The Evolution Of "night Fury"

[jez NF]

I drove a mazda 121 (my first car) for a year while I was at uni....primarily coz I couldnt afford anything better and because I didnt give a crap about what car I drove as long as it was cheap to run.....it gave me amazing mileage, cheap as chips to fix / maintain and was easy to park "anywhere" etc (finding parking at uni is best not mentioned).

Then I decided to buy myself something "nice" for my birthday so I saved up for a few months and after LOTS of "deciding" and "weighing up my options" (which included the supra, s13/14 and evo) I decided to get a skyline.

My search for a skyline in particular continued over a period of 6 odd months. I searched locally; checking out cars at dealers and the few that appeared through private sales. Most were "highly" or "obnoxiously" modified..or had been just short of "thrashed". Decided to search over east and looked at a few interstate as well. No luck.

Then on one of my many visits to Autoworx I happened to see a truck pull in with a black R33 nestled on its back. I watched in awe as she was started up and driven off the truck and into the warehouse....and fell in love with the sound of her immediately. It was something about this car that I just LIKED. I had seen loads of skylines up till then but just wasnt impressed.

When I saw Night Fury....I loved her...loved the look...loved the sleek black look...the gold and silver rims..n the sound of her rb was .......bliss !!

anyway.....heres the first few pics of when I was buying her....(went there 4 times before I eventually bought her)...had told Alistair to tentatively book her for me..but said I would test her out etc first....

[jez NF]

Engine bay................

Edited September 18, 2011 by jez NF

[jez NF]

This car had obviously been well maintained.....and the interior was CLEAN...

Original factory mats....seats....the steering wheel was like brand new !! It even had a "jap coin" lying around under one of the seats (my mate n i delibrated its presence - delibrately put there or left behind..hahahaa)...so in a nutshell was a nice tidy buy in my opinion.

The player that came with the car played cds and mp3 and the radio needed fine tuning (a local antenna) but besides that the sound was pretty good for an original factory system.

I remember taking the car out for a test drive with one of the mechanics sitting in front with me. I drove it normally for about 5 minutes and then I told him to 'hang on' while I gave it a little boot (nice of him to say yes). I was at the lights ready to turn right....I turned and halfway through the corner put in into second and put my foot in...most of the skylines, silvias and the one supra I had driven before would respond and respond well but this car was different....she "leapt" to life and I missed the opposite side kerb by a few inches....hahaha...controlled aggression....i think not...the lower end power this particular car had caught me off guard !! hahahaaaa....anyway....I loved every bit of the experience...most of the previous cars over the last few months felt sluggish and tired and I couldnt help notice how the heavily modded supra was a bore to drive unless you took her well past 4000 rpm. After a few fourth gear pulls from low down to check the clutch etc and a few "heavy braking" runs it was time to call it a day and I went home satisfied I had finally found the car I wanted.

I let the decision take shape over the next three days and finally went back and made the payment.

Few pics of the car at my house when I first got it.....

dont miss my lil bubble in the background..

[jez NF]

The only thing I changed when buying the car was to make sure I got a pod fitted......and there was a little spot on the front bar that needed a touch up....had obviously grazed a kerb or something....was not easily visible so you wouldnt see it unless you knew exactly where it was and bent down to look at it...but I wanted the car perfect types..so yeah !! that was included in the price so i wasnt complaining.

[jez NF]

The next step was to install a turbo timer.......oh and the car came without an immobilizer (strange I thought/think - especially since I bought it from a dealer) but I didnt mind that at the time. I also wanted to upgrade the sound system in general at the time.

So off I went to Alberts Car Stereo......and managed to get a good deal on all of the above....

