On flikr today, and ran across some pics of Kyusha’s 240Z. Who took these though? Anyway theyre decent sized, and cleeeaaaan. Check my blogroll Kyusha Kai.

Look close. You can see a rollcage, and some beautiful SSR mesh.

Here’s a teaser from last night’s photo shoot with my cousin. He’s in my blogroll under the Japanese characters that I can’t read.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I found an AMAZING artist while googling around…  Mr. Scott Fischer aka Fisch.  I didn’t want to post his art without his permission and was gonna hunt out his email, but lo and behold…  He pops up on JNC.  Not only does he make amazing pieces for books, games and prints… He also has the same crazy love for Datsuns that a us lot of do! He uses Photoshop and a Wacom pen to put together these beauties… I really need to brush up on my art (meaning, I haven’t touched a pencil in about 8 years).

Datsun 510 Jetfighter.  I love these old school fighter jet styled designs.  Check the details…  The exhaust pipes exiting from the fenders make me what kind of motor would power this mythical creature.  Mr. Fisch, PLEASE do a Ratsun with the hood open and engine details!  It would be INSANE!

Datsun B210- Honey Bee.  If I didn’t have a Z or couldn’t get a 510, this would be next in line.  Unfortunately, I have yet to see one for sale in Hawaii.  Those bolt on flares, front lip and power bulge hood looks soooooooo tasty.

Datsun 620 KC- Bullets INC. The kink on the door that follows all the way down the bed makes this the best designed truck ever.  Extra points for the bullet holes!  I wonder if it could be done on a real car, without the police pulling you over thinking the car is stolen?

52

521 Sake Samurai with pin-up. I could have sworn I read somewhere that this is based on his own truck.  Fisch, if you see this, care to chime in?  This is by far my favorite.  So many new little details that I notice every time I stare at this picture.  There’s the obvious…  The gorgeous girl and samurai swords.  Then I began noticing other things.  The faded Sakura blossom decal.  The samurai helmet antenna ball.  The original VIP curtains made of bamboo.  This truck ROCKS!

I have never wanted to build a Ratsun 510 wagon so badly in my life.  I love my Z to death and she looks gorgeous with her paint, but something about a rusty, faded, work-in-progress rod just stirs the soul.

I’m begging you all, click the pictures to check out the details.  Then click the provided links to check out his other pieces.  Finally, purchase, purchase, purchase!  I can’t wait until he does the Z…  It’ll go straight up on my wall.  I’ll post up more of his work when I get the chance.

Fisch’s Homepage
Fisch’s Ratsun for sale gallery
Fisch’s Art on JNC

As long as you like old school cars, now there is something for everyone. And the biggest tag cloud in the World.

More thug status. Made a little shift boot to match my steering column. I’m really thinkin about havin a fixed back bucket done up with this kind of design.

Loaded the pictures onto Photobucket and since I have some time to kill on this grave shift at work, here’s the rest of the pics.

The block we started with.  Clean enough to lick!  And the blue engine paint sure looked tasty!

The head came assembled from the machine shop.  I wanted to learn how to put that together too, but we definitely would have ran out of time.

Preparing the connecting rods.  All new ARP bolts everywhere.  Do it right the first time!

Pistons with the oil rings assembled and prepped.

Attaching them to the crank.  It was really cool to see how the machine shop milled the metal to balance everything.

Random shots of the head on the block.  I was just playing around with my camera.

The (nearly) finished product.  It was a lot easier than I expected to put everything together.  For someone who’s never done it before, it’s a daunting task but with good help, it sure seemed simple.

The Bible.  One of the guys we were working with said the Lexus LS400 service manual is actually something like a 17 book series.

And apparently, the new Styrofoam packing peanuts are made of starch so when you lick them, they’ll stick to anything.

I moved her. I need a lens on my Nikon asap.

Spent the day yesterday with some great guys helping a good friend Dan build an L28 and pull his old L26 in his 260z.  What a way to spend a Sunday…  Huge burritos, tons of pizza, beer and car talk.  I feel like a real man.  Pictures are from my phone since my camera started to act up last night.  I’ll post what I took with the DSLR later though.

