Dinner with Nissan and R33 GT-R Legends!

So due to my new position in the Nissan Group (some of you might know exactly), I was lucky enough to be invited to a very special but casual dinner/drinks with some legends from the R33 GT-R world.

Thank you everyone! Especially Hiromi-san for arranging this!

First of course, was Mr. Kozo Watanabe.  Most of you know that he is the real father of the R33 and R34 GT-Rs, so of course I took advantage of this to ask questions to confirm my belief that the R33 is the better car (lol).  So yeah, on my promise to not publicize the details, I learned about why the R34 GT-R never had published numbers for Nurburgring, actual horsepower numbers of the GT-Rs, and how the shorter wheelbase of the R34 was not something driven from a dynamic performance perspective.  He was quick to deflect admiration on his efforts, saying that most of the amazing work for these second generation GT-Rs was by Ito-san, father of the R32 GT-R, and the teams of people involved.  Oh, I also got him to autograph a couple of things for me...  

As Sunako-san looks on, Watanabe-san squeezes his signature onto...

The front GT-R emblem!! 

I do not think I will install this on my car... way too valuable... but on the other hand...　

Watanabe-san was kind enough to sign and leave a message on my car's sun visor!

Note that in addition to his signature, he asked me if I wanted to have him write anything special? My response was, "Anything, I will leave it up to you sir!" 

So he wrote - 究極のドライブングプレジャー　(Kyu-kyo-ku-no-dora-i-bing pu-re-jah) which translates to "The Ultimate Driving Pleasure"- this is the concept Nissan pursued for all of the Skyline GT-Rs beginning with the KPGC10 to produce world-class sports cars. Watanabe-san would obviously be the one guy intimately connected to this phrase, and when he showed us all what he wrote, there was a murmur of Wow and Naruhodo! expressed at the table from the others, including Matsumura-san and the race drivers.

Matsumura-san is a super interesting guy.  He retired from NISMO in 2024 where he had been the COO; but as a career Nissan motorsports engineer (with a PhD!) he was involved in all of the cool stuff, working with Ito, Watanabe, and Mizuno on the GT-Rs.  Known as the "The God of Engines" at Nissan and NISMO, I learned he is the father of the SR20DET?!!! But most importantly, he owns an R33 GT-R and I have heard the guys at Omori Factory about the lengths he went to in order to get the RB26 engine running PERFECTLY in his own car.  Hopefully I get a chance soon to check out his car, and when I do I will post what I learn here!  I have actually worked with him on a couple of projects at Nissan/NISMO and so he knows me well, but I never had a chance to post about him before.

Anyway, as you can see I am pretty happy with just being in the same photo with these two legends!!! 

Another bucket list item for me!

Matsumura-san's successor at NISMO as Chief Motorsport Officer is Kiga-san - who was kind enough to pose for a photo with me and ex Nissan racing driver and current WTAC driver Tarzan Yamada who I had not seen for several years!

Long time blog readers probably remember the time he drove my car on the track, testing out the Tarzan G-Box.

I was also able to meet up with Sunako-san, who I had not seen in about 10 years!

This man does not age..

In addition to teaching me on how to drive on the track, his real claim to fame is winning the 1996 Super Taikyu Class 1 Series Championship in an R33 GT-R, of course.

From Sunako-san's website

In addition to his WTAC fame, Yamada-san was Sunako-san's co-driver in the Super Taikyu series, so it was interesting to hear stories from both of them from that (golden) era.  I was just happy that both of them remembered me!

And then I was able to get to know Katsura-san too!

Super nice guy Shinichi Katsura

I had met Katsura-san very briefly at TAS before, but this time I got to sit down with him and have a series of very interesting chats with him about how awesome the 33 GT-R is (in front of Watanabe-san, of course!). He also talked about Aston Martins, a topic Watanabe-san actually knew a lot about, so that was really interesting too!

You can see a very young Katsura-san (oh and a very young Sunako-san too) in this Best Motoring video from 1997, upon the release of the kohki BCNR33.

And finally, another NISMO legend - Mizuki-san, long time NISMO Racing Team Manager/Group A GT-R Chief Mechanic! Even though I lift weights at the gym, Mizuki-san apparently works out every day and showed off his impressive shoulder and arm muscles - the guy is 64 and SOLID!  Here, Katsura-san is laughing at how weak I am compared to Mizuki-san...

And finally, I have to thank the both of these lovely ladies - Hiromi-san (long time NISMO) and Yumi-san (long time AUTECH PR) - for arranging and for keeping the conversation going at all times!

Anyway, first thing I did when I got home, was to reinstall the sunvisor in my car.

Yeah, I know it is not an OEM part, being an S15 part, but as you know I installed these to match the dark grey Alcantara on the roof! So now, everytime I drive the car, I can flip down the sun visor and remember this evening I had with so many incredible people who have contributed to the Nissan Skyline R33 GT-R!

2025 is Over and Done - Will 2026 Be a Better Year?

Fall/Winter tends to be the best time to get shots like this due to the clean air...

Happy New Year to all of you reading this.

2025 was a very busy year for me, and honestly I feel bad about not having much content to post about these days. There are a few more projects I have in mind for the 33, but as you all know with Nissan having its problems and my job there being instrumental in helping to turn the business around, there was not much time for play.

Having no Nismo Festival last year also did not help. That, and in addition to not much free time for simply driving the car around, I am also worried about the lack of spare parts (just like most owners) and so want to keep the mileage minimal until I can feel comfortable drving the 33 around normally, again.

But in making some new friends mainly through my additional work at Nissan Motorsports & Customization (NISMO/Autech company), at the end of the year I DID go for a group drive to Hakone.  It was cold, tires did not grip, but it was nice to just go for a drive and hang out with like minded car guys.

