John Macdonald - EP.170
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Car
Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32)
The Nissan Skyline GT-R (R32) is a famous sports car known for its speed and handling. It was made by Nissan and is loved by car fans for its powerful engine and racing success.
Term
JDM cars
JDM cars are vehicles that are designed and sold in Japan. They can be different from the same models sold in other countries, often having special features or performance upgrades.
Brand
Honda
Honda is a car company from Japan that makes a variety of vehicles, including popular models like the Civic and Accord. They are known for their reliability and performance.
Term
25 year rule
The 25 year rule is a law in the U.S. that lets people import cars that are at least 25 years old without needing to follow strict safety and pollution rules. This is important for fans of classic cars.
Car
Nissan R32
The Nissan Skyline is a fast and sporty car that many people love, especially in the car community. The R32 model is famous for being powerful and having cool features that make it fun to drive. It's often talked about because it has a special place in racing history.
Company
Greddy
Greddy makes parts that help cars go faster and perform better. They are popular among car enthusiasts who want to upgrade their vehicles.
Concept
D1 circuit
The D1 circuit is a racing series where drivers slide their cars around corners in a controlled way. It's a popular sport in Japan and has many fans.
Part
single turbo swap
A single turbo swap means changing the car's turbocharger to a bigger one. This helps the engine get more air, which can make it more powerful and faster.
Part
BorgWarner 8374
The BorgWarner 8374 is a type of turbocharger that helps engines produce more power. It's popular among car enthusiasts for its ability to improve performance.
Car
Toyota Supras
The Toyota Supra Mk4 is a sports car that was made in the 1990s and early 2000s. It's known for being fast and can be modified to go even faster, making it popular among car fans.
Car
Nissan S14
The Nissan S14 is a model of a sports car that many people like to modify and race. It's known for being fun to drive and easy to customize.
Concept
build
When someone talks about a 'build' for a car, they mean they're making changes to improve or personalize it. This could be anything from adding new parts to changing the look of the car.
Part
AC
AC means air conditioning, which helps keep the inside of the car cool and comfortable. If a car doesn't have AC, it can get really hot inside.
Car
Subaru WRX
The Subaru WRX is a sporty car that can handle tough weather conditions, like snow, thanks to its special all-wheel-drive system. It's often used for racing and is known for its speed and agility.
Car
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R is a very fast sports car that many people love for its racing capabilities. It's famous for being powerful and technologically advanced.
Term
GTR tax
'GTR tax' is a term used to describe the extra money you might have to spend on a Nissan GT-R because it's a popular and high-performance car. This can mean paying more for repairs and parts than you would for a regular car.
Term
sequential
A sequential transmission is a special kind of gear system that lets you change gears quickly and easily. Instead of a regular stick shift, you just push it forward or backward to go up or down a gear, which is great for racing cars.
Part
torque converter
A torque converter helps an automatic car move by transferring power from the engine to the wheels. It allows the car to stay still while the engine runs and gives extra power when you start moving.
Company
Circle D
Circle D is a company that makes special parts for cars, especially for those that go fast. They focus on making torque converters and other parts that help improve a car's performance.
Term
10 second car
When someone says a car is a '10 second car', it means it can go really fast in a short distance, specifically in a drag race. It's a way to measure how quick a car is.
Term
drag car
A drag car is a type of car made to race very quickly in a straight line, usually for a short distance. They are designed to go from zero to very fast in just a few seconds.
Company
Putnam Racing
Putnam Racing is a business that helps car enthusiasts make their cars faster and better with special parts and modifications.
Part
PRP block
A PRP block is a special type of engine block made for racing cars to make them stronger and perform better.
Part
billet motor
A billet motor is made from a single piece of metal, making it stronger and more precise than regular engines that are cast from molds. This can lead to better performance.
Part
RB30
The RB30 is a Nissan engine that is popular for building fast cars. It's known for being strong and can be modified to produce a lot of power.
Part
Kelford cams
Kelford cams are special parts that help engines breathe better, allowing them to produce more power. They're often used in racing cars to improve performance.
Term
dry sump
A dry sump is a special way to keep the engine oil flowing in high-performance cars. Instead of having the oil sit in the bottom of the engine, it uses a separate tank and pumps to keep the oil moving, which helps the engine run better, especially when driving fast or turning hard.
Part
long block
A long block is basically a complete engine without some parts like the intake and exhaust. It's like getting the main part of the engine ready to install in a car.
Term
8HP
The 8HP is a type of automatic transmission with eight gears, designed to provide better performance and fuel efficiency in cars.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. The more horsepower an engine has, the faster and stronger it can make a car go.
Car
Nissan R35 Gtr
The Nissan GT-R (R35) is a super-fast sports car that many people admire for its speed and technology. It was first made in 2007 and is known for being really good at handling corners while going fast. People talk about it a lot because it's one of the top cars for racing and performance.
Term
Texas 2K
Texas 2K is a big car racing event in Texas where people race their high-performance cars. It's known for having some of the fastest cars and is very popular among car enthusiasts.
LIVE
Hey, and welcome back to the next episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys podcast.
The podcast for guys who like right hand drives.
I'm Bobby.
This is Aaron.
Yeah, yeah.
And here we are back again.
Today we have a guest and this guest, okay, so if you remember the GTR Festival episode,
we handed out these metal hard cards that pretty much said, you're the shit, come on
the podcast.
We'd love to chop it up, right?
Right.
And we were trying our best to meet the owners of the vehicles in which we were doing this
with.
But at GTR Festival, either the owners by the car or the owner is three quarters of a mile
away on the other side of the, you know, complex, right?
No teller.
Yeah, you can't really always catch up with these guys.
So what we ended up doing, because we saw a lot of cars we thought were awesome, but
we did not really catch the owners.
So what we would do is set it somewhere where the owner could see it inside of the car that
it, you know, was a place I would set it in my own car, right?
I wasn't like, you know, just throwing it on their dash or whatever it may be.
I was making sure it was good.
So our guest today was actually one of the guys because basically the card said, Hey,
email me.
Let's schedule you a time.
This was one of the guys email me and he's like, Hey, found the card would love to do
it.