The man himself…  Dan with the obligatory “one man power” shot.

Empty bay ready for a good degreasing and welding up of the rusty patches before we go back in to drop the fresh L28.

The closing shot of the work area.

Engine pics coming soon!

I read this awesome story of 3 cars… created by a man’s vision and passion, which now still lives on and is remembered by the 240Z community. It all began in 1972, way before I was born…

Long before I was a Primadonna Z, I was just a 240Z. My name was ZBAIT. A name the dreamer gave me because nobody could catch me on the rolling hills above Redwood City, California where I lived.

I was adopted in September of 1972 and it didn’t take long for him to start messing with me. At first, he said I needed just a little tweaking. However, in the early 70’s he used to take me to LagunaSeca and Sears Point Raceways to show me what I could be. He started me off with little bubble flares, an air dam and a rear spoiler. Strictly, off the shelf stuff. At first, I liked it but then at the next year’s races I saw these new flares on the Walt Maas Far Performance 240Z. We realized I would be hotter with this setup so the bubbles were popped off and I had a new look.

We were happy for a couple more years when I noticed a change in him. He started showing a lot of interest in this thing called the 935. He told me how he fell in love with a German Boxer.
I felt so inadequate. Then one day he stripped me down and said it could take a couple of years to rebuild me but when he was done, it would take 20 years for me to be fully appreciated.

He was only 25 working on me outside of his apartment. He didn’t have a shop or a garage, just an aluminum box he built that he slipped me in. I fit like a glove and my box fit perfectly in his parking stall. He didn’t have fancy tools, not even a workbench, just worked off the curb. It was here where I was truly born. My designer and a young neighbor friend would sit for hours talking about how to make me the ultimate Z.

Then one day he rolled me out of the metal box and fit me with the most exotic tires and wheels imaginable. I had an extended windshield, a huge whaletail and wing just like those 935’s.

It was at this time he met his real love Yolanda and together they took me everywhere. I created quite a stir whenever I’d stop. Other makes were always trying to get a closer look on the road and their owners would wave, smile and try to make me go faster. I was a gunslinger.

We were well known in the Z Owners of Northern California and were very active leading many other Z’s on tours from Oregon to Death Valley, California. Then things started to change.

It was 1983 now. That’s when I saw my little sister for the first time. She had different hips, they were square. I was white and she was yellow. She was named Primadonna Z and her metal plates said Prima Z. Up until now, it was fun for everybody then we learned our owner was to sell clones of us to anyone that wanted to be ahead of his time.

Little did we know another dreamer was looking for us. Never seeing a picture only hearing about the “Great White Z”. Then one day someone told this dreamer where he had seen the myth. He ran home, fired up his own creation and together they found us. Michael was his name and his car was a flat rusty red. Rusty must have been very upset because there was a deep roar coming from under his hood. Something called a V8 was lurking under there with a lot of other stuff I had never seen before. We became friends. Rusty would eventually look just like me, white, only with a lot more attitude. Jettlag was on his nameplate. By now, our bodies were very precise. Within a year, my yellow sister got a face-lift and became a real black beauty.

In about 1985 the last change I received appeared. A new precise set of clothes, a stretched windshield, a whaletale without the wing and a flashy Mars Red paint job made me the sexiest Primadonna yet! That’s when my owner, designer and builder had to part with me and pass me on to another.

A decision he would be saddened by. A year later, my black sister was adopted by Alan, a wonderful owner. So good, he still loves the black Prima Z after nearly 20 years. She’s in great hands!

Michael kept Jettlag for another 14 years but in 2000, after 20 years, realized he could no longer give Jettlag the attention needed, he reluctantly parted with him. He also has felt the loss. Someone named Hoover took Jettlag never really loving or understanding what he had. With the help of the internet, Jettlag was sent off to a place called Tennessee to another Mike. Only this Mike cared less than Hoover. Jettlag had an uncertain future falling in disrepair with not much hope facing a slow death parked in the grass.

