The first time we saw this beauty was at a going away gathering and we knew we had to shoot it as soon as possible, luckily, Mark Colborne entered our Autolife People’s choice award and we pretty much knew he was going to take it out, which made it easier for us!
We saw so much potential with this car , it just screams out to you for attention and many would agree that it just so beautiful and we knew we had to make it look good , the car is no stranger to the Perth import scene which is why we were very shocked that it had not been featured or snapped up by a imports magazine nor has it ever had the attention it deserves as a feature car , Mark was quite chuffed when we realized he had won our competition and we were going to make this feature a reality.
So after Mark took out the Autolife People’s choice award we organised, after a long anxious wait, to shoot the car and here we are, we present to you with the Nissan 1999 Y34 Cedric 300Z VIP
Mark purchased the Cedric, powered by a Vq30det 3 Litre V6 Turbo back in December 2010 from Japan and it arrived to our shores in April 2011, when asked why he decided to buy it he told us that he had many imports before, mainly performance vehicles and he decided he wanted something different. Many people raved about these cars but very few actually took the step to buy one. He wanted to be the only person in WA to have a Cedric so after showing one to his partner he went ahead and started the search, he bought it from Japan through Iron Chef Imports. They had this one listed on their website Mark says, “Kristian was excellent with the importation process “
The paint work on the car was disappointing, it was originally dark blue but was repainted gloss black. Sadly it had a few marks on the paint and each repair that was done in Japan was poorly prepped and painted , The car featured 17 inch Enkei rims when it arrived , these were smart enough but lacking the VIP touch.
Mark had the Cedric stripped and painted, sadly this was done by a guy who didn’t seem to know what he was doing. This wasted 6 months and plenty of money. When Mark got the car back it was a wreck. Many parts were missing and all the interior was just stuffed in the back of the car.
Mark was lucky enough to come across a guy called Matty Fern who was a good mate of a very close friend of Marks. Matty repainted the car for Mark and it came out really well , Mark tells us the car will be repainted soon to get rid the flaws left by the previous painter . The car was also debadged and the interior was repainted to get rid of the wood trim.
Next came the Works rims, 19 by 9 plus 19 by 10 which were sourced through Import monster. These were later refurbished through WheelGleam and Stretched tyres were added. The car was then tinted by Solace tinting, this was matched up to the rear privacy glass from factory, and Lowered springs were on the car when Mark bought it but these were swapped for Coilovers. A custom intake was fabricated by Mark himself and the BOV was removed.
A custom 3 inch stainless steel exhaust system was also fabricated By Mark from the dump pipe back. The exhaust system features custom Mufflers and custom 3’5 inch tips and the rear bumper was modified to suit.
The interior is pretty much stock but looks great , as said before the interior was repainted to remove the wood trim , the rear of the car features reclining rear seats and Rear door glass lighting which Mark tells us that it was installed from factory for when the vehicle is used to ferry important people in Japan , the occupants then knew where the windows were so they didn’t have any clashes with the glass , the front also features electric seats and a in-dash navigation system which unfortunately is in Japanese.
To date the car has cost approx. $ 22,000 including the purchase price and had had Approx $ 8000 in mods so far, Marks intentions for the car were always supposed to be a cruiser with muscle.” Definite VIP so it was always going to be show only and special occasions.”
We asked Mark what his most memorable moment he has had with the Cedric, he replied “I Never forget the day after I first lowered the car (as far as it would go), next day I ended up with 5 adults in the car, the car looked awesomely dumped but then I had to drive over numerous speed bumps with a police car right next to me. They thought it was funny, I do not think the underside of my car was as amused haha “Mark could feel the floor push up against his feet as the car slithered over them!!
Marks Future plans for the car is for the paint job to be finished off , a tune to be completed along with boost upgrade , Custom front mount intercooler and piping , Full stereo system and slave DVD player set up to run off the in dash screen and the In car navigation to be converted to English
In total we spent around 5 hours shooting the Cedric in 4 different locations, including rolling shots and a night shoot to show off the factory glass lighting in the rear windows and a different perspective on the interior.
Mark was very accommodating with the shoot and we appreciate the time he has given us to make the car look the best we possibly could. We would also like to thank Mitchell Bertolini for helping us on location with the rolling shots!
So there you have it, you all wanted to see it and we have accomplished that task! , we hope you enjoyed this review and admire this car as much as we did!
The Specs:
Engine: Vq30det
Rims/tyres: Works rims Euroline SL 19 x 9 , 19 x 10
Gearbox: Auto
Stereo: Factory 6 stacker cd in glovebox , Factory cd player in dash , factory in dash screen , Tv
Interior: Full velour , electric front and electric reclinable rear seats , tri zone climate control controlled from front or back ,
Paint colour or mods: Jet black , debadged on the rear , bonnet emblem deleted
Exhaust: Full 3 inch custom mandrel bent Stainless steel system from the dump pipe, custom muffler and resonator , built by Kermit Engineering
Who inspired the build :
Jason Grigio and Rowan McMahon for constantly showing pics of what it could look like .
I always wanted to build a car that would be the best of its type , once finished I hope that this will be true
Mark would like to thank the following people :
Kristian Appelt , owner of Iron Chef Imports
Phil Wilson , Mechanic of all things imported
Jason Grigio and Rowan McMahon for their endless advice
Matty Fern for the Paintwork ( guy has serious skills )
Solace Window tinting Myaree
Import Monster
WheelGleam Osborne Park
Kermit Engineering ( Me J ) for the Custom Fab work .
My family , mainly my better half Steph for the endless support and sympathy as I stay up all night on the internet looking for ideas
Lachlain Judd for his advice and supply of tyres
Review Information Supplied by Mark and composed by Ryan Annear
Photography by Ryan Annear – Autolife Perth / Fully Automotive Photography
Assistant on Location : Mitchell Bertolini
More photos below Or check out the higher quality images on our photo gallery – click here
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