Kaido Inspired | 1973 Nissan Laurel
It’s always a treat to see how a car or motorcycle owner soaks in influences and ideas from various different cultures and injects them into their own build or project. During a long weekend at the Art of Speed show in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last year, I found some time post-event to cruise around with event director Asep Ahmad to look at some local car culture.
One of the stops on the tour was to see C.K.Naga and his Nissan Laurel. When I shot it back in July 2018, it was a work-in-progress project, but one that was very personal to CK and it oozes with influence from Japanese kaido racers. For that reason, I was keen to take a closer look. The car looks quite a bit different now, with a stunning red/black respray and Advan graphics. Check out C.K.’s Instagram profile for recent updates. Over to you, C.K….
“My name is CK Naga. Cars have been in my family for many generations. My grandfather collects old Toyotas and there have been some cars in the family that my grandfather passed on to my father then my father passed to me.
This is my 1973 C130 Nissan Laurel, I purchased this car from an older gentleman locally as a stock standard car.
When I started modifying this car, I was influenced by Japanese styles. I wanted to put my own spin on it, but I was following Japanese styles and techniques.
The wheels are custom made here in Kuala Lumpur but many other parts were imported from Japan. The fender flares, spoilers, tail lights are all aftermarket items from Japan.
The engine is an L20. It did have single carburettors, but parts are very hard to find here and tuning is expensive, so I changed it to a single. It’s easier and cheaper for me to drive the car every day like this.
There’s still lots of work to do with this car. The interior is very much work in progress, I have plans to trim it in red velvet to go with a new exterior colour. The engine doesn’t have a great sound like a Japanese kaido racer as I am using a stock exhaust, so I want to change that.
My friend and I run a brand called Backwheel Bitches. We like to support car culture here in Malaysia and around Asia. We follow styles from many countries.
I really appreciate for you guys from Fuel Tank to come here. I’ve been following you for a long time and I’m really impressed with your photo work and everything, so thank you so much for this opportunity.”
Follow C.K.: @cknaga // @backwheelbitches
