CamryOnBronze

One thing that has bothered me since I bought my car in 2008 is the door strikers. The original owner had taped some cut up refrigerator magnets to the driver’s door in an effort to ensure that the dome light turned off when the door was closed. I tried to adjust the door strikers to pull the door in further, but ultimately turned the dome light completely off so that I didn’t need to worry about draining my battery when the car is parked. Not only that, but the doors never lined up with the rear quarter panels. It was a subtle issue, but one that bothered me.

Nine years later, I have finally solved the issue with a pair of new OEM door strikers from NissanParts.cc. The plastic/rubber bushing on the strikers wears and develops play over time, which prevents your door from closing properly. It’s fairly straightforward to swap them out with a phillips screw driver, unless you manage to strip one of them like I did. I ended up having to drill one screw out on the passenger side and replace it.

The worn out bushing on my original door strikers.

New striker installed.

It takes a bit of adjustment to make the door close smoothly and ensure the door lines up with the quarter panel, but this is a cheap and easy part to replace to help your S13 feel like new again. Thanks to Ron at RestoMod for the recent inspiration to tackle little details on my car like this.

Before & after comparison of the door gap with old strikers vs. new.

Aside from that, there isn’t much to report. It’s been in the low 90s here in Michigan for the last few days, but it appears temps should begin to feel a bit more like fall again beginning tomorrow. It’s nearly time to start thinking about putting the car away, but I’ll try to keep it on the road until the first time they salt the roads. It’s going to be tough to park the car this year after driving it nearly every day- I’m very grateful for how well it has held up this season!

I’ve got one more trip planned for the car in the coming weeks that I’ll be sure to write about sometime in October. Here’s to hoping the good luck continues!

I was chatting with my good friend Benson Hsu of Sileighty Mania fame today when he sent this photo to me:

This is a photo of his wife Nadine’s S13 circa 2003. Just look at that car- it still looks incredible, even fourteen years later. The beautiful piece of plastic you see on the ground in front of it is the first kouki 180SX front lip spoiler imported into the USA. Benson used his issue of Doriten with a “Kouki 180 Mania” story in it to figure out the part numbers for the OEM Japanese front bumper, fender extensions, brackets, lights, and optional front lip. He convinced his parts guy at Nissan to order the items despite the fact that they couldn’t see any diagrams to know what they were ordering. Needless to say, Benson and Nadine were pretty hyped when the items arrived.

Nissan Motorsports used to receive all items from Nissan Japan that were shipped to the USA at the time, and apparently they snooped in the boxes to see what the items were before they were sent on to Benson’s dealership. A short while later, those items were listed for sale on their website.

It’s crazy to think about how much our community owes to people like Benson and Nadine. I think I had just learned what an S14 was as a junior in high school when they were getting a hold of this stuff- pretty wild!

Benson and Nadine are a very special couple and I am beyond grateful to have met them thanks to Final Bout. Anyway, I just thought the photo Benson shared with me was awesome. Cute 180, Nadine!

Have an excellent weekend everyone.

My apologies for the lapse in posts here for the last week and a half or so. Not only have I been recovering from my trip to Final Bout III in Shawano, Wisconsin during Labor Day weekend, but my oldest daughter Kinsey started kindergarten last week. The transition from two to three kids quickly followed by transitioning into her starting school has been wild to say the least, but I am pleased to report that all of us seem to be adapting to the new routine fairly well. Life is never without its surprises!

The journey begins.

So, back to my road trip for the year in the S13. As I mentioned previously, my youngest daughter Alexi was due to be born on August 25th, one week before Final Bout was going to take place. Knowing this, I had no thoughts of being able to attend Final Bout this year. But as fate would have it, she arrived early on August 7th and my wonderful wife asked me if I would like to make a quick solo trip out there. I was really bummed that she couldn’t come with me, but beyond appreciative that she was so willing to allow me to go despite all of the changes to our life and routine in the past month.

Rest Stop along the way.

My office closed early on Friday for Labor Day weekend, so I hit the road around 1:30 PM or so. After gassing up and grabbing some cash from the bank, I was on the road to my first destination in Munster, Indiana to meet up with my friend Tony for the second leg of the journey. The temperature was perfect for the drive this year- not too hot and not too cold. I managed to get stuck in some nasty construction traffic in Indiana, resulting in driving about 15 miles in an hour and a half span. This was a bummer, but it was nearing rush hour after all. Finally, I made it to Tony’s house.

After chatting for a bit and filling my water bottle, we cruised around town to get gas and air up Tony’s tires. We jumped on 290 to swing West around much of the Chicago rush hour traffic, though we still had our issues. After a short while we pulled off at the last Oasis on the way out of town to grab some dinner and crank my headlights up for some night driving through rural Wisconsin.

