The Nissan you see glimmering across these pages was built by a former lowrider, whose first built ride was an '85 El Camino. But our hero's carbureted days of hopping, scrapping, and sending sparks flying reside only in his memories.
Mark Real of Makakilo, Hawaii, left the land of the domestics for this 240SX S13 with the help of two mind-altering epiphanies: His first took place at the Hawaii Raceway Park, when he saw Paul Umholtz make a shakedown pass in a Civic. This speed-induced pass prompted Mark to start racing, which then opened his eyes to the importance of imports. Mark's second epiphany came later, as he discovered the importance of friendship and the price of a build.
On the scene it was the big H that caught Mark's imagination. He built up several EF-chassis cars, including the almost-obligatory CRX, an EK Civic coupe, and a DA Integra coupe. Good times. But, a few years down the road, Hawaii Raceway Park was to play a further part in Mark's life before its untimely demise. Mark went for a ride in a friend's S14 during a drift session. "I was hooked," he said, "I denied the feeling for almost a year, going to private track sessions, driving friends' cars, and riding along. Then I caved."
After the Aloha State's '06 Streetcar Showoff, Mark parted with his Civic and bought this '90 S13. With it came a change of approach. "I've always loved old-school cars," Mark said. "It's easy to make a new car look good with the help of eBay. [With an old car] it's more of a challenge. That was my philosophy with Hondas. For this Nissan, it was just to bust something out that would look out of place."
Mark wanted to go against the grain of what he felt was a predictable S-chassis tuning scene. Although he has an SR20DET engine, Bride seats (Zeta III), and OE five-lug wheel conversions, he wanted to bring some of his drag racing past with him; so he used harnesses from G-Force instead of the usual Takata. Where Defi gauges would normally be, Mark's S13 sports Auto Meter items-boost, water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, and volts-all scavenged from his drag Civic. "I envisioned something out of the ordinary. If it could be made, I made it, or had it made. The point was to be different without looking whack," he said.
Whatever qualities or quirks Mark might have, he is flexible and open to ideas. His original plan was to call it quits after installing black 5Zigen wheels, a carbon-fiber hood and trunk, dark tint, and a black cage-until he found himself on the losing end of a disagreement with a curb, resulting in a broken subframe, plus damage to an axle and a lower control arm. It was then that friend and chief collaborator on this project, Jerry Fuentes, suggested going all out. And so began four months of building madness.
In went an SR20DET. Then another. The first engine had a spun bearing. The second had cracked ring lands and bent valves. Snyders Machine Works did some overhauling and during that time, Mark and Jerry stripped the car down and "just went nuts. We were anywhere and everywhere," he said.
Inside he added a Safety 21 seven-point rollcage, which was joined by an A'PEXi AVCR boost controller, a Sparco Monza wheel with a quick-release adapter, and a Pioneer audio system. On the underside of the Seibon double-vented hood is some cool graffiti, supplied by Kent from Drift Apparel/Imagery Graphics, who also did the funky lettering on the car's flanks.
More visible are the Vertex replica front and rear bumpers and side skirts, a Silvia nose, BMagic over fenders (20mm front, 50mm rear), which give the car a wider stance, 5000k HID headlamps, Chuki turn signals, and some unknown aero mirrors that a friend brought back from Japan. "They were free, so I wasn't going to complain and ask what brand," Mark said.