Timeless Tohoku Style – Yohey’s 180SX

Whether you know it as the Silvia, 240SX, 200SX or – most correctly, the 180SX, there’s a fair chance you’ve seen at least one variation of the popular Nissan in your lifetime.

In many cases that encounter may have been quite forgettable, because for many of these nineties machines, their fate was sealed by an overconfident teenager with a sideways dream and $2500.

But as with all of these nineties legend cars, times have changed, and that dream has been squashed by a tenfold increase in price tag, if you can even get your hands on one that hasn’t been crashed.

Don’t get it twisted. I’m a huge fan of overpaying for underdelivering cars. My AE86 Toyota Corolla is the perfect example of just that. So when Yohey sold his E46 M3 for this 180SX, I was delighted to be able to live vicariously through him.

Upon purchase, the car was a far cry from what you see in these photos. Ill-fitting fibreglass panels, mismatched paint and half of a rear bumper – the poster car of every Ebisu enthusiast.

But Yohey’s clock ticks faster than most, and in less than 24 hours his vision of the perfect Tohoku-style 180SX was in motion. This project had dwelled on his mind for some time, and for as long as I’ve known him there was talks of this exact car.

“My main attraction to the 180SX is honestly just the aesthetic, nothing mechanical. I’ve always wanted a hatchback. Even when I bought my AE86 I wanted the hatch, but ended up with a coupe, so I’ve never truly filled that void.”

Only a few weeks into ownership a Type X aero kit was on – not without a big hit to the wallet. Swiftly following that, the Koguchi Power Hood, Kabuki Mirrors and custom fenders joined the ensemble. The Tohoku-style look was starting to piece itself together.

But for the uninitiated, what is Tohoku Style? Put simply, it’s the term coined by the style of 180SX most popular in the Tohoku region of Japan – who would’ve thought, eh?

It was popularised by Break Ito, a key player in the early 2000’s golden-era of drifting. Ito’s cars have since become staples to broader drift culture, immortalised in publications such as Drift Tengoku and Option Magazine.

History lesson over, we jump 25 years back into reality, armed with an angle grinder and a dream, Yohey made his most controversial modification to the car.

One main characteristic of a Tohoku style 180sx is the sunroof. Yohey’s car wasn’t equipped with such a luxury from factory, so a few minutes of fear-inducing cutting later, Yohey’s very own water feature sunroof was installed.

“I love OEM+ styling. I’ve always built my cars that way, and I think Tohoku-style is the perfect example of that. Stock fenders and still enjoyable on the street, two non-negotiables for me”

With the kit installed and wheels on order, the car made its way to paint where Yohey opted for a flat gloss black. Which wheels? A set of Rays TE37s, of course; OG TE37 up front and SAGAs on the rear. Since its transformation, the car has seen a plenty of track time, from Nikko to Fuji, with only a front lip sacrificed in the process.

There are a million-and-one ways to build a 180SX, and they’ve just about all been done. But there’s one style that I will never get tired of and that’s Tohoku.

Yohey’s car is the perfect example of a drift car that doesn’t have to be ugly to function perfectly, and I think there should be more of that.