So how on earth did you end up with this???
Kevin Lu is undoubtedly tired of answering this question. You see, every car has a story. Some cars find their owners in traditional ways; a search on Autotrader or an ad on Craigslist, followed a tedious haggle with a suspiciously friendly salesman or an all-to-eager-to-sell previous owner. One call to the bank, another to the insurance company, and the first chapter is over. This tale repeats itself everyday, all around the world. Except for Kevin Lu. After all, one doesn’t simply stumble upon a JDM performance car rotting away in a derelict used car lot. Finding a car like his Nissan Silvia takes time, money, and a of touch legal….”finesse”. Being insane helps too.
Interestingly, Kevin’s story with this S15 begins in a rather unassuming way. He recounts:
I was just browsing [zilvia.net] like I always do during my lunch break. I see this S15 for sale and it looked almost too good to be true. I immediately called the owner and asked him about the car. Luckily, I was the first person to call him. There were several phone calls back and forth to discuss details about the car. Long story short, I flew out to Seattle about a month later to buy the car. The seller was super nice. He even let me stay at his lakehouse for the two nights I was there. His wife cooked us breakfast and lunch which was delicious. I’ve never been to Seattle before so I wanted to make sure I did some sightseeing. I went up to the top of the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, the first Starbucks, Niketown, and got to eat some amazing seafood. The weather was amazing so I was pretty lucky to be able to buy my dream car and enjoy such a beautiful city in the same weekend.
To clarify, Kevin lives in Atlanta. When he says that he “flew out”, he means across the country, about as far as you go without a passport. But as one usually discovers, true “car guys”, while often a bit crazy, are almost always incredibly nice, welcoming people. The trip, while obviously centered around a financial transaction, was an experience in friendship and hospitality. You might get cookies and a no-hassle experience at CarMax, but you sure didn’t get breakfast and lunch at cross-country lake house either.
To add to Kevin’s already awesome story, the previous owner informed Kevin that this Silvia had been the model for the digital versions in Forza 1 and 2. This S15 might be the only Canibeat feature car that is available for a virtual test drive to follow up the top-notch photography and on-the-edge-of-your-seat writing.
Admittedly, buying a JDM car is not for everyone. Kevin will tell you that the registration process is a real PITA and that the novelty of daily-driving a RHD car in a LHD world wears off over time. But the negatives always have a funny way of getting lost in the details. You see, when someone asks Kevin how he ended up with a JDM Silvia, he doesn’t tell you what government forms he signed, or how many calls to his insurance agent it took to get everything worked out. He doesn’t even complain about how hard it is to get a drive-thru cheeseburger. He just smiles and goes on about cross-country flights, home-cooked meals, and the feeling of waking up and realizing that the car you dreamed about is is in your garage.
Normal people don’t have car stories like that. Most folks find their “point A to point B”, drive it till the warranty runs out, and trade it in for the next year’s model. But we aren’t those people, and we never will be. The car we want is always too far away, too old, too rare, or too much trouble for Average Joe. In those “too’s” however, is where the enthusiast finds his or her story. Find a way to get your dream car. Push through the paperwork and the naysayers and make it happen. If you don’t think that it’s worth it, give Kevin Lu a call. He has a story that you’ve got to hear.
Kevin Lu’s Nissan Silvia
Engine
- JIC Magic catback exhaust
- JIC Magic turbo elbow
- HKS downpipe
- Blitz BOV
- HKS EVC 6 boost controller
- Nismo oil cap
- Nismo radiator cap
Interior
- Kenwood double din
- Nismo floormats
Suspension
- HKS Hipermax 3 coilovers
- SPL Parts RUCA
- SPL Parts toe rods
- Nismo front strut bar
- R33 Skyline GTR brembo brakes
Wheels/Tire specs
- Volk Racing GTU 18×9 +18 / 18×10 +13
- Falken FK452 215/40/18
- Bridgestone RE760 235/40/18
About the Author
Andy Carter
Andy Carter is a photographer, writer, and editor for Canibeat living in Macon, Georgia. He spends his days buried in Excel working for his university alma-mater. Besides automotive culture, Andy enjoys instrumental music, traveling with his wife, and good food.
January 17, 2012 at 9:42 pm
This is the most well-written story on this whole site. Car is dope, too.
January 18, 2012 at 2:50 pm
i agree! 100%!
January 17, 2012 at 10:27 pm
He didnt even mention the part about having to pick it up off the side of the road… lololol.. i love this car!!!!!!
January 17, 2012 at 11:48 pm
Seeing beautiful Silvias and Skylines always begs the question; why were they never imported/made here (anywhere outside Japan)? There’s clearly a market for these aging cars. I just wish Nissan (and other corporations) could see this…
January 18, 2012 at 2:40 am
This is without a doubt, the best written story on this site. I could read this over and over and it would never get old. Congrats guys, and you, sir, have the car of my dreams. Treat her well.
January 18, 2012 at 4:56 am
awesome feature guys!! , was doing some deep canibeat browsing and came across this http://www.canibeat.com/2011/07/random-beat-nissan-s15-import-alliance/
I believe this is the same car?
January 18, 2012 at 2:54 pm
i think its one and the same..
January 18, 2012 at 7:15 am
such a sexy car! wallpapers are needed!!! especially the spec-r picture!!!
January 18, 2012 at 9:59 am
One of my absolute favourite cars of all time. Great feature of a great looking car!
January 18, 2012 at 1:18 pm
sweet story, sweet car. (consider revising your writing though)
January 18, 2012 at 3:14 pm
What needs to be changed?
January 18, 2012 at 7:07 pm
I think what he meant was there are a few tiny grammatical errors, just could’ve said it in a more constructive way. Your writing is great, keep it up.
January 18, 2012 at 7:18 pm
No worries, I wasn’t offended at all. Just always down for some constructive criticism.
January 22, 2012 at 8:20 pm
Small stuff. Your writing and flow was great, just some misplaced words, auto corrected mistakes, and punctual use( mainly run ons with , ‘s ). But beautiful piece overall brother.
Didn’t mean it in a bad way, just a suggestion to make it improve. If you would like I could email you some suggestions and revisions. If you would ever like a second eye on a piece I would be more then happy to help out a fellow writer.
January 22, 2012 at 8:34 pm
I do it to, when I write my own stuff I make a small error here and there. However, couldn’t have written anything better then you did(truely makes you understand and feel the story). Is this your friends car?
January 18, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Nothing needs to be revised Andy. Congrats on the feature Kevin! Car looks even better in person.
January 18, 2012 at 5:54 pm
Awesome feature, this car is legit and legit can get, I love the color combo, gold and dark silver= win!! By far my favorite jdm car!!
January 18, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Best written feature yet. My dream car to add to it!
January 18, 2012 at 11:00 pm
so clean hands down
January 22, 2012 at 6:02 pm
Clean Silvia. Luckily for the owner, despite it being incredibly difficult to obtain in the states, parts are relatively easy to get his hands on (if he doesn’t mind waiting for shipping).
As for GTRs (because a Skyline isn’t worth anything unless it’s a GTR), the 25 car rule is in effect. If a Japanese car is 25 years or older, it can be imported legally, no questions asked. This means that any American GTR fanboy can get his hands on an ’89 BNR32GTR in a couple of years without the legal loopholes.
January 26, 2012 at 6:16 am
This is from Need For Speed,right?
January 27, 2012 at 12:54 pm
Soooo, you bought a car. Cool story, bro.
February 2, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Saw this thing at IA Nashville last year. FUCKING CLEAN!
February 8, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Love the clean look on S chassis!