Hey folks,
This will show my age but I haven't done any drifting since 2005 when I had my 180sx but after years of focusing on classic adult milestones (marriage, house, career) I'm back and ready to slide.
With JDM cars going insane during the height of the pandemic, S-chassis quickly left the realm of possibility and 350z's started spiking to stupid levels locally. This lead me down the path of looking for JDM that isn't drift taxed to hell and had a good supply of parts/whole cars at wreckers or FB marketplace, as I wanted to ensure that if I did some major damage or destroyed the car in a wall, I could grab a shell and transfer everything over.

Enter the V35. These were a super common import in Australia and although the majority are automatic, you can still find manuals with a bit of time.
I spent about 2 months waiting for the right model with the right price because for once I wasn't drifting my daily driver, which meant I could be patient and build up a healthy budget for parts.

I always thought the concept of barn finds was ridiculous until I was contacted about a V35 350GT coupe in manual with a sunroof and with the added bonus of having the premium package. This person was traveling back from interstate work and needed cash ASAP to get their work truck up to spec for a new job. They had previously wanted the V35 to do up as a nice street car but had to leave for work and so she sat in a barn collecting dust and oxidization from being so close to the beach.
The car was 2hrs drive from me and I was slammed with work, so I sent a mobile mechanic out on my behalf to give me a full report to see if it was even worth my time driving out to see it on the weekend.
The report came back with healthy compression across the engine, chassis rails were straight, and drove fantastic. The only things wrong were all the bushings in the rear were toast. the brakes needed replacing asap and he'd clearly had a small crash at some point because the front bar was held in with zip ties and the fender liners were shredded.
I went out on the weekend to inspect myself with the intention of buying it regardless because it had some goodies on it that I could part out for good coin.
It had definitely been crashed but I couldn't find any structural damage. It had all the regular V/G35 issues that come with age; door stoppers worn out, central locking broken, knock sensor or harness had failed, and a few others.
I did some negotiation and got the car for $5000 AUD. An absolute bargain when registered cars with the same spec were going for $18000 AUD.

So, now I have my project car and I'm building out my garage to support this. The goal of this car is to have a super reliable seat-time car that I can drive to and from the track. I also want to be able to enjoy driving it through the mountains for a bit. Once I get to the point where it's mandatory for a roll cage, I'll deregister it and it will become a dedicated track car.

Pics and build



How I got the car:
2003 Premium V35 with sunroof

• 6sp Manual
• Brembos
• Work VSXX
• Nismo sway bars
• Nismo Rear wing
• Fujitsobo exhaust
• Ancient Tein Flex coilovers that must have been installed back in japan

My Mods I've purchased that are in the process of being installed.

• Koyorad radiator
• Nismo low temp thermostat kit
• Mishimoto radiator pipe kit
• Mishimoto oil cooler kit
• Ebay Oil catch can
• BC Racing DS true coilovers
• GK Tech plenum spacer kit
• DBA T3 4000 slotted rotors
• Project Mu HC+ brake pads
• Kyostar boss kit and quick release
• Nardi deep corn 350mm
• Sony AX5500 head unit
• RGB Underglow kit from Amazon
• Import Bible Melody Box
• JDM Tsurikawa Doraemon reverse chime
• Complete zinc coated bolt kit (every bolt I touch gets replaced with a new one from the kit)
• Complete fastener kit (every plastic clip I touch gets replaced with a new one)
• Zinc coated worm gear clamps ( every clamp I touch is replaced with a new one)

Mods list that has yet to be purchased

• GK Tech fully adjustable front and rear setup ( pretty much their entire catalog)
• GK Tech Hydro setup
• Parts Shop Max rear calipers for hyrdo
• Bride seats
• 5 point harness
• Roll cage
• Front and rear bash bars
• Get the car wrapped in Porsche Hellgrun green

As you can see my focus has been on reliability and maintenance first. I've been working my way around the car doing as much maintenance as possible(fluids etc). Since picking up the car, I've fixed the central locking, fixed the door stoppers(NO MORE SMASHED SHINS!), fixed up every cross-threaded bolt/hole I've encountered, and rewired the stereo(I don't know what this guy did previously but it was a rat's nets). When I replace the knock sensor and harness I'll go in from the top of the engine and replace all the gaskets/bolts as well as throw in new NGK iridium IX spark plugs and new belts. It's a damn nice car and I'm enjoying it so much. It's also great to be doing mechanic work again.

 

Jeez that's a heck of a find for $3,454 USD! With the wheels and Nismo on top of it! Welcome to the site, and we look forward to following along with your adventure!

 

Welcome to the forums, what engine does it have? I know there were a few engine options that we never got here in the USA. I'm guessing it's a VQ35DE since it has the 6MT but I think some of the early models had the direct injection 3.0 liter.

 

Correct, it's got the vq35de.