It's 2:48 a.m. Friday morning, and I'm sitting up in bed shaking my head at my cell phone, trying to decipher a text message that not only woke me, but also my dog, who is staring at me while heaving a sigh of disgust. It's from Eddie Lee:"Illicano muchacha is too good for Concepcion cuckaracha :P See u Manama."
Despite its somewhat clever rhyming scheme, use of both Spanish and English, and the familiar smiley face with tongue sticking out, this text does not make sense whatsoever, especially when it's almost 3 a.m. and I haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks. The only thing that I can possibly take from it is the fact that it's from Eddie, the guy who once drank an entire bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label by himself, spit at a guy's feet after a night out at the club and demanded him to lick it, and known among our circle of friends as "K-Fury," because if pushed, he will unleash the Korean out of him and Tae Kwon Do the hell out of someone's face.
So I'm not really surprised that he woke me up this particular morning. And I wasn't really surprised that when I ask him about it the next day, he denies all his wrongdoing and says I should blame it on the Grey Goose. What I am really surprised at is the fact that Eddie, with all his late-night alcohol binging and "party like it's our last day on earth" attitude, is still capable of tuning the illest Nissan 240SX in the industry.
As the General Manager of Mackin Industries, purveyors of all things JDM-like Espelir, Wheel Mate and of course, the always coveted Rays Wheels-Eddie is the king of the aftermarket industry. He's the proverbial mover and shaker, and if anyone deserves to be on the cover it would have to be him. In other words, he's major, epic and supreme, all in one. And so is his car. The latest creation in his stable of rides, this 1989 240SX, is what the kids these days call "hyphy."
For one, every part and every modification is done with brand name in mind. "If you were to describe this car, it's pretty much as Koreatown brand-name whore as you're gonna get," explains Eddie, "and I love it!" Let's start with the exterior. Featuring a Vertex "Ridge" body kit, the 240 sits wide 30 mm muy fuerte in the front and 50mm very strong in the rear. He left his ride wingless because according to Eddie, "wings are for losers." The gunmetal gray paint comes from a Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R, the carbon fiber hood comes from Seibon, and it sports JDM Kouki taillights and JDM wind deflectors.
All of these sit on top of a set of Cusco Comp 2 coilovers, Nagisa Auto Shakitto Shock tower brace, and Peak Performance bushings, a suspension setup that puts hair on your chest. In fact, it doesn't stop there because this ride was made to drift and balance is key, so Eddie added a NISMO power brace, Kazama front tension rods and a Cusco roll cage. This makes the already well-balanced 240SX even more svelte around the chicanes, bends and steep driveways.
When rollin' around the 'hood, the car sits on a set of sick diamond black 18-inch RAYS Volk Racing GTC Face wheels laying tracks nine inches wide in the front and 11 inches broad in the rear. They're wrapped around by Toyo RA1 tires and guarantees double-take looks by thugs, scallywags, and hoodrats. On the track, however, Eddie switches them up to get the maximum traction and mobility. He puts on a set of Volk TE37 Time Attack Edition wheels that usually makes tuners cry with envy. Of course, all of this would be mush if a Project forged racing caliper brake kit with a two-piece SCR pro rotors and B-Force pads weren't stopping the car before it glides off to drifting oblivion.