Then a small miracle happened. Roger appeared. Not really knowing why, other than he had to rescue Jettlag. Jettlag was brought to Florida and is now being nurtured back to life. He’s in great hands with an owner who commands attention to detail and understands what he has.

You say just a car! With Roger almost accidentally finding Jettlag, it led to him just as accidentally meeting the original dreamer and telling his story of how he found Jettlag. All of which brought two old friends back together again after many years. Jack and Michael after all have a lot in common and a lot of pictures and memories to share. Both realizing what they had and what they had lost.

Epilogue

The Primadonna Z was never intended to be a business, just a personal custom car and only from the evolution of creating it and using it, was the inevitable thought of duplication. With today’s acceptance of radical concepts there’s almost limitless possibilities. The Primadonna Z fits in with today’s concepts but 25 years ago, no one knew what Bling was!

The last generation molds and jigs from the original design were sold to a friend in the early 90’s. Space being at a premium at home and our lives going in another direction, I thought they were in good hands. MilesGarcia saw the early stages of development to the last paint job. He wanted to keep the Primadonna alive.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have “THE RIGHT STUFF” and after trying to re-sell the molds to the new owners, he inexplicably,
without fully comprehending the consequences cut up, destroyed and dumped every piece.

After nearly 9 years of designing, building and perfecting, the final ½ “ thick molds that were built to last and to perhaps make many parts, were history. Fortunately, not all art is treated this way. The only way the Primadonna can endure is if the current owners are smart enough to pull new molds or drive very carefully. Quite expensive but it’s the only insurance.

I have just recently talked to Alan and he has done many
Modifications to the black Prima Z car. Most to the engine and chassis. The body is pretty much unchanged.

Roger has completely stripped his down for a complete rebuild with a lot of attention to detail including new paint. Again, the body is intact.

The red car (formerly known as ZBAIT) has disappeared. I’ll only say that Vince cannot be located. The vin numbered was last registered in 1997 and the plates ZBAIT not in use and no record of it being salvaged. It may be just sitting under a cover in someone’s garage or yard and they don’t know what it is or what to do with it.

Not everyone has the passion of Roger Berry or Alan Pong. It’s my dream again to be reunited and own ZBAIT once more.

The story of how Michael Ouellette’s car (Jettlag) left Hoover Chan (2nd owner) then eventually ending up clear across the country must be told by RogerBerry. Roger and Alan will be the key to the Primadonna survival, and I only hope who ever owns them in the future will keep them intact and their history alive and well.

PRIMADONNA Z’S
Original Designer and Builder
Jack Atkinson – yojack1@aol.com

1st Owner 2nd Owner 3rd Owner 4th Owner

Red (ZBAIT) Jack Atkinson, Vince ?
California, California

Black (Prima Z) Jack Atkinson, Alan Pong
California, California

White (Jettlag) Michael Ouellette, Hoover Chan, Mike Hill, Roger Berry
California, California, Tennessee, Florida

Pretty amazing. I can’t imagine how many more great stories were lost before the internet…

Original thread here, lets hope this one is never lost.

I’m to broke to mod, but at least I have it. Hella lovin my Z. I’ll take that sticker off it soon. An the hood & whole car are about to be primered black.

No info. Just pics. SSR mesh again = )

Got a little somethin to put my Z on that ganster status.

More to come……slowly though.

(from Levon)

Grace Acres Farm has been a factory of elves lately.  While our gingerbread panels were baking, stockings were being constructed and theater productions rehearsed.  Cinnamon and cider was on the stove and we braved ladders outside to light the house.  Ashley was thrice victorious in Settlers of Catan (the German board game “Die Siedler von Catan”).    Ysa and I were momentarily arch rivals but we have since resolved our differences.

