1997 Toyota Mark II Tourer V

Suhail Sahib, formerly known as NFORCA, is back in style with 450kw of 1JZ muscle and his signature clean look on a Mark II Tourer V.

WORDS: WARREN SARE

PHOTOS: GLEN MCNAMARA

1997 Toyota Mark II Tourer V

The journey of every owner is full of defining moments, and this ride known as KING JZ is no different. You see, we at NZPC have met Suhail before. He has been around the scene for a while and had a run for over six years where his 1981 Datsun Sunny cleaned up show awards around the country and, while it wasn’t ever going to set any records, did plenty of laps at every cruising event. It was one of those cars that was just so distinctive that everyone knew it, but had it not met an untimely end you wouldn’t be reading this story. Without going too far into detail, the car was in an accident that was no fault of the owner, and that set in motion a journey down the path of turbo car ownership that brings us here today.

No NZ Fijian Car Club story gets too far without mention of family and friends and here again this comes to the fore as Suhail proudly mentions the fact that: “Dad is my biggest inspiration, he and my uncle were both in the industry and that’s where my love of cars and fixing things came from.”

Suhail is actually a mechanical engineer and there are touches throughout the car that he has completed himself and he has input into each and every aspect of any NFORCA GARAGE build. He continues that strong family theme with wife Alisha and son Ezra mentioned as a constant motivation. The King’s court if you will.

The base of this build is a Toyota Mark II Tourer V that rolled off the production line back in 1997, likely destined for use moving a family or perhaps executives around in comfort and that is largely where the thought process was here. “I set out to build a comfortable and roomy cruiser, that could make easy and reliable power and still had room for the shopping and kids,” said Suhail as we look over the Taxi-themed big body which idles with just enough menace that you know something lurks within. These engines are capable of 500kW in near stock trim and KING JZ isn’t far shy of this currently and still on 98 pump gas. With 2500cc to start with and strong internals fitted at the factory, there is a relatively proven recipe for turning up the wick with the 1JZ. You pick how wild you want it to be and add bolt on parts according to requirements that include driveability and how often you want to be replacing driveline parts and tyres. In this case, it’s Kiwi know-how with a Steve Murch-built MSE40RS Gen 2 turbo mounted on a Sinco manifold called upon in combination with a set of Kelford camshafts to open things up a little and bring some life to the party.

This creates that distinctive sound which is channelled rearward, via a 3.5-inch exhaust which often sees a straight pipe fitted because we all like angry pops, bangs, and flames. The 1JZ needs fuel to match and drinks a solid diet of straight pump gas from 1000cc injectors and, at this point, is still supplied by an in-tank fuel pump, however that may change as there is some talk of moving to Ethanol with a flex-fuel set up. This is still a street car, so low boost sits at 17psi, while it takes 25psi to achieve the current peak power numbers. It’s no secret that Link ECU is well regarded and reliable in the hands of Autech, where Sam has this build well set up for all its duties.

While wanting to stay true to his personal style, there is a strong Japanese look to this car along with Suhail’s own touches which draw your attention. He takes things a step further by running an actual taxi sign on the roof (lit up at events). The car’s colour itself is an OEM Silver and is something that is potentially up for a change given the owner is a perfectionist and everything on the body has been touched or modified. The big Toyota wears a full Vertex body kit with additions from Origin lab and it is fair to say this car would be at home in the Japanese Mountain Touge or sitting in a salon-style car park. The little details haven’t been missed and it just creates an all-around slick image which has seen this car add to its owner’s extensive trophy collection.

We mentioned earlier that Suhail does get amongst everything at events, and while the theme is a bit of a fun play, it’s unusual not to see the car fully loaded and out and about being enjoyed. The boys paid attention to making the car stop, as she is no light weight — especially with five fully-loaded Kava aficionados on board — and DBA comes to the party with 340mm slotted rotors in use and a set of Brembo four-piston callipers (that originally called a newer model Lexus home) residing in the front of the car.

If you are going to get there fast, you’d better be able to stop when you roll around on adjustable BC suspension at a ride height that wants to break things. Did we mention the owner doesn’t like it when the paint isn’t a perfect match? If there is one choice that can make or break a build, it’s the rims tucked up in the guards and you can’t really go wrong with Work Meisters for classic impact. Unless, of course, you want to do a bit of everything and don’t want to bend things and you can choose from your Work Kiwamis or VOLK TE37s for track and drag use respectively. Suhail doesn’t skimp on tyres and uses Pirelli on the streets and Hoosiers for drag use. How well does it hook up? Good enough to podium a few roll race events and a 12.8-second quarter, wheel spinning all the way through to fourth gear.

With this being a street and family car and a Misti Evo that is destined for drag duties also in the stable, KING JZ has been kept fairly stock on the inside. The factory seats are more than up to keeping passengers in comfort or fitting a baby seat, while the driver can easily see information on a power tune dash in between grabbing coffees. You don’t need a whole heap of audio when you have a 450kW JZ to listen to, but everything has been upgraded or has customisation just because that is the owner’s way.

We start to wrap up, and we simply cannot cover all the people Suhail wanted to thank for supporting him along the way. The strong theme of family is to the fore and he wanted us to ensure we mentioned that he appreciated everyone who was part of this journey.

