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Dec
08
Recently a friend and I discussed which OEM wheel has the best design. We agreed on the deep dish five-spoke Mitsubishi Starion wheel and thought it wouold look good on most vehicles. Just for fun and because I wanted to chop a V6 Nissan anyway, I fitted them on a Nissan Maxima J30. Just a quick photoshop chop with lowering, larger diameter wheels, replacing chrome with shadow line parts, window tint and deleting the rear door handles.
Oct
08
A friend of mine came up with the idea of converting a Nissan Skyline GT-R35 to transport a motorcycle in style. And hey, why shouldn’t you want to do do just that? All you need is a GT-R35, right? Measure the motorcycle, in this case a Kawasaki Ninja H2R, and figure out how you want it to sit once loaded. I prefer to have it flowing with the lines of the car, so I located it rather low. It should still clear the rear axle, though. Now just get the cutting tools out and have fun slicing this fine sportscar into various pieces. Extend the wheelbase, fabricate some panels and you’re almost finished. This is what I thought and the result didn’t please me one bit, to be honest. Therefore I went to the additional trouble of adding a set of butterfly doors à la Mazda RX-8 and a set of overfenders for the rear wheels. So far so good – but the conversion wouldn’t be complete without lowering and a set of nice Forgiato wheels and Pirelli P Zero tires. And while we are at it, we might as well add brakes from the Liberty Walk Lamborghini Murcielago for good measure to slow it down properly. Do you think Kato-san would approve?
Now load up your sportsbike, strap it down securely and have fun! 🙂
Jul
26
Back in the 1970’s vanning was hot and a lot of people converted ordinary run of the mill vans into plush and colorful expressions of their (often weird) ideas.
Round bubble windows proved to be a popular addition and I wanted to include this period design feature by utilizing the rising sun flag theme. However, this vehicle is based on a more luxurious trim level and therefore I had to remove a couple of windows first.
Keeping the old spirit and adding current customizing flavors is what I had in mind with this one. The overall theme and choice of wheel design are a nod to the seventies, but the details take it right to current trends. The Nissan Caravan was therefore properly stanced to ensure nice fitment of the wheels. All the chrome trim has been blacked out for a more modern look, but all the badges are still proudly displayed. And just in case you’re wondering whether or not I would take this van for a surfing holiday: hell yeah!
Jan
17
Fond childhood memories include a Nissan Micra with a huge soft top that could be openend electrically. Even though this was a nice feature that I enjoyed as a young passenger, the car still lacked something with it’s red paint, skinny tires and off-road like stance. Other markets enjoyed Micra / March versions that packed more ponies under the hood. One of these was the Nissan March Super Turbo (EK10 GFR/GAR) – a limited production (10.000) homologation model. Fitted with a nice bodykit from the factory, all it needs is a set of mesh wheels and a healthy drop.
Apr
27
About three years ago, John Roper found my interpretation of a Nissan Sunny B310 Shooting Break and featured it on his famous blog Japanese Classic Car. We exchanged a couple of nice emails and I was really proud that my photoshop chop even inspired him to attempt such a conversion on a real car.
What I wasn’t aware of is that the very same John Roper also wrote an article on Japanese Classic Car about my photoshopped E82 Toyota Corolla. I might have discovered the second article only last week, but hey… it’s never too late to say thank you!
To see more awesome classic and vintage Japanese vehicles, visit the Japanese Nostalgic Car homepage.
Apr
01
Today, I was rummaging through some boxes full of old car magazines and dealer brochures. While thinking about all the nice cars that are about to become classics, I found something interesting: a Nissan information brochure from 1985. In this brochure, the CUE-X Wagon concept car is presented with all the features and details, including engine specs. Considering the brochure is now 30 years old… this vehicle looks very modern even by today’s standards. I’d definitely consider buying one, if they’d offer it with the RB26DETT engine!
Jul
27
When Alfa Romeo and Nissan decided to team up and produce a car, they made a big mistake. The Arna featured Italian underpinnings and Japanese styling. Excuse me? Shouldn’t this be the other way around? As much as I like cars with straight lines, this one was just too bland and the scudetto up front is a joke. The car might have been fun to drive, but seriously lacked presence. Was it a runaway sales success? Well… trying to figure that out shouldn’t be too hard. However, even the blandest car may be used a base for something a little more exciting. This worked. Sort of. OK, not really. Sorry! Just look at the beautiful hood ornament then, will you? 😉
Jul
29
Regular visitors know that I do like two-door station wagons, aka Shooting Breaks. The UF31 Nissan Leopard responds nicely to the wagon treatment. A set of shorter springs and some multi-piece BBS wheels do alter the character a little and make the Leopard look sportier. Would be nice to have, wouldn’t it?
Apr
09
Many crossover models came to the market in the last couple of years. Most of them just adding some plastic cladding to a regular wagon for that “offroad feeling” – but missing the underpinnings to actually go offroad without getting stuck. Just imagine what a cool old-school wagon on a rugged base with solid axles could have looked like back then, when cars where still properly designed by engineers. It could have looked like that: grafting a Nissan Bluebird Wagon body to a Datsun 4WD pick-up chassis. OK, it wouldn’t really be that easy in reality, due to the FWD architecture of the U11 Bluebird. But hey… what if? 😉
Nov
14
The Nissan Sunny California is one of those typical Japanese cars from the late 70’s / early 80’s. Wood paneling as a styling cue from the 70’s? Check! A crude mix of chrome and black plastic parts? Check! Rear-view mirrors on the front fenders? Check! I took this yellow Sunny California and transformed it into a two-door Shooting Break. Why? Just because I like ’em better this way. The B310 wagon body has been modified extensively, lowered and fitted with a roof rack. A set of period correct wheels with white wall tires have also been added.
Jul
10
Well, seems like I do have a sweet spot for ugly ducklings. This Nissan PAO is one of them. Found a picture of the car a couple of years ago and knew that it’s design definitely needed some help. Chopped the top, added fender flares and retro wheels and made it look a little angry. Did it help? You decide.
Feb
25
A friend of mine wanted to build a scale model of the Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 with some bits and pieces from the more recent GT- R R35 model. He asked me to do a quick chop to see what it could look like. He then built it with the R35 wing and SEIBON Decals.
Jan
18
Even though the Nissan Cedric Y34 is a car from the nineties, I opted to give it that retro look with the hood painted flat black hood instead of carbon fiber. The wheels are pure 80’s design – but with a larger diameter not available back then.