So I couldn’t really come up with a post title for this feature as for one, I’m taking about my S14 and I don’t want to sound cocky. So Fill In the Blank will suit this post to be on the safe side. First off, this is the car that started it all for me. Before moving to California, I was living in Misawa, Japan as a young military brat. I didn’t have my license at the moment, but from being surrounded by so many fresh cars, I was set towards getting a Skyline or Silvia, an S15 to be exact. But, as we US citizens all know, we weren’t blessed with Skylines.

In 2006, I looked into getting either an S13 or an S14. However, I was determined to get an S14. After a bit searching (and surely not enough), I ended up buying this S14 online via Ebay from a seller on the East Coast. I guess you could say it was a bad move. For one, you really can’t inspect the car first hand. However, I had to put my faith in the seller and thus, I had an S14 on my hands.

I was pretty stoked about it all. It was my first car, manual, and I had so many plans for it. However, the car had a good chunk of problems. Good grief. Exhaust was frankensteined, parts were leaking, and I was ready to really live the garage life.

For the next few years I was constantly fixing my car, tweaking it, and adding parts along the way. I’ll be honest with you, I underwent the whole ricer phase. Yup. If you all saw how my S14 looked like back then, you’d probably have a good laugh. I mean, just to mention some ricetastic parts, I used to rock big ass wing, sunk off-brand wheels, a tacky aero kit, and just random engine bay coloring. It was horrid. The only good thing I slapped on my S14 during those dark years was a CF hood and my HKS cat-back.

However, the forums saved my life. I was really into NicoClub and Zilvia.net in my early days. Checking out other people’s ride gave me so much inspiration to rework my S14. Now I knew what I wanted: something clean and sophisticated. Nothing too flashy, just perfect.

So I believe it was 2008, when my cousin introduced me to the whole stance/wheel fitment scene and from there on, I was hooked. Here I knew I had to step my wheel and suspension game up. For wheels I went with Gravity Gullflames with 18×9.5 +20 F and 18×9.5 +10 R. I wanted to go +10 all around, but I copped these wheels used from a Socal guy. The deal was good, so I was inclined to purchase the setup.

Once wheels were acquired, it was time for suspension. In the beginning I had to decide between Stance or Dmax coilovers. A lot of people were rocking Stance that year and I was inclined to purchase them. However, I went for Dmax, taking the road less traveled. For the rest of the suspension, I opted with Yamato Garage toe rods, RUCAs, Tein tie rods, and some off brand traction rods (haha..don’t even wanna mention the brand..might get flamed!).

So the setup was fresh. New wheels. New suspension. I was finally rolling the right way. But, I needed to step my game up even further. I needed aero to complement my S14′s stance. I wanted something a little different from the usual aggressive kits. I ended up getting Navan sideskirts and rear valences. I didn’t want the Navan front as it looked weird for me. Instead, I picked up another stock USDM front bumper and fitted a stock lip. The end product came out really nice.

Now with aero done, it was time for a new fresh paint job. The old paint was peeling away, my CF hood looked rotten, and I could not stand the maroon look anymore. Looking through the paint threads, I settled for a Mazda True Red which was a nice bright hue. As much as I tell myself I like other colors in this world, red is still my favorite. So on went the new paint complementing the rest of the build.

So that’s about it for now and for 2011 I’ve got a few plans in mind for it. Primarily, I would love to get a stronger motor for the car. Or even a new conservative exhaust system. However, if my style head gets in the way, I might just get Bride seats and call it a day. haha. Yup. All show and no go. Epic fail indeed. But I love clean cars.

:. Michael Cabuco

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