A SIMPLE CUSTOMISABLE POWERTUNE DISPLAY KEEPS AN EYE ON THE INNER WORKINGS OF KING JZ

From NFORCA to a KING… it sounds a bit like a Gangster movie doesn’t it? We all know those have sequels and for some reason I feel like we aren’t quite done with Suhail and his NFORCA Garage builds just yet.

TECHNICAL DATA1997 Toyota Mark II Tourer V

DRIVE

• GEARBOX: R154 five-speed
• CLUTCH: Six PUK ceramic HD clutch
• FLYWHEEL: Factory, ARP flywheel bolts
• DIFF: Factory

SUPPORT

• STRUTS: BC BR Series coilovers
• BRAKES: (F) 340mm DBA T3 slotted discs, IS350 four-piston calipers with adaptor kit ® DBA T3 slotted discs, Brembo pads
• ARMS/KNUCKLES: Cusco front upper control arms, rear Hardrace camber and toe arms, Elwood front strut brace, front and rear Cusco sway bars, front TRD subframe brace.

EXTERIOR

• PAINT: Factory
• ENHANCEMENTS: Vertex kit, Origin Lab roof spoiler, origin Lab carbon boot lip, Weld Racing silver carbon bonnet, Weld Racing inverted bonnet hinges, custom splitters, Origin Lab front canards, headlight eyelids, custom headlight intake for turbo

INTERIOR

• SEATS: Factory
• STEERING WHEEL: Nardi Personal, NRG quick release, HKB Boss Kit
• INSTRUMENTATION: Powertunedigital dash

PERFORMANCE

• MAX POWER: 380kW (17psi), 450kW (25psi)
• MAX TORQUE: 530Nm (17psi), 630Nm (25psi)
• FUEL TYPE: 98 octane
• TUNER: Sam at Autech

HEART

• ENGINE: 1JZ-GTE, 2500cc six-cylinder
• BLOCK: Factory
• HEAD: 260-degree Kelford cams, HKS adjustable cam gear
• INTAKE: Proflow billet intake manifold, 90mm throttle body, four-inch pie-cut titanium intake, Aeroflow filter
• EXHAUST: 3.5-inch stainless steel V-band turbo-back exhaust system, to four-inch straight-pipe tip, AdrenalinR muffler, Sinco T3 twin-scroll exhaust manifold
• TURBO: MSE40RS Gen II, turbo beanie
• WASTEGATE: 50mm Turbosmart GenV Progate
• FUEL: Proflow billet fuel rail, 1000cc Bosch injectors, Walbro 500lph fuel pump, Turbosmart FPR800 fuel-pressure regulator, -6AN fittings, braided feed/return lines
• IGNITION: VAG Audi coils, custom loom
• ECU: Link G4X PNP, Link IAT sensor, Link three-port boost solenoid, Link Ethanol flex-fuel sensor
• COOLING: 600x300x100 billet GReddy intercooler with custom piping, custom alloy radiator overflow, Redline alloy radiator, GReddy radiator hard pipe with silicone hoses
• EXTRA: Semi-tucked loom, battery relocated to boot, custom power steering reservoir, custom oil catch can, Ross Performance billet timing tensioner, purple JDM washer dress up bolt kit, HKS timing belt

DRIVER PROFILE

• DRIVER/OWNER: Suhail Sahib
• AGE: 27
• LOCATION: West Auckland
• OCCUPATION: Mechanical Engineer
• BUILD TIME: Two years
• LENGTH OF OWNERSHIP: Two years
• THANKS: My Wife Alisha, my little boy Ezra, my parents Sheikh and Razia and late father Fazal Sahib for always supporting me. Ravikash Sharma AKA Barry from NFORCA Garage for doing all the mechanical work and helping from day one, day or night if I needed something he’s always there! Ritesh Chand for the help and getting me deals on parts. Shoheb Khan for always lending a hand and letting me use his trailer. Bernard Lim from Bespoke Fab for all the fab, wiring and advice on my car. Sam and Rizwan from Autech for the safest and reliable tune and for always looking after me and my cars. Rayhaan Ramzan for always helping when I need anything from parts runs to working on my car. Steve Kerr from Stealth Ride for supplying the majority of the performance parts. Glen and René from NSTParts for supplying all my genuine parts needed for the build. Steve Murch from MSE turbos for hooking it up with one of his spooly bois. David Alexander from Work Wheels for always sorting me out with new wheels. Shad Warid From Napa Manukau for sussing me parts. Shamsher from Autotreads for mounting up my wheels and tyres and sussing my alignments. Mohammed Atif and Saheem Ali from The workshop Penrose and GNT Auto for letting us use their workshop space. Ajay Kumar from Brian Payne Motors for his advice and everlasting support. Kirshneel Prasad from K-Imports for the decals, Keveen and Pooja from Motorapor towing for always towing my car anywhere I need! And, last but not least, the whole of the NZ Fijian car club (NZFC) family for the ongoing support the past eight years.

THIS BIG TOYOTA IS BUILT FOR CRUISING AND YOU’LL FIND IT OUT ON THE AUCKLAND ROADS MOST SUNNY WEEKENDS

BIG CAR = BIG BRAKES AND FOUR-PISTON BREMBO CALLIPERS FROM THE TOYOTA FAMILY ARE A PERFECT UPGRADE

Taking inspiration from his family, Suhalls first build was clean precise, and turned heads everywhere it appeared… was all across the country