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Thread: Precious - Jonny Wilkinson's white S13

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    Precious - Jonny Wilkinson's white S13

    This project thread is something I've been meaning to put up for years. I even got permission from Ken a few years ago to do it as it's not exactly like your tradition project thread. It's more a "life's work" thread

    I'll try to build it out with links to other threads I've already done like the S13 coilover fitment guide and add the hundred of photos that I've got as I go along but the first six posts should make a framework for me to hang the detail off.

    Most of the work, other than the painting has been done by me with assistance from mates, a couple of local professionals and hundreds of the SXOC massive.

    It really wouldn't have got done without you.
    Last edited by Jonny Wilkinson; 11-10-2016 at 19:56.

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    Summary for those suffering tl;dr

    Decent pics added. Here's one of my efforts and Daz's work is at the end of the post...



    On the 31st of July 1998 (18 years ago), I bought L503AKM - a standard facelift manual S13 with one previous owner and 11K miles on the clock.

    For the first 5 or 6 years, she was known simply as “The white car” (as we also had a red S14a) but around 2003, my wife christened her “Precious” because of the way I looked after it.

    It has been a 3rd/4th vehicle all the time I’ve owned it, it has always been garaged and kept spotlessly clean. It has wanted for nothing while I’ve owned it.

    Over the years, it has been modified either where standard parts were prohibitively expensive or where better parts were available that didn’t detract from the car’s good looks.

    It still looks standard both externally and in the cabin (although there are a few clues to the mods visible under the bonnet).

    The car has now covered 57K miles with a very comprehensive service history and has recently had all remedial work completed to bring it back up to showroom condition.

    The picture above shows the car NOT as it looked in 1998 but as it now stands.

    Is there anything to do to the car ? Well, yes and no. There is nothing urgent but I do have a collection of “go faster” parts worth around £2,000 that I was planning to fit “when I got around to it” and, of course, never did.

    As provenance for the car, I have the service history booklet, the handbook, a Kenwood handbook for the sound system, and a Nissan Assist handbook.

    So, that’s the summary. I’ve got loads of detail to add, so please hang-fire on the replies until I’ve had a couple of hours to load up the details.

    Here are some great photos taken by the one and only Daz a couple of weeks ago to show how she looks now...

    Thank you, thank you, Daz






















    Last edited by Jonny Wilkinson; 13-10-2016 at 20:59.

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    Previous Owner

    It was bought new by a chap in New Romney, Kent who had it as a third car for 4 years before selling it to a Suzuki dealer in Sittingbourne.

    Current Owner

    I was in my late 30s when I bought this S13 in the Summer of 1998.

    Many other cars and bikes have come and gone since, including another S13 and a brand new S14a but Precious has never made it to the bottom of the car list and been sold.

    It was a replacement for a Triumph Spitfire 1500 I’d had for 13 years and sold when I needed something with a couple more seats. I’d taken rather a fancy to the current model 200SX, the S14a but, as this was going to be a 4th vehicle (we had a company car, a bike I commuted on and another bike I used on the track), buying a new one seemed extravagant.

    I started looking for a low mileage minter with little luck for around 6 months. Everything I went to see seemed to have one (or more) things wrong with it – colour, history, damage, unloved, no V5…always something.

    The Suzuki dealer advertised the car in the local paper but he wanted too much money for it (£11,000 – see original advert) so it sat on his forecourt for a year before I got fed up of ignoring it and haggled him down to a more sensible £9,750.

    When I got it, it was spotless. In fully facelift trim, it had 7-spoke alloys, cloth trim, air-conditioning and a face-off Kenwood KRC-954R radio cassette with six-CD changer in the boot and remote control !

    I drove it for 5 years without modifying or customising it in any way. I just got it serviced by a great dealership in Rochester called Ancester of Medway.

    Then I fitted the first non-OEM part and it became a “modified” S13.
    Last edited by Jonny Wilkinson; 06-09-2016 at 19:58.

