Congratulations
on winning March 2013 COTM Adam! Your Nissan Primera P11 GT Saloon, in minty
mint white is probably one of NPOC’s best kept secrets.. But not anymore!! How
does it feel bagging this exclusive award and the awesome COTM trophy as well?
I am very surprised to be honest with
you. There are many great Primera's in this club and I never thought I would be
worthy of the award. It is great to see that people like my car enough to give
me this award. Thanks very much.
Before we
talk cars, modifications and mechanics, we’d love to find out about you the
owner. Please tell us about yourself and what you get up to, away from the
NPOC.
My name is Adam Powell, I am 26 years
old and I have lived in Lincolnshire most of my life but most of my teenage
years were spent in Norfolk going to school. I am currently working for
Bakkavor Spalding and have been for the past 5 years, with 3 of those years on
nights. My current job roll is machine operator, I was a supervisor but gave it
up to spend more time with my family (11 hours shifts were not good even though
the money was) and the stress was doing my head in! My main interests outside
of cars are computer games and football. I also spend a lot of time on our
house which we bought in 2010 with my girlfriend, who I have been with for 5
years and our 5 year old daughter Sofia.
How did you
find the NPOC forums and are we any good? Would you happily recommend the club
to other Nissan Primera owners?
When I first started looking for my
first car actually. No matter what I am buying I will always do my background
investigations so I know what I am letting myself in for. I think this was when
the website was under a different address though. I really wanted a P11 GT
though but obviously this was a no go with insurance at the time. I ended up
buying a pug 306 though as French was pretty much the scene with the group of
friends I had at the time. The forums on this site are fantastic. A lot of car
forums I have been a member of, have very little knowledge base included in
them, meaning I am always having to ask questions. Here there are loads to help
out the enthusiast. Many a time I have been doing work on my car, with the laptop
in tow.
What cars
floated your boat (car history) prior to picking this lovely saloon up?
I am not much of a jumper between cars,
so have not had that many. My first car was a Mk3 Ford Fiesta 1.6si which was
good for a first car but felt numb. Then I got a Peugeot 306 XSI which had a
lot more poke and was fun to drive while looking good, until someone reversed
into it in a Sainsburys car park in King's Lynn! After that I just ran it into
the ground and scrapped it. This is when the Nissan Primera came in.
So 5 years ownership with
this GT now… Still feeling the love and why?
Owning an old car is a love hate
relationship. One minute you are replacing a worn wheel bearing and you have
the feeling like selling up. Then you are walking out of shop and someone has
left a note on your windscreen, saying how great your car is and if they could
buy it. I also love the fact that the GT is rare as hens teeth now. I am lucky
to see a couple during a year. I love the shape, it’s comfortable, has great
steering feedback and a great engine which has enough power for our roads,
while still being quite economical.
I
believe at some stage, your other half also owned a Nissan Primera P12 as well
as you owning the Nissan Primera P11 GT? Is she still rocking the 12 too?
Yes she has and still has it although
we are selling it to get her something small and economical. She has had it for
nearly 4 years now. It has been abused, long services etc but has been reliable
until I had to replace the chain last year, which I suspect was down to me not
servicing it enough. The car feels like a boat but has plenty of room and is
comfortable. It was also a big learning curve for my other half, as it is her
first car and very big one for a woman to learn in!
When you were
looking to own a P11 GT, was white the colour you “had” to have, or was it by
chance and did you know how rare white was at the time?
Colour was not an important factor to
me initially. My main criteria was to find a car that was a saloon, was low
mileage and was not silver. I ended up going all the way from Spalding to the
New Forest (Hampshire) to pick up the car which was 4 hours each way. The fact
that the car was white was a huge bonus and only had 76,000 miles on the clock.
And was it
specifically a saloon you wanted?
Yes, a hatchback was not on the cards
and never will be. Watching the BTCC as a kid meant a saloon was the only
option for me. The saloon looks fantastic from all angles whereas hatchbacks
look a bit squished at certain angles. This is just my opinion and I am sure
hatch owners would disagree.
