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December 2007 - Angel1 (P11)

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    Posted: 26 Nov 2007 at 7:01pm

Congratulations go to Di (Angel1) for winning our final award of the year, Car of the Month December 2007.  Her stunning P11 GT is a masterpiece of modifying art, a festive treat!

 
 

 

Well done Di, how does it feel to win the CotM award?

 

Gobsmacked!!  Can't believe it!  I am thrilled to receive this great accolade, a testament to how good your car is.  I have wanted to do so much more to it this year but alas it's the usual time and money.  Am passionately guilty of bestowing lots of love and attention on it though. Just crazy about my car, it's my pride and joy!

 

 

Before we move onto the car, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

 

Well for starters my name is Di Gardner aka, Nigel Mansell!  Was married for 18 years, got my 'get out of gaol free' card in 2003.   Age mmm well not telling it's a secret!  Live in crappy Blackwater in Surrey.  Have 2 children - Chris and Louise (22 year old twins).  Louise works for Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir in Oxford.  She was recently seen on his TV programme, The Restaurant (only very quickly though, shame!).  My son is a floor layer and unfortunately for me, still lives at my hotel.

 

I work for CGI (a Canadian computer company) doing application/server infrastucture, SQL server support, performance tuning them and some DBA support.  It's a well paid job but downside is I have to take lots of exams which eats into my socialising time more than I would like it to.  I could be classed as 'Billy no mates' for weeks sometimes.

 

I breed golden satin guinea pigs.  They are nice and cuddly.  Best of all they are great lawn mowers!  Spent best part of 4 years DIYing my home.  Will be finished, one day!I Having a flair for painting and interior design runs in the family.  Claim to fame is having lunch with Linda Barker.  She was just lovely and helped me out with a few ideas..bless her! Also I am a huge autograph hunter but mainly focus on a particular gendre.  Before you ask, noooooh I don't dress up in Star Trek gear.  However I am a massive sci-fi fan and do love star trek.

 

I also love to travel. Thus far I have been to the States twice, Switzerland when it snowed a lot, Stockholm and just recently Madrid.  Have booked my well earned trip down under for next March.  Will do Barcelona and somewhere else maybe. 

 

My favourite music is Latin.  I have a massive crush on Ricky Martin and am an avid member of the fan club.  Am also a closet Duran Duran fan and lastly The Boss himself Mr. Bruce Springsteen.  To understand Mr. Martins music I have been learning Spanish for about 6 months.  If we have any Spanish speaking NPOCers out there, help!!!

 

Finally (Di comes up for air) me bloke is called Stuart.. who is, well what can I say..younger than me!  We don't live together so commute a lot.  We never get on each others nerves and get on famously with rarely a crossed word.  Might be singing a different tune if we ever lived together though.

 

Life is sweeeeeet as!  

 

 

Can you tell us how and when you came to find NPOC?

 

Well, total accident.  Went looking for some info on my P10 after divorce in 2002 and came across  www.npoc.co.uk.  Found it very interesting so browsed the boards for while as a guest and eventually joined in 2003.  The rest is history.  Many changes have taken place along the way but I think now the club has blossomed into a community that is something quite special.  It's full of some great people (please excuse me for those I haven't had the pleasure meeting yet).  Everyone is really friendly. 

 

In early 2007 a certain person (who shall remain nameless) persuaded me to become an Elite member.  Well it was a long time coming and seemed the right thing to do given that I was about to start modding the car. 

 

One of my great regrets and it really chuffs me off that I can't devote as much of my spare time as I would like on all things NPOC.  It's a shame that work gets in the way of a lot of things for a lot of people, bummer.  

 
 

Can you tell us how you came to find this particular GT and whether this is your first Primera?

 

Not my first, that was my beloved black P10 SRi.  Owned practically from new, bought from a granddad driver round the corner from where I lived.  Had my eye on it for ages and bought it for £8K, 40K on clock.  I sold it a couple of months after I got the GT as I couldn't afford to keep 2 cars at that time.  Moreover had no room to store the GT.

 

I have Dave Evans to thank for posting the GT on the forum in Oct 2005, mint condition with 27K on the clock.  Had the money, always wanted a GT so I bought it for a good price and get this! It had only done 5,000 in about 3 years, the engine had dust on it!  How lucky was I!

 

 

Is this your first venture into car modification and if not, what have you done before?

