As children, we're often told the best way to find happiness in life is by turning our passion into a profession. Finding a job for which our talents and prowess come as a corollary to a genuine interest in what we do is the best way to make use of our full potential. While many of us eventually settle into professions that arise from circumstance or convenience, the brave few who pursue their dreams are often met with something they weren't warned about as children: disillusionment, in the realization that passion only exists in pastime, that once you rely on them for a paycheck, your passions in life can quickly become a burden.
As automotive enthusiasts, we're all too aware of this principle as it relates to our endeavors. Those of us who've had the opportunity to build a show or race car know exactly what I'm yammering about. All too often, enthusiasts leave our scene burnt out from a project that started off as recreational, but quickly progressed into something necessitating full-time attention, leaving little or no opportunity for enjoyment. If you're working a full-time job to pay for tools, parts, and transportation costs to and from events, where you spend your weekends sleeping in roach motels, dining on dollar-menu items, prepping your car and tracking down sponsors in hopes of your big break, chances are you're struggling to do it and sacrificing more than you ever had expected. While some welcome this challenge, knowing it's all part of the game, the majority of us who came to the scene looking for a constructive and rewarding pastime, free from the responsibilities and dedication of a full-time job, may be tempted to walk off the field for good after such an undertaking.
Geoffrey Chen's fascination with cars began like a lot of ours: at an early age, before he really knew anything about them. As a child, Chen admired the styling and performance of high-end exotics, but by the time he was old enough to actually start driving, he had grown to appreciate the subtleties and hidden potential of what his peers and people around him were driving on a daily basis: the Japanese sport compacts. While high entry prices kept his favorites among these out of reach, in 1999, Chen purchased the first car he would ever modify; one that marked his entry into the sport compact lifestyle, and nearly his retirement from it at once-a '99 Honda Accord. "My friends really influenced me to start modifying," he explains. "A lot of them were into modifying their Hondas." Living in SoCal, they saw cars of all types modified on a regular basis. "I was after the higher-end imports from the beginning, but decided the Accord was a good place to start."
Being young, with a well-paying job and plenty of spare time, it didn't take Chen long to catch the bug. Before he knew it, his Accord had transformed from a mildly-modded street machine to an all-out show stopper. "I took 30 consecutive first place HIN finishes with that car," he reflects, "It was a lot of fun. I made some great friends building it, co-founded my club, Illmatic... but it wasn't exactly what I wanted." It was actually during his last season showing his Accord that Chen purchased the car he had been after for seven years; the one that he had longed for since its debut in the states: a Toyota SC300. "The Accord got to the point where I couldn't drive it anymore," he explains. "And when a good deal on an SC came up, I bought it as a daily." Having finally obtained the car of his dreams, and solidified in the Spocom scene with connections in every necessary area a major player could ask for, it's shocking to hear that this is where the story of Chen as a tuner almost came to an end. "I was getting tired of it," he explains, on the toll that showing his Accord had taken on him over the years, "It was a lot of fun, but eventually became too much trouble." Chen comfortably took the following few years to establish himself in other areas of life, while placing his affinity for automobiles on the back burner. While it was nice to be away from the craziness of the tuner lifestyle, what holds true for all of us held true for Chen as well; once bitten by the modding bug, there's no turning back. Chen had studied the SC300 since its American debut when he was in 7th grade. The fact that it shares a platform with one of the quintessential Japanese supercars, the Supra, intrigued him, but it was the subtle allure of the car's twin, the Soarer, that eventually led Chen to begin modifying again. "I began reading more into the differences between the SC and the Soarer, and found the JDM version of the car was superior in almost every regard," he explains. "I made it a goal of mine to recreate a simple, clean and practical VIP-styled Soarer I could enjoy every day-without going overboard."
At the time Chen began modifying his car, other SC tuners were beginning to realize the similarities their car shared with the Supra and swapping in the 2JZGTE for added power. Determined to reconstruct the car as it was originally meant to be, Chen decided to set foot in a different direction and had a complete Japanese Soarer front clip delivered to Autolink Motorworks in Temple City, Calif., for a 5-speed, 1JZGTE conversion. "We were the first people in the states to do the swap," Chen recalls. "And the whole project ended up being VERY frustrating. I turned to the online community for help, but not many even knew what a 1JZ engine was, then."