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Silverthorn's MK1 370z Nismo


Silverthorn

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Well, after a short stint without a 370z (I sold my last one in September 2022), I'm pleased to say I'm now back in another 370z - this time a MK1 370z Nismo!

 

As I mentioned in my previous project thread, I ended up trading my last 370z for a Nissan Silvia S15 Spec R which I have spent the last 8 months or so rebuilding to make it my own. Work over the last 8 months includes: sanding, painting and sound-deadening the interior, adding new carpets, all new BC Coilovers and GKTech / Driftworks suspension arms throughout, new Kansei Astro wheels, all new body panels (F&R arches, bonnet, bumpers & rear wing - the vast majority from Origin Labo), Corbeau Clubsport Seats, custom exhaust, powder-coated roll cage, a full exterior respray, Competition Stage 4 Clutch, Slide Motorsport Ultra-Lightweight Flywheel, retrofitting a CD009 from a 350z using a Mazworx SRVQ Gearbox Adapter Kit and also remaking a lot of the wiring harness and re-running vacuum lines to tidy it all up. I'm probably forgetting a fair few things but as you can see it's been pretty full on! 😅

 

Whilst it's been extortionately expensive, the car is now complete and it's genuinely brilliant fun to drive. The only downside to the car though is that it is way too OTT to be used frequently at weekends and as such, I fancied something fun, but semi-sensible, to go alongside it.

 

20230526_154958.jpg.dacc87c482ebc44d8d6e58e0c2a67ef6.jpg     20230527_173954.jpg.736c09ad275e8d8ed8ab992350f51727.jpg

 

The B8.5 Audi RS4 that I purchased early last year was brilliant and hugely fast, but overall, it was just a little bit dull unless you were driving at ridiculous speeds. It handled relatively well for a big car but realistically it's best suited to high-speed motorway driving which gets dull pretty quickly and honestly isn't a very good idea if you like to keep hold of your licence. The modifications on this were fairly basic and only consisted of genuine 20" Audi Rotor Wheels, wheel spacers, MagnaTuning Lip Kit, carbon mirrors and BC Coilovers.

 

20221008_102112.jpg.36bcc97d4c297157690951d7d0deb3f3.jpg

 

Because of that I ended up selling the car a few months ago and have been on the hunt for another 370z since. That's when this car popped up in West Yorkshire. It's a 2014 MK1 Nismo with 30k miles, finished in Panther Black. It also has a FNSH and is generally a very well-kept car, it just needs a good polish to bring the paint back to its former glory!

 

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The plans for this one are much more sensible than the last. I want to keep this car as something that looks good, drives well, and can be used for long road trips around the UK and throughout Europe. The plans at the moment are BC Coilovers, GKTech Rear Camber & Toe Arms (to remove all camber after lowering it), slightly lower profile tyres, Recaro Pole Position Seats, a cat-back exhaust (although I haven't decided exactly which one yet), black headlight housings, black door handles, Stage 2 Competition Clutch, and a Torqen Lighweight Flywheel and Heavy Duty CSC. The car will only be lowered by about 30-40mm so it should be perfectly good to drive whilst looking and driving a lot better.

 

Whilst I'm sure I'll add more things to the list as time goes on, I seriously can't wait to get started with it! 

Edited by Silverthorn
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Yeah he's back. Can't want to see what wheels if any you opt for as not seen a MK1 Nismo in the flesh with aftermarket rims. It's probably the worst Nissan ever to change the wheels as if fear it'll look like a 370z with the Nismo kit rather than a gen MK1. Sort of like the 205 GTi, as soon as you swapped the wheels, it stopped looking like a GTi. 

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Thanks all! 

 

@HEADPHONES it was a genuine shame to let the last one go to be honest, it was such a great car. The only reason I did was the fact that it was so modified I was pretty concerned it'd be impossible to sell when the time came 😅 the S15 just made sense given they're continually appreciating and the 370z was only holding it's value at best, if not slightly declining.

 

That's part of the reason I bought a Nismo this time around. The MK1 Nismo prices are the same today as they were 5 years or so ago so I figured I'd be able to enjoy this one without any real depreciation... Plus I just adore the look of it! 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

It's been a relatively productive few months on the cars since I last posted on here. On the 370 I have:
 

  • Removed the Nismo arch trim pieces
  • Fitted BC BR 'True' Coilovers (10k front, 8k rear)
  • Fitted Silver Project Rear Toe Arms (Spring Bucket delete) & Camber Arms
  • Fitted 20mm spacers front & rear
  • Fitted lower profile tyres (265/35F & 295/30R)
  • Completed a full drivetrain service
  • And a few other small bits and pieces (private plate, removed rear wiper etc.)

The tyres I fitted are only temporary whilst I figure out what I want to do with the wheels. In an ideal world I'd get another pair of rear mk1 Nismo wheels so that I could run a 10.5J square setup but there's not a chance I'm spending near enough £2k on two wheels brand new... I'm hopeful if I hold out for long enough I may find a full set second hand as I already have a friend with a 350 lined up to purchase a full set of 4 fronts if so. We'll see! 

