Congratulations on winning March 2015 MOTM Kris! How does it feel
to be our exclusive Member Of The Month and having your name up in lights?
I
was totally gob smacked when I received the Private Message on the forums from "essNchill", saying that you wanted to feature me and my cars as March MOTM!
We’d love to find out about you the person. Please tell us about
yourself and what you get up to, away from the NPOC.
When
I’m not working as an Assistant Store Manager for Aldi, I spend my time with my
family which is growing, I’ve got 1 daughter with another on the way. When I
fancy a break away from family life, I like to get out on my bike and head for
the hills.
I know it’s been a while now but can you remember how you found
the NPOC forums and are we any good? Would you happily recommend the club to
other Nissan Primera owners?
It
was when I went to look at my GT loon, I was made aware of the NPOC. Pretty
much after I saw the car, I came home and signed up to the forums straight
away. Whenever I’m out and see another Primera owner, I’m always pointing them
towards NPOC.
Your join date from your profile shows February 2010 WOW! Which
means you have now completed 5 years of NPOC Membership and most of that was at
Elite Membership level! What keeps you coming back and signing in every day
here?
The
community spirit within NPOC keeps bringing me back every morning. In my 5
years of club life I’ve only had ever had 1 issue with another member. I’ve met
so many new people though the club, either at the meets or online.
You’re an Elite Member
here (our highest level of paying membership and respect to you too)!! Are you
still getting value for money with that? And please sell us the reason, why
everyone should become Elite.
Well I’ve never really noticed the £4 a
month for Elite Membership go out of my account, it’s so affordable!
If like me, you love going to the big car
shows, the ticket discounts we get as Elite Members (from the Club Owners) on
just Japfest, Japfest 2 and JAE is pretty much your yearly membership money
back anyways.
Now we know you are
currently driving a Nissan Primera P12 (and have a project P11 GT) and we’ll
get into that a bit later but until then, I’ve been dying to find out what gems
or rotters you have owned during your car ownership history BEFORE you found
the Nissan Primera love. Let’s see your list and hopefully some olde photos too
please.
I’ve
had a mixture of only Jap / French cars in this following order:
1987
Nissan Micra 1.0 Blue
1989
Nissan Micra 1.2 Red
1990
Peugeot 205 1.1 Red
1990
Nissan Sunny 1.6
1990
Peugeot 205 1.1 Red (same one again)
2004
Peugeot 206 1.4 Blue
Currently
own the next 2:
1997
Nissan Primera 2.0 GT saloon in Black
2004
Nissan Primera 1.8 SE Silver
Have you got a favourite out of the list above and why?
It
has to be my GT loon as since the day saw it I loved it. The styling was pretty
much perfect and I wasn’t really going to modify it either - Which didn’t last
long LOL!
Before we get to your Nissan Primera details - What got you into a
Nissan Primera to start with, was it on the list of cars to own back in the
day, or a chance encounter?
Well
it’s kind of my Dads fault, as he services my cars it had to be something he
felt comfortable working on and it came down to just 2 cars, the Nissan Primera
or a Toyota Avensis. When I spotted the P11 GT saloon, I fell in love as soon
as I test drove it.
All this talk about the Primeras, let’s find out more about yours
please matey! As you have 2 cars on the go and I know you’re super passionate
about 1 of them and the other is your daily driver, let’s take them on, one at
a time. So, let’s start with your P12, tell us all about the spec and all the
goodies she has:
The
P12 is the 1.8 SE model and the only change I’ve done to this one, are the blue
interior bulbs.
Tell us what floats your boat about the Nissan Primera P12 Kris,
there’s not always a lot of love for the 12’s but here’s your chance to
convince someone:
The
best thing I like about the P12 is the handling, although it’s not as good as
the GT, it does handle pretty well. The interior is also pretty modern in
comparison to what I’m used to driving.
Now moving on to your lovely black loon! Let’s see some photos of
your P11 GT and tell us all about the spec and all the goodies she has:
At
the moment the only modifications / changes are:
Powerflow
stainless steel exhaust
Apexi
air filter
Clear
rear lights
Clear
side repeaters
Plasma
dials
Alpine
CD / MP3 head unit
Although
in the parts room (yes I’ve kinda filled my spare room with car parts LOL!) I’ve
got the following ready to fit, as part of the project:
Tomeii
Poncams
XTD
lightweight flywheel
SR16VE
pistons
Coil
overs
SSR
Intergral alloys repainted in Subaru WRC blue
P11
144 bump strips
G20
rear lights
Custom
made radiator cover and I’m half way through colour coding the interior too.
