Local Ride: Schools of Thought

The way I see it there are three types of people in the car scene, those who know, those who don’t and those who want to learn.  The car scene is fueled by those in the know, some lead by example and others are more vocal with their knowledge. The scene is usually entertained by those who don’t know, that is usually because the ones who don’t know think they do and can’t be told otherwise. I think the group that wants to learn is often clumped together with those who don’t know or all too often overlooked.

Yes there are slight variations to this over simplified theory. For example, no one was born all knowing and at one point everyone is a student. On the other hand do we ever really stop learning? Ignoring those questions lets continue. In any given scene, internet forum or shop there is always that one guy everyone turns to for sage advice. On the other end of the spectrum there is always that guy who thinks he can just slap a turbo on his car with no supporting mods and blow your doors off. Or the other guy who thinks a stock RB can have its ecu flashed to make 900HP. Well this car belongs to a guy who’s neither of those things.

Travis Fehler or T-fel for those of you who regularly read the comments here on DODO, is from that middle group.  Travis is one of those who is willing to learn, don’t get me wrong I am not saying he’s thick or anything. He’s just humble enough to know what is beyond him.  In such an ego driven world it is refreshing to meet someone who will ask for advice and actually consider it.

Travis was a Honda enthusiast when I met him, but was drawn to the loud noises and the overall awesomeness of drifting. So he did what any rational person would do… he bought an S-chassis. One of the benefits of living in Canada is that an entry level S-chassis can be an imported RHD’s. Sure there are those who swear up and down by their KA’s but starting off with a factory equipped  turbo is nothing to scoff at.

So Travis picked himself up a Silvia, now this Silvia is a bit different as it pre-dates 1991. That means in stock form it was powered by the CA18 or and not the SR20. The previous owner had already tried to rectify that situation with very little success.

So Travis rolled up his sleeves and with some help from others, brought this now SR powered Silvia back to life. The car has served him well over the last few months and given him some memories to smile about. In fact I believe those are the same memories responsible for all the dents and dings. The car will be cleaned up in the off season and he will continue to work  out some of the old issues.

This is probably the closest thing I have ever done to an actual photo shoot, and I think it is safe to say that I still have much to learn.  It was a fun learning experience and much like Travis and his car with the right plan of attack things will hopefully only get better for both of us.