Where to begin with this story? Well at the very beginning I suppose. Noud and Kay have been best friends since highschool and practically grew up together. They’ve never lost contact and about six years ago they got attracted to Japanese car culture and both bought a Nissan 200sx. After some time Kay decided to sell the Silvia and bought an EK3 Vtec-e Civic. At that moment they had the idea to start a little club together called Wangan Warriors. Back then it was nothing more than a sticker on both their windshields but that is where it all started. There are the roots of Wangan Warriors. Noud never sold his s-body but together with his Warriors he rebuilt it to the wide piece of art it is today.
Let me take you through some of the ups and dows of this project and show you the recent changes. Noud bought his car with the original CA18DET but had so many problems with the engine that after one year he need to swap it. That’s where the creative thinking started. What has been done before somewhere in the world and what’s new in The Netherlands? Five years ago that would be a RB25DET.
And with the obvious outlook of a serious project, the rule: first performance and handling then the looks, surely aplied for this project. The dildo look gear knob was the very first goodie Noud bought for the Silvia. Believe me or not, I’ve seen some ladies taking a look at the inside of the car and had some mysterious smiles on their faces.
When it comes to handling, it started with BC Racing coilovers, front and rear strut braces and a Apex performance 5 point rollcage.
And most recently the rear subframe was changed with one of a R32 GTR with 1.5 way LSD instead of the stock Silvia subframe.
The interior was completely stripped and the original drivers seat is replaced with a Sabelt fixed bucketseat with a 4 point QSP safety harness.
The RB was mapped by the famous Tweenie Rob (Rest in peace) with a result of 360bhp and 471Nm of torque. The engine is now controlled by a Power FC and a Greddy B-Spec II boostcontroller.
After all that the exterior got its attention as well. If I’m not mistaking, the doors are the only body parts wich were kept stock. Take a look at that custom made shotgun look exhaust which Kay fabricated. It also has a full V-Speed bodykit. On the front the body has 30mm widefenders and at the rear 50mm fenders were mounted with pop rivets.
That was needed for the 18×12 Veilside Andrew Racing wheels.
After one year of driving around in this stadium status condition, one of the exhaust manifold bolts broke off. That’s not the biggest disaster to go through but to fix it, the engine needed to be taken out again. That was a good reason and the ideal time to change some gaskets, renew the timing belt, put on a new waterpump and give the engine bay a complete new look and colour.
It all took a lot more time than expected. Together with some fellow Wangan Warriors we worked for hours and days to fix and fabricate every possible thing that needed attention. The original dashboard was removed and replaced with a custom dash designed by Warrior John aka Skippy.
The gauge cluster was replaced for this Acewell Racing digital dash.
In my opinion this photo represents that period when the most recent changes and upgrades were brought to the Silvia. Just working until hours after midnight and sort out problems. It was also the time that the car was completely taken apart. The interior got a new silver colour, Kay tubbed the wheel arches, the whole wiring harness was stripped, all the unnecassary cables were cut out, the gtr subframe was mounted and many many more things were done.
When the engine bay was ready, the RB25 could be put back in and the new build up could start again. This is when the fight against the clock started. Noud wanted to make it to DUMPd.
And sure he did!
After 20 months of working, collecting parts and rebuilding the car, the joy was back. The joy of driving this uniquely styled Silvia. Turning countless heads while driving past a boulevard and owning Porsches again.
A regular handwash is now part of the everyday life, and the pleasure of cruising around and being back in this natural habitat is once again a fact.
The most dedicated part of the whole car is the bonnet. I saved that for last because some of you might know what it means and some don’t. Well, the paintings are all personal messages from fellow Wangan Warriors to Noud. He painted the bonnet in primer white and told us to make something cool. He didn’t get one little preview until we were completely finished. So if you don’t like it, don’t blame the driver but blame us.
The second thing what makes the character of this s-body is its wideness and those amazing deepdish wheels. And like every chef has its secrets when it comes to his recipe, the offset of this will not be revealed.
This was the second S-body with a RB25DET engine in it and the first to be legally registered on papers. I’m not an historian but that makes it a historical car for the Dutch car scene as well.
I bet that each and every one of you who has a passion for car and car culture, has a same sort of story. But this is one of a Wangan Warrior.
– Rens Adams