Meghan, Frankie and I saved the world from potential doom in Modern Warcraft.  Frankie and I knocked out some basement walls with a sledgehammer and saws-all to make way for a train set and a music room.  Then we sat in stalled out 1984 Ford F250 along-side a highway in Manassas, VA and talked about how fun old vehicles can be sometimes (like my 1976 Datsun stationwagon).  As we waited on Rebekah to bring us a new battery a sranger walked up and brought us coffee, saying that he didn’t much about trucks but he was pretty sure we were cold.  Merry Christmas to that guy.

Ashley and I are now Westbound in a F150 loaded with all of our NYC belongings, and our dog who is now trained in chicken herding.  We crossed the state line from Abington, VA into Bristol, TN just as Levon Helm was singing “Tennessee Jed”  from his new album Electric Dirt.  We’ll soon be in Western KY where we’ll land for a while with my side of the family.  I’m thinking John Prine’s song “Paradise” will be appropriate for that leg of the trip.

]]> http://tailoutsx.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/for-oscar/ Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:02:28 +0000 enoezam http://tailoutsx.wordpress.com/2009/12/17/for-oscar/

This is for Shakotan Oscar. Gave me some hella valuable info. Old pics, so maybe you’ve seen these.

There are a surprising amount of people who actually like this swap.  S13/180SX with the S30Z front end.  I don’t get why though.  The lines of the Z front end are nowhere NEAR the lines of the S chassis rear, whether it’s the S13 or the 180SX.  Apparently, there’s a company in Japan who makes swap kits for this conversion.  Once again.  Why?

I couldn’t find any information on this Z which looks like to be from an old issue of Turbo Magazine.  Because it was featured in Turbo, I’m sure the motor is a complete animal, but the visuals…  UGHH.  It looks like someone welded a late 90’s Ford Taurus front end to the Z.

For the most part, I think head and taillight conversions should be left in the 90’s.  However, there are a select few conversions that can be pulled off cleanly and enhance the looks of a car.

For Kirk…  The Falken Tires S13.4 VIP-styled convertible.  The Kouki S14 headlights compliment the s13 taillights as well as the boxy body.  I would probably ditch the Sparcos for some Brides or Recaros though.

And the JDM Nissan Stagea wagon.  Why can’t we ever get cool stuff in the states?  Once again, the boxy body compliments the R34 headlights perfectly and the Bayside Blue paint from the R34 GT-R completes the package.  Slam it lower on those Advan T5’s and call it a day.

Go check this speedhunters stuff out.

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009/12/14/car-feature-gt-gt-ta-auto-nissan-240zg.aspx

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009/12/14/car-spotlight-gt-gt-fia-gt-gt1-r35-gt-r.aspx

http://speedhunters.com/archive/2009/12/14/car-spotlight-gt-gt-s30-s-from-the-mooneyes-show.aspx 

I posted the grey Z awhile ago. The pics on hunters are way cleaner though.

I forgot where these came from. 3 S30Z’s. One on Equip S1’s with an S20 motor, one with an Naturally aspirated RB with ITB’s, and one with a L series polished to death on some OG work’s.

Plannin on doin this headlight conversion, an maybe some S1’s. Possibly the NA powered RB.

Nowhere near done, but already an awe inspiring car. 1981 Bluebird. It’s equipped with a CA18DET, helical Quaife style S15 , a sequential shifter, z32 rotors & calipers, an s13 coilovers just to name a few.

His ongoing build thread….

http://retrorides.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=readersrides&action=print&thread=47777

Not my beloved Z, but some other things that I have.  Gotta pay off some debt.

Triple Webers with Canon Intake manifold for the L series inline 6.  Bought off of HybridZ from someone who had them sitting on his shelf for a couple of years.  Came off of a running car, but I never had the chance to rebuild and run them.

Set of 16 x 7 +20, 114.3 x 4 SSR Reverse Mesh.  Super rare 16 inch Reverse Meshes in 114.3 x 4.  Flawless polished lip with black faces.  Faces are flaking and will need to be repainted.  Best I have seen other than these in 16’s were +40.  Will come with Bridgestone Potenza RE940’s and an EXTRA PAIR OF BARRELS!  16 x 8 + 20 so you can runstaggered or save them in case anything bad happens.

