Michael Forde - EP.168
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Car
Nissan Skylines
The Nissan Skyline R33 is a sports car that was made in the 1990s. It's popular among car fans because it's fast and can be modified to be even more powerful.
Term
Z-Tune kit
A Z-Tune kit is a special set of parts that make a Nissan Skyline GT-R faster and handle better. It includes things like better brakes and suspension to improve how the car drives.
Concept
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec is a video game where you can race different cars on various tracks. It was very popular on the PlayStation 2 and helped many people get interested in cars and racing.
Car
Nissan Skyline GT-R R34
The Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 is a famous sports car that many car enthusiasts love. It's known for being very powerful and is often seen in racing games and movies.
Concept
Fast and Furious
'Fast and Furious' is a movie series about street racing and action. It features many cool cars and has made car culture more popular.
Car
Honda Civics
The Honda Civic is a small car known for being dependable and good on gas. Many people like to customize it to make it faster or look cooler, which is why you might hear about it in racing stories.
Car
Mitsubishi Eclipse
The Mitsubishi Eclipse is a small car that was made from 1989 to 2011. The third version of this car, made from 1995 to 1999, is popular for its sporty look and powerful engine options.
Car
Mazda3
The Mazda3 is a small car that is fun to drive and gets good gas mileage. It's popular among people looking for a reliable vehicle that isn't too big.
Car
Nissan GT-R
The Nissan GT-R is a fast sports car that many car enthusiasts dream of owning. It's famous for its speed and technology, making it a popular choice among racers and car lovers.
Term
bolt-ons
Bolt-ons are parts you can add to a car to make it better without needing to change a lot of other things. They usually help the car go faster or sound better and are simple to put on.
Term
turbo
A turbo is a part that helps the engine get more air, which means it can burn more fuel and go faster. It's a popular way to make cars more powerful.
Part
cylinder walls
Cylinder walls are the inside parts of an engine where the pistons move. If they have rust, it means the engine might be damaged and not work well.
Company
HKS
HKS is a company that makes parts to make cars go faster and perform better. They are popular among people who like to modify their cars for racing or performance.
Part
V cam
V cam is a system that changes how the engine's valves open and close. This helps the engine run better at different speeds, making it more powerful and efficient.
Term
horsepower
Horsepower is a way to measure how powerful an engine is. The more horsepower an engine has, the faster and stronger the car can go.
Term
pull
When someone talks about a 'pull,' they mean how fast the car speeds up when they press the gas pedal. It shows how powerful the car feels in different gears.
Term
RPM
RPM means how many times the engine's parts are turning in one minute. When the RPM is high, the engine is working harder and usually going faster.
Part
oil pump gear
The oil pump gear helps move oil around the engine to keep it running smoothly. If it's not working right, the engine can get damaged because it won't have enough oil to stay lubricated.
Term
boost controller
A boost controller helps manage how much air and fuel goes into a turbo engine, which can make the car go faster. Itβs important for getting the best performance from a turbocharged engine.
Concept
Exotics at Redmond
Exotics at Redmond is a fancy car show in Seattle where people can see and enjoy expensive and rare cars. It's a fun event for car lovers.
Car
Subaru WRX STI
The Subaru WRX STI is a powerful car that is great for racing and driving on rough roads. It's known for its speed and control.
Term
JDM
JDM means cars made in Japan for the Japanese market. They can be different from the same models sold in other countries, often with special features or designs.
Car
Hennessey Venom F5
The Hennessey Venom F5 is a super-fast car made to be one of the fastest in the world. It has a very powerful engine and is built for speed.
Car
Nissan Sentra
The Nissan Sentra is a small car that is usually easy to drive and doesn't cost a lot to own. It's a good option for people looking for a simple, reliable vehicle without any fancy features.
Car
Civic Type R
The Civic Type R is a sportier version of the regular Honda Civic. It's designed for better performance and has a powerful engine, making it fun to drive.
Car
Honda NSX
The Honda NSX is a sports car that is famous for being fast and well-designed. It has a unique engine and is popular among people who love Japanese cars.
Car
Acura Nsxs
The Acura NSX is a fast sports car that was made by Acura, a division of Honda. It's known for its unique design and powerful performance.
Term
D series engine
The D series engine is a type of engine made by Honda that is known for being dependable and good on gas. It's commonly found in older Honda cars.
Term
RV
An RV is a type of vehicle that you can live in while traveling. It usually has a place to sleep, a kitchen, and sometimes even a bathroom.
Term
$10 grand
'10 grand' means ten thousand dollars. People often use this term when talking about how much something costs, like a car.
Term
$2,000 toy car
A '$2,000 toy car' is a cheap car that someone buys just for fun or to fix up. It's not meant to be a daily driver and might need some repairs.
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, yo.
And welcome back.
Dude, it's snowing out there like pretty, pretty heavy.
Yeah, it is.
It's like dumping up here up in Maine and 34 is getting delivered.
Yeah, but it's getting delivered to Boston.
So, yeah, that kind of creates a little bit of an issue.
I got to either trailer it back or if like the roads aren't wet, just make a mad dash
and mad because they I got insurance and you got the template.
I got the template so I can run it up.
But yeah, I don't I'm not sure it's really going to be dependent.
You know, this is in three days.
