“Do you like to…do it yourself?”

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This whole writing an article the night before has become some sort of tradition, or curse- whatever. It’s 1am. I have my favorite lo-fi beats playlist going through my earbuds. I have all the photos of Carlos’s S13 spread out across the second monitor. Now I’m sitting here, and I can’t help but think about how things have changed since I last shot and featured this 240sx.
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Social media can be a double-edged sword. But one thing it allows you to do is go back in time to relive important moments that we’ve shared. If you’re the type to work on and modify your car – the important mods will be on your timeline. Nunez’s journey with building a track ready S-Chassis began with an unconventional approach for performing a motor swap. The VH45DE V8 out of an Infiniti had its first start back in October of 2015 (when I say unconventional, search “common 240 engine swaps” and a 4G63T is listed before this motor – seriously?).
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A lot has changed since then, and even more has changed since I featured it shortly after it got painted in the chosen ZG color – red. Later that year the car started getting loaded up on a trailer every so often to head to the closest drift event. This car was built to get driven, and after years of learning, progressing, battling gremlins, to eventually pushing the car even further on the track – the next big change would happen during the lockdown.
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With the travel bans, and social hangouts came to a halt, it gave some of us more time at home. Some picked up yoga, people got obsessed with plants? (I honestly still don’t get that one haha.) With events being cancelled, it gave people time to plan and execute the next phase for their vehicle.  The V8 was doing well, it made just shy of 300hp after some dyno tuning with RS-Enthalpy, the suspension was solid, but something was missing. Enter 1 Michael Suarez, and his R32 GTR. After a night of driving around, Carlos realized the thing he needed to step things up was going forced induction… and peeling the “NA IS BEST” decal ::side eye::
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As I mentioned earlier, the VH45 isn’t what you’d expect to find when you pop the hood of a 30-year-old S-Tier drift chassis. With the world coming to a halt during the pandemic, the availability of parts also came to a halt. I bet you were wondering, “why The 40 Year Old Virgin reference?” I’m getting there.  While people were collecting succulents (this is the only plant I know of, I apologize haha), Carlos took up welding. If this car was going to get boosted, it would get done in the garage. Almost a full year into the pandemic, countless of YouTube videos, reading on forums, talking to people in the industry, and just plain trial and error, a top-mounted T4 turbo now sits passenger side of the engine bay along with the supporting mods. This build is a reminder to continue chasing your vehicle’s goal, even if that means pushing yourself to acquire the skills needed to get there. Whether you’re looking to push the limits going sideways on track, getting down the ¼ mile faster than the guy next to you, or hell even if it’s just about building something YOU want to drive to and from the car meets in, set your goal and do whatever it takes to get there – even if it means doing it yourself.
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Carlos Nunez 1992 Nissan 240sx

Performance :
Infiniti VH45
300zx Transmission
BW S366SX 9180 T4
Custom Turbo Setup (DIY)
Turbosmart Type WG – 7LBS of Boost
Threadstone Intercooloer w/ Custom Piping
Blacksheepindustries BOV
Porsche Cayenne Intake w/ Custom Adapter Plates
ID 1000 Injectors
Canton 3L Accusump
Mishimoto Rad
Davies Craig 150 Electric Water Pump
4′ Oval Custom Exhaust (DIY)
FinishLine Factory E85 Lines
10g Custom Fuel Cell
Competition Clutch & Flywheel
Tuned on e85 by Martin at Enthalpy

Cosmetic:
Type 2 Dmax Style Body Kit & Fenders
Origin Style Hood

Interior:
ARC8000 Custom Harness
AEM Gauges
NST Handbrake

Rollers:
7Twenty Wheels — 17×9 Front / 18×10.5 Rear
Acceleras Tires
NST Lug Nuts

Stiff Stuff:
Fortune Auto Coilovers
ISR Type 2 Control Arms
Z33 Axles
DriftKnuckles Angle Kit
Welded OEM Differential

Sounds:
“V8 Muscle!….now with turbo fun sounds =D“

Shout Outs:
First and foremost, my wife Viany
Youtube and drift homies in Texas for advice on TIG welding
Drift Corpus and Justin Flores for allowing me to drive this car to its full potential
Ramsey Race Shop for the clutch work and spec alignment! Car has been feeling amazing ever since!
My friends and anyone that supported this build, cheers!

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Photos and Words by : Bobby Villarreal