Say hello to 27 year old Mark Marchesan. He's just bought for himself an imported
R33 Nissan Skyline GTSt - a 2.5 litre RWD turbo weapon - and he intends to give
it the full aftermarket treatment. And of course, being the prying journos that
we are, we'll be there to watch every step as it goes through the paces. But first,
let's find out about Mark and hear what he has to say.
Mark Who?
Mark Marchesan is the owner/manager of Adelaide's high profile Exhaust Technology
workshop. The car he's best known for is a purple Datto 1600 crammed with an SR20
turbo engine, Wilwood brakes and racing suspension - but we'll let Mark tell the
story...
"My interest in cars spans back a fair while, since my brother used to be
the State Group G rally champion in about 1986. He gave me the initial inspiration
for cars, although I didn't really know what they were all about. At first I only
knew the noise, the look, the dirt and the mud." So Mark's from a strong motorsport
background is he? Well, not exactly. "Dad was actually a big game hunter believe
it or not - I'm just the dregs of it all. In the end it just happens that your toys
become your business. I've been in the exhaust business for 3½ years now
and I started Exhaust Technology myself."
Mark has also had some experience behind the wheel in two Classic Adelaide Rallies
as the official course opener, and he's into street rallying in a big way. "Time
is the big factor. I'd love to go competing, but I won't unless my workshop's set
up so that I can leave for days on end. You've got to go to motorsport relaxed,
you can't go while thinking about the workshop. You have to focus."
His previous cars have been an interesting mixed bag too. "I bought a (now sold) Charade F2 before the R33. It was probably more for business to start off with,
and then we just fell in love it - and it was actually 3 and a half seconds quicker
down Windy Point than my 1600. Probably because it was so good under brakes."
He continued, "The 1600 was my first build-up car, but that wasn't on the road
until I was 16-17. Before that I was driving around old boonga Corollas, learning
how to drive in them. Then I went onto the 1600, and that was probably when I got
really inspired." Today Mark's Datsun 1600 is one of the most extensively modified
cars on Adelaide roads, so he's certainly no half-assed fool!
Weapon Selection
So why did he go for an imported secondhand Skyline as a new ride, rather than
the flavour-of-the-month WRX at a similar price? "Mainly because it is rear
wheel drive and bulk strong. I would have bought a Supra RZ or a GT-R, but when
you start looking at prices and loan repayments, you know... I would have really
loved a Supra, but the Skyline will do nicely. Plus there's no point in spending
50 grand and finding out you can't do any mods with insurance regulations."
Ain't it the truth!
"We got the car through a private importer after we (Mark and his girlfriend Megan) chose the car from a selection of photos and put a deposit on it. That was probably
the eeriest part of the lot, as I forked out 15 grand and I hadn't even seen it
up close! I was a little bit worried because you occasionally hear of a car that's
come in and it's had people go through the crate and just fxxx everything. They
rip stereos and whatever they can get out of it. And the worst thing is, if they
can't get in through the doors, they just smash the window. You hear of all these
horror stories, and when you're signing the fifteen thousand dollar cheque you're
thinking of all this. But the process of it was just so easy, and it turned out
terrific."
"They use a grading system for the cars exported from Japan. A zero grade
is a wreck, and a 5.0 is a car straight off the factory floor. This car was graded
as a 4.5 and I was thinking it's going to come over with some dings and dents in
it, but it's ridiculous. It blows you away, it's that good. The car was first registered
in '93 in Japan and it's done only 30 thousand kays."
Ahh yes, but are they original kays, we asked? " Yeah, that's something
I thought of before - that they knock the kays down. But when you look at the scuff
panels and everything on it, it's beautiful. It's like new." And after more
than a passing glance over the Skyline, we'd have to agree with Mark that it's a
genuine no-bodge immaculate example.
So why chose to go for a private import rather than a fully-complianced (ie able
to be registered in Australia - Editor) car direct from an importer? "Cost.