 

20230904_114250.jpg.c99c954c2aa50ae113430ae842dc3f51.jpg

 

20230928_173626.jpg.96c0ab41488d18c986dfb7e1385b4fd0.jpg

 

20230928_173619.jpg.66741cc62abce072d914e164dbfaf097.jpg

 

20230928_173637.jpg.c02c183d6039ac3b8e14c41997478a23.jpg

 

With regards to the S15, I haven't done a huge amount. The car is now SORN ready for more work to be completed over the winter that I didn't have time to do the first time around. I'm planning on removing everything from under the car (exhaust, subframes, gearbox, fuel tank, all suspension etc.), wire brushing and treating the metal before seam sealing and undersealing the car (I'll also be powdercoating the subframes, front crash bar etc.) As I'm doing that I'll also be swapping the CD009 from the 350z DE that I fitted with a 2016 370z Nismo box that I purchased last week with only 30k miles on it. The 350z box was only a temporary measure to get the car back on the road as quickly as possible so that I could enjoy it over the summer just gone - I knew they were notoriously bad for syhchro wear but I took my chances knowing full well that I'd likely need to replace it at some point in the future anyway. I've also got a few smaller jobs planned like refurbishing the brake calipers, replacing the discs and pads, quieting the exhaust, and fitting a radio.

 

20230922_163955.jpg.cd77d644ede5584cb81a3aea22a05cdb.jpg

 

20230922_174714.jpg.b0cc5084d69b5b790313abdaeb219650.jpg

 

20230923_171948.jpg.0a278d040878d9714c04696f9c7cfa2f.jpg

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@LRF4N cheers pal! The S15 will be staying with me for quite a while yet - there's still loads of plans I have for it 😁

 

The RC is my fiancé's, she sold her GT86 and A1 earlier this year and replaced them with this. Although it may or may not be for sale early next year... It might be M3 time 👀

 

Edited by Silverthorn
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 29/09/2023 at 09:14, Silverthorn said:

It's been a relatively productive few months on the cars since I last posted on here. On the 370 I have:
 

  • Removed the Nismo arch trim pieces
  • Fitted BC BR 'True' Coilovers (10k front, 8k rear)
  • Fitted Silver Project Rear Toe Arms (Spring Bucket delete) & Camber Arms
  • Fitted 20mm spacers front & rear
  • Fitted lower profile tyres (265/35F & 295/30R)
  • Completed a full drivetrain service
  • And a few other small bits and pieces (private plate, removed rear wiper etc.)

The tyres I fitted are only temporary whilst I figure out what I want to do with the wheels. In an ideal world I'd get another pair of rear mk1 Nismo wheels so that I could run a 10.5J square setup but there's not a chance I'm spending near enough £2k on two wheels brand new... I'm hopeful if I hold out for long enough I may find a full set second hand as I already have a friend with a 350 lined up to purchase a full set of 4 fronts if so. We'll see! 

 

20230904_114250.jpg.c99c954c2aa50ae113430ae842dc3f51.jpg

 

20230928_173626.jpg.96c0ab41488d18c986dfb7e1385b4fd0.jpg

 

20230928_173619.jpg.66741cc62abce072d914e164dbfaf097.jpg

 

20230928_173637.jpg.c02c183d6039ac3b8e14c41997478a23.jpg

 

With regards to the S15, I haven't done a huge amount. The car is now SORN ready for more work to be completed over the winter that I didn't have time to do the first time around. I'm planning on removing everything from under the car (exhaust, subframes, gearbox, fuel tank, all suspension etc.), wire brushing and treating the metal before seam sealing and undersealing the car (I'll also be powdercoating the subframes, front crash bar etc.) As I'm doing that I'll also be swapping the CD009 from the 350z DE that I fitted with a 2016 370z Nismo box that I purchased last week with only 30k miles on it. The 350z box was only a temporary measure to get the car back on the road as quickly as possible so that I could enjoy it over the summer just gone - I knew they were notoriously bad for syhchro wear but I took my chances knowing full well that I'd likely need to replace it at some point in the future anyway. I've also got a few smaller jobs planned like refurbishing the brake calipers, replacing the discs and pads, quieting the exhaust, and fitting a radio.

 

20230922_163955.jpg.cd77d644ede5584cb81a3aea22a05cdb.jpg

 

20230922_174714.jpg.b0cc5084d69b5b790313abdaeb219650.jpg

 

20230923_171948.jpg.0a278d040878d9714c04696f9c7cfa2f.jpg

 

370 gearbox is different bell housing fitment to a 350Z gearbox , it what we call a big bell housing box with concentric slave cylinder 

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  • 2 weeks later...

@Mark@Abbey m/s That's not a problem - I went with the Mazworx SRVQ kit so I'll but chopping the bell housing off the new 370z gearbox anyway and replacing it with the Maxworx one (which includes a mounting point for the S15 pivot ball, clutch fork and release bearing assy). The only thing that I need to get is the small adapter ring to account for the fact that the input shaft bearing on the 370z gearbox is slightly smaller in diameter when compared with the 350z box.

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  • 5 months later...
Posted (edited)

Ah well, it was short lived but I px'd the car last weekend for an E63 AMG Estate. The car is currently available from the dealership if anyone is interested in it. Genuinely a brilliant car, however with me using hire cars to commute to work during the week and now having the S15 back on the road it just didn't see any use and it seemed a shame to leave it parked up not getting used. I figured ditching the hire cars and letting the Z go to make room for a fast but sensible daily made the most sense, hence its short time in my ownership. 

 

https://www.precisionmotorgroup.co.uk/used-nissan-370-z-chingford-london-5899090

 

Here's the last few photos I took of it before it went. 

 

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In more positive news, the S15 is running the best it ever has and the winter refresh has really made it that much better. The chassis was stripped of all components (subframe, fuel tank, brake and fuel lines etc.) and taken back to bare metal before it was zinc primed, painted, seam sealed, and then painted again. I've fitted a low mileage 370z Nismo box to it to replace the 350z DE box that I fitted last year and imported a brand new set of 326power Yabaking Gangsta Deep Mesh Wheels to finish the look. It's fair to say I couldn't be happier with it!

 

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20240324_104055.jpg.5895fbbcd69ead4127503b37c4488a05.jpg

Edited by Silverthorn
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