Having transitioned from wreck to
track weapon to drift star over the course of a decade, Chris Soehren’s
V8-powered 240SX has finally become the car he always envisaged…
Before we get started, turn forward a
couple of pages and take a look at the ‘before’ photos. Go on, have a look...
You back with us now? Good. Quite some transformation isn’t it? If you’re
anything like us you’ll need few moments to look through the shots and take it
all in. It’s hard to get your head round just how far this S13 has come. It
makes you realise that just about any base car has potential when under the
right direction and treated to healthy amounts of love and devotion.
Believe it or not, Hot Wheels toy cars
played a big part in this car’s development! American owner Chris Soehren puts
his ingrained love of cars down to the diecast models. He used to collect the
larger scale cars, with one particular 240SX model proving the inspiration for
this build, but more on that a little later. The modifying habit began at an
unusually early age for Chris, too. He and his brother used to transform their
‘big wheels’ trikes with PVC and cardboard, making them look more like sprint
cars before racing each other down the hill outside their house. At the age of
ten he spent a lot of his evenings in the garage helping his dad restore a
long-term project car. And by the time he was 12 he was watching the racing at
a local half-mile dirt track with his family on Friday nights. In truth Chris
had no hope of living a normal life without cars!
Fast
forward a few years and, naturally, Chris was modifying his first car. In fact,
he’s attempted to make just about every car he’s ever owned look better and go
faster.
Fast forward a few years and, naturally,
Chris was modifying his first car. In fact, he’s attempted to make just about
every car he’s ever owned look better and go faster. “I used to do dumb things
like drag race my friends late at night on country roads,” he revealed.
Thankfully the illegal street racing thing didn’t last long. Chris took a job
in Arizona where he met Scott Shaver, a guy who would go on to become one of
his closest friends.
“Scott was into road racing and drifting
his 240SX,” Chris continued. “Obviously when I learned this it immediately
piqued my interest. I had to attend the next event he was going to.” It was a
Club Racing Arizona (now NASA) event at the Phoenix International Raceway. “The
second I saw him and his buddies out there drifting corner to corner I was
sold! He asked if I’d like to go on a passenger ride and my mind was truly
blown. The sounds of screaming tyres, engines revved out, the sensation and the
ability I imagined it took to do such a thing was unreal.”
Just
a few weeks later, way back in 2002, Chris bought himself a 240SX. “I picked
the car up for $1300 and it was a complete heap,” he confessed. “It was in 100
pieces.
Just a few weeks later, way back in 2002,
Chris bought himself a 240SX. “I picked the car up for $1300 and it was a
complete heap,” he confessed. “It was in 100 pieces. Even the engine was out
and in bits.” You’ll recall that in the US, the S13 was never blessed with the
highly-tuneable turbocharged CA18DET engine but instead was powered by a
naturally aspirated 2.4-litre four-cylinder DOHC K24dE engine (early models had
SOHC K24D engines), hence the reason it was badged a 240SX and not a 180SX.
“There wasn’t a matching wheel or tyre on it and virtually nothing was
salvageable from the interior,” he continued. “I’d only ever done bolt-ons and
cosmetic upgrades but with the help of a few friends and a Haynes repair manual
I soon had it reassembled and the motor back in.”
“I’d
only ever done bolt-ons and cosmetic upgrades but with the help of a few
friends and a Haynes repair manual I soon had it reassembled and the motor back
in.”
