talking on it, I don’t know who he is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gbQn1j7WF4

…and a video of Snr, Jnr, and Mikey talking about the family falling apart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyJ16oHxP4g