If the roads can dry up by then cool.
Yeah.
If not, then yeah, it's just the hassle getting the trailer out, taking the plow off the truck,
like doing the whole, you know, the whole thing just to literally put the trailer back,
put the plow back on.
And then it's still going to be exposed.
Yes, for sure.
The more like the paint than the underneath, but which is easier to clean.
But like, you know, like you said, would you rather, which I'm already going to do,
are you going to spray down the undercarriage or or would you rather get out the trailer,
take off the plow and spray down the exterior as well?
I don't know.
It's work either way.
Yeah, it's work either way.
But it's snowing up here.
And actually, I didn't I didn't tell you I got dropped by American collectors.
No way.
Yeah.
I was like, I like, I like, but you know, I had a mom like, yeah, my skyline's by the
area.
I need, you know, $150,000 worth of coverage.
They're like, OK, cool.
Like we see your 33 on here, too.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They're like, OK, cool.
Like sweet.
You know, I'm expecting today, I'm going to get the thing, you know, like and everything.
She calls me back.
I miss it.
I call back Australian dude answers and, you know, he's like, yeah, he's like, yeah,
you got too many violations, man, like in the past two years, you can only have three.
And so, yeah, it was like, dude, what are you doing?
Well, that's the thing.
Okay.
One of them was I got re-rendered.
And that's not at fault, but like that still counts.
Yeah.
And then I had a, I had like in 2024 in February and then March, it was like this time, like
I feel like these times come around, you know, like, at least for me, I think this was right
after you got insurance on your 33, wasn't it?
I don't know.
I don't know.
But wind up like that.
Right.
Yeah.
But I got two right in a row.
One was in the driveway, another one, you know, whatever.
And so, yeah, because I had those three, they dropped me.
Well, dude, I've heard people like, you know, claiming their windshield on comprehensive
insurance and it ding in their, ding in their driving record or whatever, and them getting
dropped.
So don't feel too bad.
Yeah.
For sure.
I mean, it's whatever.
And there was something of substance there.
Dude, I went over to Hagerty.
Yeah.
They were totally cool with it.
But I will say it was $600 more than American collectors.
Whoa.
A year.
I was like, dude, holy crap.
Wow.
Okay.
I guess like, I guess I'm paying the price for these friggin' tickets.
Did you, did you like, you know, get the membership with the magazine and all that
too?
I think, I don't know.
I don't have a clue.
I didn't really want none of that.
Yeah, I didn't either.
But I'm signed up for it.
Yeah.
Okay.
We just hijacked this.
So today we have on a guest and this guest, you know, I originally kind of heard of and
met, you know, when, or not met, but heard of and saw his car when we went to UP Garage
last year.
Yeah.
Well, I guess it was still this year.
But, and then, you know, he got his car delivered, whatever.
I saw him a few other times.
I think one time I saw him selling a whole Z-Tune kit.
Yeah.
He had like a Z-Tune kit, like real, I think he knows the terra firma guy.
I'm not sure.
But we'll ask him.
But it is Michael Ford.
And if you listen to the episode about Orlando Cars and Coffee a few weeks back, you will
remember that he is the guy with the white 34 that looks, you know, just like every other
white 34, right?
Right.
All us GTR guys.
Just all, you know.
No.
But so I was like, yeah, let's get, let's get, you know, Michael on here and just chat
about what it's like to work with UP.
You know, we've had UP's kind of side of things and now to have Michael's side will
just be cool because you get the shop and the customer's perspective, right?
And then, and then we'll ask him, you know, like what's up with the Orlando or the Florida
scene and like, you know, that type of thing and just kind of get into it, see if he has
any more plans for that 34 and yeah.
So this is an episode with Michael Ford.
All right.
And we're back.
What's up?
Michael Ford.
How was that?
Michael Ford.
Oh, it's 40.
It's 40.
40.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.
What, what is it?
Like, what is that?
Do you know?
Norwegian, northern European mutt, you know, that makes sense.
Actually, like that, that, that's where what I would think, dude.
So thank you for being on the show for sure.
I know that you've been listening for a while and you know, I finally got to meet you a few
weeks ago, so it's cool to get you on here and be able to just get your opinion on some
stuff.
Yeah, for sure.
Thank you for having me.
Yeah.
Um, so all right, like real quick, what we definitely like to do is just get, get a little
backstory.
Right.
Like what, like how did Michael 40 get into these type of cars, you know, like, was it
something from when you were just a toddler or is it more recent?
Yeah.
So, um, good question.
Um, that actually started with Gran Tresmo three A-spec.
Nice.
There it is.
I was a big, you know, PS2 guy, you know, PlayStation, PlayStation two.
Um, I just put countless hours on there and the way that the R34 GTR became my favorite
car is for the dumbest reason, which I kind of regret in a way.
Um, so in that game, this is way before
crash mechanics, you know, detailed terrain.
They just had a flat wall because there was a rocket.
You just play a flat wall, you know, NASCAR going around the corners kind of thing.
Um, so the GTR classified for rally races because it was all wheel of drive.
So I had my street skyline with a thousand horsepower in the game with off-road tires
and just laying waste to all the little, you know, all the Subaru's, the little Evo's,
yes, you know, all the Renault's because they're like a 300 horsepower on the rally portion
of the game.