The car now had:

A turbo timer

An immobilizer

New Speakers

JL Audio C2600

JL 6" splits

Amp and sub woofer

Kicker 10zx350.4

Kicker 10VC124

Alpine IXAW407EBT head unit (sorry for the pic quality - phone images)

I was happy with my "nightclub on wheels"

Also got myself a leather steering wheel cover (like the feel of a "bigger steering wheel" - stock one is a bit "thin"...plus it looked amazing

Edited September 19, 2011 by jez NF

[jez NF]

Daniel at DVG Morley did my window tinting....a quick easy and cheap fix.....(thanks to him - its still perfect)

Darkest legal tint and a strip across the front windscreen (which helps immensely just for the record)

[jez NF]

Night fury needed "branding" and the old plates were bent and rubbing against the paintwork and I was scared my temporary "blue tack" fix wouldnt hold out for much longer....so off I went to the licensing centre to get myself some new ones.

See how they were clearly too big !!

Back was fine though...just

What to get what to get......Night Fury was too long..and NF wasnt descriptive enough....

I wanted to go with IIIIIII so that it would look like a bar code...the chick at the centre tried to tell me that I couldnt get it because it would be too difficult to read......(the whole point?? hahahhahaaa) Anyways..Stick to my name?? Some nutter already has JEZ.... So I used my kidneys...and decided to go J E Z

[jez NF]

Drove the car pretty much stock before I decided to take the plunge and begin the "upgrading"....first step was the intercooler

Nothing flash but quite a noticeable improvement in performance....and was happy knowing the car would run a lot happier especially in summer.

Next up..another cosmetic change..seat covers...

I found (especially after my gym session) that my seats were not the best when it came to dealing with a sweaty body. They were uncomfortable and I knew it wouldnt be long before the fabric started losing colour and fading / wearing out etc. That however wasnt the main reason for the change..the primary motive behind it was because I wanted to go with a "black" interior. So I got black seat covers ($20 from supercheap auto) and found them to be a wonderful quick and such an easy fix........(thank you keaton and tim for copying my idea btw ) hahhahaaaaa

This is what I used to do to combat a "sweaty back" after gym.....my $2 solution....plastic seat protectors ftw......worked..but looked terrible

So the new black cloth covers were put on....looked like this

Before:

Oh you dont have to take off the seat btw as they are slip on covers....I just did it for kicks...wanted to see what was under the seat / how much they weighed etc...

After:

See how the "black interior" look is coming together slowly

[hylian]

Looks like a nice clean car, good luck with it in the future.

One thing though, you said you knew someone by the name of Keaton? Well that's my first name, I'm yet to meet anyone with the same first name yet!

[jez NF]

Looks like a nice clean car, good luck with it in the future.

One thing though, you said you knew someone by the name of Keaton? Well that's my first name, I'm yet to meet anyone with the same first name yet!

hahaha..small world hey....yeah keatons a friend I made through this forum strangely enough...top bloke..nice 33 too

[jez NF]

Driving driving driving............................

Days went by......

Rainy season arrived

Noticed I lost the car a lot in the wet......Checked tyres....find the insides of the front bald...I mean bald...rears seem ok. Really weird as the tyres are not scrapping or anything...stock springs for petes sake !! Alignment?? Could be...but later realized it wasnt....because I had it checked and also because no issues to date anyway with the new ones...must have got a bad set on the fronts from when I bought it....wonder how though..coz I am positive I checked the insides as part of my routine inspection of the car !!!!!...though there was a window of two days from when I bought it to when I actually picked it up..but I wasnt sure so didnt bring up the matter.

Old wheels on the car:

So long story short off I go to Ian Diffen to get some new ones. I was running bridgestones...good tyres during their prime I am told. Dmitiri suggests Sumitomos....Z111s...he runs them on his car for track days...and they are apparently very good as a step up but a step down from semi slick quality. Supposed to be amazing in the wet....Good enough for me. This car is a daily. No crazy power yet.

New tyres on....they work a treat....absolutely fantastic in the wet...can plant my foot full and what would normally land me facing the opposite direction facing oncoming traffic now lets me take off with minimal wheel spin....(wet) and nothing in the dry...perfect launch...highly recommend them...relatively inexpensive as well (well compared to ones for race / drag setups)

Guess what I use the old ones for.....(well I saved them thinking I would put them on one day for a proper thrashing)...but then again..thats not me..so they still lying here. They are now my "buffer" in the garage..in case I cant stop..........

[jez NF]

Its service time......

