Silvia sitch in Oz

 

So before I go off on a tangent let me outline the point of this write up. The Nissan Silvia is very obviously one of the most iconic coupes ever made. Yet somehow the first iteration (not counting the gazelle) was not sold in Australia. This means every S13 Silvia in Aus was imported from Japan. Don't get me wrong we actually imported a fair few but they were destined for tuner/drift or motorsport applications. As a result finding a fairly mint S13 in Aus is pretty tricky. The S14 was sold in Aus but in low numbers, and considering the desirability of these, like the S13 chances of seeing one stock is also low.

Despite this I still try to seek them out. Like this one I saw HERE

The owner bought this car new, changed nothing and has only put a bit over a hundred thousand kilometres on it. It is essentially a survivor car. But this story doesn't really take place for an S13, as after all they had a life in Japan.

At seven am over the Easter weekend my mate sent me a Gumtree link. It would take me to a listing for a navy S13 Silvia Q's. Now the difference between this listing and every other S13 import; it was stock and had a (mostly) known history. This wasn't the first S13 story I'd explored, a while back a cheap one appeared on FB Marketplace and I went to go look at it. Before I set off the owner had no clue about pricing (I think it was listed for 5grand), when I arrived his line had been blowing up and he'd somehow become convinced it was worth 35grand. Regardless I still managed to chew-the-fat and record the car.

A few weeks later he sent me this photo and blocked my number:

Getting back on track here's the contents of the Gumtree listing:

Nissan Silvia Manual Coupe (2 door)

We have owned and thoroughly enjoyed this unique sports car for over 23 years.

It was purchased on 14 February 2002. It was imported by Matt Clarke of Turismo Imports Pty Ltd, Athelstone SA, who shipped three of them from Japan!

A copy of the Commonwealth Import Licence is available with a Compliance Plate in the engine bay. The car was manufactured in 1990.

At the time of purchase the odometer read: 85,430 KM

As of today it is: 173,300 KM

It has been regularly serviced and maintained by a local auto mechanic in Victor Harbor, who is also a performance car enthusiast and owner.

Receipts and details of the regular maintenance and restoration work done over the years are on hand.

This is a well engineered, well built, great performing and reliable vehicle… but if you are a Silvia enthusiast, you already know this.

The mechanical parts that simply wore out over time have been replaced or restored properly, as required.

The car is sound and in original condition. No mods outside the original factory specs have been undertaken, except for a Lukey muffler.

A GPS digital speedo, which warns when your pre-chosen speed has been reached, has been added.

Some added factory options were taken up by the initial purchaser in Japan:

“Q’s” HICAS: 4 wheel High Capacity Active Steering - which makes the car extra responsive in both high speed and tight cornering. It also enables incredible parking in small spaces and tight U-turns.

It also features bespoke “tear-drop” factory wheels, which are very rare.

This Q’s model has electric windows and mirrors, automatic climate control, heated rear window and a rear spoiler. The aircon requires re-gassing.

Specs: 1.8L (CA18DE), twin Cam, 16 valve, fuel injected, with 5 speed manual transmission and LSD.

Faults: There are cracks in the dash, but it is almost impossible to find a 35 year old Silvia without some. There are custom fitting dash mats readily available on eBay.

The driver's seat is worn on the outer RHS. Other minor defects will be pointed out at time of inspection.

This Silvia is reliable as a daily drive, runs beautifully, rides nicely and performs spritely.

This model and configuration was only sold new in Japan making it very rare and therefore sought after by Silvia enthusiasts.

The car on offer is a perfect candidate for complete restoration to concours condition by an enthusiast, or a collector, making it an excellent investment.

Now to create a comparison here is an example of a AU delivered Silvia (200SX) that would otherwise be considered a survivor if you ignored it being molested during sex spec (impossible);

 

I will admit this comparison is by no means fair but it does a good job of making you appreciate how rare a stock single owner S13 is in Australia. So how had the stars aligned to preserve the navy s-chassis?

 

Only one way to find out...

And again I don't care about the spec of the car, I'm not interested in buying it, like Tai Lopez I was after knowledge. And bang on five pm Philip called me. 

Honesty is the best policy.

So first and foremost I got some words in and told Philip I wasn't looking to buy the car, I was in fact interested in him & his story. I gave him the offer to cut the call if I was wasting his time. So here's what I found out...

Philip's first car was a Mini, eventually replaced with a Cortina, then a Falcon and an Aston after that. Safe to say he is a car enthusiast. In fact one of his early business ventures was traveling to the states and bringing back cars, converting to RHD and selling them. Over time he had many cars which he eventually sold to both fund businesses and buying a home with his wife. With her they got into web development and tourism. They built one of Adelaide's earliest tourism websites in 1994/96? (He wasn't sure). By the early 2thousands the business was doing well and involved tourism video work and more, however, Philip wasn't getting around in anything particularly engaging and was ready for another enthusiast car. He said he noted a few Silvia's on the roads but had no clue what they were. This led him to do a little bit of research but not much. At this point it was mainly the look of the car that attracted him.

It was purchased on 14 February 2002. It was imported by Matt Clarke of Turismo Imports Pty Ltd, Athelstone SA, who shipped three of them from Japan!

So the ad says, but Philip actually admitted he was not the first owner. The car was initially bought by a high ranking police officer from Christie's beach who only had it for a year, possibly two. Philip cut a deal and so the Silvia became his. Due to the nature of the business and how close they lived to everything the car wouldn't see much mileage. It did however, win Philip over, and when the right one came up he bought a silver S15. He originally intended to sell the S13 but his wife (also a car enthusiast) decided between how well it drove and sentimental value that it would become her daily drive. Eventually they would retire and the AC would need regassing. One car became enough day to day. Philip is aware the marketplace for cars is falling fast and hopes to sell the S13 for a good price and maybe get something else for him and his wife to enjoy.

I'm not going to lie I was a little disappointed to find out Philip was not the first Australian owner as I really wanted to know how and why someone would buy an imported S13 in 2002 to enjoy as is. But putting that aside he was really chill and happy to talk. 

Thanks Philip. But what now?

While I'll never stop writing up street sightings I'd love to do more feature stories on owners and their cars - so a proper look & chat with some Silvia owners is certainly on the agenda. Stay tuned.