Set of 15 x 7 +11, 114.3 x 4 SSR Longchamps.  One rim has minor bends and most have curb rash, but all hold air and look decent from a distance. straighten the lip and repair them and they will be a gorgeous set with a decent 2.5-3 inch lip.  I’m keeping the tires though.  Picture is of the worst one.

Alpinestar SM-X motorcycle racing boots.  Rarely used.  Euro size 44, U.S. size 9.5.  I usually wear a size 10-10.5 or so in Nike’s, so these are equivalent to those sizes.

Teknic motorcycle jacket (forgot the model name).  Size 42.  I used this jacket maybe 3 times because it’s a size too big for me.  Equivalent to a size large t-shirt/jacket.

Finally, got my helmet that I’ve had on my shelf for the last couple of years.  Not too sure if anyone would want it, but it’s super cool stuff.  Tagged by some of the greatest modern street artists…  Futura, Stash, Slick, and Sheppard Fairey.

If anyone’s interested, drop me a line and we can work out a price.

Well it’s been a little over a month since I left/lost my job. Am I bitter? Yeah. But I know that I left a better person, even if I’m unemployed right now.

So what have I been doing in the past month aside from the omni present job search? Not a whole lot really, which is sad. I went on an awesome trip down south with some folks from ExpeditionUtah. We hit up Beef Basin just south of Canyonlands. Feel free to read the trip report here. It was a blast, my only regret is that I didn’t get to take my Samurai on the trip. In a bid to save a few bucks, I just rode with my buddy Kurt from Cruiser Outfitters instead.

Speaking of the Samurai, it’s pretty well done. I’ll post the details on sn.c soon, but for now you can hit up what is probably my favorite online haunt Rocky Mountain Extreme and read my post about it. There are a few things left, but all the mechanicals are done!

In other automotive related news, Tomi and I bought a 1970 Datsun 510 4-door a couple months ago.

Awesomeness, I know. I picked it up for next to nothing from a super cool guy at Dixieland Tire in St. George. I wasn’t even looking for it, it just was there and the next thing I knew Spencer and I were loading it up into his box trailer! Plans are a full restoration of the body and interior, dropping a KA24DE from a Silvia in mated to a five speed, hopefully a Subaru LSD rear diff (if I can find one) a subtly sport tuned suspension and old school Maglite 14″ wheels. Color is up in the air at the moment, either British Racing Green or Gunmetal Grey. This is a long term project, probably looking at five plus years to get it all done. But when it’s done, it will be a bitching unique ride!

Two of my best friends recently swapped places in the world. Eric came home from London and Jeff jetted off for Krakow. It’s nice to have Eric home for a month or so before he heads back to TU for another semester. It’s awfully nice to have someone who shares my passion of vehicles to talk to. Most ‘car guys’ that I know, aside from my Dad, are only interested in passing, or just one make/model, or only like domestics. Eric and I share our broad view of the automotive industry, enjoy any and all cars, the more bizarre a foreign the better. Hell, we even like talking about pending company mergers (Oh PSA and Mitsubishi, make it happen! I want an RCZ stateside!)

I’m sad that Jeff is gone. He was a great friend to chat about creative ideas. From photography to story ideas. Plus he was always down for whatever, which was nice. Since he left my days have definitely gotten more boring. I’ve still got his periodic updates on his website.

So to fill all my spare time with something that will hopefully be perceived as constructive and get this website going! Hopefully within the next week or so I’ll get everything the way that I want it. Additionally, I have a project that I’m working on that I hope to reveal in the next month or so. Exciting, I know!

So until then!

A pic before I started cleanin it up. It’s been to cold to mess with lately. Soon I’ll get on it again, and finish cleanin this up. I had painted the valve cover(then gas ate it), an a few things silver before in here.

Not goin cherry, but that white drift S30 inspired me.