I knew you crash, but you're sort of already so far ahead of them.
It doesn't matter if you crash because your car keeps on going.
Dang.
So you were using skylines as rally cars.
Hell yeah.
But that, and then also, you know, it was amazing on the road itself, you know,
no tracks.
Um, then of course, kind of with everybody, um, fast and furious came out.
It was always the, the forbidden fruit, which just added to the allure.
Yeah, for sure.
I think, yeah, it was, it's like, you know, I feel like sometimes people get, you
know, a little maybe like, oh, I don't want to say fast and furious because, you
know, the exposure that that movie gave the car is undeniable.
Like it, you know, you could have hated the movie, right?
But you probably remembered that car because it was just so unique and not
right going in front of our eyes on a daily basis.
Like for sure.
I mean, you could have hated that movie, but you definitely knew what a skyline
was afterwards.
So I think there's no shame, man.
Like we were, you know, 2000, 2000, 2001, when that came out, like, you know, I'm
not sure how old you are, but in, in 2000, 2000, 2001, I was just getting into
high school, like my, my like sights on cars had just started.
And all of a sudden this movie comes out where these dudes are robbing trucks
with civics and like racing, you know, like, it's like, dude, yeah, of course,
we all bit, right?
We all got into it because, you know, at that time in our lives, especially it
was like, it was almost like what we needed.
They knew what they were doing.
Yeah.
For sure.
Um, so.
Pretty much that, that's your influence.
What, what was your first like import car?
Obviously, you know, your first right hand drive car, I would, was it the 34?
It was.
Yeah.
So what was your first?
Oh, my first car.
A 2001 Mitsubishi Eclipse with the V6, the third generation.
Oh, okay.
You just got, yeah, you right after the, the gen two or whatever.
Um, so you had like almost the first year of the third gens.
Yeah.
It was like first or second, but, um, it was, you know, my first bought it.
It was black, black leather interior and a five speed manual.
And it was, it was a badass car for, you know, at the time when I bought it,
when I was 17, 18 years old.
Yeah.
I mean, right?
That, that is so true.
You know, at, at that age, like that was in that time.
Yeah.
And that was also a movie car too.
Oh, for sure.
Yeah.
You're Tyrese.
Wasn't a drop.
Oh, no, nothing was God awful.
The spider.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I mean, yeah, it's, it's crazy.
You know, just how, yeah, you can relate the two, right?
Two totally different things, but hey, man, it was there.
Um, so, so okay.
So now what about the, the 34?
Like how, how do you go from a third gen Eclipse?
Like, you know, essentially a car with very little aftermarket support,
you know, not really a huge following, right?
How do you go from there to like, literally, like the 34?
Yeah, try not to offend anybody with calling it the most badass car on earth.
But yeah.
Um, no, that was a combination of me just trying to, you know, after the Eclipse,
I realized how much money I dumped into it to just have it towed off for scrap.
Cause I did some unspeakable things that car.
Um, but after that, it was just trying to get my life in order.
Um, you know, so it was didn't really have many project cars.
I had a Mazda three, you know, non-turbo.
Um, modified a little bit, but just very basic.
Um, you know, I've had two bikes, had a truck that modified, but you know,
still keeping very tame overall.
And then actually had a coworker who bought a 32 GTR.
It's still to kind of, you know, even think about it at the time until I saw it in
person at his store and that kind of set off that this is a possibility.
He's like, oh, dude, this thing is sick.
Yeah.
Me, it was like, okay, hey, my dream from, you know, 2001 is now something I can attain.
It's becoming legal.
And basically I set my mind to it that I was going to get a GTR.
Um, I was playing on the 33 years originally, the 34, just the stars aligned
and it happened to fall into place right at the right moment.
But, um, no, it was just more of, I kind of had a, just had the coworker who until
I saw one in person, it never fazed me that this could be like five, there's about
five years after that happened, I finally was able to pull a trigger.
Dang.
So I mean, even if you look at it back from the third gen Eclipse, like you kind
of, you, you really went to work and set yourself up to be able to eventually
obtain what, you know, whatever it is, instead of having like, let's just say,
you know, 10 cars in between that you soaked, you know, 10 K into each, you like
kind of set like the whole modifying thing to the side for a little bit and said,
okay, like, let me get this straight, which, you know, sounds like the adult
like kind of thing to do, but like, it's hard, right?
Like that's hard to step out of the game and stop chasing something that you love
in order to be able to really do it in the future, you know,
for sure.
Cause I mean, I, you know, even we did the hot, important nights in Orlando, you
know, back with my Eclipse, you know, so it was, I was fully in that scene at the
time, but, you know, after it essentially went to scrap after all the money I put
into it, custom paint job, the whole car, that's like, you know, what am I doing
with this?
If I do another car, it's just going to be the same thing over and over again,
rinse and repeat or, you know, instead bought a house, which in that house turned
into the GTR.
Smart way to do it, sell a house for a car, but it's, it's really funny because
like a lot of people, you know, when you see the for sale ads for like 34 GTRs,
they'll be like, oh, that's like a house.
Well, did the little, did they know like Michael 40 actually, like, you know, his
car is a house like that's legit, you know, I stole my first house.
Two by the car.
That's sweet.
