Imran Rashid’s Nismo 350Z
This time we are out of Texas for Imran Rashid’s 350z Nismo. We usually write some words to roll along with the photos, but this time around Imran gave us a great story on how he came to own this car.
PHOTOS BY: JASON SCOTT
Most owners have the mentality of 100% OEM when it comes to the Nismo edition of the 350Z. I on the other hand, don’t care about the rules of the purists and want to make every car my own style. Nissan designers knew best when they created this masterpiece but I wanted to take their creation a little further.
Just like most enthusiasts out there, I’ve been playing with cars since I could crawl. Around the age of 10, I started making plans of what my first car was going to be. In the early days believe it or not, I was a muscle car guy. Since I wanted to keep my plans pretty modest and realistic, I started saving for a Duster! All I cared about was that it had some kind of a cool sounding V8. As I grew older, a particular Japanese car started grabbing my attention. It was the Nissan Skyline. After learning and doing research about the car, I became a huge fan of the Japanese tuner car culture. After realizing that I would never be able to afford a Skyline anytime soon, I set my heart on a Toyota Supra. It was the ultimate car in my eyes.
That dream quickly got crushed as soon as Fast and the Furious came out as Supra prices sky-rocketed. I wanted something with the same “Japanese” feel to it so I got addicted to the S-chassis. I started working and saving up money at age 14. In 2004, I bought my very first 240sx and also a SR20det. I tried to emulate the style of cars I saw in Option videos. I became addicted to drifting after I saw my favorite driver in person, Koguchi-san. The way he drove the car with such grace, I knew that was my calling. The rest is history and the sport would take over my life. Haha.
Fast forward to 2008, I decided to sell my SR S13 and decided to build a competitive S14. At about the same time, I took a year off from “cars” and decided to finish my degree first. In the beginning stages of that build, a couple of friends with very similar mindsets about cars and life in general decided to go in together and rent a shop. We called it “Essence Garage”. Although it was only personal space, some really awesome cars were built in there. My 1jz S14 and Justin Rogers D1SL style S14 just to name a few. After driving my S14 in a couple of events, normal people life hit me and I made the decision to sell the S14. Soon after I found a really clean 2005 350z. I drove it as a daily for about 6 months with a couple of simple mods.
One random night browsing on the forums, I found a 2008 Nismo for sale. Not really knowing the rarity or the coolness of the chassis, I decided to go look at the car. The previous owner had already modified it a bit for track driving. I fell in love with the car and gave him a deposit the same day. After acquiring the car, I slowly made the car my own style.
Converting the car from a track car to drift car was actually pretty straightforward. Some of the mods carry over and some need to be changed out. The car is a blast to drive and turns heads everywhere. Too many heads sometimes because of the huge gt wang and the roar of the titanium exhaust. After Rd. 1 of our local series, the car is undergoing a little makeover for a more “street” look.
Thanks for looking! We will be keeping tabs on Imran and his build.
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