Want to hear something hilarious? Well, not hilarious, maybe dumb.. yeah let’s go with dumb. I’ve never done a full feature on this car. Yes, I’ve taken plenty of photos of it in different geographical locations, but I’ve never tied my photos to words about this machine. Now, a savvy Google user may be able to uncover an article I wrote in 2015, but the photos were provided by Mike McConnell.
If you’re not familiar with this site or its history, then the important part of the hilarity/foolishness might not be apparent. You might think that the joke is that I just forgot to write an article on this Wekfest-award-winning car, or maybe I thought the Super Street article on it said everything that was needed to say. These are all valid points and truthfully, they add to my error of judgment. However, that’s not it.
This 1999 Nissan Silvia belongs to none other than Eric Zapata, a.k.a. Zap. Zap will undoubtedly shudder at the accolades and praise that I am spouting off about him and his, but a small part of him knows he deserves the attention he gets for this car.
What makes this all so funny (other than the obvious), is that a large part of this website and its exploits are built on the back of Eric Zapata. Well, technically 1/3 of DODOlogic creditability is built off the efforts of Eric, and the other 2/3 belong to Jordan Hall and Jack Connelly. As drift history might remember them, they were known as the Hotboyz. (They were at Final Bout! That was a thing… look it up.)
Back in those days, Eric Zapata drove a 1JZ-GTE-powered 240SX on Work Emitz. It was something else, to say the least. Once he parted ways with that chassis, he acquired this ‘99 S15. Being the clever guy that he is, he kept that Toyota power plant and placed it ever so carefully into the last generation of S-chassis ever made.
A very fun fact about this car is that it’s equipped with a W58 transmission, which generally extracts cries of pity. Here’s the thing: Eric has had that transmission for probably a decade. He makes 391 horsepower and he used to drift with it. He’s had no issues with it. I recently found that my own car has a W58 and whenever someone gives me that “pity talk,” I reference this car you see here.
Honestly, the car hasn’t changed a ton since it was featured in Super Street. When I asked Zap for his build list, we both agreed that I would probably be better off just grabbing it from his Super Street article. I’ll give you the highlights and point out two key differences that HAVE changed since the article.
As mentioned, it’s a 1999 Nissan Silvia equipped with a 1JZ-GTE and it’s mated to a W58 transmission with an ACT HD Clutch. That’s all connected to a 1-piece driveshaft that eventually meets up with a Nismo 2-way LSD. The car makes a healthy 391-wheel horsepower and 365 lb-ft of torque.
The 1J gets to that number with the help of a BorgWarner S200SX 7670 Turbo with a drift motion manifold. The fuel system has also been upgraded with some 1,000cc injectors and an upgraded fuel rail. It’s also got a Greddy intercooler to help with that airflow. Now, what’s changed is it’s a custom-made by Version38 swirl pot/fill and custom Fenix Radiator. There were a few times where the cooling was going to be an issue and it looks like Zap went ahead and solved an issue before it got all the way out of hand.
The hood is an origin Labo Type 2 hood. The front lip is an Aeroworkz three-piece front lip and the skirts are OEM +. As long as I’ve known Zap, he’s had an eye for style so it’s not surprising this thing looks so good!
The wheels! They are the thing that has changed the most about this car, at least in my head. When Zap finally landed on SSR Professor SP1s, this car felt like it really found its feet. Inquiring minds always want to know the specs and they are as follows: 18×9+11 upfront and 18×10+11 in the rear.
But enough about the car. Realistically, if you wanted the specs on the car, you’d probably be better to read the Super Street article. And I imagine, by this point, Zap would prefer it.
The truth is I don’t write great features and my shooting of them can sometimes be questionable. If you made it this far, you’re probably thinking: “Hey this doesn’t look like a proper photoshoot.” And to that I say… How dare you, who’s to really say what is art? But, you’re right. I had stopped in Calgary for a day and I wanted to see my friend Eric, so we hung around outside his shop “Paz auto” on a Sunday morning and I snapped a few pics.
Now for the real punchline! This still isn’t a full feature on Eric’s car because the second third of the Hotboyz equation showed up, Jordan Hall. I tried to get Jack Connelly to come and hang out, but he was doing something cool like brunch or sleeping or just being cool because, if you didn’t know, Jack is cool.
Anyway, we hung out in the parking lot for like an hour and chatted like no time had passed, except it had. Plenty of time had passed. I’m not sure if you heard, but there was a pandemic. People have had kids. Life has moved forward.
For those who don’t remember or never knew, Jordan drove an SR20DET-powered Miata, and if you followed DODOlogic back then, we never let you forget that Jordan drove an SR20DET-powered Miata. He then briefly drove a very cool FD that he arguably sold at not the best time, but really, who knew they’d go up so much in price?
He now drives a very modest Toyota Alphard…it’s his work van.
Jordan a.k.a. Jhall is one of my oldest car pals and I can always count on him to be very “Jordan” about everything. He asks the important technical questions and makes sure the answer get dumbed down so I can understand. He asked questions about Zap’s setup that I would never think to ask. This now makes me think how much better this website would be if he still wrote for it. Maybe Eric would get a proper feature that does his car justice.
Jordan’s van is almost stock and doubles as a family hauler, but there’s something to be said about these Toyota vans. A guy could just go out and buy a Sienna or any other random minivan that might get the job done while blending into the mediocrity of day-to-day life. I’m sure Jordan has his reasons for choosing this mode of transportation. I like to think that it’s because you can never really escape being a car guy. Some aspects of wanting to stand out or be unique must persist, even after you think you’re done with the game.
There’s a ton of history between me and these two guys. (There would have been even more history if Jack wasn’t so busy being cool on Sunday mornings.) It’s one of the reasons I struggle to write features on them or, more specifically, Zap’s S15. Even though Zap lives over a thousand kilometers away, the car is almost a fixture in my life. I don’t know where to even begin a feature on a car that’s tied to nearly a decade of friendship. My brain struggles to separate the relevant from what’s entertaining to me.
I’ll leave you with this thought, or rather a lesson: You can have all the money in the world, but if you can’t connect the dots on what looks good, it doesn’t really matter. Since Eric’s got this car, more and more S15’ s have found their way into Canada. Some of them look great and some of them only so-so and others, well you know… Zap made building a cool S15 look effortless and having this car in my life spoiled me a bit and also set a very high bar for every other S15 owner I come across. So, I’d like to say thank you to Zap for the gift of refined taste.
Truth be told, I’d rather go have a beer with Eric than drive around to a bunch of different locations taking photos of his car. But I think the other ending sounded better.