Sunday, January 31, 2021

Some More Fan Love...

 Ok guys, I am starting to feel like a celebrity... yet another very nice gift sent my via Trust Kikaku.

This was something I don't have, so it was a nice guess!  True, my CAR has many/most things Nismo installed - the latest being an entire suspension -  but otherwise I don't have many Nismo/Nissan brand items from the Nissan online store. No jackets, no mugs/cups, no model cars, no teddy bears, no ball caps, no tools, not even a calendar!  (I USED to have a Nismo thermos, but it leaked... all the time. Maybe it wasn't designed for hot coffee? You are forewarned!)

Actually - I lie. I have ONE NISMO keychain (carbon), a GTR iPhone case, and I have a Nissan lanyard I use for my company ID card.

But looking at the Nissan online shop, there really isn't much I would spend my money on, at least not now (yeah I get a corporate discount but even then...)

...so I was pleasantly surprised when I got this in box the other day - the foldable 50 liter Nismo-branded container box!

Don't want to open it... yet...

So initially I didn't know what to do with it. But, I think this is EXACTLY what I had been looking for, to fit into the trunk of my GT-R... to hold the essentials. Extra oil, instant detailer spray, window cleaner, and some microfiber towels. Oh, and my fire extinguisher probably would fit in here too...

Except of course, as we speak I am working on something else for the car.  Because my garage is currently not insulated, it has been too cold (and I've been too busy at work lately) to summon the energy to really work on it, but as you can tell by the stuff I've removed from the trunk, yes it is something trunk related.

On left - the trunk divider under the orange towels...

So, keep checking back as I hope to update you all soon about what I am now working on.  Meanwhile, I hope to have some more R33 GT-R related posts published from the comfort of my home office. 

Stay safe everyone! And THANK YOU to the person who sent me this very nice gift! Highly appreciated and I will cherish it!

Monday, January 18, 2021

Thank You Trust Kikaku! And Anonymous Fan!

So before the end of the year, a good friend had contacted Trust Kikaku and asked Hannah-chan (who speaks, reads, and writes English!) there to send me the one Nismo part I did not have - the latest fuel cap cover - as I posted in my last post of 2020


As you might have seen from the post, I wasn't sure if I would bother installing this, since the older one was working (and looking) just fine!

Well, looks like one of my readers figured out a way to incentivize me to change out the old cap for the new one.  Because, just 2 days ago, I got this in the mail:

Oh wow, another package from Trust Kikaku!!

And my guess is...

HA! I knew it!! Thanks!!!

Of course, don't want to disappoint the person who sent it. Unfortunately Trust Kikaku did not send me a letter to explain who and how this was being sent. Oh well. 

In any case, I immediately decided to see how the new Nismo gas cap would properly installed on the car.

First, I had to make sure the fuel cap fit!

This was a surprise. I guess 24 years of gas/petrol turns white plastic brown...

No problems at all fitting it!
Actually, this looks pretty good as is. Functional for sure!

Anyway, back to putting the Nismo part on. Look closely and there are these two rubber strips in the box, with adhesive backings, to place on the inside of the handle grip (see green arrow pointing at instructions).

What was strange was, even when using the black strips, there was still a bit of play between the plastic cap and the Nismo cap cover. Not sure if you can see it here as I try to show how it looks centered before attachment using the 3M VHB tape on the sides of the Nismo cap cover.

I think I got it on pretty much on-center!
And then when I put the whole thing on:

Decided to turn it a bit ("click-click") and then compared against the old one.

So my deepest thanks to those who arranged for this, I am very happy with now having the option to switch back and forth!

Now I am pretty sure there are no more Nismo parts I need. But, maybe I should double check the catalog...

Friday, January 15, 2021

Happy New Year! Calendars, a Japanese Tradition!

Friends, I hope that 2021 is a much better year for all of us than 2020, both collectively and individually.

So at the moment I am working on something on my car, but not quite ready to post yet. But soon!

Meanwhile, I want to share a Japanese tradition... at the end of the year, companies send important customers and clients their next year corporate calendar.  These calendars are usually made to be as non-offensive as possible, with landscape sceneries and oil paintings as a common motif.  Hence, usually the ones I get from my insurance companies and banks are opened and then quietly put in a corner/trash... useful, but boring, I guess.

Some companies, however, choose to be a bit more interesting. It used to be Japan Airlines, for example, would pick 12 gorgeous flight attendants from among the ranks of their global staff, and have one (always female) pose in front of some nice scenery. Miss January, Miss June, etc.  It has likely been toned down a bit but I see that JAL still maintains some of that tradition. Although yes the ones with their different airplanes are cool too. I guess.

Anyway, as you can tell I have never been one for calendars, especially the ones from banks and insurance companies.  Until now, when I got a follow up package from Hannah at Trust Kikaku (on behalf of the mysterious M) which included TWO CAR-THEMED 2021 Calendars! 

Here is the first one - from Fujitsubo, the famed exhaust manufacturer. Blake Jones from Speedhunters did a nice write up a couple years ago of what these guys are all about.  Indeed, the first exhaust I had my car (before it served as the R33 jig for the Tomei Expreme Ti titanium exhaust) was a Fujitsubo Super Legalis R, upon recommendations from the guys at Nissan Prince Tokyo Motorsports when they were still located in Shinagawa.  It was steel and heavy, but it sure sounded mature compared to the race car loud Tomei!


The second calendar came in this cardboard tube.  This being Japan of course:


Yep, it has perforations in two places so you don't have to use a knife or scissors to open the tube. No accidents!


WOW, simply WOW! I heard that these are really hard to get, so I am super happy with this. Beats nature scenes and fine art, anytime! (Let's not talk about the flight attendants...:). Everyone knows HKS, but just in case, here is Dino's latest post on what HKS is up to.

The Fujitsubo calendar also came with a plastic clip on mount, so I immediately put that on the wall above the wall in my office:

Uh yeah, all Nissan Skyline stuff... on the other hand when taking Zoom/Teams calls for work, always good to have a Nissan background!

As for the HKS calendar, looking for a good home now. Maybe the garage, or maybe a bedroom. 

Again, thanks to M and Hannah for these very nice gifts! I feel very lucky and hope you both have a great 2021!!