If you need to know what to look for, the Nissan Laurel could be mistaken for any Japanese cars from the late 1980s and early 1990s. This 1991 chassis is a Nissan because it has squared edges, a flat hood line, and a creased body line that runs from the headlight to the taillight. Looking closely, you can see how the Sunny (Sentra) and R32 Skyline of the time influenced the design. The sixth-generation Laurel had a unique look because it had no pillars. This made it stand out from other sedans at the time. There is no wall between the front and back windows, unlike more current cars that supposedly have big walls between the front and back windows. Its “hardtop sedan” style won over Americans when automakers started making them decades ago. Surprisingly, Nissan returned to the class briefly, and the C33 chassis Laurel was the last car to do so. John Sharkey’s love for Nissan’s semi-open-air car led him to look for one. However, it took him a long time to find the exact trim and color he wanted at a price he could afford. “I bought this Laurel in 2018,” he says. It took him five years to find the right car. “I wanted OEM woodgrain and a dark color inside and out.” When he saw a frame that looked good and fit his budget, he had to deal with several restrictions. It was rated R and a mess. Even though the car had low miles and was dirty, the whole quarter panel was crushed. John drove his Laurel daily for the next two years, making only minor changes to its RB20 engine and automatic transmission while making plans for much bigger things. “I fell in love with the Japanese street style of the 90’s,” he says. “It was a unique time for cars and a good style for this platform.” I wanted to make a car that was my style and looked like it belonged at a Daikoku event. Before the virus caused the planet to shut down for good, John found an RB25 NEO. While waiting for the car, he tore it apart to prepare it for painting and bodywork. Then, he discovered that he would have to dig much more deeply than he thought. “I knew I was in over my head and that it needed a lot more work than I had planned,” John says of the bodywork. I picked a VSaero body kit during the Covid shutdowns because it was cheap and easy to get. Even though the aero kit was cheaper and easier to get, which was a good thing, John found he was even further behind once everything came. “On top of the many hours of actual bodywork it took to get the car straight,” he says, “it took about 20 hours or more just to make sure the kit fit.” The original Midnight Blue Pearl of the Laurel was used to paint the top half of the car, while a charcoal grey metallic was used for the body shaping and the bottom half. What looked like an endless loop came to an end in the end. John expects that his aluminum aero will hit something on the road, even though it has an adjustable D2 air suspension. The two-tone look makes the sedan’s body slightly different and easier to fix because you don’t have to mix old and new paint. John made his American version of a “jiko-shiki,” a Japanese license plate design that lets light shine through the transparent plastic. Because of this, the license plate on the car looked like it was glowing during the whole photo shoot, even when it rained. “I CNC’d a piece of aluminum, filled the letters with resin, and laid vinyl to make a New York state plate that looks like it was made in the 1990s but has a Japanese twist,” he says. “I used a Japanese glowing plate box.” When the long-awaited RB25 NEO finally emerged, John was determined to get 500 horsepower with as few aftermarket changes as possible. The original head gasket was changed out for a Tomei multi-layer steel one, and the original head pins were replaced with ARP ones. Nissan did not change anything inside the car, though. The stock intake manifold and throttle body were replaced with Deepmotor versions, and a Rev9 turbo manifold and Pulsar 3076 with a T51R mod were added. The 3-inch downpipe and exhaust system are all made of shiny stainless steel, and the Blitz intercooler beams with pride. Southbay 1,100s get their gas from a Walbro Hellcat pump through 6AN lines that John built and set up to ensure enough gas. With Megasquirt’s MS3 Pro, the 2.5L makes 513 whp on 93 octane pump gasoline. He can use flex-fuel if he wants to go even faster. The RB26 valve covers were painted, and the crank angle sensor was shaved to make it look better. The turbo is put right on top of them in the open. John tried to keep the car’s original theme while keeping the factory transmission, but the extra power didn’t agree and killed three mechanical parts on its way. He switched the car from automatic to manual to fix the problems with the drivetrain. He added a five-speed R34 transmission, a Competition Clutch Stage 4 kit, a flywheel, and a Nassau one-piece driveshaft made just for that car. One of the problems he had with the Laurel was that it needed more grip on the drag strip. Yes, John drove the car many times on the 1320. When he put on a set of sticky slicks to help grip, the axles complained about how much force was being used. Today, John’s Laurel is mainly used for special events and a few car shows when the mood hits. It was driven every day before it was let loose on the speed strip. He recently had half of the car repainted, spent a lot of time looking for OEM parts that might still be available, and went through the whole vehicle, paying close attention to every detail to improve its position. His attention is now on taking care of the frame, which is more than 30 years old. Even though it wasn’t what he wanted, Laurel won an Excellence award in the “Tuner Pre-1999 Class” of the event. This showed how far his once badly mistreated hardtop car had come. He was asked to attend the Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance, where Laurel got her award. He said, “I learned a lot about the platform and tried my best to share small wins and part-exchanges with my small group of fellow Laurel owners on Facebook, Instagram, and in our chats.” He also got a lot of people who shared his views to join him on the tour.