And it worked out, you know, like that's, that's what's cool.
I'm sure there was a part of you, at least for like a minute that was like, is
this really what I should be doing?
No, no.
Oh, damn.
I'm from the get go straight committed, dude.
Yeah.
And like, dude, I can say after riding in that thing, dude, like, yeah, man, like
screw it, dude, you can sleep in a car, but I guarantee that house wasn't pulling
six gears like that.
Appreciate it.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So, you know, speaking of pulling the six gears, we, we went to UP garage, you know,
right at the beginning of this year, met Doug and Eric and, you know, your car was
actually there and your motor was actually on a stand, which is pretty like full
circle, you know, to now be, you know, now that you've had it and, and I'll let you
talk about how many kilometers you put on it and whatnot.
But like now that you have it and have driven it and I've ridden in it, it's like
just a crazy full circle moment.
Like, dang, like, you know, we, we saw it when it was in pieces.
And then, you know, they put together such a quality product that now this man has
been enjoying it with, hopefully we'll find out, but hopefully zero issues.
Like that, you know, that's really cool to, to experience.
So like what exactly, what did you have UP do?
Like what is the setup?
So originally the setup was going to be just putting on some bolt-ons I had
purchased when I bought the car originally.
So I didn't have a shop in mind.
I was originally planning on doing the modifications myself.
UP came down, it was a thought a year after I bought the car.
But originally they were just going to be doing, you know, installing the
bolt-ons I had, doing a standalone, just overall health check and maybe upgrade
the turbos, you know, stock, you know, stock engine, everything else.
But after they started doing their diagnostic, just looking at things,
we're off the boat, they were doing a stress test, which I didn't really do a
stress test when I drove it in Japan.
It was just, you know, I drove a lot, but I didn't really stress, you know,
give it, give it all.
Yeah, right.
And they noticed, you know, it was kind of putting out some more smoke than normal.
And we found rust in the cylinder walls.
Detonation marks on the top of the pistons.
You're just probably going to put a bore scope inside.
Okay.
And so now it is a fully built HKS 2.8, not a full crate motor, but
HKS step zero, 2.8.
And we basically redid everything.
Dang, because if you're in there, you might as well commit.
Dude, that's, that's what I'm saying.
The My as well, you know, it adds up quick, dude.
The My as well, make you go broke.
That was the worst time I got too.
And so, and you got V cam on there, right?
Yep.
Step two, V cam, step one, two, 72 exhaust cam, HKS crank angle sensor,
which that with V cam allowed me to rid of the cam angle sensor.
So it's a much more clean look up front, a lot more stable at the higher RPMs.
So that, you know, have all the jumping around on the dyno.
That makes sense.
But the Nismo R3 turbos.
Okay.
So you got R3s in there.
Yeah.
The R3s says more of a response build than a peak power build.
Yeah.
And I mean, UP is definitely about the balance versus going for just a number
on dyno sheet.
Yeah.
And I would say like, you know, because when you brought me for the ride, it
felt like it was, you know, like I could tell it didn't have a thousand horsepower.
Sure.
But like, you're like, Oh, you know, Hey, look, check this out.
This is a pole from second.
Hey, this is a pole from third.
Hey, this is a pole from fourth.
Let's just see how it doesn't fit.
It like still pulled.
And then you're like, you're like, screw it.
Let's just see if it'll do it in six.
And like, we're at like 2200 RPM and this dude hits the fuel and it is, it is
like a smooth constant acceleration, like from 2200 RPM, like where normally it
would just be a dog and tell, you know, whatever 38 or whatever, you know,
everything starts spooling.
That was just like, that was on like, as soon as you hit it, it was, it was cool.
It was, it really solidified that like balance over just straight power, you
know, that, that Doug and Eric do chase.
A hundred percent.
Um, so what do you think?
Like, what was it like working with Doug and Eric?
It was fantastic.
Um, scary as hell during the, when they were finding things, um, because there
were some things that they're very much about, they don't want to go into
something and replace something if it's not needed.
Um, washups will just say, Hey, screw it.
Let's do everything, which you don't need that for all builds.
Um, but thankfully we, thankfully they did find the issues because they ended
up finding that my oil pump gear was a little bit out around.
They sent me a video of them, of Eric trying to spin it by hand and it was
like binding in sections where it got like really hard and then just like free
spin and so that's, that's basically a time bomb waiting to happen because
originally we weren't going to touch the wheel pump.
I was asking about it, but with that, you dropped the whole oil pan.
It's a lot more involved, a lot more money, of course.
And you know, originally we weren't going to do that, but thankfully we found
it because that was an issue that would have come to light when I at least
expected it and why didn't want to have it.
Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
Oh, for sure.
That's, that's how it was scary.
Yeah.
I mean, it was scary because, you know, the bill ended up doubling from what I
was expecting, maybe a little more.
Um, you know, so that was definitely scary, but at the same time they were
documenting the whole thing, there was this constant, you know, communication.
I was very impressed with the communication on that.
Like that was top notch.
But before I even went out there, they actually had me drive one of our
shop cars just to kind of see if this is what I even wanted because, you know,
they flout said, if you want, if you want the high Porsche power, if you'd
tell me a number you're trying to hit, please go find somebody else.
Oh, okay.
That's not their goal.