I knew the warranty wasn't going to be an issue - the worst thing that could happen
is if the ECU goes, and then I'd just put an Autronic in it anyway. So really the
car would have had to be a real boonga. You see, with the money that I saved over
buying it locally, I could just about put a new whole drivetrain in it. Plus I wanted
to have enough money left over to modify it, and to modify it in big steps. Not,
you know, not buy a wheel one week - I wanted to do it in big hits."
And how much has it cost to get the Skyline on the road, as an all-up cost? "Twenty
eight five, paid over three installments - the initial $15,000 (to get the sucker
deposited and put on the boat) and there's lots of other pockets here there and
everywhere else. The guy that brought it over is John Arwin of Adelaide Motor Company.
He's got a really schmick house at West Lakes and looks out of a nice glass window
and brings cars back." It's a tough life for some, eh? "Cars aren't really
his main thing - he brings a wig of other stuff over, and he knows all the compliancing
rules and everything. The plates are approved in Queensland and we fit it all up
back here (in Adelaide). I did the convertor, John (Keen) did the seat belts, rear vision mirrors, tyres and whatever else."
Was there anything else needed for compliance approval? "No - just a service
and tune. The tyres had to be locally delivered too. It's annoying because you know
your gonna spend 4-5 grand on a set of rims and tyres later on and you've gotta
spend another thousand on these dunger ones." To get it 100% safely and legitimately
on the road cost Mark just under $30,000 by the time you include registration and
insurance charges. As Mark says though, "what else can you buy for 30 grand
in Australia - it's wicked."
"But you hear rumours that this isn't going to happen forever. They're not
going to keep bringing imported cars over because once they start to realise that
potentially these cars are competing against VT Commodores and all that shit, they'll
stop it - it's simple. They'll just sting it so hard. And I don't know what'll happen
when the GST (Good and Services Tax) comes in."
So isn't Mark worried about the ongoing influx of cheap Japanese import cars
that might possibly bring the value of the car down in the future? "The values
don't worry me much" he says, "I got it cheap enough - plus it'll bring
in potential customers to the business as well, you know. There's nothing better
for the customer than to know you've played with one, and that's the quality of
car you work on. It helps in that you don't have to prove yourself before you make
a sale."
Mark's Verdict
So after spending nearly $30,000, what were Mark's very initial impressions of
the car? "It's big, too big. You think you gonna crash it. And then you think
of Julian's incident in the GT-R and then you think oh, shit. And it's a bit ugly
and airy - like you look at the gap between the guards and the tyres on the 200SX
rims. But it doesn't matter, 'cos you can walk to the back of it at night, turn
the lights on and it's sexy you know - it's a monster."
"We took it up to Mallala the other night to my parent's farm, and on the
speed limiter at one hundred and eighty it was like 2 and a half grand in fifth
gear. And - not that I was (yeah, right!) - but you could take your hand off the wheel and just float the sucker there. Its stability is wicked, it's got an electronically controlled air dam on the front. I haven't done any mid-corner testing with it, but I'm sure it would have to do something. I reckon at about 40-50 kays it comes down - bzzz, dzzz". You've
really gotta love this sort of gizmo don't you?
"At any stage of any corner I think you can oversteer it - even in standard
form. Its oversteer is just mad. But its mid-corner braking is unbelievable, you
can almost hit the picks and lock the inside wheel without losing your line. And
it's almost like a sling-shot - you come in mid corner, get on the gas early and
it really loads up on one wheel and pulls itself out of the corner. I put it into
a slide in third gear on Marion road and thought, oh fuck it's gonna go up a pole.
But if you don't back off too sharply it won't get into its big tank flap. If you
back off slightly it's beautiful - it's really forgiving. But once something goes
wrong, man would it go wrong big time!"