Yeah.
And it actually turned out pretty cool because he had one of the cars that was part of the
big reveal on Saturday.
So, um, and it, yeah, I mean, it was an awesome car, which we'll talk to him about for sure.
But, um, and yeah, the wheels, wheels are sweet, like I can't wait to hear the story
about the wheels.
And so, um, our guest today is John McDonald and, um, he has a 32 GTR.
Yes.
So yeah.
And again, it was like part of the reveal.
It was like kind of a big deal.
And yeah, I don't want to give it away, but this thing had a shoot on it 32 GTR with a
shoot.
I'm like, okay, dang, this thing must boogie.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Needs that, right?
Yeah.
So yeah, let's get into it.
Let's just chat, chat about it all.
Here we are with John McDonald.
All right.
And we're back with John McDonald.
What's up, man?
What's up, brother?
How are you doing?
Pretty good, man.
We appreciate you being on the show for sure.
Um, I know I got, I know I got plenty of questions and the things I'm can, uh, I am
curious about, what about you?
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, guy has a 32 drag car.
So like, yeah, definitely want to get into it.
Um, all right, man.
So real quick, can you just tell us a little bit about like who you are, what
you do and maybe like what got you into JDM cars?
Yeah, man.
Um, so I'm, I don't know if you know, call like an OG in the scene, man, you
know, so, you know, I'm come 40, 41 years old, man.
And so I've been here a long time, you know, so I've always played with the
Honda game for a while.
And, you know, slowly it was always been a dream to kind of, to get into the
Nissan scene, you know, and then getting to the scowling GCR scene.
And, uh, you know, it was just never seemingly possible, you know, one due
to the 25 year rule.
And then, you know, I had a family and kind of phased out a little bit, you
know, so we kind of just went in different directions.
You know, um, always had the passion for the car scene.
Um, but you know, very fortunate enough, you went back in 2019, I was able to, I
came across a guy I knew in the military who had a relatively stock R32 and he
was wanting to get rid of it.
And I was like, Oh my God, this is like the moment right now.
Right.
I mean, so, um, you know, kind of talk to my wife about it.
And she, at first she was like, absolutely not classic.
And then, uh, you know, so it just kind of morphed from there, you know, and then
I, you know, I kind of, I had a good buddy.
He used to work at Gretty.
His name's Ben Swartz.
He was also like a pro drifter on the D one circuit.
Um, and he worked at Gretty.
So, and I kind of talked to him and his wife about it.
And then, you know, they kind of can miss my wife to kind of let me go ahead
and do this, you know?
So it was, you know, to have that blessing from them, but, you know, the
way they pawned it off was, you know, it's, it's an investment, you know,
you'll never really kind of lose out on it.
You know, I mean, you know, always be some type of money in it, you know, so, um,
you'll always be able to recover some type of costs, you know, it'll be, it's,
it's a legit investment, you know, especially with the way that the
Japanese car market's going, you know, so, um, that happened.
And then obviously like I, when I first got it, I was like, okay, I got to do
something to it, you know, I got to, you know, put exhaust something, you know,
and, um, I'd say it actually had a single turbo swap on it.
So it was a, uh, board Warner 83 74 that was on it and when I got it.
So, um, it was really, really fun.
You need some body work and a bunch of stuff.
The guy got it from just kind of piece of it together, you know, and then
from there, you know, we kind of started a group, you know, the J-spec project thing,
you know, um, okay.
So that's like a, that's like, that's not, is that a company or a group?
Yeah.
So it's, it's, it's a group, man.
It's just like, you know, so we're a group of veterans and, uh, my buddy Allen, you
know, him and Lupe, they were, they were talking one night and they were like, man,
we should really do something, you know, like, and, you know, with the whole
thing, right?
And kind of just the boost therapy, we call it, right?
You know, kind of get the, you know, guys and the other gotten crews, you know,
so, you know, my buddy, you know, Lupe's got this, probably one of these sickest
Mark Four Supras on the out there right now.
I mean, it's just absolutely incredible.
I mean, you've probably seen it online, chromed out engine bay, you know, full.
It's insane, right?
And, and, uh, my buddy Allen had a kooky S 14 and my buddy Jay, you know, he's
always been in the cars and then it kind of morphed from there.
And then they brought me into the mix and then it just kind of, you know, we had
a core group of like five or six people and then it kind of morphed from there.
And it was just a, you know, like we like, it was the boost therapy, right?
And it was somewhere for us to kind of connect.
And we never thought it would blow up like it did, you know, and then, and it kind
of got a little bit more intense as Lupe started again, his build up with Supra.
And then all of a sudden, you know, I was like, Oh, I'm going to go ahead
and I'm going to go ahead and do a build of my car.
And they're like, Oh, okay.
You know, and then I was like, well, I was like, I'm just going to go ahead
and change the AC out.
So my whole goal was to go ahead and put AC back in the car because it didn't have AC.
Hell yeah.
And then that, that, and this was the, believe it or not, this is the second
build since 2019 in this car.
This is the second, like all out build on Instagrams.
Yeah.
You can go on my Instagram and see it and how it's changed.
And people call me crazy all the time because I went, they're like, dude,
what are you doing?
Like you're changing up this beautiful build, you know, and, but I always had more,
right?
There's so much that I didn't do in the first time around that I wanted to do
on this type of round.
So, but I'll, the joke, the joke on the street and the joke around everybody,
the whole crew is it all starts with AC.
So if you want to do a build, just start putting your AC back in your car.
And so are you, where are you located at in Florida?
I think we figured out, right?
Yeah.
So, yep.
Yeah.
I'm in the Panhandle, Florida.
So I'm in the Navar beach area.
So, which is like in between like Fort Walton Beach, Pensacola, that whole area
right there.
Okay.
That's pretty cool.
So, wow.
Yeah.
That, that's pretty decent.
Then you get to drive your car like all year round or any, you know, you guys
get to enjoy your cars all year round.
Yeah.
Um, it's not bad, man.
I mean, like it's going to get pretty cold here the next like few weeks,
but like last year we actually had like eight inches of snow for the first time
ever, like the beach was, the bleach, the beach was completely covered in snow.