It's just to like hit numbers.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, so it was a great experience with that.
Um, you know, the, there's a hospitality of just inviting me out to
there was great.
Um, I mean, it was, yeah, it was, it was a great overall experience.
I was very happy with everything.
Definitely scary because, you know, not because of what they were doing, but
just, but you know, while I was being told, um, but overall I'm very, I was
very confident in what the work that they were doing.
So were there, were there ever any points when you're kind of like, especially
maybe at the beginning, like when they first have the car that you were scared
in the sense of like, is this going to work out?
Okay.
Or do, did you have full confidence in them the whole time?
So I had full confidence in them and their work, um, largely because I didn't
even consider them as a shop.
Because I hadn't heard about them honestly until, um, one of my friends who
was a 32 that lives maybe 30 minutes from away from them, he had begun, has
his car built their shop in Washington and in Seattle.
They screwed it up and then our shop tried to fix it.
They screwed it up and then Doug and Eric fixed it very similar to my friend
down here to have the 32 that has had it down for like four years trying to
build his.
Wow.
So builds can take away lifetime.
Right.
Like it's, it's crazy if the wrong person's trying to do it too.
Yeah.
So, um, because of that, and then fixing it for him and, you know, dialing it back,
but him actually is seeing his enjoyment knowing him before he even had the GTR
and seeing the, you know, from him getting ready to sell the car because he was
tired of the issues to just absolutely loving it and being able to drive it as
much as he wanted.
I had no, that basically made it so I had zero doubt in their skill and ability
to go to do the car the right way.
That's sweet.
That's good to be able to go into something, um, and have confidence from
the get go through people's prior experiences.
I would definitely say, you know, in my experience with a shop, you know, on
the East Coast I used, I wish, I wish I had had that, you know, just that kind
of, okay, well, I know that they did this guy right.
There's no difference between me and him.
You know, I should be okay.
I'm sure that definitely helps, you know, with sleep at night, right?
Like you're not like as worried, you know,
especially being a complete opposite in the country.
Yeah, most of their customers, most of their customers are more local to them.
So they could go there, you know, check on the car, talk to them, see things.
You know, here I am in Orlando, which is about as far as you can get away from Seattle.
Literally diagonal across the whole country, dude.
Like I would, I mean, I would love to Google and just see the difference in
distance between here and Washington and like Orlando and Washington.
I bet it's pretty similar.
Like, I mean, yeah, that's pretty crazy.
Um, for sure.
But that's cool.
And so you just shipped it out, shipped it back.
That's how that worked.
Uh, they actually helped me with getting it off the, like out of the port.
Um, it was, I had it from Japan to the Tacoma port.
Originally I was going to ship it into Jacksonville port to bring it in,
but with the added cost, just bringing it, um, you know, extra shipping,
then having to have it shipped across country.
Yeah.
You're possibly driving it down here on a Japanese tune.
You know, I know you can run the gas, but I don't, I mean, as you experience,
I enjoy driving the car.
I like to, um, I'm not easy on it.
And I didn't want to, you know, possibly risk ruining anything by having
the gas not quite right because the car did have a boost controller.
So I didn't know exactly what was done.
And if I happen to, you know, damage it by just over-driving it, well, now
all of a sudden my costs go up exponentially.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You can't.
It's easy to get excited and just go out there and just raw dog it.
But, you know, yeah, it doesn't always end up good.
But, um, so, yeah, so, okay.
So you get the car back from UP.
Oh, no, you went there and drove it before you shipped it home though.
Yes.
So what was that like?
So that is, that was such a better than expected.
Um, Doug and Eric encouraged me to come out and drive it.
And even Doug invited me to stay at his own house.
Yeah.
He's a good guy.
Yeah.
Um, he was staying with his, um, partner and, you know, that way the house
was just mine to myself.
Um, let me use his car to drive to and from the shop.
Um, I had a, they had an event called, um, Exotics at Redmond, which is like a,
you know, very upscale, um, event in Seattle.
And they invited, um, I'd gotten an invitation out there.
I just talked to the organizers ahead of time and Doug had gotten to the shop.
Even while sick at like five 30 or so in the morning, just to wash the car.
So when I came by there to pick it up, it was pristine.
Yeah.
That's like, that's like the, yeah, that's the thing about UP is like they operate,
especially Doug, because, you know, like he, he comes from that time.
They operate almost like old school, like the way that they do things like that
pride, like you said, him wanting that car to be pristine when you pick it up.
So that when it goes, it's representing you and him to the best possible extent.
Like that is really cool.
Some guys would have just been like, Oh yeah, no jobs unlocked.
Go grab it, you know, type of thing, you know, but Doug is like, yeah, he's a
different breed for sure.
Yep.
Um, but you know, so the, they invited me out there, put on 15 of about 1,000,
1,500 kilometers while out there is driving all over Seattle up towards the Olympics.
Damn.
Um, just, you know, enjoying the car, enjoying the scenery.
You know, it was, it was truly awesome.
I was up there for four days, but just was basically in the car from some
up to some down to sundown.
So did you have some people you knew there that you kind of met up with or did
you just go solo and just explore?
Um, so my friend that had the 32 GTR, um, he ended up driving with me for a bit.
Also, um, there's a guy named Ryan who he had a Stadia to 60 RS that was built by UP.