On to the
modifications, now would be a great time to tell us all about your gorgeous Nissan
Primera P11 GT! So please list your full spec and all modifications, inside and
out:
A lot of the modifications have been
OEM improvements with a few breather mods for the engine and a few mods to the
suspension.
Exterior:
JDM Xenon Quad headlights with LED
sidelights and RING 120+ High beam bulbs.
Clear Side Repeaters.
Clear rear tail lights with fog lights
modified into working night and brake lights.
Inovit ST6 17” alloy wheels with 215
40 Falken FK452 tyres and Nissan center caps.
Team Heko wind deflectors.
Brand new “Primera UK” and “GT” badges
for the boot and a new larger Nissan hamburger for the bonnet.
B pillar door strips have been removed
and replaced with a carbon fibre vinyl.
Nissan branded euro style number plate
holders front and back with LED numberplate bulbs.
Many parts have been resprayed, like
door handles, grills and mirror covers to keep the car looking good. (I am also
in the process of respraying a front bumper but couldn't quite make it into
this feature).
Genuine Nissan Primera GT mudflaps
front and rear.
Trico Neoform wiper blades.
P10 wiper spindles.
Interior:
All lighting changed to bright LED
bulbs.
Plasma Dials with blue SMD LED's for
the trip computer
Blue SMD LED's in the center console
heater controls.
MGTF Momo 5 Speed gear knob (very
similar to the GTLE knobs just brand new) with a brand new Momo gear gaiter.
Nissan Primera front and rear
stainless kick plates
Genuine Nissan mats front and rear.
Seats treated and dyed with colour
matched dye. They look fantastic for 120,000 miles.
R33 Skyline steering wheel.
Engine:
NGK iridium spark plugs with new Bosch
leads.
Earth kit.
Revised chain tensioner.
Hotshot Header with 2.5” down pipe.
Copper gaskets as well.
Custom made 3 inch cold air feed with
genuine Apexi air filter relocated into wing.
Genuine Nissan fluids always used.
Rolling Road Dyno tested locally and
made 158 BHP.
Suspension and Brakes:
EBC brake discs.
EBC green stuff pads front and EBC
ultimax rear.
Polybushed rear trailing arms.
Polybushed front drop links and anti
roll bar.
What’s the
most enjoyable change you’ve made so far?
The JDM xenon headlights. As mentioned
I work nights so being able to see where you are going is a big issue. These
lights are exceptional compared to the standard units with their light output.
They also facelift the front end fantastically making the GT look a lot meaner
and sportier. I must also give a mention to the 4 tail lamp mod on the rear of
the car, which for a couple of quid on parts has totally transformed the rear
end look at night.
If I gave
£500 right now and told you it had to be spent on the car, what would you buy?
Coilovers. It's the only thing my car
really needs at the moment. Not for the stance as that doesn't interest me in
the slightest but for the grip and cornering ability they can give.
If money was
no object and you could do anything you wanted to your Nissan Primera GT, what
would you do?
SR20VE ~300bhp, Sequential gearbox
with LSD, big brake upgrade, BTCC aero parts and a load of chassis stiffening.
Not to forget a ground up rebuild of the actual car itself. Basically a road
going version of a BTCC car with interior.
Cosmetically
this P11 GT is standard looking to most.. But being a white saloon, it is ripe
to become a full on BTCC replica!! Would you??
Only if I ever turned it into a track
car, or if I had the power to back up the “in your face” looks of a full BTCC
livery.
I believe
you’ve done a lot of the work on this car, on your driveway and by yourself and
out of 1 – 5, what rated spanner monkey do you consider yourself to be?
I would say 4 out of 5. I will take on
pretty much everything from engines to electronics as long as I have the tools
and understanding to do it. Welding is my weak point as I haven't learned but
will do at some point in the future.
Is there
anything you wouldn’t take on yourself?
Anything which involves gas as I don't
want to blow myself up! I will not touch air con systems and will leave that to
the professionals. I cleaned out our boilers heat exchanger last summer and
almost soiled myself when I turned the thing back on!
Time for
the quick fire question round!
How
long have you been an NPOC Member?