Can the car's rear wheel steering system working felt to be working? "You
can feel it - there's no turn-in understeer. Coming up from just where I live at
home it's a cambered road, and booting it in second gear it starts to slide at 5
or 10 degrees. It's sliding but still accelerating, and I can feel the steering
wheel shake at the same time. It's a weird feeling. That's another thing - its turn-in
response is so good. I'm forever correcting it and wandering. But as I said, the
oversteer is wicked in first and second. You just start squeezing third and it can
oversteer - you've gotta be careful 'cos the back wheels are just flying you know.
You wait, there'll be lots of them getting crashed!"
And how does he find the characteristics of the 2.5 litre twin cam turbo engine?
"It's torquey. When you're in the 1600 you've got to be really aggressive through
the gears, but with this thing you just leave it in third and brrr - it's beautiful.
I can't wait to get a (exhaust) system on it."
What does Mark's girlfriend Megan think about driving the car? "I think
we kind of scared her to start off with, saying it's this Japanese supercar coming
over. She sort of expected this torque curve to fall back on itself and it to oversteer
everywhere - but she loves it. She even drops me off at work in it instead now.
She loves it with a passion."
It's a hell of a lot more comfy than the hard-edged 1600 too isn't it? "Oh
yeah, its got seat adjustment like you've never played with before, and a nice efficient
dash - you can always see the tacho and the gauges. But its big man, its fuckin'
big. You know, pulling into car parks - coming from the Charade and the 1600 where
you can rip the handbrake on - this thing's backward, forwards, backwards forwards."
Fiddle Fiddle
So given his first impressions of the Skyline, what's in store for it? "It
won't be as radical as the 1600, like I won't crack the engine since it's my daily
driver. I don't want too many cars in the shed not working - not when one's worth
triple the other one's price. I want make it a nice fast classy Japanese car with
nice rims, slammed suspension, exhaust, some of the Japanese stuff like control
arms and rose joints and that. Really I just want to enjoy it and use it as an everyday
car as well as for business promotions." What'll be first on the list of mods?
"Tint, rims and guard modifications. It will probably have to be lipped to
fit a big set of wheels."
Being an exhaust expert, how does the standard system look? "Crap, it's
got one big cat - it looks like about 90cfm - and a really restrictive dump pipe.
You can actually feel it surging through the rev range - there's lots of potential
in it though. Plus they can sound sensational. When I was looking at what to get,
I didn't jump straight at the Skyline because I'd seen the Supras and fallen in
love with them. But a friend's got a Skyline that we put a 'box on the back of and
it's got this note sort of like a Ferrari. It's really deep - that's the one I want.
I'll tell you though, my car's that quiet now you can't drive it - you don't know
where you are in the 'box." But we bet he would find out soon enough if he
nailed it!
With this list of mods planned for the car, we asked Mark how long he thought
it'd be until it was finished. "I'd say around 3 or 4 months I'd reckon. I'm
quite happy to drive it standard for a while though, and it's not often you get
to drive a car for so long and really, really feel where it is and what it's doing
with each change. With each mod to the suspension, the exhaust or whatever, at least
you know if you're going forward or just pleasing yourself."
Are there any motorsport plans for the car - a street rally perhaps? "I'm
a bit wary about the car, because I've never driven anything that's so big and torquey
but yet so quiet. You pull 120-150 km/h between corners and you don't know it. In
the 1600 it's rattling and its smelling and everything like that - you know you're
moving. So for the Skyline I need some tuition. Although for controllable oversteer
and braking, it'll just shit over the 1600 without a doubt, but through a 20 kay
stage it'd die before the 1600. That would still be barreling through. But you've
gotta appreciate the 1600 for what it is, its got mad torque and top end and a lot
of work done. The Skyline will be more an everyday promotional type of car. It should
be wicked. Just wicked."
The next time we catch up with Mark and the car it'll be getting that
bubbly Japanese window tint replaced - and we'll see what rims he can fit under
those monsterous guards! Can you feel the enthusiasm?!
Mark's Monster Part 2 - The Exhaust System
Mark's Monster Part 3 - The Roll Cage and Course Car Preparations
Mark's Monster Part 4 - The Wheels, Tyres and Suspension
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