We took our time on the way up and eventually arrived at the Longhorn Saloon in Shawano, Wisconsin: a small local bar that all of the Final Bout gang completely inundates with our of towners each year at around 10:30 PM, gaining an hour due to the time zone change on the way. I was pretty exhausted from the trip but running on pure adrenaline. It was amazing to see all of my friends from all over the world, many of which I had not seen in years. Most notable was my very good friend Jimmy and crew from Houston. I was beyond excited to see these guys considering the fact that they narrowly escaped Hurricane Harvey down in Texas to make it up to Chicago. I am so grateful that they were able to make it! I’m not sure what time we finally went to sleep, but it was a pretty wild night- and I don’t even drink. Jimmy was kind enough to let me crash in his hotel room for the weekend as I had not made a reservation due to baby Alexi, so I’m indebted to him for helping me out.

We eventually made our way to the track at some point on Saturday morning to find that it was cloudy and a bit brisk outside. After being sent to the infamous grass parking area once again by my good friend and US Air track operator Pat, it began to rain- a lot. A fairly large system was moving through the area, bringing wind and driving rain. Fortunately I had packed my umbrella, winter coat, and trusty Lions knit cap to keep me warm. I felt stupid for packing them, but I was so glad I did. Chob was nice enough to allow us to take shelter in one of the pit buildings where we hung out for a couple hours and allowed the storm to pass.

My favorite car at the event- Bosstown Shane

Always great to see Chob, the GS King of USA.

Much of the day on Saturday was a blur. I watched the competition during the late afternoon with my friend Cody from Idaho. To be completely honest, a lot of the driving was less than stellar during the competition, but the comp is also the last reason I attend Final Bout anyway. It was still fun to watch and to listen to my friends Mark, Benson, and Nadine on the mic. After the competition, I managed to escape the flooded and muddy parking lot without any issues. I guess my car is too high off the ground or something. We went back to the hotel for a bit before going to our usual Chinese spot in town. I’m not sure if the food is actually all that amazing or if I am always on the edge of death when I eat there, but I sure do enjoy it.

Escape the mud pit 2017.

One new addition to Final Bout this year was a session of night driving under the lights. After being in the cold rain all day at the track, a part of me didn’t really even want to go back, but I was very glad we did. The driving during the night session was amazing- a very cool thing to see! It had also gotten a bit warmer at night for whatever reason, so things were much more comfortable. We watched some really close tandem driving and even a couple of crashes- which, of course, are always a bummer- but are also really exciting to watch. We ended the evening once again at Longhorn, albeit with a much smaller group than the first night. The boys tried their best to reluctantly sip their pitchers, but I could tell their hearts just weren’t in it. Several nights of partying with friends from all over the world were beginning to take a toll on them. I happily sipped my Twiggs Root Beer, bottled locally in Shawano, as the bartender would remind me.

With my pal King Jake

With my Houston BFF Jimmy

Texas, Cali, and Idaho at the bar in Wisconsin. Thanks internet!

We didn’t stay up quite as late on Saturday night and slept in a bit later. We were greeted by plentiful sunshine upon exiting the hotel to head to the track on Sunday. The weather had decided to pull a complete 180, and there were points during the day that I was actually hot at the track- what a contrast! Sunday felt like a total blur as I tried to soak up the last few hours with my friends before needing to leave. The highlight of the day was watching Liam do a few runs on the Advanced course in his R34. We were all pretty hyped when he scraped the wall with his rear bumper on the first run, knocking one of his tail lights loose. On the next run, he spun on the blind transition up the hill and knocked the front bumper and side skirts off. What can I say? This boy is a maniac. Liam threw down some clean runs after that and managed to tape the aero up for his long journey home to Toronto.

Michael Douglass and his impressive fleet- my daughters’ favorite car, lol.

Revgasm and his new D machine looking GOOD.

The aftermath of King Kirby going HAM.

Love this 180- so good!

After saying many goodbyes far too soon, my friend LA and I set out for Chicago. We didn’t make any stops until we hit the city and I dropped him off at his place, so we made pretty good time. Shortly after departing and heading for Michigan, LA called me and realized he had left his wallet in the glove box of my car. Thankfully I was right by Tony’s exit in Indiana at the time, so I was able to pull off and hang with him for a bit while I waited for LA to drive out and retrieve it. This allowed me to gas up, grab some dinner, and visit with Tony for just a bit longer before completing my journey home. I think I pulled into my driveway just before 2 AM on Monday morning, very thankful that my car had made the trip to and from Final Bout once again without a single hiccup.

A nice 180 on LMGT4s that we cruised for a while with on the way home.

