Well I've been a lurker for what essentially is too long. I've enjoyed quite a few threads on here and alot of them have given me some serious inspiration. Maybe it's about time I inspire you? Or not.. we will see.
Any who. The story starts back in 1999. September to be precise. My auntie walked on into a Nissan dealership on the hunt to find a replacement for her 1989 Orion (it was a 1.4 Ghia in Tip-ex white with wheel trims! Poverty plush!). Two special requirements. It has to be sporty and silver. She didn't even test drive it, she took it on. £8995, a Quicksilver Toyota Paseo Si that was freshly traded in the day before. The rest is history.
My mum used to borrow it regularly, after selling her '88 XR3i to fund the deposit on a new home. So my growing up with cars revolved around this and my other aunties Saxo East Coast (ahh.. the find memories of those multicoloured seatbelts!)
Here it is on a holiday down at my uncles, with his 1992 E36 325i.
She had the car for 11 years. It sparked quite alot. In 2006 my mum bought one too. Limited of 50 Galliano model. Most noticeable differences are the Solar Yellow paint, Aqua decals, Alloy wheels and a front lip.
Here It is after a nagging 13 year old managed to blag her some parts for it...
I'd sourced the remaining side skirts and rear lip to create a full OEM car, however to replace 4 tyres it was cheaper to buy them on wheels already, hence the ugly ripspeed jobs. But hey they do it for her so they will stay. One day I'll rectify that but she still owns the car now!
Oh... talking of nagging 13 year olds, here I am at the age of 13 when I'd organised a local meeting for Paseo owners. I'm stood next to my mum's Galliano.
So... my first ever car, at that age also, was a Paseo Si in Sunburst Red. It had a bent rear axle after hitting a curb sideways with a fair bit of thrust. It yielded many bits and bobs for other cars, including the kit for my mum's Galliano.
Off to scrap it went, and the following Christmas I bought this for £100:
A 1996 ST in Sunburst Red.
It certainly didn't look like that! I spent around a year with the fillering priming and hammering before I realised I was pouring money into a car that just would never be right. Off it went for scrap after being stripped to the absolute bare shell. And my first car for road use came not long after...
1996 ST in Quicksilver. Full OEM body kit, Corolla Inlet Manifold, Lowered 50mm on Tein Springs and TRD Shocks, Strut brace and rear panhard rod... and 46k on the clock with full history and low owners. I absolutely loved gaining freedom in this beauty! It had many different looks over the course of time but, after 60000 miles in 3 years I let her retire in a lockup while I humbled around in a much quieter car to rack miles up... and I bought this:
A 1996 Si in Satin Black Metallic. 150k on the clock, full service history and dealer fit black and grey leather. I actually only bought it to put the leather in my Silver ST but, I really loved how smooth it drove, and how faultless it ran compared to my ST... hence the storage until I could overhaul it. More on that later.
But I still have this car, and around 3 years later it looks alot different and has 202500 miles on the clock.
Now sporting a full Japanese optional Aero lip kit and fogs, Lowered 40mm and now has slightly off white dealer fit leather I drove from Somerset to Middlesbourough for. You'll see alot of this car if you ever bother to look in this thread again.
And infact... if you do, there will be more of the story too. Stay tuned!
Any who. The story starts back in 1999. September to be precise. My auntie walked on into a Nissan dealership on the hunt to find a replacement for her 1989 Orion (it was a 1.4 Ghia in Tip-ex white with wheel trims! Poverty plush!). Two special requirements. It has to be sporty and silver. She didn't even test drive it, she took it on. £8995, a Quicksilver Toyota Paseo Si that was freshly traded in the day before. The rest is history.
My mum used to borrow it regularly, after selling her '88 XR3i to fund the deposit on a new home. So my growing up with cars revolved around this and my other aunties Saxo East Coast (ahh.. the find memories of those multicoloured seatbelts!)
Here it is on a holiday down at my uncles, with his 1992 E36 325i.
She had the car for 11 years. It sparked quite alot. In 2006 my mum bought one too. Limited of 50 Galliano model. Most noticeable differences are the Solar Yellow paint, Aqua decals, Alloy wheels and a front lip.
Here It is after a nagging 13 year old managed to blag her some parts for it...
I'd sourced the remaining side skirts and rear lip to create a full OEM car, however to replace 4 tyres it was cheaper to buy them on wheels already, hence the ugly ripspeed jobs. But hey they do it for her so they will stay. One day I'll rectify that but she still owns the car now!
Oh... talking of nagging 13 year olds, here I am at the age of 13 when I'd organised a local meeting for Paseo owners. I'm stood next to my mum's Galliano.
So... my first ever car, at that age also, was a Paseo Si in Sunburst Red. It had a bent rear axle after hitting a curb sideways with a fair bit of thrust. It yielded many bits and bobs for other cars, including the kit for my mum's Galliano.
Off to scrap it went, and the following Christmas I bought this for £100:
A 1996 ST in Sunburst Red.
It certainly didn't look like that! I spent around a year with the fillering priming and hammering before I realised I was pouring money into a car that just would never be right. Off it went for scrap after being stripped to the absolute bare shell. And my first car for road use came not long after...
1996 ST in Quicksilver. Full OEM body kit, Corolla Inlet Manifold, Lowered 50mm on Tein Springs and TRD Shocks, Strut brace and rear panhard rod... and 46k on the clock with full history and low owners. I absolutely loved gaining freedom in this beauty! It had many different looks over the course of time but, after 60000 miles in 3 years I let her retire in a lockup while I humbled around in a much quieter car to rack miles up... and I bought this:
A 1996 Si in Satin Black Metallic. 150k on the clock, full service history and dealer fit black and grey leather. I actually only bought it to put the leather in my Silver ST but, I really loved how smooth it drove, and how faultless it ran compared to my ST... hence the storage until I could overhaul it. More on that later.
But I still have this car, and around 3 years later it looks alot different and has 202500 miles on the clock.
Now sporting a full Japanese optional Aero lip kit and fogs, Lowered 40mm and now has slightly off white dealer fit leather I drove from Somerset to Middlesbourough for. You'll see alot of this car if you ever bother to look in this thread again.
And infact... if you do, there will be more of the story too. Stay tuned!
