There are many people within the UK drift scene who change their car as often as they change their shoes, with boredom, the want for something different and inevitable damage as a result of drifting all being key factors as to why this is. However, there are some people who pick a car and soldier on with it, getting to know all of its foibles, characteristics and qualities better than anyone else could. Mark “Norfy” Norfolk has owned this Sileighty since 2010 and has overseen its transformation from a fairly basic CA18 powered UK 200SX to the misfit creation that it is today.
The car was already well known within the UK scene upon Norfy’s purchase of it, with its reputation as a super cool, super fun practice day and street car definitely preceding it. However, as is almost always the case, the CA18 proved consistently problematic and, while the traditional route would have been to opt for the more modern and more refined SR20 power plant, Norfy decided to do something a bit different: an M62B44 BMW 4.4 V8 engine lifted from an E31 840ci.
Dropping a BMW V8 into a Jap car in the UK isn’t unheard of and there are a number of S and R bodies out there successfully proving their doubters wrong with German lumps. However, most of these conversions have been performed with 4.0 litre V8s lifted from the more sedate models within BMW’s range. Norfy’s decision to go with an E31 engine certainly raised a few eyebrows, not only due to the usual complications you would expect with an engine swap but more to do with whether or not it would even fit under the bonnet…!
As an expert with wiring and a dab hand with a welder Norfy opted to undertake all of the work himself in nothing more elaborate than a single car garage. Arch tubbing, transmission tunnel reshaping, bonnet cutting; nothing was deemed too difficult and, while progress may have been relatively slow, I’m sure the satisfaction factor of getting the job done by himself made it all worthwhile.
The under-bonnet setup may not have stayed the same over the last three years but one thing has definitely remained consistent: Norfy’s eternal quest to get the Sileighty sat as low as physically possible. For most of its drift life the car wore a set of mismatched 15″ SSRs, paying homage to the 90s style that the car had been styled upon. However, these days a set of 17×10 et15 Dare items fill the flared archs and, while the jury might still be out on these, personally speaking I love them. The OEM themed exterior mixes seamlessly with the classic wheel design, with the PS13 front end, pre-facelift front lip, Origin side skirts, 180SX rear bumper, Kouki spats and subtle roof spoiler helping to prove that you don’t need chunky bodykits and overfenders to have a tough looking drift car.
Of course, a big engine and an awesome exterior do not instantly make for a capable drift car; a decent suspension setup is crucial and this has definitely not been overlooked in this case. The usual items are all present and correct (Meister R coilovers, fully adjustable suspension arms, solid subframe bushes etc.) but it is the little things that make the difference. Running 10J front wheels with a decent amount of steering lock is never going to be an easy task, so S14 front lower arms (longer than their S13 counterparts), kinked tension rods lifted from an R34 and custom lock stops have been fitted which, along with the relocation of the steering rack 15mm further forward, have helped to provide perfect clearance while still retaining useable steering lock and preventing any over centre issues.
With a car wearing such an eccentric personality on its sleeve you weren’t expecting a spotless interior were you!? The quintessential Cusco roll cage, OMP deep dish steering wheel and Bride bucket seat are all present and correct but they are rubbing shoulders with the custom switch panels, fusebox relocation and dash cluster. While I personally prefer a more OEM theme for the interior in my own S13 I can’t help but love the setup that Norfy has created with a bit of thought, wiring know-how and, more importantly, ingenuity.
It’s bruised, battered and a total misfit yet, at the first round of this year’s BDC where it was parked up in the pits, it received just as much (if not more) attention than the hugely expensive, complex and high-end builds of the front running teams.To me, this is what the drift scene is about. Having a hugely powerful and competitive car might be necessary to compete at the top level but, for everyone else who has set out to enjoy their car as much as possible (be it on the road, a practice day or at a competition) expressing yourself through your four wheeled creation is just as important. Yes, Norfy’s Sileighty could probably be more competitive if it had a more sensible ride height, a more familiar engine setup and a more restrained front wheel setup (amongst other things) but, all things considered, who actually cares?
Using nothing more than off-the-shelf tools, a small garage and a bucketload of creativity Norfy has put together a car that carries more notoriety amongst the UK’s grassroots drifters than many competition cars that have been built on budgets ten times of that of the Sileighty you see before you. Before you jump to any conclusions, I have nothing against competition drifting and building a drift car to be as good as it can possibly be – I just wish people did it with a little bit more flair, creativity and ingenuity.
Spec list:
Engine/drivetrain:
M62B44 BMW 4.4 v8 from 840ci E31
Shaved engine bay
M5 Getrag 6 speed gearbox
Stage 3 paddle clutch
Single piece lightweight flywheel
Custom propshaft
Short shifter
Aftermarket oil cap
Walbro HSS 341 fuel pump
Dual core SR20 radiator
Custom wiring loom tuck
“Hockey puck” engine mounts
Relocated fuel lines and filter
Blitz induction kit
2 x 11″ electric fans
Revotec fan controller
Custom straight through exhaust
Braided clutch line
Custom clutch pedal
M5 clutch master cylinder
Oil filter relocation
Exterior:
PS13 front end conversion with brick headlamps
Pre-facelift lip
Origin side skirts
180sx rear bumper
Kouki spats
17×10 et15 Dare DR RS (12mm spacer front, 15mm spacer rear)
Roof lip spoiler
Wind deflectors
B pillar bottle opener for “added cool points”
Suspension:
3:6 ratio S14 welded diff
MeisterR coilovers
Solid subframe bushes
s14 front lower arms
R32 track rods
Tein rack spacers
R34 kinked tie rods
D2 toe arms
D2 camber arms
Driftworks front subframe braces
Solid steering column bush
Custom lockstops
Custom front upper strut brace
Rack moved forward 15mm
Polyurethane rack bushes
Custom hubs
Seam welded chassis
Removable front slam bar
Semi-tubbed arches
BM50 brake master cylinder with no servo
Modified brake pedal for 6:1 ratio
Custom clutch pedal for interior clutch master cylinder
Braided brake lines
Custom throttle cable
R32 GTR front calipers and discs
Interior:
Cusco full roll cage
Battery relocation
Stripped interior
OMP deep dish steering wheel with snap off hub
Bride bucket seat
R32 GTR passenger seat
Takata harness
Custom wiring loom
Custom fusebox
Custom switch panel
Custom instrument cluster
Acewell digital dash
Oil and water temp gauge
Oil pressure gauge
Washer bottle relocation
Custom seat subframe
Custom relay box
Broadway mirror