Feature: Hyper Style Time Capsule 180SX
I remember seeing photographs of this S-chassis online many moons ago and couldn’t believe this car was coming to Ireland. I had a chance to see it only once at our local race track, Mondello many years ago and then it seemed to vanish off of the face of the earth.
The styling on the car looks like something from recent times; this is because the chrome tribal graphics, the staggered logos on the side, the white Bee racing wheels and the Ganadors, BN/326 kit and blood-red paint job are all currently back in fashion.
This type of look is one of the greatest things to come out of Japan, the Japanese, and their attention to detail, colour and appreciation for automotive visual aesthetics will forever impress.
You could date this car back to about 2005, this was arguably the peak of Japanese car styling, especially for many of the 90’s drift chassis. Built to look like a competition car but only ever destined for shows, or so that’s what it said in the magazine feature on this thing back in 2006, I think this is one of the most magnificent looking 180sx’s I have ever
Now owned by out friend Jimmy, he lusted after this 180sx ever since the first time he laid eyes on it back in 2008. He tried to purchase the car then, but things didn’t work out. The car was snapped up and ended up being owned by the same guy for many years.
In that time he actively used it for track days, and although drifting is a destructive enough sport, it somehow was never crashed or written off, the graphics remain more or less intact, and the car looks more or less the same as it did when it lived in Japan.
The car ended up in Germany where he used it on the Nurburging before Jimmy eventually contacted the new owner convinced him to sell it. The German owner drove the car to Ireland where Jimmy met him at the Ferry terminal and dropped him to the airport! The car now resides back in Ireland, and we managed to get some shots and do a Vlog piece before Jimmy was emigrating to New Zealand.
You might have guessed already, but I love everything about this 180sx. I’ve always had a fascination with sticker placement and dodgy tribal chrome graphics. The Japanese perfected liveries on their cars, and from about 1999 – 2006 they country churned out more cool cars than I have been able to click right save as over the years.
To me, this is peak 180sx; there are many others like it from that era. Unfortunately, many cars of this style that landed in Ireland were stripped of their Japanese styling pretty soon after they came off of the docks. We didn’t know what we had back then; this was pre-social media and easy access to this knowledge.
The companies on the side, some of them are gone, others have come back from the dead, all the little cracks, chips and the peeling stickers the car has a great history. Overall it’s still in good condition. The odds were stacked against this RPs13 over the years, and yet it somehow remained intact.
I have to give credit to the first Irish owner who decided to preserve the look. I feel this is one of those cars that should live on, its perfect example of one of the great if not the most celebrated eras for Japanese car style.
The Bee*R wheels, easily one of the most replicated wheels of all time, these themselves are a replica of the Nismo LMGT4, but I guess because they are Japanese, they get away with it? The Bee*R’s were like a much more aggressive version of the Nismos, and after seeing countless replicas over the years, I thought id get sick at seeing these Iconic five spokes in white. I was wrong.
I was like a little boy when Jimmy pulled this out of the shed. The bright red Bride interior, typical in the early ’00s and a timeless Japanese look if you ask me. A green Takata harness and two Bride Brix 1.5s combined with custom red rear seats and door cars done in the very same material at the Brides. Too cool!
Jimmy had to source a BN sports front bumper as the original 326 power one was long gone and discontinued. There are a few visible bits of rust and places that need TLC, but Jimmy has plans to restore the look slowly.
Since then, the only significant change to the car has been a heart transplant. The SR20 which initially came in this car had given up and the more ignorant big brother, the RB25 was put in its place. The RB25 is the go-to engine for Nissan drift cars in Ireland and has proven to be a reliable workhorse.
The blue, orange and red is such a great colour combination. Fun fact, this is the car that inspired engineered to slide to build his red 180sx.
Jimmy is unsure what to do with the car, for now, he’s just happy that its finally in his possession. He plans to tidy up the graphics, maybe replace some of the destroyed stickers and missing ones from the front bumper.
As we were chatting we both agreed that the slightly tatty look suits the car, it oozes with style and its imperfection in no way take from its seductive presence. It looked great against the somewhat bleak backdrop of an unfinished business park in Mullingar.
If I were ever building a 180sx, this would be one of the cars I would take the use for most of my inspiration. It has aged like a fine wine; the loud exterior is charming on the eyes today as it was back in 2005.
I hope you enjoyed these photos. Peep the spec list below for more.
Engine:
RB25DET
CP pistons .25 oversized
Eagle rods
ACL bearings
0.6mm steel head gasket
New Valves
New water pump
N1 oil pump
T04e Turbo
48mm external wastegate
OBX top mount manifold
Greddy intake manifold
Mines ECU
Blitz dual sbc boost controller
Sard FPR
Alloy 52mm rad with twin fans
3″ GReddy front mount
Full custom titanium exhaustÂ
Kazama cat back
Engine bay spot welded and finished with sparkle flake
Suspension & Handling:
R34 RB25 Gearbox
ACT 6 Puck clutch
Extra lock kit
JIC Magic front coilovers
Tein rear coilovers
5 Stud conversion
S14 brakes all round
Red stuff rear pads
Adjustable front tension rods
Adjustable rear camber arms
Drift works Hicas lockout
Solid rear subframe bushings
Largus antiroll bars front and rear
Exterior:
326 Power rear bumper
326 Power side skits
326 Power rear spoiler
Dmax 25mm vented front wings
Dmax 30 rear quartersÂ
Dmax bonnet
Ganador electric mirrors
Dmax roof spoiler
Raybrig headlights
Wheels
17×9 +25 Bee*R wheels up front
18×9.5 +25 Bee*R wheels rear
Interior
Bride Briz 1.5 seats
Nardi wheel
Full Bride trim including seats, door cards and glove box
Trust Gearknob
Red Gear Gator
Defi gauges
Cusco cage
Takata Harnesses
Red clock faces