Um, he's, I'm not sure if you've seen, he's the one who got hit and was put it
pushed into a wall.
That's right.
It's up in Seattle.
We, we sent that dude at a GTR fest and he was telling us all about it and
showing us the pictures of how he destroyed the car.
Well, yeah, we know him.
I was like, holy cow, that is bad.
So through the GTR chats, um, like on Instagram, um, he had actually picked me
from the airport.
Oh, yeah.
So we, you know, I was invited to like the, the GTR chat out in the, in that area.
So we had at 1.7 of us, they're like three 34s, two 32s and two 33s, all
going out to ramen in the middle of a, I got in the middle of a day.
That's pretty cool.
So, you know, we, we had some, I was able to arrive with some people, but
also spent a lot of time just by myself, just enjoying the car.
That's sweet.
That sounds like a really good experience.
And you know, I know you also got to, um, drive the car in Japan.
So it's like, you know, it's like every step of the way, you know, and, and
just a pause for a second.
I can't think of another car type where it's like this, right?
Where people like you and me, we go, we buy this car in Japan, right?
We register this car in Japan, drive it all over Japan, get, you know, whatever,
either times up or we get tired of it.
No, we don't get tired of it.
We can never do that.
But, you know, time is up.
It comes over.
Now we're driving it in like the, you know, you get it built in tuned.
You're driving it in that state, right?
And you're enjoying it there and like making memories there with people you
had never met before all the way across the country from you.
And then you bring it home and it's like the same thing.
It's just this crazy, you know, experience with these cars that I just
don't feel like you hear about in other, you know, brands or models nearly as much,
you know, so that is another really unique thing about like just the
Nissan's and the Skyline's period.
It's like your chat, your podcast you did with Justin Slarno.
Is that the right pronunciation?
You were saying it's a huge community, but at the same time it's a small community.
You're very kind of close to it.
And that is very true.
I mean, there's people that you have no idea.
You've never met them before.
They're offering out to say, Hey, I'll pick you up.
I'll, you know, stay at my place.
Like, fight unseen, never chatted before.
It's just your part of the community.
And therefore, when you, here's my invitation to, I'll be hospital to you
because you're part of the community.
Yeah, it is cool.
Yeah.
No, I agree.
I have not met, and I've said this to other people because like, you know, I think
there's an assumption that like, you know, GTR owners, like whatever, or like these
certain types of people, and I'm like, I mean, maybe they are.
I don't know, maybe, maybe we are, but I've never been to a place where they
didn't treat me as if like, I was like, quote unquote, one of them, you know,
just like when I came and met you at, you know, cars and coffee at full sale, you
guys immediately treated me just like I was like one of you guys.
Like it's, it's like you walk into it.
And as soon as you're introduced, there's already this immediate dialogue and like
there's this immediate like common ground that, you know, I've been a part of a lot
of other things, you know, like, and it's never been so much like that where you
can walk up to a group of people that are a part of that and it's just immediate.
Like, you know, you guys are shooting the shit about whatever, turbos or injectors
or tires or, you know, that type of thing.
So, um, no, I love it.
I think, you know, hand in hand with having the car, that community is just as awesome.
Absolutely.
So speaking of though, Orlando, right?
Like we chatted about it a little bit on the episode like a few weeks ago, but
from your perspective, like what is that floor to seem like?
Yeah.
Does it ever end?
Yeah.
Like does the season ever end?
No, 100% not.
I mean, right now is in peak rally time.
Um, but now all the Toys for Tots, Sherry rallies are going on.
Um, but there's rallies and events going on all throughout the year.
And I was telling Bobby when he was down here.
Um, I mean, there, there are some of the cars and coffee, just a normal Sunday
meets where there's over a thousand attendees, over a thousand cars, not
just like people, but cars.
And it's in title.
It's, and you'll have that plus two other events going on the exact same time,
which each have several hundred cars at those as well.
So it's, there's, you know, there's something going on almost like either every
night or every few nights, there's something going on.
Yeah.
That's pretty cool.
Cause it really gives you guys an opportunity to have that, like community
and culture, you know, like you can go out and socialize with these people that
are like minded, hopefully, you know, very often, whereas like, right for us,
like, yeah, yeah, it's kind of hard to do up here.
I mean, and even so the scene is, isn't, isn't geared towards us.
I guess there's only a handful of JDM.
Cars in the entire state.
So, you know, hearing that there's thousands of cars that show up to some
of these things down there is like kind of mind blowing on just a normal, normal
Sunday.
Yeah, it's good.
It just makes me feel like it's still alive and well, even if it's not here,
you know, we're blinded to it.
It's just good to hear that like, you know, regardless of what type of car it is
that people are just still coming out.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Cause I mean, you get everything from every walk.
You'll have at the same event, you'll have the Hondas that we were seeing when
we were in high school.
Those are the same event as, you know, there was one, the Hamilton
collection came out.
So, you know, you had a Bugatti's, the Hennessy event of F5, Konexx.
We're all, you know, out there.
Same show as some of the Sentra or Honda from the early 2000s or, you know, EK.
Yeah, that is cool.
Like, yeah, I mean, right, where it's like, you know, but what, uh, I mean, so I
noticed, is there a lot of like new Civics?
