Import with the Heart of Muscle | Perry’s Nissan 240SX

While traveling, I like to scout different rides in the area. Before heading up to Wichita, I began my search for modified rides in the area to shoot. One of the rides stood out right away with the shiny reflective wrap on a Nissan 240SX. Instantly, I set up a time to shoot the 240. I met with Annika and Jacob Perry to check it out as soon as I hit the city.

Jacob has always been loved cars, it started at an early age with his dad and the Pontiac GTO. He loved getting into the GTO for a cruise along side his dad with some fun racing the following weekend. From then on, it only grew over the years while building several cars. Love for the car scene also happens to be what brought Jacob and Annika together.

A little over four years ago, Jacob and Annika built their first car together: a 1976 Datsun 260 2+2. At the time, they lived in a one bedroom apartment without a garage, which didn’t stop them. The kitchen turned into their work space with tools everywhere. The Datsun was completely restored from inside out. Over the next few years, there has been a few other projects including a few VIP style cars including a 1997 Lexus LS400 and a Nissan Cima. These two rides ended up being traded to the current projects, the Nissan 240SX and the 65 Chevrolet C10. The couple is also busy restoring Annika’s first car for another project, a 1978 Chevrolet Nova. Not only have then been busy with their own projects, they have helped out on building two drag cars, a 1969 Chevrolet Chevelle and 1993 Chevrolet Camaro. There have been others, but they have pretty much done every style expect for low rider and donk style vehicles.

With Jacob’s first car being an 1995 Nissan 240SX, the love for Nissan and specifically 240s never left. With the Zenki body style being his favorite, he chose the S14 for this project. Over the past three years, the 240 style has changed several types. In the end, the Perry’s always wanted a street car that was able to do anything and everything.

So when we asked Jacob what’s his favorite aspect of the 240, it was a bit hard for him to narrow down a specific part of the build. It comes down to the fact it’s a true pro touring style car that he can get in a drive when he wants. This was the initial goal for the 240 from the both of them. With drifting and auto-crossing in sight, the future will hold that into play.

During the process, the Perry’s knew they wanted no shortcuts and nothing but the best. Seeing Enjuku products being tested and proved to be one of the best, they knew they had to buy from them. For the radiator, they went with another proven winner and went with Mishimoto.

Building a ride doesn’t always go smoothly, with the Perry’s owning the chassis for three years, they were faced with a few hurdles throughout the build. In the beginning, for a year and a half they spent most of the time deciding what will be the heart. After finally deciding to swap in a 5.3 LS motor, they completed the transplant and took it out for a run which ended up blowing the engine. Not a great start but with some time and luck, they came across another 5.3 LS setup but this time with a 80mm turbo. The 204 was almost perfect and ready to go when an unfortunate turn of events happened. The Perry’s arrived to their home in December of 2015 to find their house and garage broken into with nearly everything for the car gone. Jacob was ready to throw in the towel but with Annika’s determination to get back on the map and a goal of show ready by March, they pressed forward together.

The Perry’s were knocked down, at one point they sold every car and car part in their possession. Sometimes the passion doesn’t just go away, it may diminish but it can come back to life. No matter how hard they were brought the the breaking point, they got right back in the game. Cars are their passion and will always be.

In regard to how the inspiration of the build came about especially with it being a street can and a track monster, the Perry’s remember seeing a monster 3000gt build on the track with some of the best times of the day to which the owner then proceeded to drive it home. A few days later it was spotted on the road again driving around town. This wasn’t a drag strip only car, and they loved that.

Surrounded by classic American muscle rides living in the Midwest swayed the decision to go with a V8, but they also wanted to stand out from the crowd. With Jacob’s love of Nissan 240s, the answer became clear and they decided to build a 240SX  with a V8 swap. They get quite a bit of looks from spectators trying to figure out what the ride is and what kind of motor was thrown into.

Visiting from Houston, Texas, the car scene is definitely different from what is in Wichita. I asked the Perry’s what they thought of the scene in there city. They liked the fact that there’s a bit of everything and it’s not terrible, but it’s definitely not Texas or Maryland or anywhere is a much larger scene.  The Midwest is mostly old school muscle so their 240 is widely known throughout the entire state. For most in Kansas, it’s a pretty wild build but they know in other states it’s seen as just another run of the mill swap.

It’s not over yet, there’s still a lot of other things in the works for this build. If you see the Perry’s 240 now, it looks completely different from when I visited and spent the evening with them and some of their friends. You might see more of this 240 in the future from Spekture – stay tuned!

Modification List

WP Post Author

Alex Ventura

I grew up around american muscle working on cars with my dad, but by the time they were ready to get me a car, they wanted something reliable and good on gas. Picked up my first civic and started modded years back which introduced to the import scene. I still have a soft spot for some old school american muscle.

See author's posts