It was absolutely insane.
Right.
And it was, you know, and then of course, you know, I got a, like a video on my
Instagram, my boy AJ's in the parking lot down the street doing like donuts
and the WRX, you know, of course.
Yeah.
Leave it to the WRX guys, right?
You know, yeah, no kidding.
Um, so on the veteran thing, you know, I, are you a veteran?
Yeah, absolutely.
Yep.
Dope.
Hell yeah.
Me too.
So, um, you know, there, as you know, right?
There are a lot of groups for veterans, right?
Like, like there's a ton, you know, whether it's outdoor recreation, you know,
indoor stretch, you know, just all kinds of stuff, but dude, I never, I've never
gotten offered to be in a veteran group with like Chrome engine base Supras and
32 GTRs.
Like, dude, that's pretty legit, dude.
Like, wow.
You know, and, and realistically with what you said, boost therapy, you know,
especially with some guys I know, like that's the type of thing they for sure
need, you know, like that type of adrenaline that, that kind of, yeah, that,
that can bring you out of some bad days, right?
It is man, right?
Because at the end of the day, you know, we have these builds, we have these cars,
you know, they're, they're our outlet, right?
You know, so it's, it's something somewhere where we can go, right?
To go ahead and, and really just kind of like kick back, you know, get our minds
off of things that are going around and, you know, a lot of people go through a
lot of things, right?
So, and then like you said, there's so many different outlets out there for
veterans and, you know, we never really pawned off, you know, JSpec is a, you
know, it's not, it's not like an outlet, right?
For veterans, but at the same time it was formed by veterans in this big military
community that we have around here, just kind of really exploded, right?
And being able to get guys to go on the weekend, you know, it does a lot for
them, you know, it really enables them to kind of unwind, you know, and the PTSD
is real, right?
And everybody goes through it, right?
And some form of faction and to have something that you can lean back on and
look forward to going to hang out with the boys, you know, go wrench it on the car,
you know, hang out for the weekend.
Just to, just to follow up, check on your buddy, make sure he's doing okay.
You know, that says pretty much, you know, what we like to do and how we operate,
you know.
Oh yeah, man.
That sounds like a, that sounds like a safe, positive place for anyone, you know,
let alone, of course, veterans to be.
It is, man.
Yep.
Hell yeah.
So, it's okay.
What do you do for a job, man?
Like what, what are you in?
Yeah.
So, so when I was in, I was in Air Force and I was a structural mechanic.
And then when I got out the Air Force, I kind of did, don't dab it around,
still working on the aircraft and whatnot.
And I kind of just moved my way up within the company.
And right now I'm a manager of operations at my current company.
So, you know, that's given me the, you know, the financial independence to go
ahead and do something like that too, but I also have another job too.
So it's kind of my play money.
My wife likes to, well, like, so I do like photographs.
So I photograph weddings.
My wife owns a wedding company.
So I shoot weddings and I do like portraits and I do like videos and stuff.
So that has really helped me being able to kind of like pursue my dream of having,
you know, just a sick build, you know, and so I'm very fortunate in that aspect.
So I work my ass off.
Wow.
So, so, okay.
See, you work for your wife to build your cars, dude.
That's legit.
Dude, that's like the best, that's like the best setup.
She's happy.
You're getting money.
The car's getting built.
Like, hell yeah, dude.
It is, man, you know, and, and we talk about it all the time, you know, so it's,
it's, you know, I'm very blessed, you know, to be able to do what I have been able
to do in the car because man, the GTR tax is real.
And sometimes, you know, I mean.
There was several times where I went through the entire build and I questioned
everything.
I was like, man, it's like, do I want to go down this hole?
Right.
Because, you know, it just keeps morphing and morphing.
And then all of a sudden there's, there's always something better.
There's always something nicer.
There's, oh yeah, there's the next build.
Yeah.
So, okay.
Like let's get into the car because that was really quite the showcase at GTR
festival.
And of course, as we talked about the unveiling, you know, how did you get.
So before we kind of break down the car, how did you get into unveiling the car
at GTR festival?
Like how did that get set up?
So I had been around, you know, I, obviously I formed a pretty good relationship
with Herman from PRP.
Herman was, you know, he's, he's been, it kind of morphed into a, hey, you know,
I'll get you whatever parts you need, you know, type of sponsorship to a big
friendship and then it kind of morphed into me meeting more people, right?
Like Andrew, you know, all the key players in the game or Andrew
Hanneson, you know, those guys and what, you know, Tommy, you know, so I was
included in that chat where all these guys were in there.
And I guess, you know, as it kind of, you know, kept morphing and morphing and
morphing, I kept telling myself that everybody's like, man, like how far are
you going to take this thing?
You know, and I'm like, I don't know, man, like I kind of want to go this route.
You know, I want to make this badass build.
And I already, everybody's like, do you already have a badass build?
I'm like, I know, but there's so much I didn't do that I want to do, right?
I mean, I had a, like I had a sequential in my last build and everybody's like,
dude, you're taking the sequential out.
And I'm like, I don't know if you realize this, but a sequential is not
fun to drive on the street.
Yeah.
No, it's cool.
You know, so I mean, but then I was a pro, you know, it was kind of like, hey,
do you think you, you're going to have it ready by GTR festival?
And I was like, well, yeah, I mean, this was like nine, 10 months prior.
And I'm like, yeah, absolutely.
You know, I'll have it done.
And they're like, all right, well, let's, we'll paint you in right now, you know,
for a spot, you know, depending on who and shows up and who doesn't, you know,
commit to the event.
But as of right now, like you're in the spot.
If you, if you want a spot and I'm like, let's do it, man.
So that's how pretty much how I got in, uh, to be able to be a unveil car.
Dang, that's pretty cool, man.
Like, so, you know, that must feel good putting in work, being recognized, right?
Like being, being picked out of it and then included in like, uh, you know,
like upper echelon, like community text, like with these guys that, you know,
are doing major work and then unveiling your car, like, dang dude, zero to 100.
And it's not like, you know, and, but the, you know, and the, and, and I'm not a
company, right?
And I tell people all the time, like I build stuff out of my garage.
