Close-Up: グロスファクトリー Silvia S14 – TAS 2013

This year’s Tokyo Auto Salon has left an impression on us all; how the Japanese tuning and show makings are consistently ahead of every one else never ceases to amaze me.  Hundreds of 86’s…err, I mean cars, from tuning companies all across Japan packed the halls of Makuhari Messe this past weekend.  While there were a handful of great builds, I think out of all the cars at the salon this Silvia from Gloss Factory stood out to me the most.  I’d like to first thank my friend Mr. セキネイ for snapping some pictures of it for us – ありがとうね~

Based in Sakurai, near the Osaka Bay in the Nara Prefecture of Japan, Gloss Factory creates some amazing custom body and paint work.  A small outfit by no means, the shop has done work on many famous cars throughout Japan.  A close up of the custom headlights – almost looks like neon.

Flawless paint and body work; the most noticeable being the silver gradient along the edges of the hood.

The LED lights inside the rear bumper and side skirt draw your attention lower, to the set of Gnosis HS203 wheels that adorn the four corners of the Silvia (thanks Alex).

The first thing to catch peoples’ eye on this car has to be the hood and trunk work.  I was browsing みんカラ one day on my phone, I’d say about 5 months ago, and I came across a S13 owner who had a similar treatment done to his trunk.  He took pictures throughout the whole process; the stripping, the polishing, angle grinding the design, and the painting process.  He ended up painting it a clearish purple, so that the metal still showed through.  Since then I’ve been wanting to do something similar, and this S14 just pushed me over the edge.

Inside the trunk is a custom fiberglass enclosure that houses the speakers and amplifier.  You can also see the LED taillight treatment.  I don’t really know anything about audio equipment so you guys are on your own with this one.

More custom work throughout the inside in the form of door panels, dash mounted gauge clusters, audio/visual and seats.  I smell the 90’s…

The 326 Power kit looks great sprayed in the glittery silver color and stuffed full of LED’s.  While this car is perfectly at home in a car show, I wouldn’t doubt if we see it on the street or a drift course some day.  More and more older builds like these are popping up in Japan as the chassis’ popularity is still increasing.  It’s nice to know that everyone hasn’t jumped ship to newer platforms – not that there’s anything wrong with that…