Unless you've spent the majority of your adolescent years sniffing glue, you're like us and hate to do anything more than once. Especially when you put your sweat and blood into something to make it perfect only to watch it get ruined by some idiot. It truly sucks.We thought our luck was pretty bad until our recent visit to Z Fever in Tampa, Florida. That's where we found Charles Juckett, owner of the silver '98 240SX that's tucked between your fingers right now.
At first, second, and third glances the car looks pristine. In fact, after a million looks you'll still never realize the tragic story that goes along with the build up of this car. To say it's been to hell and back is an understatement. Sure, on the outside you see the Toyota Thunder Cloud silver paint coated over the stock chassis, six-piece Vertex body kit, and stock S14 Silvia wing. All the lines and curves seem to link up in perfect unison. Then you notice that the rear fenders are flared a bit to fit the obese SSR Professor three-piece wheels and Michelin tires. Though the front fenders didn't need to be modified, the wheels were still beefy enough to clear the larger Z32 brake calipers and Silkroad coilovers.
A peek under the VIS carbon fiber hood reveals more of the craftsmanship that was put into this car. Replacing the stock KA motor is a common SR20 swap with the not so common S15 motor. Tacked onto Nissan's 2.0L four-cylinder gem are Fever Racing exhaust and intake manifolds, an S13 throttle body, and a Power Enterprise 1820 turbo. While the bottom end remains stock, the head is stuffed with HKS cams, GReddy valve springs and retainers, and ARP studs. The fuel delivery was bumped up with larger injectors, a high flowing fuel pump, and fuel pressure regulator. But simply teaming those components together with the Z32 air flow meter isn't going to cut it. An electronic duo of re-mapped stock ECU and electronic boost controller work diligently to keep the motor running at its finest.
The interior was kept a bit simpler than the rest of the car to avoid the unnecessary clutter we're so used to seeing. Only a pair of R33 Skyline seats, Silvia steering wheel, Nismo floor mats, and suede accents can be found. Well, those and a couple of audio components to keep Charles sane in Florida's wilting humidity.
Oh yeah. We've rambled for so long that we almost forgot to tell you the story behind the car and all the parts you see on it. They weren't originally meant to be together, but destiny changed that with a quickness. The first chassis that Charles had these goods on was a '96 240SX that he built in September of '04. Within six days of completion, some jackass ran a red light and totaled it. In June of the following year came a new chassis and the rebuild process began. Yes. We're horrible people for making you wait til the very end to fill you in on that info. But that's just the way we are. You might as well accept it because there isn't much you can do about it anyway. Think of it as the climax of your English essay, only we delayed it. Delayed climax. We think they sell creams or some type of pill for that.
Fast Facts
'98 Nissan 240SX
Owner Charles Juckett
Hometown Tampa, FL
Daily Grind Marketing Director at Z Fever
Power N/A
Under The Hood S15 Sr20det motor; Power Enterprise 1820 turbo, radiator, 1.5mm head gasket, 550cc injectors,and hoses; Fever Racing intake and exhaust manifolds, turbo outlet, downpipe, cat bypass pipe, and high volume oil pan;JIC Magic full titanium exhaust; S13 throttle body; GReddy R core intercooler, valve springs, rocker stoppers, and hot pipe; ARC blow-off valve and cooling plate; Z32 air flow meter;Nismo engine mounts; polished intake manifold and injector caps; power coated valve cover, fuel rail, and pulleys; HKS Step 2 264 cams; ARP head studs; Walbro 255 fuel pump; Aeromotive fuel pressure regulator
Drivetrain 5-speed Nissan transmission; Nismo tranny mounts; stock VLSD; Spec Stage 3 clutch; Fever Racing short shifter
Brains S14 Ecu tuned by Scott Avoy at Enthalpy; Power Enterprise boost controller; DEFI din gauges; Blitz turbo timer
Stiff Stuff Silk Road Spec coilovers and rear camber arms; Whiteline front and rear roll bars; JIC Magic front and rear strut tower bars
Rollers SSR Professor SP1 wheels 18x9 (f), 18x10 (r); Michelin Pilot Sports tires 225/40R18 (f), 255/35/R18 (r)
Stoppers Project brake pads; Z32 front brake calipers;13-inch cross-drilled rotors
Outside Toyota Thunder Cloud Silver paint; Vertex six-piece molded aero kit and front turn signals; VIS carbon fiber hood; stock S14 Silvia K's rear wing; rear fenders pulled 40mm
Inside R33 Gt-R seats; S14 Silvia optional steering wheel; suede door inserts and shift boot; Nismo floor mats
Ice Boston Acoustics speakers; Alpine CD player
Props Major, Ryan, Doug, Scott of RS-Enthalpy, Brent and the crew at Wholehyper.com, Mike at Advance Performance, Power Enterprise USA, and Rick Johnson Auto