It is much too easy to see a lovely car and make assumptions. Although it may be factual that the way a car is styled can give you an idea of the owner’s personality, it is actually impossible to comprehend the journey the vehicle and owner have gone through with a passing glance. This is also true of builds that appear flawless. Perhaps it is simply human nature to associate flawlessness with simplicity and simplicity with ease, however, this is often an oversight, as assumptions usually are. Making something appear effortless usually signifies that in reality the job is not at all simple or easy but quite the opposite. Elmer Lee’s S14 is a perfect example of this paradox. The car is basically flawless. It’s extreme in every possible way, yet not so difficult to make the build appear easy. It’s executed very well that to somebody with little experience, the sheer magnitude of the things went into this masterpiece is lost in the details.
The journey of the man with his fantastic machine began in 2007 when Elmer realized that a widebody S14 was the vehicle that he had always wanted. While browsing the Internet he came across an image that would change the course of his life for the following several years, an S14 with-fenders and large dish wheels filling in the extended bodywork. Back then, Elmer was living in Arizona, immersed in everything the automotive scene had to offer there and driving a ’95 Integra GSR. As a way to build the auto that he dreamed of he necessary to know the exact ingredients of that particular car down to the smallest detail, elmer started researching immediately, force-feeding himself every component of information he could find on S-chassis cars, he knew that. Once Elmer felt that he was ready, the quest for a suitable platform to build upon was underway. A listing on an Internet forum was found, the owner was contacted, and a deal was created. Elmer can be trading his Integra plus cash for an S14 that already experienced aended up being to finally get to be the owner of an S14, the seller called to inform him the car ended up being stolen the earlier night. Hanging onto the little hope they had, both parties awaited the car’s safe return. Instead, they received word that while the car ended up being found, it had been stripped to some bare shell and torched. Despite the setback, Elmer stayed optimistic, continuing his hunt for an S14. He found another suitable platform, an identical S14, another converted Kouki, this particular car was built with an authentic BN Sports Blister kit and Amistad Dish wheels. The auto had previously been powered by an SR20 although the owner had actually swapped in a KA24 with an automatic transmission to the sale. Quickly realizing that this car will be a great starting place for his project, Elmer contacted the seller and planned his visit to Seattle to create the purchase. The seller had assured him that this car is in good running condition, so Elmer chose to fly there and drive the car home to Arizona. After crunching the numbers, Elmer figured a full 48 hrs would be more than sufficient time to find the car safely home. A flight was booked, the time off had been reported to his employer, and the man was on his method to meet his new car.
Elmer noticed a couple small issues that had not been mentioned, while the car appeared to be as it had been described initially. Despite being thousands of miles from home with no return ticket, Elmer assessed the situation and stuck with the program, concluding which a small oil leak would not be a concern as long as he constantly checked the oil level on his drive home. Little did he know, the minor issues were symptoms of major problems to come (and the less than respectable character in the seller). Miraculously the car and its particular new owner made it to Northern California with no major issues, but at this point the auto had reached its limit; it’s shoddy construction became apparent as well as the car literally started to collapse. The auto had never been aligned-the massive volume of toe took its toll on the front tires, the inner edges was reduced to cords, since it turns out. With very few available options to him in the early hours of the morning, Elmer parked in front of the first tire shop he found and slept in his car until they opened. When the shop finally opened for business he was turned away; the store refused to operate on his modified car due to liability reasons. Elmer drove to a few other tire shops on tires that could’ve blown out any moment, and finally found a shop that was willing to mount two new tires on his car–for an outrageous $600. Left with no other choice, he took it. Now that the automobile was somewhat driveable, Elmer was confronted by yet another challenge: finding a shop that would align his car. Luckily, Elmer found an alignment shop that quick, one that had an in-ground rack and a willingness to be effectiveFinally, equipped with fresh tires plus a proper his, alignment and Elmer S14 got back on the freeway, a full day behind schedule. Immediately Elmer noticed that the back of the car would shift to one side for no apparent reason, not wanting to take any chances he went straight back to the alignment shop. The car was put on the lift for the inspection. The tech seen that a rear wheel appeared to be loose, however the lug nuts were torqued to spec. A wheel bearing had failed completely and driving the auto in this condition was out of the question. A new wheel bearing was located, but would not arrive at the shop until the following morning. exhausted and Discouraged, Elmer found a hotel nearby to wait and get some much-needed rest. The next morning Elmer found his car and was finally back on the road, two days behind schedule, nevertheless the car seemed to be holding together. Upon reaching Southern California, overheating became a problem. The car would perform just great on the open highway, but as soon as traffic thickened or by simply exiting the freeway, the water temperatures would rise uncontrollably, forcing Elmer to shut off the auto and coast, adding an element of method to something as simple as refueling. On one of these simple refueling stops, as Elmer was walking into the gas station to buy some oil, he heard air pressure coming out from his car with a cloud of steam–the radiator had cracked. Still several hundred miles from your home and in an unfamiliar area, he threw caution on the wind and bought several gallons water. At this point the importance of saving an engine which was to be removed from the car anyway was dwindling as quickly as his patience.
