If there’s one thing I know about car guys, it’s this: Our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs. We’ll bite off more than we can chew and struggle our way through the process of putting a car together. And in the end, we’ll either sell it off because it’s too far gone or it’s exactly what we wanted and we’re not certain what to do with it. Don’t get me wrong – I know there’s plenty of exceptions to this rule, such as collectors and nostalgics, but by and large the enthusiasts I know are chasing the challenge of the build rather than the finished project. They build themselves into a corner, only to face the question of altering their current project or selling and starting anew.
It boils down to the idea that we tire quickly and always want what we don’t have. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gotten a notion that I should own an old school JDM car, or an EG, or some type of grip car. Pretty much any time another sub-set of Japanese automotive culture catches my eye, I will spend hours investigating how to make it a reality. That is, until reality sets in and I realize I already have one car I barely drive and living in an urban centre doesn’t afford you the ability to have more than one project at a time. I will consider selling my current project, and then I spend the next 20 minutes convincing myself to keep it and see it through to the end.
Some people (like me) try and bury this compulsive urge, but at the end of the day most people can reason themselves into or out of any project. British Columbia’s Brandon Leung is no exception to this rule. In fact, at the moment he may be the perfect example of this rule in motion – well, him and his Amuse-kitted 350Z.
I haven’t known Brandon for a terribly long time, but long enough to know that he’s got taste and some ability behind the wheel. Truth be told, I’m not a huge Z33 fan. In my mind, when you fall for a Nissan, you only really fall for one chassis: the S, the R or the Z. You appreciate all of them, but you can only love one. This is, of course, false. Brandon moved from a SR22-powered S13 to this 350Z and made a mockery of my imaginary Nissan rule.
What makes me like this car more than anything is that Brandon actually drives it. Yeah, it has seen some street action, which is neat and all, but what is really great is watching this car get tossed into a tandem drift event on a track. You can tell exactly what onlookers are thinking when they see this thing on the track, and it’s somewhere between “That can’t be a good idea” and “Hell yeah, it is.”
It’s not too often you come across a car this pristine at a grassroots drift event and that’s what makes it so special – even without its front bumper.
It also doesn’t make sense in the grand scheme of things, much like me taking a picture of a white car under a sign that says “Red Racer.” It’s a nice idea, but something seems off – and that something is it’s not an s-chassis.
Speaking with Brandon, you can tell that car enthusiast impulse to find the greener grass on the other side is kicking in. This 350Z seems to be more of a right now car, and less of a long term car. S-chassis’ are calling his name, and with S15’s on the table as a plausible option, it’s hard to say no. Sometimes it’s harder to keep your current project and struggle through boring day-to-day headaches and other times, it’s better to just start from scratch. No matter what you choose, a part of you will probably always regret letting go or not letting go. After all, hindsight and retrospect are two traits that often escape most car enthusiasts. This is probably a good thing, because we probably would have stopped throwing money at projects a long time ago.
Powerhouse Amuse full kit
VIS Powerhouse amuse rep hood
Fortune Auto 500 coilovers
Splash steering hub Nardi 350 deep corn
Nismo headers
Nismo full exhaust
Zeal traction arms
PBM spacers
F: Volk Racing TE37 17×10+18 R: Nismo LMGT4 18×9.5+12