The Car of Eli

Owner: Elijah Vela
Car: 2002 Nissan Altima
Club Affiliation: Made to Excite
Words: ONE
Flicks: Irwin

HAFADAZE! Here we are with probably THE best modified Nissan Altima on the beautiful island of Guam. Those with the untrained eye would probably think that this car came straight off the lot… a 2011 model? Elijah Vela would probably be laughing in his head like The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase and proudly proclaim after that this car is 9 years old! Leche!…. is definitely right!

I’m pretty sure the following two words have been used a countless number of times by import car enthusiasts who have spoken to Eli about how much cash he has invested into his ride, “LECHE, PRIM!” That impulse reaction by the Guam born and raised tongue mirrors that of the following image…

Outside, Eli’s chose to modify his Altima rather tastefully – sticking with an eRacings front bumper matched with a Street Scene grill. He added SE-R taillights and a rear bumper to make his baby have even more kick. Eli has some custom one-off pieces that you probably won’t see on any other Altima including eyelids and sidesills. His latest mod, or should we say the apple to his pie… or the straw to his berry….. are the custom rear fender flares molded on by Manila Auto. Can I post this picture again?

The fender flares were added to accentuate the aggressive fitting 19×8.5” Volk Racing TE37 wheels that Eli chose for his Altima. Rolling on BFGoodrich KDW tires, he installed a nice list of suspension components including: Eibach Pro-kit springs and Stillen goodies such as the camber kit, and front strutbar, and rear swaybar.

Speed freaks will love sitting in the driver seat of Eli’s Altima because well… to put it simply – this thing can boogie! Eli swapped in an SE-R motor and went to work. With the Jim Wolf camshafts, clutch, flywheel, and pistons… the Stillen header, catback exhaust and grounding kit… the Unorthodox racing crank and alternator pulley… the Injen intake… the Kinetix Racing intake manifold… wait, what was I saying again? Oh, yea with all the mods Eli has put into the heart of his Altima, he is proud to say that he loves driving to work everyday. How many of us can say that?

On the weekends, Eli’s Altima becomes the ultimate family mobile. Just like every other facet of his car, he went balls-out on in car electronics. While enjoying how fast his ride can go from Hafa Adai Market stoplight to Wusstig Road stoplight, his family can enjoy the entertainment provided by the 5” headrest monitors Eli installed. The rumble of his engine can easily be drowned out by the Infinity Kappa goodies, including front components, rear 6x9s, and 12” bass speakers. The Infinity ear pleasure is powered through Xtant amps and a Panasonic system.

This car is as complete as a car can get. It looks good and it goes fast. The next time you see Eli at a stoplight, at KFC, at Kmart, or anywhere else… ask him how much time and money he has invested on it. It’s hurting me thinking about it more than playing that shock game at Chuck E. Cheese’s. However, just like all the other tuners out there, we do this because we love to and it’s what makes us happy. “There is no Altima out there close to what I have,” says Elijah. Amen, brotha, AMEN!

SHOUTOUTS: I would like to thank the MTX crew and Jun from Redline Motorsports. Also thank you to Alvin from Manila Auto. Lastly, thank you to my wife and family!