JDM Nissan Silvia Coupe Becomes Cross-Continental Military Brat

For the JDM car enthusiast serving in the U.S. military, being stationed in Japan for an extended period of time is the perfect scenario. For Giovanni Greenidge, his service landed him in Misawa, Japan, in 2015 and that's where he found this 1991 Nissan Silvia K's.

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Not-So-Local Motion

Living in Japan, most would assume car's like this Silvia are available for purchase on every corner but for Giovanni, finding the right chassis meant spreading out his search. "It originated in Osaka, which was more than an eight-hour drive away," he recalls. "Almost completely stock, the only exception to its original state was an aftermarket steering wheel."

Its factory status was soon abandoned as Giovanni spent his free time scouring Yahoo Auctions Japan to find parts and various upgrades, often spending hours after work and on the weekends installing them. "All the modifications, excluding the paint and body work, were personally done by me in Japan, with a bit of help from a few individuals," he adds.

The paintwork was applied by Satoru Ozawa, a local to Giovanni at the time who rectified any issues with the body before laying down a custom blue pearl paint mix. Mild body upgrades included a Nissan Aero front bumper and add-on lip, 180sx side skirts with diffusers, and matching rear valence. A roof-mounted D Max spoiler's profile matches that of the R32 GTS-T Type M trunk spoiler to complete the rear's look.

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Ground Level

You can't miss the bright R32 GT-R brake calipers which match select components under the hood. There's 18-inch Work Meister S1 selected in 9.5 fronts and 10.5 rears, the tops of which narrowly avoid kissing the fender edges when the car is aired all the way down. That air suspension is something Giovanni installed in his garage after relocating to Georgia and importing the S13 in the process. From there, he would move once again in 2020, this time to his current home in Hawaii.

Once settled, Giovanni decided to get started on building a spare SR20 engine that he'd been holding onto. The only problem was his spare time was about to be cut short with military deployment on the horizon. Knowing he would be away for an extended period of time, he enlisted the talents of local builder Martin Phan to take on take on the engine build-up portion.

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Built Block SR20DET

You might recall Phan's pristine 2JZ-powered MkIII Supra featured back in 2022. He also heads up JZfilth, and has had a hand in helping to create some of the cleanest builds in the region. For this S-chassis, the SR20 was fortified with CP pistons and Eagle rods, its top end ported and polished by Snyder Machine Works. Brian Crower titanium valve springs and retainers and Tomei rocker arms were joined by a set of HKS Step II cams and everything was sealed up.

Future Fabrication's turbo manifold now hosts a Garrett GTX3071R and 44mm TiAL waste gate with a custom downpipe leading to an HKS Hi-power exhaust system. A Mazworks' intake manifold and Ross Machine throttle body were bolted on and custom charge piping that enters and exits a GReddy intercooler were crafted. In the name of style and flow, the fluorescent powder coat and matte black touches make for an eye-catching combo when the hood is lifted. "I returned from my deployment in April 2023 and to my delight, the engine build was successfully completed," he says. "I just completed the break-in period and will be scheduling a dyno session in the near future. The goal is 450 horsepower."

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Beyond the power goals, future plans call for swapping out the Bride Brix seats that are showing their age, but for now, the adjustable buckets serve their purpose. An equally used Vertex Mean Streets steering wheel is on board and, curiously, a factory style shift knob in place. Alternately, the original gauge cluster was replaced by Haltech's iC-7 digital unit which is connected to an Elite 1500 engine management system.

Once the tuning session is completed, Giovanni wants to put time into fine tuning the car's suspension to find the best balance and that adjustability will come from an array of Cusco control arms installed. Other mechanical updates will include a short shifter while aesthetically, a new pair of taillights will make their way to the rear. That will all come in due time, but for right now, most of his nights and weekends are dedicated to his new JZX100 build, as he adds, "I'm eagerly working toward making both cars stand out and perform at their best."

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1991 Nissan Silvia K's

OwnerGiovanni Greenidge

Instagram @jdmretrogio

EngineCP pistons; Eagle rods; HKS Step II 264 cams; Brian Crower titanium springs, retainers; Snyder Machine Works port work; Tomei rocker arm stoppers; Garrett GTX3071R Gen II turbo; DEI turbo blanket; Future Fabrication V-band top-mount turbo manifold; custom down pipe, charge piping, coolant overflow tank, oil filter relocation kit; TiAL 44mm wastegate; Mazworx intake manifold, fuel rail; Ross Machine Racing throttle body; Chase Bays power steering reservoir; Radium Engineering fuel pressure regulator; GReddy intercooler, Type FB II blow-off valve; HKS Hi-power exhaust system; Walro 450lph fuel pump; ID1000 injectors; Mishimoto radiator; Haltech Elite 1500 w/data logging

DrivetrainSPEC stage III clutch, billet flywheel; OEM VLSD

SuspensionAir Force suspension struts w/Airlift management; Cusco lower control arms, front shock tower bar

BrakingR32 GT-R calipers; StopTech rotors; Project Mu D1 spec pads

Wheels & TiresWork Meister S1 18x9.5 +3 front, 18x10.5 +3 rear; Nexen 215/35 front, 245/35 rear

Exteriorcustom blue pearl by Satoru Ozawa; Nissan Aero front bumper, 180sx side skirts and rear valences; D Max roof spoiler; R32 GTS-T Type M spoiler; Brixx headlights

InteriorBride Brix seats; Vertex Mean streets limited edition steering wheel; Haltech iC-7 digital cluster

Thank YouRhonda Greenidge (Wife), Noah Greenidge, King McGee Greenidge, Giovanna Greenidge, Emanuel Santiago Barbosa, Kenneth Rountree, Mick Hendickle, Satoru Ozawa, Donald Jackson, Yancy Guzman Nunez, Devonte Charles, Reynaldo Velazquez, Dominique Jones, Aaron Tabarejo, Martin Phan, Demarcus Surgers, Andrew Prothe & Team, Geoffrey Byers, Daniel Roache, Daniel Draper, Misawa Gearheads, Middle GA Friends, SWERV United, Grounded Culture, Roc Davis, Garrin Hunt, Edmon Daniels, and Jeremy McIntyre.