I can remember my first time in a S14, being just 12 and going to the movies with my hyung and being terrified of how fast it was or how fast he drove. My passion for driving fast and modifying cars traces back to my older brother (hyung) who played such an instrumental part in my early pre-teen years.
For a kid starving for a male role model and guidance, he was one of the main influences in my life. He always had time for me and always made sure I was a man about the situation and took ownership of the issue.
Sadly, I couldn’t do the same for him before I lost him to cancer just a shade over a year ago.
So, over 20 years later and countless project cars built and sold, I traded my Civic Ferio for this S14 in his honor.
To be brutally honest, I am not sure what possessed me to pull the trigger on this trade because this car was a complete mess.
The kid was probably 22 years old, and wasn’t very forthcoming when discussing the car. He couldn’t tell me what was wrong, what the check engine lights were for, what the noises were about or what the damage to the car was from.
The entire front end was literally ziptied to the front of the car, the hood didn’t close right, the front bumper was held onto the car by a single wood screw, the interior was missing, the radio gone, none of the dash lights worked, reverse lights didnt work, the door panels off, all four tires needed replacing and the rear end made sounds like it was ready to fall apart.
The primer and JDM hood color mixmatching reminded me of one of the funniest internet car jokes ever.
Next : Making it look like a car again.