 

No, the P10 had simple mods only.  Back box replaced with a power flow, found BMW twin headlights that were nearly a straight fit and Speedline alloys.  The headlights changed the whole look of the car, all P10s should have them me thinks.  Replaced front bulbs with higher wattage cos the original ones are crap.  Shame the GT suffers the same problem.

 

Modding the GT was always on the cards when I came into some money in early summer.   Had a budget of £1000 to start but that went out the window due to problems with the wheel/tyre package...but that's another story.  All turned out right in the end, a hard lesson learnt!

 

 

 
Can you tell us the spec of the car please?

 

Performance wise its fitted with a K&N 57i induction kit; Powerflow cat back SS zorst with 4" jap style burnt tip.   Its lovely and better still it's noisy.

 

Wheels are 17" Rota boost rims.  I own 2 sets now.

 

The car has been lowered as far as it will go.  I can only assume it's the full 40 mm.  AGK shocks - handy that they come in red colour.  H & R springs which makes the car stand up at the back giving it an aggressive look.  The shocks have 8 settings at the back and 4 at the front.  It's currently set on the middle settings. Extremely stiff rid at first but it's settled down now.  Unfortunately, the headlight position changed so I got that sorted..although I still cant see at night even with the OSRAM Xenons in!

 

Body Styling thus far comes from Smokey effect ABC Design Lexus lights and Nissan rainguards. 

 

 

Your car looks very balanced and everything on the car looks right at home.  Did you plan your mods to all tie in nicely?

 

Yes indeedy!  I wanted a mean, aggressive look to the car.  The styling was chosen to complement the main bodywork, red is such a strong colour to work with than others.  Took weeks of planning to get the right wheels to complement the rain guards and the bodywork otherwise it would detract the eye.  Toyed with gold effect but finding subtle mods to go with them was a bit of a non-starter.  Me thinks they look best on Nordics, bronze or dark green (maybe!) colours like the beautiful examples at Peterborough meet this year.

 

I was unsure about the tailpipe size.  I didn't want it to hang limply and look silly.  I thought the burnt tip might clash a little but I think it looks wicked now.

 

The smoked effect of the lights lifts the red colour and gives the car a more sexy bum like look from the rear.

 

 

Your car has progressed very quickly, you've been very busy!  Are you hoping to keep going at a pace or step back and enjoy her as she is?

 

It was a tight squeeze to get everything done before Peterboroughs unveiling.  There are some more little bits that I would like to get done before March but I am not in any hurry.

 

 

 
In the future, do you have any plans for the car that you'd like to let us in on, any hints or clues!?

 

Well yes of course, and mmmmm, .nope not going to tell!!  I can actually keep a secret!  I will say though, it's got to have a respray.  I have been careless too many times with the front bumper and the cats round here are a nightmare.   They seem to be attracted to red.  Grrrr!

 

 

With unlimited funding, what would you most like to do with the car?

 

Cams/GtiR engine, Subaru styling kit.  New smart headlights, change the interior, tint the windows, does owning a 350Z as a run around count too?

 
 

Can we hope to see more of you and your GT around the meets in 2008?

 

Fingers crossed yes.  I am really hoping to at least get to JAE next year but having so many other commitments has stopped me preparing for more events.  I am committed to Peterborough and Ace every year from now on.  Any others are a bonus.

 

 

Congratulations again for winning the coveted Car of the Month award, your GT is awesome and a credit to you.  Please give your shouts and thanks to anyone who deserves it:

 

Firstly I would like to think Dave Evans for posting the car up on the forum.  The car just had to come into the club really didn't it, I am glad I own it is all.  It's a great and fun car to drive.

 

Next I just cannot NOT mention my mentor - Mr. Andy Batchelor (EVOGT)!! My most sincere thanks to him for helping me spend my money to transforming the car in the way it is today and also to roping Gurpal (Ragt_20) and Ross Stevens into helping him get it lowered ready for Peterborough.  Ross is a diamond geezer for coming all the way from Hastings.  I just ran around like a headless chicking supplying tea, coffee etc.  To thank them I laid on a BBQ with my tandoori chicken right up there on the menu.  I think it went down very well at Peterborough too.  Also to G for overseeing the project and helping a lot too.  Bless you all!  You guys are great!

 

Lastly, the car has a nickname? EVO_II.

 

My thanks also go to Andy's wife Hayley who must share his enthusiasm for cars.  I am so happy to have got to know him, H and their 2 lovely girls.  They are always welcome round my gaff anytime.

 

 
Car of the Month December 2007 - Angel1 - P11 GT

Written by Stevie-Boy

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