The Nissan R34 GT-R project is well underway

Internationally renowned photographer Mark has been working with TG for many, many years. When not taking photos he’s buying inappropriate cars. Here he shares his addiction with the world…

If this were an episode of Grand Designs I’d have Kevin McCloud tearing into me about budget and workload before repeatedly shaking his head. At the very best, he’d throw me a “brave... or stupid?” line before cutting to the adverts.

Because the GT-R’s restoration has all the makings of Grand Designs gold. The kind which, despite being new to Channel 4, has an opening sequence first shot in 2017. Usually followed by the owner stating early on that they’d be project manager for it, and lending being the recurring theme rather than actual progress.

Except the Skyline is making progress. Real progress. Progress at an alarming rate, which ironically is a bit of a problem. Steve Richardson and his team do not mess around here; they’re in the business of transforming cars into pieces of art, and with a waiting list stretching into the years it’s not feasible for him to let months pass without any work going on.

Take a look at the image above. Three weeks ago, that was an 833bhp R34 GT-R which could’ve easily been sold for a six-figure sum. Now? It’s quite literally a bare shell. Every component has been stripped out – including the engine – and its underside ground back to metal in preparation for any rust repair and new sealant/primer.

Admittedly, that’s doing a massive disservice to the work that’s actually been completed. It is mind-blowing what SR Autobodies does to these cars; it goes far beyond a simple underside resto or tarting up old parts with a bit of paint. Every single component removed is either replaced, repaired or zinc plated. Thousands of them. Even the engine has been stripped back to simplify the wiring, coolant system and more. Less parts to worry about = fewer parts to go wrong.

And that’s before we get to the wiring. In true Japanese style – the undisputed kings of the bodge – the GT-R had eight live feeds being drawn from the cigarette lighter. That was powering oil and diff coolers, gauges, turbo timers, you name it. Sure, it’s the easiest live feed to run power from, but how it hasn’t burst into flames is beyond me.

With all of the parts now being painted or zinc plated, Steve and his team have finished Stage 1 in a matter of weeks. That is, getting the car stripped back, repaired and ready for a full respray. Naturally, I never intended to have the whole car painted... but every panel had some chip or ding after 23 years. So bizarrely, it works out faster to paint it as a bare shell than to do the components individually while it’s all bolted together.

From a financial POV, doing it this way is a bit like throwing a deck chair off a sinking Titanic. Cheap is not a word that can be applied to any part of this car, but it’ll be worth it in the end (fingers crossed). I do have quite a lot of bills to pay however, so if anyone needs last minute freelance photography please e-mail mark@markriccioni.co.uk quoting ‘GT-R Financial Disaster’ for a preferential rate.