Tyler Kopp is a man who's slowly building an arsenal of Japanese legends, but if you looked in his garage at his dad's house, you'd see a corvette and a couple mustangs which really makes you wonder how a father and son could be so different in tastes. "I grew up around muscle cars, my dad having corvettes, mustangs, and the likes but something always drew me towards JDM cars. The sound of inline six engines and how easily you could make power from these smaller motors really made me fall in love" Tyler lucked out having a father who had the same passion for cars as his first car in highschool was a 1995 Nissan 300zx (not the one pictured) that he had for quite a while. He spent a lot of time and his extra money modifying and cleaning it up locking him into that love for cars.
"The sounds of a VG, the sleek design, and no one had one at my school so it was perfect" however that car was sold in 2015, that one being a naturally aspirated version of the VG motor Tyler immediately went on the hunt for a twin turbo variant. The white Z32, a 1992 TT is his current build that you see in the pictures. It's given Tyler a great base to modify off of, giving the car newer turbos, intercooler, exhaust, and some exterior mods. "I love the styling of a lot of JDM cars and the Z32 is one of my favorites." This isn't the final form for the car either. It's awaiting it's full black interior swap and a new wheel and tire setup.
The Z isn't without it's regular temper though. Blowing a clutch slave cylinder as we pulled into the grass at our location. Tyler being the upbeat person he is wasn't too surprised and immediately wanted to fix it. So being passed the keys to the GTST I went to the parts store to grab a new slave as he started taking the broken one off "The Skyline has been very reliable to me, the RB20 is sturdy and I can't get enough of the noise it makes so I'm always revving it." Tyler uses the Skyline nearly every day, retaining the A/C and power steering makes it a regular daily driver.
"Now what made you choose a GTST over a GTR? And even a Skyline in general?"
"It is an iconic car. Everywhere you drive you see people wring their necks to make sure they are seeing what they think they are seeing. Never being sold here made me want it more." Which couldn't be more true as a lot of cars that you see imported are skylines since they were never sold here but you see them in videos and movies. I drove the car around town that day to each location and everywhere we went you heard someone yell "SKYLINE!" and whip out their phone for proof.
Not only is this an iconic car but they're phenomenal platforms. With variants all the way from a four door, non turbo, automatic family car to a fire breathing, turbo whistling, all-wheel drive monster. "The background behind these cars is so cool to learn about." Tyler tells me as we drive around finding a location. JDM cars having such a presence in the automotive world makes them great cars to build and have fun with whilst carrying a huge sense of pride to own cars that have made such an impact. The R32 or "Godzilla" being the most recognizable of these when it comes to JDM legends.
These two cars aren't his only investments into the world of cars either. Tyler also currently owns two Saab's, one being an '04 9-3 and a '99 9-3 Viggen that's currently getting an engine rebuild. However in the near future he will be adding another legend to his collection. It's legal in a few years, I'll leave you to figure out what it is.
A big thank you to Tyler for going out multiple times to get the shots I needed and for being such a down to earth guy. Follow his instagram and get him to post more about his beautiful cars.
Thank you! - Luckyclub
@zcarface300
@luckyclub.us
Extras Below!
