Thursday, May 9, 2013

Class is in Session: Patrick Cox’s Stunning Nissan Hardbody

Words By: Josh Wilson
Photography By: Grant Cox


Around the world on moon-lit nights and carefree weekends, chassis’ are being torn down or being reconstructed. It’s done in garages, driveways and even streets by enthusiasts looking to make their respective cars more neck-breaking whether it is go faster, go lower or improving the overall appearance. These dedicated people are just everyday guys and gals with day jobs of their own, but when they get home it’s time to break out the tools and beer and make some progress; each job teaching them something new, as the best teacher is some good old-fashion hands-on experience.


Back in 2005, Patrick Cox picked up this 86.5 Nissan Hardbody for a measly 250 bucks, but little did he know it would be a pre-cursor to the life he has today. Soon after, Patrick started turning wrenches in his mom’s driveway, which led to new tools and air ride parts for his personal project. After a few years he had built up enough clientele to finally decide that it was time to open up his own shop. During those three years, he had slowly transformed the Hardbody into a V8 powered, ground-hugging mini-truck. Experience he had learned from side-jobs and also tearing into his Hardbody would be the platform for a complete jaw-dropping transformation.


Patrick’s mother passing away in 2009 led to him stripping down his Nissan and starting completely over as a way to keep his mind occupied. It would be the start of a build that would take him three years and be a ground-up build with everything except paint done by himself. The first step was building a brand-new chassis for the truck which would include a 3-link wishbone in the rear and tossing the old carbureted small block for an LS1. To give his LS1 some rumble he added a Texas Speed Camshaft and also had a custom tune done to get the most out of his high-potential V8. Along with the healthy LS1, Pat added a narrowed Dana 40 with Auburn LSD and 308 gears to put that power down on the pavement.


With his Nissan breathing new life, he had to make sure all that performance had a home worthy of a king. Pat would have his Hardbody sitting on a full-tube chassis that has been smoothed and painted. All of the brake, fuel, and air lines have been ran inside the frame rails to give it a clean and simple look. He also built custom upper and lower control arms along with a custom cross-member to make things just right. The chassis sits on a custom air/hydro suspension with some beautiful 15″ Wheel Vintiques’ smoothies at the front corners and custom 15″x10″ babymoons in the rear giving it some hot-rod flair.

Resting atop Pat’s custom chassis is a worthy body that has had a complete make-over. He went around the truck shaving anything that would take away from the simple and smooth bodylines. The custom work continues by way of a custom-built bed, cab floor, firewall and back of the cab. To give it a bit of a facelift, Pat added a Pathfinder front clip to his stunning Hardbody as well. After every detail was gone over with a fine-toothed comb, Calvin Santini & Tanners Customs laid on a refreshing Root Beer Brown which looks mind-blowning with the red powder-coated smoothies.



Monday, May 6, 2013

Mad Mike drifting Crown Range in New Zealand


The Crown Range, New Zealand. 47 corners, 1076 metres elevation, 10.4km long. The country's highest paved roadway. For a moment in time it belongs to one man, Mike Whiddett. The moment will become, the drive of a lifetime. 

The former state highway cuts a path between Queenstown and Wanaka. It is a short cut, which has long been a route for travellers. The first track dates back to the early gold rush days. The road now is still one of the most demanding and technical drives of the country.

The drive for Mike Whiddett will be challenging and faster than most. For the first time in NZ motorsport history, the road has been closed across three sections for a unique filming opportunity. The New Zealand-based international drift driver has a chance to push his bespoke quad-rotor rotary engine car to new limits on a completely clear road. The road closure signs are rolled out; it is time for Mad Mike to Conquer the Crown.

On paper, the first section of the road appears to be the trickiest. Seven consecutive hairpin turns on a near-vertical mountainside climb give the Switchbacks their name. The second section is all about speed. Whiddett pulls sixth gear along the Crown Terrace and winds the Mazda RX7's 750 horsepower engine out to its redline. He hits 232km/h before slowing, fleetingly pulling on the handbrake to lock the rear wheels before stomping back on the accelerator. The tyres erupt back into a spinning frenzy; black marks the bitumen. This is drifting nirvana in its purest form.

The run up to the Crown Summit is a fusion of high, medium and low speed bends, created to attack sideways. With barriers flanking the road at one side and exposed banks at the other, it mimics the mountain touge roads that the Japanese forefathers of the sport originally, and illicitly, ran by moonlight. The margin for error is slim here, but Whiddett never backs off as the final forty-seventh corner passes by in a blur. 


MD Performance Specialties Car Show Pictues 5-5-2013 @ Middle River, MD

tkrmotorsports's 2013-05-05 MD Performance Specialties Car Show album on Photobucket

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Nissan Silvia S15 RB26DETT (600+Ps)




SPECS

ACCEL RESULTS
Speed(Km/h) Time(sec)
Km/h Sec
0-20 1,11
0-40 2,27
0-60 3,34
0-80 4,89
0-100 5,92
0-140 9,25
0-160 10,51
100-200 8,48
Accel Distance results
Distance(m) Time(sec) @Speed(km/h)
0-18 2,69 47,8
0-200 9,29 144,03
0-400 13,28 191,2

TUNER: 
GTR Racing Tuning


MAKE & MODEL: 

Nissan Silvia S15 Spec R Aero
Engine Code: RB26DETT (N1)
Displacement: 2.568cc
Bore & Stroke: 86×73.7mm
Compression Ratio: 8.5:1
Block: Factory RB26DETT (N1), Spool Imports oil pan
Cylinder Head: Factory RB26DETT (N1)
Camshafts: Factory RB26DETT (N1)
Turbo & Wastegate: Precision PT 6262 turbo, external wastegate Tial MV-R watercooled
Cooling: Radiator –intercooler-oil cooler kit and differential cooler by GReddy


ECU: 

HKS F CON PRO Gold version 3.3
Injectors: Siemens Top Feed 800cc/min
Coils: Splitfire coil packs
Intake manifold: JUN style single throttle body
Exhaust manifold: Header and full exhaust 80mm PMC


TRANSMISSION

Gear box: Nissan Skyline RWD (RB25)
Clutch: Exedy Carbon Series twin plate, Exedy flywheel
Differential: Cusco 2 way LSD
Axle: Factory, modded


SUSPENSION

Shock absorbers: Tanabe Sustec PRO Seven with TEAS
Springs: Tanabe Sustec PRO Seven
Sway bars: Cusco
Strut bars: Cusco


BRAKES

Calipers: NEX 6 pot
Discs: NEX 365mm
Pads: NEX
Brake Fluid: Ferodo 5.1


CHASSIS

Engine mounts: Nismo
Aerodynamics: Spec R Aero


WHEELS

Wheels: Ultralite ATEC-II 8.5×18 front, 9.5×18 rear
Tires: Avon ZZ3 225/40 front, 255/35 rear


INTERIOR

Gauges: GReddy, APEXi AVC-R Black Edition