To Kick off the features it had to be with a bang. Jesse's S14 manages that without breaking a sweat. This 500 horsepower monster is full of character and stories.
Jesse was buying, swapping and selling cars on a very frequent basis a few years back, It was his idea of fun. He had more time on his hands then and could make fair money by upscaling as he went. Jesse had owned over 20 cars before the S14; a wide variety of cars too, from a jzx100 to a bagged 323. But when he came across the 96 Kouki S14 he knew that one would be a keeper.
This S14 was a bit special because it a 1.5J swapped into it. To Jesse it was a dream chassis/engine combo, the perfect car. A 2JZGE Block was mated to a 1JZGTE non vvti head that had been decked and cleaned then mounted in the car, it was running and driving so you could say the heavy lifting was done. The car was built and used for the track. But the end goal was to get it back on the road. For Jesse to get it there, TLC was required and many loose ends to be tied up as well.
Jesse was eager to start on it, The day he got it home the car went straight onto jack stands and began to take the wheels off so he could begin work on swapping out the brakes. Jesse didn't get very far into this tho because 1 of the 20 wheels nuts just wouldn't budge. Jesse tried for days to get that stupid lug nut off, welding add ons to it . even heating it up. The removal trick book got thrown at it but nothing became of it. Eventually Jesse sir-came to angle grinding the entire wheel off just to get access to the lug. From that day forward he had a feeling this car wasn't gonna be as easy to live with and work on as the previous vehicles.
Jesse stuck at it, Coming across learning curve after learning curve. Each time testing his skills in a unique way mainly due to the JZ being so snug inside of the engine bay. None the less; jobs were being slowly ticked off the ' To Do' list. But faults kept popping up regardless of the effort faster then they could get solved.
Motivation quickly dwindled, his bank accounted followed suit. So the S14 remained on stands for months not moving. Jesse had toyed with the idea of what else he could buy if he just threw in the towel and sold it off. Deep down Jesse knew he had to see the car through, he would be kicking himself it he didn't get it back on the road.
At the low motivation point Jesse found himself moving up to Canberra from the Bay. The car got trailered up and put in a storage in kambah so it could be filled up with E85 from a local servo. A Little while later he found a better place to live and the car was in a drivable enough state that it could take the maiden voyage to it's new home. That drive was the rekindling of motivation for the car that Jesse so badly needed. Before that day the car had never seen 4th or 5th gear, it was only a quick 20 min drive to the destination but thats all it took to get Jesse back onboard with the build. The way it sounded and how it got necks breaking was a reminder of what its all about, why the time, effort and money wasn't in vein.
The new house only had on street parking which was a big adjustment coming from a powered shed the 14 stayed in down the coast. But the ANU hospital carpark became a popular spot to work at for the now hand tool wielding Jesse pretty quickly.
A fond memory of Jesse was him taking it to a JAP X meet so he could show his new Canberra mates the car. It still didn't have plates on it and no front callipers attached either. On cue the car conked out on the roll into the carpark. He looks back at that and laughs at it being a such dumb move.
Not much long after Jesse had crossed off the list of things he deemed as roadworthy and he decided to bite there bullet and go register the car. Finally after 10 months of owning the kouki she had some plates on her.
Beilieve or not the car got substantially worse once on the road and getting kms put on it. Jesse has lost track of the amount of oil, coolant, power steering fluid, fuel and wet things just in general it has dumped on the road. The car is a real Ying and Yang experience. And Jesse summed it up perfectly for me
" If there's a line, it'll blow it off - and it will make sure it's the least convenient time when it does so. If you look at it wrong, it will break. If you have a negative thought about it, it will break. Breathe in its direction.. break. And pity help you if you suggest that its running well, because it WILL hear you and it WILL break ! just to bring you back to reality. But, thats why i love it. It keeps me busy, maintaining it is a fulltime gig, it keeps me on my toes, its constantly forcing me to learn new things, and when its running well, oh man, it is like no other... It is, and will always be worth the effort - And if i ever doubt that, one drive is all it takes to remind me otherwise. And that is, why i love it. "
1996 Nissan 200sx S14 S2
Engine
- 1.5JZGTE - 375rwkw/503rwhp/900nm @18Psi on e85
- 2jzge bottom end, 1jzgte non-vvti head, Decked and cleaned head, Front sump
- Billet timing belt tensioner, 272 Camtech Cams, Adjustable cam gears, clear cover, HD valve springs
- GTX3582 Turbo - 52mm external gate w/screamer, Twin scroll highmount manifold
- Stainlessdump, w/3" stainless exhaust all the way through twin upturned blasties Forward facing plenum, Front mount intercooler, Yaris coilpack conversion
- Alloy radiator w/twin thermo's, Battery Relocation, Braided turbo lines
Engine management
- Haltech Elite 750, Custom harness
- OBDII adaptor to connect to bluetooth/wifi dongle for Ipad connection.
Driveline
- R154 gearbox, w/shifter housing relocated, CUBE short shifter
- NPC Puk Clutch
- Gibson 1-peice tailshaft
- Shimmed LSD
Wheels
- 18x8.5 +18 Hussla Gt's (lmaooo)
Brakes
- R33 GTST front calipers, R33 Booster
- Rear duel caliper setup, gktech braided line kit
Fuel System
- Duel entry BPP fuel rail, Bosche 1000cc injectors, Turbosmart Fuel pressure Reg
- Walbro 460lph intank fuel pump
- Running E85
Suspension
- K Sport Coilovers, Gktech Lock kit, Gktech adjustable front sway bar
- Adjustable rear camber and Toe arms
Body and Paint:
- Resprayed in Fantasy Purple
- Origin Labo Stylish Bodykit
- Carbon fibre vented bonnet
- Rocket Bunny rear wing, Roof wing
Interior
- Bride fixed-back Driver seat w/ Velo harness, Nardi steering wheel
- Ipad in center console that connects to the haltech for Realtime paremeters,
(rpm, boost, coolant temp etc)
- Custom triple gauge mount in climate control space,
oil temp/oil pressure/water temp
- S15 Spec R leather rear seat.
- Led's in footwells etc .
- Full kicker sound system
INSTRAGRAM @craven_what