Now most of us in the NPOC know that this GT was a lovely looking
car and appeared at a few club meets but then you took her off the road, to
take on some sort of epic rebuild / project. How long since she last saw the
tarmac and how much longer until she’ll be completed and ready?
Well
the unfortunate day it came off the road was February 2012 and she was meant to
be back on the road that same year! Now I’ve got about half of the bits I need to
complete the rebuild / project, I’m hoping she’ll be ready by the end of this
year.
What’s the reason the lengthy project Kris and surely you miss hooning
around in this one?
The
main reason behind it taking so long, is purely down to my Dad who is
rebuilding the engine, he works hard and has a time consuming job, so he can
only do bits here and there on Saturdays, or when he’s not working. I can not
wait to get back behind the wheel of the GT though!
Let’s talk spanner ratings. On a 1 – 5 scale of what you would or
wouldn’t take on mechanically, where are you on the scale?
I
would say probably a 3, as I do like to get stuck in and help my Dad when
working on cars, even when I was growing up as a kid, I was always trying to
help out.
So, let’s focus positively on the future.. What do you think will
be your favourite thing / part about the GT?
That’s
a tough one but I’m going to say the interior - It’s going to be in my favourite
colour and something I’ve designed myself.
Time for the quick fire question round!
What makes you smile?
My
daughter
What makes you sad?
Getting
up early
Tell us something we don't know about you..
I
used to be able to lock a D-Lock around my waist (up until a year ago)
Your favourite colour?
Blue
Your lucky number?
14
What will it say on your gravestone?
Rodney
you plonker
Your favourite drink (any)?
Vodka
Redbull
Your sub £10K second hand dream car would be?
Escort
RS Turbo
Your sub £30K second hand dream car would be?
Nissan
skyline R34 GTR in blue
If you could steal the keys to someone else’s car (on NPOC) for 1
day, which car would you steal and why?
It
would have to be essNchills car “Pinky”. Having seen it from the start as a
standard car, to where she is now.. It’s just a car I’ve admired from day 1! Pinky is pictured below:
You’ve shown up at a loads of club meets over the years
(respect!), do you have a “best meet ever” out of those, tell us which one was
memorable and why?
That
would have to be Winchester 2011. It’s one of the biggest turn outs to a meet I’ve
been to, (excluding the National Meets) and the weather was perfect as well.
Tell everyone who has never come out and joined us at a Club Meet,
why they should..
It’s
a great chance for members to meet other members and get to know the face
behind the screen name and have a cracking laugh while you’re there.
So 5 years of NPOC membership Kris, is there a defining club
memory in that lot somewhere?
My
defining memory would probably be the first club meet I went to. It was a South
Coast regional meet (Shoreham 2010) and when I turned up in my modified Peugeot
206 (at a Nissan Primera meet!), I was genuinely made to feel very welcome, as
soon as got out the car.
NPOC for life
(regardless of what car you own and drive) or leg it when you change car?
NPOC
for life as at every meet I’ve been to, I’ve managed to meet a lot of good
people / friends, who I wouldn’t have otherwise met.
Tell Carlos Ghosn why he needs to bring back the Nissan Primera
brand:
I think there is a big gap in Nissans current
market. After the Micra you’re looking at either the Juke or the Note and we
need a fun, practical family car with the same space and handling as the
Primera we all love.
Member Of The Month is all
about highlighting the unsung / unknown heroes around this club and also their
cars, should they be driving a Nissan Primera. You’ve been here for years now
and every Club Meet I go to, you’re always there too. Any member showing out
and representing the NPOC always makes me proud - Thank you Kris! With my
thanks out of the way, it’s over to you
to see us out.. Congratulations once again for winning Member Of The Month for March
2015! Please end this feature, in your own words and feel free to thank anyone
who’s made this one possible.
The
biggest thanks has got to go to my Dad, as he has always been there helping
with both Primeras – Thanks Dad!
Members
“dyp” and “essNchill”, for all the courier runs you’ve done for me and for
lending me bits to get custom made, or taking me to meets when my car was off
the road. "edk_N16” for his help with photo shopping different pics for
me.
And
finally, pretty much anyone who I’ve got parts off to get my GT back on the
road.