New Parts and a Special Tour

My parts collection quest continues as I'm storing as many brand new and soon to be out of stock items as possible. My friend Aki makes fun of me, but having to pick up parts is the perfect excuse for visiting Yamazaki-san and the guys at Nissan Prince Motorsport almost every other weekend. This Saturday was no exception... 

Yes, another visit

This is a great way to kill time while learning more about the BNR34 and its secrets; the mechanics and staff at NPCT are arguably some of the best and most qualified in the world, having serviced thousands of cars and honed their skills in Super Taikyu races and even Le Mans. Every time I visit I always learn something new and pick up ideas for my car.

Building relationships in Japan is a delicate affair that requires time and deep cultural understanding; mastering the local language is also an essential skill if you really want to get into the inner circle in Japanese society. My frequent visits (combined with dropping quite a bit of money in their register) have helped getting close to some of these guys, especially Yamazaki-san.

So, Saturday looked like just another day at NPCT as I picked my two new boxes...

See the brown box? Thats's the very last one left in the whole Nissan inventory

...and got some coffee while a BNR34 V-spec II with a S1 engine was being serviced.

Sticker = 500ps

Business as usual, until Yamazaki-san asked me if I wanted to have look at a special engine they had stored in the garage area upstairs: "Just a quick look" - he said - I was on the elevator platform before he could even finish the sentence.

The tension was palpable

The view awaiting for me on the second floor is the stuff dreams are made of: around 40 customer cars from all generations and an original Group C Prototype V8 engine.

Where to start from?

Although Yamazaki-san couldn't exactly remember which racecar it belonged to, the engine is definitely part of the VRH family, likely coming out of one of the late 80's prototypes, like the Nissan R90CK. A 3.5 liter twin turbo V8 easily capable of developing over 800ps, depending on the boost level. These engines are usually preserved at various Nismo locations, by this particular unit was gifted years ago to NPCT by Nissan Motorsport: very cool.

V8

Yamazaki-san then proceeded to show me around the garage, where GT-Rs and Nissans from all eras were neatly stored awaiting service.

Not a bad view, uh?

Starting from this BNR34 M-spec with 1,300 Km that will soon undergo a S2 Engine transplant.

To the new MY17 R35 Track Edition.

An old Fairlady Z in a gorgeous shade of blue.

I love this car!

A R34 V-spec II Nür with a R1 engine.

Some serious money right there

And a R35 GT-R Nismo fitted with the prohibitively expensive N-attack Package.

Yamazaki-san was kind enough to allow me to take some photos, but this area is technically "off limits" to customers, so after a couple of final shots we had to head back. I couldn't help but wonder about the total value of all the cars combined!

Midnight Purple III on a set of magnesium BBS

Last shot, sadly...

Once downstairs the owner of the V-spec II was ready to roll out and made space for another Midnight Purple III R34 (this time a standard model) that came in for service. 

It's always great to see such a rare hue on the BNR34.

This never gets old

R35 GT-R '08: future classic?

The hours flew by and, again, what was supposed to be an ordinary Saturday afternoon, turned in a great day filled with awesome machines and stories: arigatou, Yamazaki-san!

Until next time.