Like I have a 22 by 20 shop that I'm in right now, right?
And I'm back in my backyard that, you know, I built this entire thing in, right?
And it's just me wrenching on this thing.
I mean, my kids come out here and help me, you know, and it's, um, I don't have,
you know, that was my thing.
I was like, man, I don't know.
Like, like going through my head, I kept telling myself, do I have what it takes?
Like, how am I going to compete with, you know, Tommy F.
Yeah, garage active, you know, all those big companies that are out there.
Like, how do I compete with that?
I don't have unlimited funds.
I don't have, you know, access to a lot of stuff that they have.
But at the end of the day, it was just grit and determination, man.
You know, like I just really wanted it.
I didn't want it for the award.
So I never have, um, that was just a huge bonus.
I mean, I got that belt and I was like wearing it around pumping gas.
You know, I mean, just to, but it, like you said, man, to have that, um, to have
that respect from the community, right?
So I have Andrew asked me ultimately in the guys to be like, man, we can't like
in the chat, there were the only ones that seen the card row in the chat, right?
Because I had to keep it truly hidden.
Nobody could see it.
So cause, you know, um, so I had to keep it truly hidden.
So I mean, they're the only ones that saw it in the chat.
So I'd post like snippets here and there, but literally 30 days out.
I mean, there were so many hiccups down the way, like the paint ran late, you know,
the, that, you know, parts weren't coming in when they were supposed to.
So I had to like really scramble and 30 days before the event.
And if I showed you pictures of the car 30 days before the event, you're going
to be like, Oh my God, like it's how we're going to do this, you know,
but you made it happen.
You got it together.
You got it there.
It ran.
No.
So we didn't even have time to start it before the event.
Like, yeah.
So we, we pushed that thing off the trailer, man, and pushed it into a parking
spot, you know, cause it was it, there were so many things.
And well, it would have ran cause so I went and we'll go into the build section
of this here, I'm sure shortly, but I had the, my torque converter that they gave
me for my eight HP was wrong.
So, and it, and so I couldn't, I couldn't get one in time.
Circle D couldn't get me one.
And it was just, I was like, okay, whatever.
I'm just going to push it into a parking spot.
It's fine.
It's, it's, it's going to be presentable.
I'll present it and then we'll worry about starting up and getting everything,
you know, when we get back from GTR festival.
Yeah.
I mean, right.
You, you weren't there like as the 32 drag car of the event.
So it running really was, you know, not really what the purpose even was for it
there, right?
You know, so I wouldn't have known any different dude.
I mean, the way it looked, I'm like, oh yeah, dude, that thing's obviously that,
that's a, that's a 10 second car, you know, faster, but you know what I mean?
I'm like, that, that's obviously a super fast car.
Um, so yeah, I mean, let's, let's kind of get into it.
Like where, what is it?
You know, cause we've seen it, right?
But everybody that's solely just listening, they're, they're just
picturing a 32 drag car, right?
But this thing is everything, but just that it's literally like, oh yeah, go ahead.
Yeah, man.
So, you know, I had a 20, you know, I had to, obviously I had a 26 in there
before and then, um, always wanted to do the RB 30 thing.
So got with Herman over at Putnam racing and, um, was going to wait on his new blocks
that he were, that he was doing before they came out.
Um, and timing just didn't work out in our favor.
So, um, I ended up getting a fully prepped PRP block, RB 30 block from them.
Um, and then, you know, with the needle, 3.2 stroke or kit that was in it.
Um, and then once I got all that stuff, um, what I did was I got in contact
with a Kobe Schumann over at Midwest skylines.
Um, you know, there's very few people that I would trust to touch my car
because I'm one of the people that I like to do all the work myself.
And I don't, you know, but there's certain things that I promise myself this year
that I would give back some of that stuff to other people so that way I can kind
of focus more on family.
Um, and so I let Kobe put together a motor.
So send it to him.
Is he the one with the red 32?
Yes.
Oh, dude, that is a bad bitch, dude.
That thing is a wild thing.
It's wild man.
He broke the record too.
So he holds it to current the fastest skyline in the US right now at 8.7.
Dang.
That thing, dude, it went by because we were right at like right by the
start line on the wall.
It went by and like, dude, it rocked my world.
I just about shit my pants.
It was a sick car.
It's bad, man.
Yeah.
And that's a billet motor too.
And that's, so we went down that path too.
It was like, okay, do I want to go billet?
You know, and I was like, I don't know, man.
Cause if I go billet, I feel like I'm going to lose that suitability, you know?
So we went with the 3.2 cast block, RB 30.
Um, and then 26 head, big ass, Kelford cams.
Um, and then it kind of morphed into, okay, I think we're going to
probably go north of 1200.
So I was like, fuck it.
Let's go dry sump.
So why not?
Right?
Might as well.
Hey, dude, we got some weddings lined up.
Let's hit the dry sump, bro.
And that was like, and literally it came down, man, but you know, um, you know,
having people in my corner like Herman, you know, and NPRP, you know, they really
helped me down the stretch and they helped me to, to really fund the car and
get it to a place where I needed to be.
So, um, because a dry sump kit, man, is, it's not going dry sump, you know, it's
not, not for the faint of heart, right?
I mean, you, I mean, it's expensive.
And then I got the full PRP.
Yeah.
I got the full PRP bill of dry sump system.
Um, so I did that and then Kobe put all that together for me.
He put the long block together for me.
So that way when I got the motor back from him, he shipped it back to me from Nebraska.
Um, I just had to slap it in, you know, wow.
And then from there, it was like, okay, do I run a sequential?
And then I was like, okay, eight HP is like the next big thing right now.
So I was like, do I, and I was like, this could be really good because
wanted to be enjoyable and to God, man, these supers and BMWs are going
fast as shit in these, with these transmissions, you know, so I made the
call to go eight HP and, uh, started looking into builds and stuff.
And I got with applied torque solutions down there in Dallas, um, talked
to him about everything.
They sent me a kit and they walked me through the whole thing.
Man, Brian and his, and his wife and we, I built that thing right here in the garage.
And it's that the eight HP transmission is probably the easiest transmission
I've ever worked on in my life.