I will let the photos speak for themselves - and note the copyrights belong to the people in the group who were kind enough to allow me to use these photos.  Enjoy!

Getting up early to beat the traffic...

I'm not much into R35s, but damn that is one nice machine!

Yep, this is our group. Right before the tollgate.

These guys too - and Proof of dawn

Miyata-san's Z31 looks mean. Because it is!!

Right before the pedal hit the metal...

Took a short break mid-way up...

Then at the top...

Yes, the local Mazda guys were there too!

The Alfa was one of our guys. Not all Nissan guys drive only Nissans! Really interesting stuff on that car.

Stopping to let someone catch up

Final stop for me (wasn't feeling great and wanted to go home early)

...but not before I join the other car nerds to marvel at how
 Miyata-san squeezed in an RB26 into his Z31!

Was I the fastest? Certainly not. But this car is just so raw and pure compared to what I have been driving lately. SO communicative and honest. I was grinning the entire time I was driving it. A pointed reminder that I need to do this more often! 

I mean, just listen that engine and exhaust sound!

The Other Thing I Put on the Wall (Garage Series)

 So as I mentioned in my last post, the official Nissan poster wasn't the only piece of art I put on my garage wall.

You see, at last year's Nismo Festival, one of the vendors there grabbed my eye - Kusaka Engineering, who are known mainly for their scale model RB26DETT engines!

Scale model of a Mine's tuned engine, anyone?

But in addition to making scale model cars and engines, they also introduced something else, which is made to order. So a few months after ordering it, it arrived in this box, which I had left stored in my office downstairs as I wondered what to do with it.

So Kusaka Engineering makes these LED lit Skyline GT-R displays:

Obviously from the font you can see this is for the BNR32. https://kusaka-eng.com/led.html

And yes they make them in the appropriate font for each GT-R model. So of course I ordered the larger size for the BCNR33.

Looks better in person.

And they threw in a 5 meter extension cord... which came in very handy 

So I went ahead and plugged it in to make sure it worked. Looks awesome, huh? 

Just not sure where to mount it.  Initially I thought maybe next to the poster but that would create an unbalanced look. On the other hand, hanging on that wall would mean I could see it from my office.  But in the end, I decided the opposite wall would do nicely (and my good friend Dino agreed as well).  And it JUST fit, too.

Green arrow pointing to the extended power lead

To hide the power lead, I routed it below the window sill, using these clips, made to hold electrical cords in place.

And that really cleaned it up! Can't tell how it's powered!

So how does it look with the car parked? Well the photo does not do it justice...

Maybe the garage is too bright? To the naked eye the glow is very nice.

Oh, and here is a photo just to show how it looks from this angle. I guess a wider angle lens could capture both?

In any case, I am thrilled to finally have two pieces of R33 art finally up on the garage wall. There are a couple more items I am thinking about wall mounting, but I am in no hurry to add to these at the moment. 

Prince Skyline Museum, Part 1 - Exterior, Gift Store, Model Cars and History

Friends, in an earlier post I promised photos from my trip to the Prince Skyline Museum in Nagano Prefecture. Here in Part 1, I'm uploading all the photos I took that aren't of the actual cars themselves - that will come in Part 2.

Enjoy!

The museum itself is located in Toriidaira Yamabiko Park.

The entrance to the Toriidaira Yamabiko Park - right above the parking lot.

Halfway up the stairs, looking back. You can see my blue Lexus in the lot.

As you crest the hill, this is what you see.

Close up.

Here is the main entrance on the side.

A closer shot. Not sure about the wooden deer but...

Immediately inside, after buying the admissions ticket there are two glass cabinet rows of Skyline paraphernalia

So this is right behind the entrance counter.

Of course I focused on this. Contemplated getting it but...

BNR32 and Hakosuka dishes...the "P&S" logo by the way of course, stands for Prince & Skyline

I wasn't impressed with the R33 plate so I passed on buying it...

Yes, chopsticks.

These are cool. 

Some ink drawings. Some better than others.

For the true diehards, start your day with coffee/tea in your Skyline mug cup...

and finish off your day with a cold one in your Skyline beer glass

If you're eating rice then of course with matching rice bowl...

I've met this guy...

This guy I have not, unfortunately. And since he's no longer with us... true Skyline fans know who he is.

Not bad. Gold frame? Maybe...not sure how I would frame it.

Finally about to enter the museum where the cars are but...

First some more non-car stuff. If you are a 33/34 fan, you have this man to thank.

Never seen so many Skyline Tomica in one location before. Probably most aren't available now commercially.

Recognize these engines?

Yep the FJ!

The brochure that came with the UK spec R33 GT-R.

Nissan UK Brochure for the R34 GT-R.

I didn't care for the wheels but was focused on the carbon drive shafts.

Lovely model of the road going LeMans R33

And some racecars

Backed up to focus on the ones in front.

These were interesting - they came attached to canned coffee drinks.

I would love to have a poster like this in my office!

So Prince Motors had its origins after the war, when all of sudden Japan had all of these unemployed military aircraft engineers. The same who designed and built the engines that powered the Hayabusa and the Zero, as well as other military aircraft...ever hear of Nakajima Aircraft or Tachikawa Aircraft?

This is the Type 21 engine these engineers built, that powered the Zero.

Nakajima Ki-84, aka the Hayate

I took a short video of this impressive scale model of the Murayama Factory that was tucked away in the corner, right after  - this is where all Skylines were built until production ended in March 2001. All GT-Rs built after that were built elsewhere but you'd have to ask a 34 fan on where (just kidding I know it was the Tochigi Factory). Note the test track!