Cause I noticed that the one that I went to and met you, there was like a whole
line of like FL5 Civic Type R is like, is that like the new car for like people
that I guess are into this, but maybe not into the 90s stuff down there?
So that is a very popular, popular one for sure.
Um, that was, I'm not sure if that was just a group of them getting together,
kind of like with the, the skyline owners.
Sometimes we'll have one or two, but then we'll sometimes organize it.
And we have, you know, seven to eight there at once.
Um, there's an NSX crew that lives in the Orlando area.
You know, everything from very clean, low mileage, complete factory JDM ones
up to full wide body, you know, martini style, you know, livery over an entire car.
Um, you know, but you'll have, you know, sometimes you'll have zero at the event
and then sometimes you'll have a lineup of like seven NSX's all just, you know,
in the line together.
So it's, I couldn't answer that on the Civic portion.
I do see, we do see a lot of those, um, but usually they're not as organized
as it was when you came in.
You guys, I can't deal with this anymore.
Just stop it.
All right.
Like just cut it out.
You guys are spoiled.
You guys get the weather, the cars, the women, wait, what?
Um, yeah.
No, I mean, I could tell it was definitely, yeah, it was cool.
It was cool to participate in it.
And I appreciate you, uh, you know, hitting me up and inviting me to that.
And then, you know, the spec tune, uh, dino sesh, that was, that was super cool.
Man, I appreciated that for sure.
Uh, for sure.
Yeah.
Um, so, okay.
So before, before we let you, uh, get in your PJs over there, um, what's like,
what's next for Michael 40?
Is it, is the skyline done?
Is, is the skyline like it, you know, like what's your take on, on that for you?
So that, I thought the skyline was going to be it.
He thought it was, but it's not.
So I actually, I really want to get a stage.
Yeah.
Ah, there it is.
Yeah.
I really want to get a stage.
Um, I'm loving the wagons.
Um, but I also want to get more of a, honestly, a cheap car to be able to
wrench on myself a lot more.
Cause I mean, I did the brakes on the skyline, but I didn't want to
touch the engine.
I've, you know, again, I did not, I haven't had all those different
project cars to be able to learn on, to learn what not to do, what to do, and
really get an in depth knowledge.
Um, I didn't want to start it out on a 34 GTR.
That's not really the car you're trying to learn on.
It makes sense.
Steve, it's not like, you know, yeah, it's not like you're messing up a D series
engine, you're messing up a RV that's, you know, dude.
Yeah.
And at this point, you can't even get them for under 10 grand.
So like you'd make a huge mistake with, yeah, for sure.
Correct.
So, um, I'd love to get, you know, a little, a cheap totem, one or $2,000 toy
car that's beat the heck.
I can just put you and put a roll cage in it, wrench on it for a round of the
track, do things that, you know, try to improve myself as a driver.
Yep.
So that way, when I do drive the GTR, I can have a lot more confidence than I
have now.
Yeah.
That's hard, I think.
Cause I mean, I've, I've done plenty of things in the past, but never to
extend, I want, and I want to just get better and better.
So, but try to learn and you push it, pushing the envelope in a car you
can't replace everything on and, you know, that you can, you know,
it takes a while to burn your house down.
Yeah.
I mean, I agree with that.
When, when we took my 34 to Fuji, that was the exact thing, right?
Like you want to have a blast, right?
And push it to the limit.
But then you also know, even though you're in Japan, there's so many pieces
on that car that are not replaceable or whatever that you're like reserved.
Even you think you're hammering on it, you're not freaking hammering on it.
You know what I mean?
It's just, so yeah, I think you got the right idea.
Yeah.
Like get, get your training in on the, on the hoopty and like, and then
when it comes time, like you're ready to actually drive your
skyline properly on the track.
That's cool.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Um, so that's, that's kind of what's next.
Don't know what's going to be.
Any mods for the skyline, though, that's all I really care about.
No offense, Michael.
No offense, Michael.
I just was curious about that.
So that I would say for the skyline, um, it's more of a.
Speaking of trying to, you know, get improved more, um, for GTR versus
dragon next year, I'm honestly wanting to improve the aerial in the car a little bit more.
Um, partially for a function, partially just because I think it looked cool.
Yeah.
Not gonna lie.
Yeah.
I want to get, you know, get a second trunk.
Um, that way I can do, like I mean, like a do the do luck, um, duck bill trunk, that
along with a big vortex wing, because, you know, obviously that, and then, um, I
actually have a second front bumper that's in the paint shop right now that'll
be, I'm picking up on Friday.
And I want to do the full mind style canards in the front, get a more
aggressive diffuser for it and actually try to more of most like make it more rigid.
Um, so that way of doing that, you know, when I'm actually, when I'm, when I'm
driving it, the arrow is not just pulling down the bumper in a few tabs.
It's pushing down on the frame of the car.
Right.
Yeah.
Actually having a purpose with better grip.
Correct.
Yeah.
Um, that would probably be my next thing is just going ahead and doing the
arrow for the front bumper and getting a second trunk.
I don't want to rest and mess up what I have.
That way I can just quickly swap the trunk, swap the front bumper.
It's all good.
Yeah.
Good call.
Yeah.
That's sweet.
That the, oh yeah, especially the price of freaking skyline stuff, dude.