Did wait with everything else you're saying, you deserved an easy
transmission to deal with.
Man, and it was, and it worked out that way, man.
And the HBR kit from Norway, right?
HBRs is really the only ones doing the conversions, right?
For the Skylines and dummy works, you know, so it's, um, I mean, you're to get it
built, you're going to spend every bit of, I mean, to handle the power, you're
going to spend every bit of what it would cost to get a, uh, an entry level
sequential, right?
Yeah.
Um, you know, so I mean, it's there, but man, that the support's growing for, you
know, I want it to be the first one to kind of put it on the map here in the
U S and, and do like a eight second pass with it, you know, and the
scouting GTR and just, and just, you know, that's our goals to run like a, maybe
like a mid eight, you know, and, so you're trying to beat the Midwest guy.
You're trying to, you're trying to, I am, I am for now.
So I got, I won't have long cause I know, I won't have long cause I know Kobe and
him is his team up there again.
They're already back at it.
You know, so I mean, he put down like 1700 horsepower on that bill.
Um, and you know, it's, you know, I think I have a slight advantage.
I think I'll have a slight advantage, man, with the, with the eight HP, just with
a trans break option and the ability to launch a little cleaner.
And then, you know, I won't have to deal with shifts.
It's just smooth and it just goes, you know, so I'm going to try to soak up
the, this year, what I can, and then that's all I'm, you know, and I, I think
right now that's the most important thing to me is getting down the track.
And I would love, whether I get the record or not, I would love to, I would
love to run an eight second pass.
Period.
Right.
Yeah.
And just to, just to feel that in the car that you built.
Yeah.
That's like a, that's another little check mark, you know, like reward, so to speak.
Well, and I was like in towards the bill too, you know, like when you see, when
I think of people unveiling cars at like GTR festival, I'm thinking like
completely brand new, everything's brand new, right?
I mean, nuts, bolts, everything.
And that was another thing.
And I told Andrew and all them, you know, at the time of the look, I don't
have that type of money now.
My bill was only at the time the current bill was only a couple of years old.
So I was like, look, all these parts that I'm going to reuse are like my intake
manifold, that carbon CPC intake manifold is legit.
I mean, I think, you know, I'm not going to, you know, there's little
scrapes here and there, you know, stuff like that.
But, you know, there's stuff that I reuse in the whole build.
I mean, dude, I re, I sand it and my, me and my boy, Alan, um, you know, he's,
he's the OG, like creator, Jspec, you know, him and I are in the shop and he
helped me, we redid the entire underside undercoating, like just resprated.
I mean, we re undercoated the rear subframe.
I mean, I rebuilt the whole rear subframe.
Um, I didn't have time to do it in the first build.
I redid the front portion on the original build with the engine, man, all that stuff.
And then the rear was like clapped out like a 32, like a 30 year old car.
So I rebuilt all that man, all SPL, um, everything on the back, um, you know,
drag suspension, all that good stuff.
Um, yeah, big plasma man intercooler in the front, like a six inch intercooler.
Things insane.
It's like absolutely insane.
And then one of the key things that I liked about the build itself was, um,
there was a company, the Andrew, I saw Andrew running a bumper.
It was like a drag style, like one piece bumper.
So it didn't have the vents, like the 32 behind you, right?
It doesn't have the vents on it.
So I was like, man, that's pretty sweet.
So I had, I found that who made it in Australia.
Um, and it was a company called concept garage and he made me a full carbon front
end bumper.
Um, yeah.
So the whole front bumper is full carbon and, um, we left the lip exposed and
then the mouthpiece exposed and then, uh, we painted it the color of the car.
So it came out just wicked.
That's awesome.
Yeah.
Dude, speaking of the paint, what is that color dude?
Because whenever I first walked by the car, the sun was, wasn't really out and
it looked like, you know, the typical gray or 32, but then I saw it in the
sunlight and it like, dude, the paint was insane.
What is that color?
I like, man.
So I'll tell you what, I like to be different.
You know, I didn't want to, but my typical style is very loud.
Right.
So my original choice was midnight purple three.
And then when I went to GTR festival last year, I saw so many midnight purple cars.
I'm like, I'm not doing it.
I'm not doing it.
You know, so, and then I kind of felt like midnight purples played out too, or
it's getting down that path.
Right.
I mean, it's just everybody's doing it on every car and I'm like, okay, I'm done.
There's wraps and everything.
And yeah, so I said, okay, I'm not doing it.
So then what ended up happening was, uh, the guy that painted my car was like,
I think I found you a color and I'm like, let's see it, man.
You know, cause I was still torn and he sent me this color and I'm like,
I don't know, man, he's like, so he sent me an Instagram video and I was like, oh,
and it was, it's called champagne quartz metallic.
It's a BMW custom color.
So like when you go by BMW, they have like the, the eye series, like the
individual series they call it.
And that's one of the colors you can choose.
And it's like, uh, so like you said, it's gray when you, in the shadows, it looks
gray, right, right, but as soon as you start turning, it starts flipping and it
has a pearl and then it hits to a gold shift.
So it's really, yeah.
And then my boy might like, so I have this stuff all over my car.
So it's a gloss boss, a 50 he is.
So he's my, my main guy, my detailed guy, a very good friend of mine.
And he just made that thing look like glass.
Like, I mean, he, he wet sanded while he was wet sanding the car.
This was two weeks before the event.
He was wet sanding the car and I was in there putting the car back together
while he was wet sanding at his shop.
That's all tight of a timeline.
It was.
Yeah, he did.
Yeah.
Both the painter and the detailer did an amazing job because yeah, it looked
so deep, like it's so deep, dude.
It's like you're staring into like an abyss, dude.
It's just crazy, man.
Like they did a great job for sure.
Thank you, man.
And the guys are awesome.
Um, okay.
He, he want to know about the paint, dude, I want to know about the wheels.
Like those wheels are immediately what stood out to me about the car.
I was like, dude, these wheels go so hard.
Like the, for drag wheels, most people don't put that type of love into them.
Like, what's up with those?
So I had some Vogue CE 28 on there, which are like timeless.