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    Service History

    09/08/1993 0 miles - Supplied by Kent Auto Panels (Nissan main dealer)
    11/02/1994 1,043 miles - O Service - Kent Auto Panels
    10/03/1995 3,256 miles - O Service - Kent Auto Panels
    29/02/1996 6,604 miles - A Service - Kent Auto Panels
    20/02/1998 11,735 miles - A Service - Grays of Chatham (after standing for 12 months)
    12/03/1999 14,199 miles - A Service - MCS Maidstone + Cambelt change
    03/03/2000 15,700 miles - B Service - MCS Maidstone
    01/06/2001 18,016 miles - C Service - Ancaster Medway
    03/03/2003 26,656 miles - B Service - Ancaster Medway
    25/03/2004 30,612 miles - C Service - Ancaster Medway

    Since 2005, I have serviced the car myself as follows :-

    14/03/2005 33,106 miles - B Service + cambelt change and inlet valves replaced
    18/03/2006 36,486 miles - A Service
    28/04/2006 36,805 miles - Gearbox and Diff oil change
    04/08/2006 37,500 miles - TOAD Ai606 Thatcham Cat 1 alarm and immobiliser
    28/12/2006 40,534 miles - A Service + RPS Clutch Kit (450 lb/ft rated)
    22/12/2007 43,503 miles - A Service + rear caliper rebuild + Apex Type 1 coilovers,
    Whiteline ARBs, Apex adjustable arms and full 3D alignment
    26/01/2009 48,500 miles - B Service + rear caliper rebuild
    12/09/2009 52,725 miles - A Service
    25/09/2010 53,637 miles - A Service + 4-pot calipers, disks and braided hoses
    28/11/2011 54,103 miles - Apex Gen 2 Limo coilovers
    ...
    By 2011, I had more or less stopped using the car so it sat, cleaned, under a cover in my garage for 2-3 years covering little mileage and mostly on SORN between early 2011 and early 2015.
    ...
    27/02/2015 56,055 miles - C Service + cambelt + all fluids + auxillary belts
    14/03/2015 56,103 miles - Steering rack bushes
    22/08/2016 57,102 miles - Welding to sills, chassis rails + respray of sills and rear bumper


    There has also been quite a bit of refurb and renovation going on that hasn't been listed above.
    Last edited by Jonny Wilkinson; 06-09-2016 at 20:02.

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    Current Specification

    Engine
    Apex Type 1 FMIC (rad mount) – one of only a dozen made by Apex. Two survive.
    Stainless Airbox heatshield – Custom made
    K&N 57i air filter with cold feed – fed through the original WMIC ducting inlet
    NGK BCPR7ESs
    Mongoose Turbo-back – Now ten years old and still mint.
    Socketted ECU & H-D Stage 1 chip
    Bren Device set to 16 PSI
    Walbro fuel pump
    Z32 fuel filter
    RPS Organic clutch (410 lb/ft)
    Braided clutch line & Nismo slave cylinder

    Suspension
    Apex 'Limo' Coilovers 4/3kg springs
    Apex Bushed Alignment kit
    Whiteline Front and Rear Anti-roll bars
    Front and Rear Apex strut braces

    Steering
    Tein track rods and ends
    Powerflex steering rack bushes
    Stainless steering disk

    Interior
    Stiner PSI boost gauge - hidden
    Skinny spare – gives a flat boot
    TOAD AI606 alarm/immob with remote

    Brakes
    S14a powdercoated 4-pot calipers
    30mm s14a front disks
    Rebuilt and painted rear calipers
    Cusco BMC Stopper
    Goodridge strut-attached conversion hose
    6mm wheel spacers front and rear

    Bodywork
    The bodywork has not been modified but I have refurbished some parts of the car over the last 4-5 years.

    Front Bumper – Complete strip and rebuild to as new condition. Remade corroded brackets, resprayed front girder. Did you know there are 18 brackets in an S13 front bumper. No wonder it weighs so much !

    Front End – headlights derusted and zinc primed, cross-member supports and central bar resprayed in original white fading to black.

    Rear Bumper – Complete strip and rebuild. All brackets stripped bare and repainted and bumper professionally resprayed (including a NOS numberplate light holder that I stripped to bare metal, zinc primed and painted before fitting - Nissan don’t do it properly, you know ).

    Turret Tops – The strengthener plates were removed, all rust removed from turret tops, new metal welded in, zinc primed and new strengthener plates made and plug welded on.

    Front Wings – Removed, minor rust removed, zinc primed inside, inner wings de-rusted and primed, washer bottle and motors removed, cleaned and motors resprayed.