Yeah, you better be having stuff to swap out.
Yeah, for sure.
Um, I got a pile of boxes right behind the camera here.
We got two sets of wheels, got, you know, mind steering wheel, lots, lots more stuff.
Okay.
Cool.
So yeah, you, you're not done.
It's just maybe you've checked off like the motor and brakes and, you know, that
type of thing, like the, the, yeah, I mean, the super important stuff, right?
So now you can kind of do your thing with some of the aesthetics and yeah, that's
pretty cool, man.
I mean, it still feels good.
Even if you're not pulling the motor and installing a V cam, it still feels good
to set up, you know, even the arrow, right?
Like it, it's all pride when it comes to these things.
Oh, for sure.
Yeah.
Cause I like the authenticity of what I have, you know, the factory look, but
also, you know, having being able to go with the full, you know, I hate to say on
this kind of car, but the full riced out, you know, big wing and all the, you know,
carbon fiber arrow, you know, it's cool for a week or two, but you want to still
take it back to be the more tame, stylish, you know, class, you know,
yeah, it's a great look.
Got to be like, hit that revert button, right?
You got to be able to change your shoes.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, man.
Okay, Michael.
So where can the guests find you on the internet?
Um, you just place would be Instagram.
I'm just R34 than the last name, 40, which is F-O-R-D-E.
Just like it sounds.
He is important.
Yeah.
Literally, it's crazy.
Yeah.
Um, and so, dude, we appreciate you being on for sure.
It was super good to meet you.
Um, I hope that, you know, we can all get together again, but my car will be there.
Hopefully, hopefully everybody's car.
Absolutely.
I'm going to get a caravan.
You can come down.
Um, awesome, man.
I hope you enjoy your night down there and, uh, Central Florida.
And we'll talk to you next time, man.
Oh, sounds good.
Stay warm.
All right.
Peace.
See ya.
See ya.
Michael Ford.
D. 40.
The D is important.
Yeah, it is.
That makes so much sense now.
Um, yeah, man, that's always cool.
Just chatting with a guy that, you know, a regular guy from, you know,
Central Florida, those are always fun guys.
Yeah, dude.
I mean, just goes to show dude, anyone can have a GTR.
Yeah.
I mean, we're just, they're just normal dudes.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like it's not like he has this big extravagant thing.
He's like, nah, dude, I sold my house.
Like, man, dude, that's passion.
Like that is super passion.
Like he sold your house.
Yeah, you know, but, but like he's cool as hell.
Like that is what is awesome.
Like, and what I was trying to get across was just like most of these dudes are
regular dudes that sacrifice in some way, you know, to get their dream car.
Right.
Right.
Same here.
Right.
I'm not some crazy superstar fucking TJ hunt.
I'm just regular.
I'm just.
Why'd you call it that, dude?
Damn, sorry, TJ.
I'm just saying I'm not as cool as you, dude, but I got one, you know, and I'm
just a regular dude.
And, you know, you, you know, if, if you want it bad enough, you can get it.
It's a, it's America, dude.
Like you, you can figure it out.
So, um,
just like you said, dude, it's, it's cool to see like how these cars can
bring people together that don't even know each other from complete diagonally
across the country.
Like all that.
Right.
Like, dude, I'm just some, we're just some dudes on the podcast, but he hits me
up, has me come out and all of a sudden I'm introduced to a whole different
group of people for what?
Like I said, for what?
Like I'm just this dude showing up because you got another 90s niece on.
Yeah.
Like halfway across the country, not even there.
Yeah.
Yeah.
For sure.
And, you know, and then offers for me to drive his car.
Yeah.
Like I was saying, like that's, that's crazy, dude.
Like, yeah, but it's awesome.
And it just tells you how down to earth, you know, like the owners of these cars
are.
So, um, for sure, look up Michael, uh, on the internet, you know, like some of his
photos comment that his car is super cool.
I think he deserves it.
But for this episode of the right hand drive guys podcast, I'm Bobby.
This is Aaron.
See ya.
Peace.
About this episode
Michael Ford joins the Right Hand Drive Guys to share his journey with his R34 GTR, discussing everything from his early car influences to the extensive modifications made by UP Garage. Michael recounts his experiences driving his car in Japan and Seattle, emphasizing the strong community surrounding these vehicles. The episode also highlights the challenges of car ownership, insurance issues, and the vibrant car scene in Florida, showcasing how passion for cars can create lasting connections among enthusiasts.
Original notes
In this episode of the Right Hand Drive Guys Podcast, we sit down with Michael Forde to talk about what it really means to go all in on a dream car. Michael owns an R34 GT-R that has been completely refreshed by U.P. Garage, including the legendary HKS 2.8-liter engine β a setup that sits at the very top of the Skyline food chain.
Based in Orlando, Michael breaks down the local car scene, what itβs like owning a high-level GT-R in Florida, and the sacrifices he made to make it happen β including selling his house to fund the car and its modifications.
Michael also got to drive his R34 extensively in Japan before importing it, building a real connection with the car long before it ever became legal in the U.S. His story mirrors the passion, patience, and obsession that define true RHD culture.
ποΈ Big risks, real sacrifices, and a once-in-a-lifetime GT-R β this is what chasing the dream actually looks like.
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