Baron's R34 GT-R build thread - car in Japan for 5 years -_-

[Duncan]

well, there you go!

[BaronOBeefdip]

Back again. This one's gonna be a little pic heavy, so bear with me😉

 

Last post I mentioned that I was going back to Japan in October for R's Meeting and that I would finally be driving my own R34 for the very first time, and that's exactly what I did! Unfortunately though leading up to the trip, even with just a few days to go before leaving for Japan, it wasn't clear the car would be shaken'd/reg'd/and ready for me to pick up/drive, because of acute communication issues from the person handling all of it. Luckily things were sorted out, but the miscommunications resulted in me having to pick up the car in Tokyo, instead of the car being back down in Gifu waiting for me like originally planned.

 

I wasn't alone though, as my good friend Kendan was with me the whole way from Narita. Once we finally made it to the parking garage, I was getting rather nervous as it hadn't quite sunk in that I was gonna be walking up the ramp of the garage to see my car for the first time in the wild, literally. But as we walked up...there it was, in a poorly lit parking space right in the middle, ready to turn the keys and run south into the night. It was a moment I won't forget and really, the whole trip was surreal and doesn't truly feel like it happened. I believe I shared the moment on IG stories. But man....what a feeling that was.

 

After quickly looking things over, we packed our gear into the car, went down the block to get a tank of fresh and then set out onto the Expressway heading south. It's hard to put into words what it felt like for the very first drive...of my own BNR34...all I know is I had a huge stupid grin on my face the whole time -until we ate a very filling CoCo curry dinner and I about passed out!- and kept saying to Kendan "that's my f***ing RB!", which of course for him is nothing new as he now has three GT-Rs....

 

 

What's suuuuper fortunate about the first drive, is that for jumping into a car on the other side of the world and immediately driving 4hrs, we didn't experience a single issue with the car and it performed just fine, though we weren't pushing it all. I didn't want to do any sort of pushing until I could go over the car more closely over the next few days. Once we did I felt a little more confident giving it the beans.

 

And let me tell you....the car is quick, responsive and gets the lead out. It's clear the previous owner took care of it and got a decent tune on the FCon V Pro. There's still a ton to do to the car with replacing and refreshing parts but for how it stands, I was pretty pleasantly surprised with how it all felt. Cautiously optimistic I will remain!

 

Once we got everyone together in Gifu, the gang headed north while I stayed behind to do some more to the car and fit some bits on. After that, I went up Tokyo way to meet them and from there on out we did so much driving and picture-taking; it really was jam-packed every day up until the last day everyone was together as a group. Trying to herd cats, something, something.....

 

 

 

 

This is all of us at Omori Factory as a group, pretty cool.

 

We then went to Mine's after Omori, which was pretty awesome getting to share with my guys and seeing their reactions to the newly-restored Hondemo before the major public getting to see it at R's. I had seen it before at Niikura-san's house, during my first trip in Feb of 2023, which was pretty special indeed. It was great to be back at Mine's and they showed all of us great hospitality. Niikura-san went to go look at our cars in the parking lot next to HQ; he's a true enthusiast of these cars and it's reassuring to see that he still has the passion after all these years. Nakayama-san even gave me some of his time to look at my car and talk options. He is almost completely sure that my car has HKS GT-SS turbos as we tried to look as close as we could. He's looked at thousands of setups, so I'm inclined to believe him...

 

 

Over the weekend we made our way south to Fuji Speedway for R's. Sunday was the event, and let me tell you, for those who haven't been...it's impressive to be there. So many things going on, cars attending, stuff to buy, etc. It all felt like a blur, but it was a seriously awesome event and I can't wait to go back. Mine and Kendan's cars were invited to be in it at a booth, so we did that. Not too many foreigners can likely say the same with their own cars. It was great to catch up with people I talk to in Japan who are in the same circles, and even though it was a long day as I'd spent the previous night detailing the car 'til 2am, I didn't want any of it to end. Truly a worthwhile experience to make a Japan trip for. Every one of us who hadn't been just had our jaws on the ground haha.

 

 

 

 

Here's a GTR Magazine-style picture I got. Unfortunately none of us guys were selected to be in the magazine photoshoot, as there were issues with lottery results and all that. Hopefully in there's no issues in the future, but Japan loves their lotteries for selecting people for things🙄 Then we did a group photo at the entry gates.

 

 

 

The next day most of us went our separate ways, as some of us had to head back to the US. It was a bit bittersweet, as we all -mostly!- had a pretty good time together, which is pretty rare for large groups of people. But that didn't stop us from going up to Hakone for some more pics and the view on a perfectly clear day. It's cliche, but pics definitely do not do the scenery justice. Just take my word for it😛

 

 

I've slowed down buying parts but still on the lookout for things as I still have a lot left to acquire, as well as some big things planned. I do intend to go back to Japan twice in 2024; once for a big plan related to the car, and then to go back for R's again! It was so good I have to do it all again. That's all for now, stay tuned for more!

 

'til later

Edited February 14 by BaronOBeefdip

[GDZ32]

Loving the pic on front of Fuji Speedway's entrance

[BaronOBeefdip]

Thanks man! It was a cool moment for sure. Apparently we made it into a Sammit video or something while we were taking pics at the entrance and he drove by. Dunno don't watch his stuff anymore😆

Edited March 6 by BaronOBeefdip