Like Beauty and the Beast, this is the fairytale story of how a pretty Shropshire lass has fallen head over heels in love with a monstrous widebody Nissan Silvia S15…
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful, tattooed girl called Mel. Mel is the sort of girl who has a big heart and a lot of love to give. She is never one to turn her back on someone or something in need of care. So much so, she has got into a bit of an adoption habit.
I’m not talking about taking in a little bunny with a gammy eye, or nursing a disgusting pigeon back to full health. I’m not even talking about giving poor orphaned kids a new home. No, Mel loves adopting unloved cars. She takes them under her wing, fixes them up, gives them a new lease of life and then falls in love with them.
We first met Mel when she told us all about her beloved Maggie, her track-spec 106. She bought the little Peugeot as a complete wreck and transformed it into a mint little motor. She fell so much in love with Maggie that the little 106 even makes up part of Mel’s amazing body art. Now that’s dedication! However, we aren’t here for the Pug. Instead we’re here to check out that dirty wide Nissan S15 she has parked up on her drive.
Mel had booked the 106 in with her good friend Ant at AMG bodyshop to have the interior painted to match the exterior. Our Mel is a bit handy when it comes to bodywork, so was prepping the car for paint herself. “As I was working on Maggie I spotted a massive alloy wheel out the corner of my eye. As I pulled back the bonnets and bumpers I found a dusty rubbed-down-and-ready-to paint Nissan Silvia S15”, Miss Taylor explains.
And, as you’ve probably guessed after speaking to Ant, they both came to an agreement on price and Mel was now the proud owner of one of Japan’s most iconic motors. Hurrah!
Of course, Mel’s history has taught us that none of her adopted babies stay standard for long, and the S15’s fate was destined to be the same. The Rocket Bunny kit that the car now wears was originally intended for an S13 model, but has been painstakingly grafted onto the Silvia’s bodywork. The end result makes the back end of this drift monster a massive 6ft wide.
Big arches need big wheels and Mel’s not been shy when it came to getting some girth under those fenders. Filling up all that space is a set of staggered Kranze Rapier 12×18- inch and 15×19-inch alloys wrapped in sticky Toyo rubber.
Up front the car has been treated to a Chargespeed bumper matched with a vented DMAX bonnet and finished off with a custom fabricated aluminium splitter that matches the same one that’s on her 106. Nice touch!
The arse end of this motor has had as much attention as the front. A Chargespeed bumper has been fitted to match the front and a massive C-West carbon wing casts a shadow wherever Mel and the beast goes.
When it came to picking the right colour for the car, Mel knew exactly what she wanted. Every inch of the Silvia’s body has been covered in Red Wine Chocolate Mocha paint with a 3-way pearl topcoat to match her Pug 106. Colour-coded cars are the future!
The interior needed to be fit for a princess and it certainly lives up to expectations. The standard seats have been replaced with bright red BRIDE low max buckets and combined with purple LUKE harnesses, perfect to plant her royal bottom on.
Helping the S15 to go into full on beast mode is a re-worked Trust turbo, GReddy front mounted intercooler, PON cams and turbo back exhaust system. All this hard work has resulted in a monstrous 435bhp, which helps Mel get her arse out on a regular basis.
So there we have it folks, a real life love story of how Mel Taylor has once again fallen in love with an ugly duckling and turned it into a beautiful wide arch, huge powered monster beast!
And they lived happily ever after…
TECH SPEC: NISSAN S15
CHASSIS
Tein electronic coilovers; Skyline GTR driveshafts, discs and pads; braided brake lines; S14 welded diff; staggered Kranze Rapier 12×18 and 15×19 alloys with Debeer candy purple lips; 225/40×18 and 275/30×19 Toyo tyres.
STYLING
DMAX LED rear lights, roof spoiler, bonnet; S13 Rocket Bunny kit; 110mm overfenders; Chargespeed front, rear bumpers and skirts; custom splitter, canards; C-West carbon spoiler; Red Wine Chocolate Mocha respray with 3-way pearl topcoat.
INTERIOR
BRIDE Low Max bucket seats; Luke purple harnesses; Defi gauges; Kode purple stitched deep dish steering wheel; Pioneer doubleDIN DVD headunit; purple wrapped dash; stripped rear.
TUNING
Re-worked Trust turbo; PON cams; pink injectors; Splitfire coilpack; Walbro fuel pump; GReddy front mounted intercooler Copper core radiator; HPI tubular manifold, turbo back exhaust system.
THANKS
Ant and his team at AMG bodyshop; Andy and Andy at No 2 The Same Signs + Wraps; Leon Parks for helping maintain the car; Tom Faust Recovery Services; Ashley James; Lucas Croydon; Codie Prout; Joe Gunn; Julian Smith at Garage-D.
Words Nick Turner Photos Lucas Croydon