Had my uncles RAC membership card so put it in for a gold service. Had the brake and clutch fluid flushed as well. They love my car....obviously dont have many skylines going there !!

The upgrade bug bites me again and I decide to do something else.........people say the timing belt should be done at about the 100ks mark...my cars only done 89000 so far but I decided to get it done anyway. So new timing belt....checked pulleys....new water pump.

Left my lights on by accident outside the movies and trust me to watch the longest movie that was on that night. Two hours later (she was hot ) I come back to a "dead" car....its winter and she does not appreciate having to sit in the middle of a fast clearing carpark while I frantically call mates to get the car jumped. A friend (thank you) finally rocks up but forgets the leads.....so two of us and the mrs (well miss) push and push and push some more...n I quickly jump in and try the old second gear "cross your fingers and pray" rolling start approach. FAIL......fortunately some old bat on her midnight maccas run turns up out of nowhere and five minutes later I am driving a fairly animated young lady home. I dont get off that easy though....Night Fury needs a new battery She was never the same after that. I waste no time and two days later I change the battery as well.

So I now have quite a few new bits in and shes all clean, serviced and ready for a long drive..........

She clocks up a healthy 180 and seems like she wants to go further.....Damn I need to start snipping wires or I need to get an ECU.

[jez NF]

Has been a busy summer.....been sloggin my ass off at work....raking in the big ones.....time for some new goodies.

First up......clutch

Go the triple plate..........WAT?? are you mad...imagine driving behind that granny in her camry or that "student in his 121" (I lol'd at the irony) everyday...

Ok how about the twin plate then?? Umm.......tempting...I might even go down the whole "how many killerwasps" route....

I settle for an exede ceramic button clutch.....good enough for really decent power without having to worry about developing calf muscles like Serena Williams (dont laugh...yes she has bigger calfs than me !!)

I also get the flywheel machined and fit a new thrust bearing.

Exhaust needs modifying so I decide to go with a X-Force 3" high flow...new front dump

She now sounds like this

[jez NF]

Even more goodies...................

HKS EVE-S Boost Controller - love the sleek sexy black look

Walbro 255/L Fuel Pump

Some random pics

She was getting better....and I loved her more each day

[jez NF]

The next project was a fairly big one....and it took me a whole day and a half to complete...(thanks to a close friend who made this possible - thank you mr call call carpet call your not quite the expert in the trade..but ul do)

Was time to fix the floor mat issue

So I started off with this............

Wanted to swap the original factory mats for nice black custom made ones. They were too "weird coloured" to match my jet black interior project idea anyway.

Was making do with placing black mats over the factory ones for a few weeks...but soon got sick of the "tacky" look.

So off I went to Bunnings...bought three meters of carpet roll and began the process of relaying the floor carpet / mats.

First step was to take out both front and back seats.

I didnt remove the old layer....just relayered over it with the black carpet

Cut out the new bits with a little overlap (to tuck away)

Fitted everything and tidied it up.

One side done

I was so so so happy with the results..............

Redid the boot lining as well......

[PaulosECR33]

nice mate that carpet came out very nice, good job

[jez NF]

nice mate that carpet came out very nice, good job

.....n yeah I was real happy with the way it turned out...it only cost me $7.95 a meter !!

[levinboy]

sneaky shots of the apexi hand controller there

[jez NF]

sneaky shots of the apexi hand controller there

5 points to Nick for a very observant spot (Have I told you how much I love this forum - honestly I do..you guys are awesome)

Power FC and tune did happen somewhere JUST before this time.....remember I am writing this whole build thread from memory (to bring it up to present date) and I am trying to keep it as accurate as possible....I have a detailed list of all the money I spent on her and when and the receipts etc....but the carpet thing was obviously something I didnt log (coz it was so cheap) so slotted it in coz I had lots of pictures...oh n for the record I did see the hand controller and wanted to say something bout it...but had already written half the carpet post so couldnt be bothered editing...

BUT......WILL PUT THE POWER FC STUFF IN NEXT...promise !!!

[Jonno34]

whoa great job on the carpets man!