I mean, you can't, you know, and I, I hated to get rid of those because
they were bronze or OGC 28.
Oh yeah.
Um, and they were actually one of the last five sets that rolled off of Vogue's
line before they switched over to the new version.
Um, and yeah.
So, and I didn't want to get rid of them, but my boy Daven, who works for, uh,
think it's a import cars, Japan or Japan import cars, something like that.
Um, you know, he was like, Hey man, if you're going to sell them, I want them.
So I was like, all right, if they're you, I'll sell them to you.
So I sold them to him and then I was looking for wheels and I knew that I
was probably going to have to step down from an 18 to at least 17.
Cause I look at all these guys in Australia, all these big horsepower
builds out there and they're running a lot of these guys are, everybody said
it can't be done, but I'm looking at these guys running 17s, running seven
second passes on 17s with a small tire.
You know, so, um, I found this company.
Actually, I talked to them that they're a company called fortune forged.
Um, and then I saw the beat lock and I was like, that's interesting.
And then I saw a couple of cars in Australia with the full set of beat
locks, not just the rears, you know, because I still, I'm so all will drive.
So, um, and I'll be running 50% on each, on each angle, launching off the line.
You know, so I mean, I was like, okay, so I didn't know how they would look.
So we did a little Photoshop and I was like, Oh my God, this is going to
look absolutely insane.
Yeah, it does.
It pulls your eyes immediately.
It's like, dude, what?
Like, and so what, like, so with that, how wide are those?
Yeah.
So those are 17 by 10.
So there's 17 by 10 with a plus 15 offset.
Okay.
Um, so they sit, they sit super proper, man, like GTR fitment.
Oh yeah, proper.
Um, and that was like a lot of things too.
Like, man, it was like, I had to self dial in the camber before the event.
And it was just, I mean, we literally pushed this thing off a trailer.
I mean, I was up to like three o'clock in the morning.
The night before, like trying to get like the last minute stuff of this thing.
You know, it was crazy.
But I mean, dude, like in the end, like, what's crazy, right?
Cause I've been in that same situation for other things, right?
You know, where it's down to the line.
It's the night before, like you care so much about the presentation
because you've been given an opportunity that you're proud of, right?
You care so much that you were just beating yourself ragged, dude.
And the average consumer or, or, you know, spectator like us, dude, we never
noticed some of this stuff that you were worried about.
We were so mind blown by all the amazing stuff that like those, some of those
things and, and again, I've been through it too, right?
Like you, you, you want this opportunity to just be flawless.
But a lot of times it's so easy to like worry about things that end up never
even being, you know what I mean?
It is, man.
And then you always wonder about like, like there's, I'm real anal with
like a checklist and everything, you know?
So like in my phone, I have a checklist on, okay, did I do this?
Did I do this?
You know, did I do this?
You know, and, and it came down to was like, okay, like, am I missing something
here?
And there were things that I did miss, right?
Like little things, you know, and, and it was like, you know, I care so much
about, you know, like, like you said, I, I wanted to make sure I showed up
because, you know, like last year they unveiled a fricking garage
active wide body 33, right?
I'm like, oh my God, like, how do I, like, what do I, like, how do I do this?
You know, so I wanted to make sure that, you know, that I brought something,
right?
And that was my biggest worry was, you know, like, we're, if I just, if I
pull the cover off a car and everybody's like, what the hell?
It's like an average, you know, you know, like, what do we, you know,
which like, I don't think that that was the perception at all because in like,
it was cool because the other car unveiled was a 33, right?
With like, with a matching bike.
So did you know that guy prior?
No, man, I met them right after we talked about it.
And then, and they're, they're a company out of Dallas called Charge Mods.
And I looked them up, man, they have, I mean, they do some sick work, man,
like on some, on some crazy cars, like mainly like exotics and stuff.
And they came over to the car after the award ceremony.
And that's the first time I actually like talked to them, talked to them
because I introduced myself at the unveiling to them, but we really didn't
have like a time to like talk or catch up.
But they came over after, like after the award ceremony, and they were like,
do we have, we got to come see this and like take it in.
They were like, like, what shop are you with?
And I'm like, nowhere, man.
I'm like, literally by myself and a couple of friends, like jamming this thing out,
right? And he was like, he's like, so you don't have a shop.
And I'm like, no, like this is like grinding, man.
Like this is me in my garage.
And he's like, holy shit, you know, I'm like, yeah, man, since he's like, damn,
you're not writing all this off.
What the hell? What are you rich?
That's like my wife, right?
So I've been trying to start up this, like kind of like this,
this business for a while now, right?
And you'll, I mean, you saw it on the, on the valve covers.
It says zero dark 30, right?
So, you know, so we, we started this thing called ZD 30 racing, right?
Because it kind of has like the Mexico feels to it.
You know, so, I mean, I mean, you know, I mean, you know, the meaning
behind zero dark 30 is, you know, 30 minutes past midnight, right?
So that, you know, when you go out to race and street race, you know,
it's all at nighttime and late night type activities, you know, stuff like that.
So, you know, it's this is something that I'm looking to take as a passion, right?
So I want to like, I'm already looking at what I'm going to do next, you know,
so I want to go buy something else and I want to fix it up, you know,
and do something, whether it's an unveiling or an auction or just something.
Man, I just love building rad cars, man, you know, the JDM cars and making them fast.
So yeah, that's sick.
I mean, right.
And if you can combine your passion with a little bit of income and some tax
write offs, that sounds pretty sick, dude.
And that was like the whole thing.
I was like, man, look, you know, maybe we'll just start off like selling shirts
or something, man, you know, like if we sell some shirts and then that'll
just pay for the track days or the, you know, whatever the events, you know,
I mean, anything that can just kind of help support to your point or anything.
What can we write off?
Right.
I mean, yeah, I mean, you know, let's be real.
It's about to be 2026 things aren't cheap.
So you should take advantage of anything you can to help you save money.
Right.
Like that's yeah, a hundred percent, a hundred percent.
So, okay, on that note, right?
So we, we heard about the build, the unveiling, all that good stuff.
Now we kind of just got a little glimpse of the future, but what's really
like the future, what's the future going to bring for you and either the car
or is there a plan to next car?
