After cutting his teeth on an SR20-swapped D21 Navara build , Michael Rugari was ready to tackle his dream build of a 1997 Nissan 200SX S14. With a full nut-and-bolt restoration almost complete, this project is nearly ready to hit the streets, and the track! Here’s his brief story.

First published in the July 2025 issue of Street Machine

“This is my second project car, following up my SR20-swapped D21 Nissan Navara (below), which made it into the Top 16 in the very first Young Street Machine of the Year comp.

“That build taught me heaps as an apprentice, and now I’m back with something that I’ve always wanted, a 1997 Nissan 200SX S14!

“I bought it with some rear quarter damage and have spent the past 18 months or so giving it a full nut-and-bolt restoration. It’s had a brand-new rear quarter fitted and a complete bare-metal respray in its factory Deep Fuchsia colour.

“The engine bay’s been smoothed and colour-coded to match, with paint supplied by Glasurit. Under the bonnet, it’s still SR-powered but now rocks a top-mount Garrett 3037 turbo with the legendary T51R mod, mounted to a 6boost manifold.

“I still need to throw some new cams, springs and retainers in it. Behind that is a Z32 five-speed manual and KAAZ diff.

“Once it’s finished, I plan to cruise the streets with it and occasionally take it roll racing, and I might even hit The Bend!

“Like the Navara, this build is all about attention to detail and proper execution, and I’m documenting the whole journey on my Instagram @mr_93_d21.”

Got a sweet ride that’s currently in the build and want to share it with our readers? Email photos of it (2MB+ each) along with some details on the build to [email protected].