Elmer continued on, refilling the radiator with water along with the engine with oil more frequently than topping off his gas tank. As Elmer neared the Arizona border, he hit one more figurative speed bump. It started raining hard. It had been monsoon season, and this particular storm had just started. Driving through heavy rain can tell you a great deal about a car, and this ordeal turned out to be a significant eye opener and an further letdown. The automobile quickly started filling with water. The root cause would later become apparent–the rear quarter-panels had been cut for the over-fenders but never sealed; that they had not even been welded shut, they had been cut, folded over, and wood screws had been used to hold the two layers together. Elmer moved his belongings off the floor and trudged on. He was in the last stretch of road now, only a few hours from your home, when the car simply turned off; there was no electrical power in the system. With no cell reception, the exhausted, defeated new owner sat in their dream car and considered his options. Finally a passerby offered him a ride, if Elmer paid him needless to say. They went to a nearby Wal-Mart where Elmer purchased two new batteries, hoping that they would get him home. It turned out how the previous owner had cut the main power wire for the battery and twisted both ends together again, securing them only with electrical tape–naturally, they had separated. Quickly repairing this, Elmer was once again back on the streetsthrough to some much-needed rest. The subsequent morning, his new car greeted him with negative 15 degrees of camber around the driver-side front wheel; the coilover had snapped. At this time, a thorough inspection of the car was absolutely necessary, who knew what else had been half-assed in the car? To prevent any further problems for the car, Elmer started tearing down the car that he had just purchased less than a week prior. What he found, confirmed his fears. The auto was nowhere near driveable condition. Rather than spend much more money and time just receiving the car to stock, he cut his losses. He had essentially spent $11 grand on a BN Blister kit, a set of wheels, and a four-day course regarding how to drive a vehicle from Washington to Arizona that should not have access to been driven at all.
Within an impressive display of perseverance, Elmer found yet another S14, a mildly modified ’95 model. His friend owned this particular car, so Elmer knew that it had been meticulously cared for. Elmer then took his new car along with the parts that he removed from his first S14 to a local body shop to have the widebody installed and painted Daytona Blue. Elmer expressed that the body shop did a decent job, but he was not completely satisfied so he began saving up to get it redone. The car was driveable for the time beingFor the upcoming year Elmer saved up funds while he did more research. During his time online, he came across a photo of a set of insanely wide Weds ERMs and instantly knew he absolutely had to have them. There was, however, a slight problem: The owner in the wheels had no aim of selling them. After making offers for months, the homeowner finally gave in and agreed to sell them. The 19-inch wheels were sized at a ridiculous 11.12 and 5.5 inches wide with a negative 35 offset all around. Fitting wheels of the sizing would not be feasible despite the additional 50 mm of clearance up front and 70 mm out back that the Blister kit provided. Elmer continued his research and decided on Intense Motorsports to give the exterior of his car a makeover. Intense started working immediately, removing all the glass and far of the interior, the BN Blister kit–which is insanely wide because it is was widened even further with the addition of flares to fit the brand new wheels–a complete respray was performed and eight months later the outside was finally up to Elmer’s standards.
There was clearly no way Elmer was going to putt around with a stock KA in this monstrous-looking car, an engine swap was all but absolutely necessary. For his new powerplant, Elmer chose the slightly less conventional route and opted for an RB25. Import Powerhouse in Arizona was enlisted to perform the swap, and did so flawlessly. Elmer also took benefit from the downtime and had his wheels refinished. The time the Weds had spent in Japan and the salty coastal air had oxidized the aluminum and rusted the steel hardware. Not being one to be satisfied with anything but perfection, he had the wheels stripped to bare metal, the lips polished, and faces powdercoated gold. The engine swap was completed and also the wheels mounted onto the car, just over time for Elmer and his S14 to move out West for his new job.
1995 nissan 240SX nardi controlsan occupation as a program manager, simultaneously bartending on weekends and nights to balance the monotony and lack of human interaction at his day job. They have since quit his job as a program works and manager in the bar industry full-time. As soon as we started talking with Elmer, it absolutely was obvious that he or she was the quintessential people person . He distributed to us that one of the first things he did when having moved in the market to California was to look for and attend car meets, the best way to meet like-minded car enthusiasts. At a car meet in Cupertino, he met his now close friend Tony, who invited Elmer to join his car club, StillMotion. Elmer has since been to numerous car meets with them and in many cases showed his car for the first time at Wekfest in San Francisco last year. Considering the sheer amount of misfortune Elmer endured in the quest for his own widebody S14, finally having the ability to drive the automobile that he always dreamt of while he pleases without worry needs to be an amazing feeling, perhaps made even sweeter by the memory of the challenges he overcame during the course of this build.