Yeah, man.
So obviously, right?
So the JSPAT thing has been like pretty big the past couple of years and we've
been blowing that up as a team, you know, and trying to get that on the map.
And that turned into, you know, probably bigger than we could have imagined.
You know, and it's really not even that big, but it's big to us, right?
Because for one, it's in supports of veteran outreach in the whole community
here locally, but as far as, you know, the merch, you know, actually having
something like, like a legit crew, right?
That we can go hang out with.
But it's always been on the map to go ahead and start something, you know,
I want to have like a little shop.
I want to go ahead and I don't want to do what I'm doing forever, right?
And I want to, you know, my son is really in the cars.
My kids are into it.
You know, my wife loves cars.
So she just, you know, when I first started to build the cars and pieces
and she's like, I'm not getting in that thing.
She was, you know, she didn't think, you know, she's looking at it.
She goes, I don't know how you're going to get this back together.
She's like, I just, I'm mind blown right now that you ripped apart
this pervert through running car and it's in million pieces.
And you're just going to put it back together and think it's okay.
You know, so at the end of it, at the end of it, seeing it, seeing it
back together, right?
My wife's like, oh my God, like this is, this is nuts.
My wife's like, and, and she's very picky, right?
And I always, I often like pick her brain like, Hey, what do you think about this?
And, and we're, we're, they say opposite to track, right?
So she has like certain things she likes and I have certain things I like, right?
So we clash a lot, but at the end of the day, you know, she has some great ideas.
So I'll be like, what do you think about this?
And she'll go, no, I think you should do this.
And she didn't like any color.
I wanted to paint and then when, and then when she saw that color, I actually
liked it.
And when she saw the color, she goes, yes, that's it.
And I was like, oh my God, we're doing it.
Right.
So we're both on the same page with the color.
So I got her approval.
So it got her a little more hyped up about it, you know, so yeah, but I think
her seeing like the unveil process.
And I think, man, she's just been such a rock for me to push through this thing
to, and there were times where I'm like, I'm not going to do it.
Like it's like two months out.
And I'm like, I'm not going to make it.
You know, and she's like, you're going to make it.
She's like, go get, she's like, go in the shop right fucking now.
You know, she's like, what do you, she's like, what do you need?
You know, so I think, and she really got a taste of that seeing that and was like,
this is it.
Like, I think you should do this.
Like, let's buy, what's the next thing?
Like, let's get another car.
And I'm like, yes.
You know, let's go.
Give me that playbook, bro.
Holy moly.
How did you work that?
So that's the goal, man.
It's to get, you know, I want to start, I'll start small.
You know, obviously my in-go is to kind of, I would love to do with what Joe
Tech's doing, T1, you know, end up, you know, maybe Developance Mone parts,
eight HP platform for the art, you know, the, the R series motor.
I mean, anything Skylam related.
I kind of want to tap into the supermarket.
The Gyarados, you know, twin turbo Gyarados, that type of stuff.
But, um, I'll always be a Skyline guy, man.
You know, and this is a passion of mine.
I just, I actually love it.
Like I don't do it for the accolades of the awards.
It's just, I mean, I do it for me.
I do it for, you know, and my kids, you know, they get to come out and see like,
dang man, man, like, you know, my daughter went to school one day and was like,
all the boys, she's in 10th grade, my oldest.
And they were like, she's like, they're talking about Skylines and ETRs.
And she's like, oh, my dad's got one.
They're like, are you kidding me?
Like, what the hell?
Like, where is this?
Well, what?
And she became like the cool kids.
Heck yeah, dude.
That's sweet.
The unintended benefits, right?
It is, man.
It is, dude.
Damn.
So I got one last question for you.
So whenever it, you know, comes to America and drag racing, Nissan's like the
obvious platform out there is the R35 GTR.
Like, what made you want to go with the R32 GTR, this classic car that has, you
know, this pedigree behind it?
Like, what made you go for that rather than, let's say, the easy route of an R35?
Ooh, the easy route.
Well, I would, I'd be lying if I said cost, right?
Because so when you think about costs and I was like, oh, it's probably easier to
go buy like a, you know, now you could probably get like a 0.9, you know,
2010 R35 for probably 50 grand, 40 grand sometimes, you know, and then, and then
you dump another 70, 80 grand in that car and you probably got a 1200 horsepower
car that's, I wouldn't say reliable, but it's probably built a lot better for drag.
You know, to build the robustness of the car, right?
But they're a boat too.
They're not the lightest cars out there, you know, and I've just always been
super intrigued by the, the GTR scene in Australia.
And I watch all these videos, man, of like, role racing, Sidney, I love
role racing, like that, like of anything, I, I love role racing.
I have, I have a passion behind it.
Like I want to do more of that and seeing these guys over there, like
Romanos with the RHM, oh my God, that thing is, to see that thing in
person is absolutely bananas, right?
And then to see all these cars out there, like Croydon, you know, from B2R
to Matukes, all those, those companies out there, dat-tone racing, I mean,
they're putting out some incredible builds, man.
Like they always said this.
I said, look, if you're looking to make a cargo fast and fast and do it
straight, Australia is where it's at, right?
And if you want the classic OG hit the turns type stuff, you get all your stuff
in Japan, you know what I'm saying?
I mean, it's, it's, um, so I mean, I just, I think it was more just making sure
that I just, I had a love for the Australia scene, man.
And I just wanted to do something and do it here in America.
And I, like I told Andrew doing an unveiling, I said, he's like, your,
your build's kind of inspired by the whole Sydney, you know, Australia and,
you know, GTR scene.
And I was like, I might be the, I probably the first one to take it this
far, you know, in the US with the Australian.
And it's man, and it's just, um, it's surreal, man.
And then now that I'm finished it or just about finished it, you know, it's, I
say finished, right?
Cause nothing's ever finished, but you know, it's, um, it'll, it'll, um, it'll
hold me over for a while.
I'll say that.
Oh yeah.
And like that, that is cool, man.
So, you know, because we see in this, in the skyline culture very, very often
Japan is the, is like what's imitated, right?
Like, like, like dude, I mean, my cars are definitely more of like a Japanese
influenced builds than all Australia whatsoever.