5 years as a full paying member. I have been browsing the
forums from the early 00's though when I was looking at first cars.
What makes you smile?
An early finish at work which rarely
happens LOL.
What makes you sad?
When there is no Robinsons fruit and
barley peach in the house.
Tell us something we don't know about
you..
I wear glasses when I drive and I fixed
them with a soldering iron because I am tight.
Your favourite colour?
Red.
Your lucky number?
7.
What will it say on your gravestone?
Don't know, haven't really thought about
it. Whatever my other half chooses.
Your favourite drink (any)?
Alcohol is Fosters Gold and Robinsons
fruit and barley peach for a non alcoholic beverage.
If you could steal the keys to someone else’s
car (on NPOC) for 1 day, which car would you steal and why?
Torby's P11 to see what an SR20VE
would feel like in a great condition P11.
So you’ve
been an NPOC member for 5 years now and to date, we’ve never met you, or seen
you at any of our Club Meets – I’m genuinely interested as to why?
Time has been a huge issue for me over
the past few years. Working nights has meant I haven't really had much time for
anything. The new house has been taking up all the spare time I have had. We
also had massive problems over the past two years trying to get my other half
transferred to day shift, (useless HR department which nearly ended up going to
court), which meant my days off have usually involved sleeping. Now that my
other half is eventually on day shift means I can look at job prospects in the
day time, (trying to juggle jobs between our daughter so she spends as little
time as possible with baby sitters, is what we are trying to achieve).
Especially now I have been given a COTM award, I owe it to the club to turn up
to some of the big meets in the summer, which should be possible now.
Can you see
yourself owning the car for a long time, it recently got a fresh MOT but I know
you have another 4 wheeled love interest at the moment?
Yes I bought a Celica GT-Four at the
end of last year. I have always had a hankering for big power but was put off
doing an engine swap on the GT, as I need a car daily that is reliable and
financially it was better for me to find something with an easier base for
tuning. I bought the GT-Four in the same vein as the GT. Exclusivity is always
something I have wanted in a car, which is why you will never see me in a Ford
Focus ST of BMW M3. Like the Primera GT, many people underestimate the great
things the GT-Four has going for it.
The Celica
GT-Four is an epic car and I know most of us in the Club are massively jealous
(git!).. Can both cars really exist in your life?
Yes they can. My insurance for both
cars is £900 for the year. The amount I save on petrol with the P11 GT over the
year pays for the insurance itself. Having 4 doors makes the school run a lot
less of a pain. The plan now is to sell the missus P12 and get her something
small and economical for her run to work. Then in essence the Primera becomes
the family car that can be used for trips etc as it makes a great GT car. Excuse
the pun.
Are you a
serial modder, who has always tinkered with your cars?
Not until I got the Nissan Primera. I
never had any money to spend until then.
NPOC for life
(regardless of what car you own and drive) or leg it when you change car?
Yes for £15 a year it is pocket
change. I think of it more as a magazine subscription. It's great to read the
updates of what everyone is doing with cars, whether it is a Nissan Primera or
something else.
Tell Carlos Ghosn why he needs to bring back the Nissan Primera
brand:
He needs to bring back the Primera as
a performance saloon for the family. In the same essence as the GT86 but for
the family. I am sure there is a market to bring back the fun into driving, for
a family car.
From 2013 onwards in every COTM feature, my final question to all
winners is going to be this one... If you could change 1 thing about the NPOC
Forums, what would it be and why (and don’t be shy)?
The search function can be a little
vague when searching for help. Maybe a How To section detailing search tips etc,
to help you find what you are looking for.
Many thanks
for telling us all about yourself and your Nissan Primera P11 GT Loon Adam, you
have a cracking car! Congratulations once again for winning Car Of The Month
for March 2013! Please end this feature, in your own words and feel free to
thank anyone who’s made this one possible.
Thanks go to the people with the
knowledge and sharing it and not keeping it to yourself. Thanks also to the
people organising the groups buys, so lazy people like me can just pay and wait
for it to arrive. Also for the many
people who have sold me Primera parts to get it how it is.
Congratulations once again to Adam!