    Underneath – Inner and Outer sills derusted and new metal let in where necessary. Chassis rails cut out and new metal welded in. Floorpan derusted, zinc primed and re-undersealed from front of bulkhead as far back as the rear subframe.

    Rear spoiler – Dismantled, spoiler innards cleaned up and protected. No rust whatsoever in the bootlid Refitted the spoiler.
    Last edited by Jonny Wilkinson; 06-09-2016 at 20:01.

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    Parts Packages (not yet fitted)

    Over the years, I’ve collected quite a few go-faster bits and pieces that I haven’t got around to fitting.

    Value ? Roughly £2,500 worth of bits

    Engine
    GT2560R – 3k miles old
    Frenchweapon mild-steel manifold with copper nuts – v.v. rare only 8 made
    Z32 AFM – Like new
    HKS 550 injectors – brand new still in their sealed bags
    Apexi PowerFC for CA with commander – one of only 4 in the UK
    3-line braided oil and water turbo hoses – brand new with banjos
    Full 110-piece silicone hose set in black

    Suspension
    Front Lower Arms – brand new still in their bags – From Camskill – no longer available
    Rear subframe with rear lower arms – Powdercoated in a tasteful purple
    DW orange subframe bushes and lower arm bushes
    Black subframe bushes and lower arm bushes

    Brakes
    Original OEM S13 rear brakes powdercoated in black

    Bodywork
    Front cross member - Brand new

    Spares
    I also have about half a shed full of OEM new and s/h parts for the S13 including two brand new OEM wheels (full size spares that have never been used), a spacesaver spare, loads of electrical gubbins, mirrors, various brake parts, a tank strap, headrests, cam pulleys, spark plugs, a front hub, arbs, fan cowling, Cusco catch tank, wing-mount intercooler and endless other stuff.
    Last edited by Jonny Wilkinson; 31-10-2016 at 19:42.

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    committed. Jezz_S13's Avatar
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    seriously, are those the injectors I picked up for you about 8 years ago?

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    Yup Still in sealed bags. I've been waiting for the Apexi ECU

    It's what made me feel I was in such a strong position telling you to get on with yours

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    Wow I didnt know she was a wolf in sheeps clothing, I thought she was pretty much standard, proper "sleeper" car. Very nice. Now that you've got a project thread does than mean you've decided to keep her for good?

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    I really like this 13.

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    About time Jonny!

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    Quote Originally Posted by sx rider r17t View Post
    ... Now that you've got a project thread does than mean you've decided to keep her for good?
    No. It means that now that I have been a gentleman of leisure for 6 months, this has bubbled to the top of my job list for the first time in a long time.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonny Wilkinson View Post
    No. It means that now that I have been a gentleman of leisure for 6 months, this has bubbled to the top of my job list for the first time in a long time.
    haha fair enough.... wish i was a gentleman of leisure, lottery win here I come!!

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    living on the edge p.nicholas's Avatar
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    Nice extensive write up there. Should be in the blog

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    wow good write up there jonny that is a lovely looking car to

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    so when is it getting overfenders and a welded diff?

    jokes

    lightly fettled s13's on those comfy coilovers are a nice place to be, I remember driving the 'ron bones' car when brad had it and realising how 'ruined' my s13 was.

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    Lightly fettled ! What a great description !

    Having run it on comfy coilovers for several years, a few of us twisted Bren's arm to start producing softer coilovers even than the comfys. Thus the Limos were born and I got the first set to test. They are much, much more progressive than the comfys, they can be run at anywhere between +5mm and -40mm ride height (in theory) and the range of damping adjustment is better.

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    Guest Maff_1991's Avatar
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    Just had the time on my lunch break to read through this properly, had a little giggle when you said you bought the car in your late 30s in 1998.....

    I was 7

    Such an amazing car and I'm one of the lucky ones to be able to say I've seen it in the flesh!

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    Quote Originally Posted by Maff_1991 View Post
    Just had the time on my lunch break to read through this properly, had a little giggle when you said you bought the car in your late 30s in 1998.....

    I was 7

    Such an amazing car and I'm one of the lucky ones to be able to say I've seen it in the flesh!
    I think we a need a picture of yours next to this insanely minty example, it is very nice/possibly too nice to risk on public roads?
    not seen it in person but pictures in the strut tops and bumper refurb are like from a Haynes manual when they dismantle a new car

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