So I think it's really cool that you took it that route, you know, and of
course being into drag racing, I mean, two plus two is, is it makes sense, right?
Like they are the drag racing people.
So yeah, I mean, I think I personally would love to see more of that.
Like kind of Australian style builds here in the US instead of kind of the cookie
cutter Japanese build that's become so standard, you know,
I think you're going to, man.
Like I think it's, this is only the start, you know, this past couple of years,
you know, Kobe now is putting out these high horsepower builds in midwest.
Um, there's several people here in the US that are going to start, you know,
knocking down RAV performance.
They're going to, you know, they're going to get in the game, you know, as far as,
you know, these big builds and big horsepower builds.
And, um, there's just so many, you know, they're going to do it.
I mean, I, my ultimate goal is to go to Texas 2K, which I'll be at this year,
but I won't be running the car because I'll be at a booth.
But my ultimate goal is to get accepted into Texas 2K, which is very hard to
even get accepted to race in Texas 2K.
My goal is to get accepted in Texas 2K and go rip off a hundred and seventy
five mile an hour pass and Arthur.
I think you can get there for sure.
I hope so, man.
I got a good team behind me.
I mean, it's, and my, my friends are always pushing me, you know, like, if I'm
like trying to do something, you know, my buddy, Alan, you know, he's the
OG of Jspec and he's like, you won't do it.
That's the military stuff right there.
You won't do it.
And I'm like, I fucking, I'm doing it.
Yeah, that's awesome, man.
I love to hear that.
Dude, we appreciate you being on.
Can you let, let the listeners know, like, how do they find you?
Like, how do they find Jspec?
You know, that type of thing.
Yeah, man.
So, um, on social media, you know, you guys come follow me.
It's Godzilla 32 with a zero.
So it's G zero D Zilla 32, um, Jspec projects on there as well.
Um, ZD 30 is getting launched on there.
So if you go to ZD 30 R, um, I'm on Instagram on there as well.
So that's going to have a whole big following here soon.
A lot of my build works going to be put on the ZD 30 platform.
Um, always as always, you know, um, Jspec will always be repped out.
So I mean, if you guys want to search me up, Jspec, ZD 30, um,
Godzilla 32 man on Instagram.
So hell yeah, dude, that's awesome.
Uh, we for sure, again, once again, dude, thanks for giving us all the juice.
We love the car.
Hell yeah.
The car is awesome.
Thank you guys.
We hope to see it may be on track at next year's GTR festival.
Oh, 100%.
And I think if I break the record before then, I'm not going to tell anybody.
I'm just going to show it to you.
Like, so I'll tell you guys, I'll write you and say, we did it.
Yeah.
Okay, cool.
Thanks.
We'll keep it under wraps and we'll just let it all go at GTR festival.
It's going to be hard, man.
It's hard.
Like, I mean, people don't realize how hard it is to run an eight second pass.
Like it's hard, you know, it's, it's, uh, so it's going to be a road to get there.
So we'll start small and then, uh, but yeah, this year's going to be big.
Florida 2k, um, you know, we'll do it before then and then go to GTR
festival and then just ball out.
So hell yeah, dude, we're going to see you there, man.
Enjoy your evening on the Florida pan handle, bro.
Yeah, man.
I appreciate you guys time.
I appreciate what you guys are doing, man.
I love the podcast.
Um, love for the thing you guys are doing.
So love the setup, man.
You guys are awesome.
So I appreciate it.
Hell yeah, man.
We'll see you soon, dude.
Yep.
Adios.
Dude, these Florida guys, dude, like we keep having these Florida guys on.
Yeah.
And like what's in the water down there?
I don't know, but I have, they have some crazy freaking cars.
That's, that's for sure.
I'm going to drink all of it in when I'm down there.
I'm about to spend a month down there.
I'm going to drink all the friggin water.
I can't do it because they're just, they do it pretty good.
You know, I mean, they're into it.
Like, dude, like, yeah.
So yeah, it takes a special kind of person to, you know, take an R32 GTR and
try to run eight seconds with it.
Right.
I mean, that costs a lot and dude, and look good while doing it.
Yeah, it's so, it looks so good while doing it.
And he obviously has good taste and it's working out great for him.
I hope, you know, I'm always down, you know, as you know, in our, any previous
endeavors that we've done, I'm always down to support the veteran.
So I think it's, you know, to me, it was like, Oh wow, that's so cool that this
really just started as a way for a few local veterans to let off some steam.
You know, like whatever process, boost therapy, boost therapy, process their issues,
you know, and, and so I think that that is super cool, you know, in the fact
that the support of those guys helped drive him to the point that he's at, you
know, like that's sick.
But yeah, like go give the JSpec project and Jonathan and all that good stuff,
a follow, keep up with them for sure.
You know, we always appreciate our guests coming on and letting us into their
portion of the culture.
But for this episode with John McDonald, I'm Bobby, this is Aaron.
See ya.
Peace.
About this episode
John McDonald joins the Right Hand Drive Guys to discuss his journey with his R32 GTR, which he unveiled at the GTR Festival. From his military background to his passion for JDM cars, John shares the challenges and triumphs of building a high-performance drag car. He dives into the details of his unique build, including a custom dry sump system and stunning champagne quartz metallic paint. The episode highlights the camaraderie among veterans in the car community and John's aspirations for future racing endeavors, making it an engaging listen for anyone interested in automotive culture.
Original notes
In this episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys Podcast, we sit down with John Macdonald from Florida — the man who took a humble R32 GT-R and completely transformed it into a purpose-built drag car in his own garage. No big shop. No shortcuts. Just skill, patience, and an obsession with getting it right.
John walks us through the full build process, the challenges of restoring and modifying a GT-R at home, and what it took to bring this car from vision to reality. The payoff? The car was officially unveiled at GT-R Festival in Ennis, Texas, where it didn’t just turn heads — it took home Best of Show.
This episode is all about grassroots passion, hands-on craftsmanship, and proving that some of the wildest builds still come out of home garages.
🎙️ Built at home. Unveiled on the biggest stage. Best of Show speaks for itself.
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