As most of the internet has heard by now, this was the last Final Bout event. I had heard rumblings about this, so it was good to hear some clarification about it at the track. While I am super bummed out to hear this news, I can also understand where Ilia and Simba are coming from. I can only imagine the amount of effort that goes into putting on an event like this. I can’t thank these guys enough for putting on these events over the last four years. I was fortunate enough to attend all of the Final Bout series at the home track in Shawano, and the experiences and friends I have gained from doing so will last a lifetime. For a guy that doesn’t even drift, I have to say that is quite a feat. There are too many amazing people to list, but I am grateful for each and every one of you. It truly feels like being a part of a great big family that’s physically spread out across the world, but when we come together in real life it’s really something special.

Just a few of the many people I am fortunate enough to call friends.

Thank you for all of the memories, Final Bout! I look forward to meeting up with as many people as possible at one of the Club FR events next season- this time with Alicia in tow. Hopefully the tradition is able to continue so that we can all see each other again soon!

Damon

My good friend Liam stopped by yesterday on his way from Toronto to Chicago in his beautiful URAS R34. Needless to say I was pretty geeked to hear this thing rolling up to my office.

We gassed up his car, grabbed some lunch, and went back to my house to hang out for a little bit during my lunch break. A new roof was being installed on my home so unfortunately we couldn’t take any photos in my driveway like we had hoped, but at least we still have proof that Liam was here with his car.

My daughters were waiting for “Uncle Liam” with custom coloring pages in tow. It was cool to be able to hang out for a bit and get a bit of the pre-Final Bout feels going as I was not going to be departing until the following afternoon.

I am going bonkers looking forward to this trip! Just a few short hours and I will be on the road. I want to take one more moment to thank my incredible wife for watching our three daughters (and one annoying dog) for the weekend, especially right before our oldest starts kindergarten next week. You’re amazing for allowing me to do this!

I’ll be on the road soon- come find me at Final Bout III and say hello! Back next week with a recap of the trip. Have a safe and fun long weekend!

Damon

My apprentices Hattie and Alexi helped me install the new K&N air filter on the car last night. I would love to have a cooler intake and filter at some point like the GReddy setup I had on the car years ago, but the filter I was using was in terrible shape and really needed to be replaced. This should get the job done just fine (and honestly probably works a lot better than a GReddy sponge filter, despite not being nearly as cool.)

We also swapped the East Bear mirrors back to the Ganadors ahead of the trip to Final Bout III tomorrow. Hattie then proceed to complete some last minute sticker tuning before FB3.

After the kids went to bed I washed the car, as is customary before a road trip. This also ensures that it will rain at some point during the trip.

Currently counting the minutes until departure. A good friend of mine will be stopping by for lunch today on his way to Shawano, so I’ll be sure to post about that tomorrow before I roll out.

A quick snap of the car sitting in a heavy downpour after work yesterday…

I will now be leaving on Friday afternoon for Wisconsin instead of in the early hours of Saturday morning thanks to my incredible wife. I can’t wait! Looking forward to seeing my friends from all over the world.

Final Bout preparations are in full swing at my house. I’m happy to report that the car is more or less ready to go at this point (or as ready as it will ever be I guess!). I ordered a replacement air filter that should arrive tomorrow as I am still using the banged up junky filter that came on my SR20 from the donor coupe I extracted it from. I had held out hopes of upgrading my intake and turbo and therefore had not replaced it, but I finally decided to set that dream aside and pick up a K&N cone filter. No JDM points, but it will serve its purpose and arrive quickly.

The fittings after being machined.

You can see how much farther the machined fitting (bottom) will thread into the steering rack.

Another issue I set out to solve is my power steering leak. I have had a fairly decent leak for a while now from the fittings in the steering rack that I have not been able to solve. I tried replacing the Chase Bays fittings with Earl’s units, teflon tape, and permatex thread sealant to no avail. Jimmy has been researching power steering lines and sent me a thread on Zilvia that explained the issue stems from the fact that all aftermarket -AN power steering fittings are shorter than the OEM Nissan fittings, causing them to not seat properly in the rack, resulting in a leak. The only solution I found was to have the flanges on the fittings machined down a bit to allow the fittings to seat properly in the rack.

I ordered the correct fittings and had them sent to my friend Camden down in Indiana to machine them for me. They arrived late last week and I believe they have solved the leak which is a relief! Fingers crossed things stay that way and no other leaks pop up any time soon.

While looking over the car, I ended up lowering it a little bit front and rear. The front is about the same, but the rear came down a decent amount. I’m a little self conscious about it as I have never had the car this low before, but I think I am sold on the look. I still need to get an alignment at some point, but that will probably wait until next season.

Everything appears to be in OK shape at this point aside from tossing the new air filter on when it arrives tomorrow. The car is gassed up and my tools are packed- all it needs is a good cleaning before Saturday morning and I should be set to go!

