NGK helps build 700bhp supercar
NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd has helped a garage owner in his labour of love to build a 700bhp supercar.
The leading supplier of original equipment-quality spark plugs, glow plugs and NTK Lambda sensors has supported Tim Barks’ ambition of constructing a home-built MVS Nissan Skyline R33 GTR (Silhouette).
Modern Vehicle Services is a Japanese and import tuning specialist and 41-year-old owner Tim has spent thousands of hours working on his own supercar at his North Wales base at Lloc near Holywell.
His innovative supercar has attracted widespread interest after appearing on NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd’s stand at the Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s NEC and being featured in the specialist Japanese-car consumer magazine Banzai.
Tim said: “It was amazing at the Autosport show to see the reaction of visitors, some of the youngsters thought it was an ‘X-box’ car, and when it recently appeared on the front cover of Banzai I believe it was the magazine’s biggest selling issue.”
Tim explained the reasons behind starting his mammoth project. He said: “I specialise in these high performance cars and have a countrywide reputation with people coming to me from all over the country from Cornwall to the East Coast, but it has always been my ambition to build and race my own car.
“This is not a replica, it is based on a Japanese GT car, but this is my own vehicle and we have done all the work in our own workshop. I’ve spent literally hundreds of hours on building the car, for example I must have spent 5000 hours on the chassis.
“I hate to think how much money the project has cost, but it has been worth it. I’m not sure yet exactly how fast it will go, but it will be well over 200mph, or what race class it will fall into, but when it is ready I plan to race it myself as I have now got my racing licence. This year I will be running it at test sessions at various tracks to see how it goes so that I can hopefully then race it in the future.”
The MVS Skyline has a steel space frame with a flat aluminium floor and is powered by a 2771cc Nissan six-cylinder RB26 engine. It features double wishbone suspension with push rod operated in-board coil over shock absorbers.
It has many bespoke specialist components, but when it comes to spark plugs there is only one brand for Tim… NGK.
He said: “I only use NGK spark plugs when I work on the high performance cars that come into my workshop, even when on the rare occasions they are not fitted as OE.
“I think they are fantastic as they are the only plug that can deal with the cold-start and high-end temperatures associated with these types of vehicles. I also run a general garage business here and always fit NGK spark plugs, glow plugs and NTK Lambda sensors in our day-to-day work. I wouldn’t use anything else.”
MVS has a fully equipped workshop with the latest diagnostic and tuning equipment available to not only carry out Japanese Import and UK spec tuning and maintenance, but also American 4×4, performance and classic tuning and maintenance and race and track day car preparation. In addition, it also carries out regular car maintenance and MoT services.
Tim honed his skills by working alongside his father Terry in the family business as a youngster and built his first racing car, an off-road buggy, when aged just 13 and went on to successfully race Monster Trucks.
Now his focus is very much on the MVS Skyline which he is currently testing prior to getting it to racing standard.
Tim said working on these high-performance Japanese imports helps his own technicians.
He said: “The Japanese and import cars we focus on helps hone their skills. Nissan Skylines are complicated cars and I’m sure the experience they gain from working on them helps when they work with other makes that come into our garage.”
NGK’s association with the project is one that is welcomed by Gerard Irving, NGK Spark Plugs (UK) Ltd Marketing Manager.
He said: “NGK has had a long and successful association with motorsport, from F1 to Touring and Rally Cars, and we are delighted to help Tim in his unique project. We wish him every success.”