This weekend can’t come soon enough!

I would be remiss if I did not start this post by mentioning my friends down in Houston, Texas that are currently dealing with the effects of flooding and tornadoes from Hurricane Harvey. It’s hard for me to focus on much today other than the situation they are facing right now. I’m very thankful that all of them are safe and for now all of their homes and vehicles have been spared, but the forecast looks bleak for the next couple of days. Sending my prayers and good vibes to everyone down there being affected by this storm and hoping the rain stops and the waters recede soon.

I recently found a pair of East Bear mirrors on the forums after waiting for a while for another pair to pop up. I had some late last season and only used them for about a week before deciding to flip them and make a little cash. I go through phases of liking a specific set of mirrors over another, so I am excited to have some options now to switch back and forth between as I see fit.

I thought it would be fun to snap a quick photo of the car with each of the options installed- OEM, Ganador, and East Bear. I’ll have to this again sometime with nicer pics, but you get the idea. It’s pretty wild how much of a difference a pair of mirrors can make to the appearance of a car.

I just wrapped up some other work on the car from the weekend that I’ll probably discuss a bit tomorrow. Here’s one more shot with the East Bears on to close things out for today:

Jimmy and I found ourselves discussing a few cool 180s this morning and nit picking a bit, so I figured it might be fun to post here about one of them. I’m sure most of you have seen this car online before, but I think it still looks good in 2017.

I’ll always be a fan of red 180s, especially with white TE37s- or in this case, LMGT4s? The Hot Road hood looks awesome with the kouki front bumper, complete with R33 N1 ducts and plate cutout. It looks like the lip is actually molded in, so maybe it’s an aftermarket front bumper? G Grow? Hard to say. Stock mirrors and OEM window visors are an interesting touch. Note the clear side markers and lack of lower turn signals as well. I would love to try a Hot Road hood at some point down the road.

Out back we find a G-Grow rear valence- one of my all time favorites. It’s the perfect balance between the OEM kouki valences and the Hot Road piece. The sides are probably G Grow as well, but it’s hard to tell. I wish that aero was still being produced. It looks like there is five point roll bar in there as well. Canister exhaust looks really neat.

Upon further inspection, I think these are probably NISMO LMGT4s. Tough to tell from these angles. I can’t wait to shave my third brake light and rear side markers someday when I repaint my car- such a great addition! Note the single vent front fenders as well. I considered a set of these last spring but ultimately decided to stick with the OEM metal fenders. Kevlar look garnish ties it all together nicely.

Have an excellent weekend! Only one week to go until Final Bout III. Looking forward to it!

Damon

I found myself with a bit of free time after work yesterday as the ladies of the house were out visiting some friends and had not returned home yet. I decided to do something to my car that I have been considering for years but never pulled the trigger on- removing the OEM turn signal brackets from the kouki 180SX bumper.

A photo from spring of last year showing the OEM front lighting.

I’ve changed my mind numerous times over the years in regards to the OEM kouki lower turn signals. I purchased them when I first made the switch to the late model 180SX aero, only to end up using DMAX dual function position lamps instead. I ended up running a pair for a few months during my OEM styling phase last summer only to remove them once more in favor of the DMAX setup. In the end, I prefer the cleaner and more aggressive look of clear side markers and position lamps with the lower turn signals removed. I can’t tell you how many photos of 180SXs in Japan I have saved over the years trying to make a case for the different front lighting setups, but I think the current configuration is my favorite.

Since I also took the leap and decided to finally cut out the license plate area of the bumper to expose the intercooler last year, I figured it was time to follow suit and also cut out the turn signal brackets, much like Itoh did on his Break 180SX. I’ve always left these in place for two reasons- for added support of the bumper when dragging the lip over speed bumps and steep driveways, and in case I decided I wanted to run the turn signals again. Maybe one day I will have a spare OEM front bumper with all of the lights and the plate area left intact, but for now this is the look for me.

While most will not even notice the difference, I am really happy with the results. It opens things up a bit in front of the intercooler and gives the bumper a slightly more aggressive look. While it is less noticeable on a black car, I am glad I decided to take the time to do this. I always enjoy making changes to the car and stepping back to observe them for the first time, even when they are as minor as this. Good fun!

This change prompted me to once again consider installing my R33 GTR N1 vents. This is the third pair of these I have owned over the years despite the fact that I have never been able to make myself install them. I am always concerned about fitment and the installation process. I am also pretty fond of the look of only the plate cutout, making this a tough decision for me. I might finally pull the trigger and install them this winter now that they have been discontinued, but I sometimes feel a vented hood is required to really do these vents justice. We’ll see what happens!

I’ve got one other minor exterior change I am going to experiment with next week, so stay tuned for that update.

Damon