“Man I don’t like that new 300ZX at all, I would rather take a Vette any day over that thing!”

These were my words in 1990 when talking to my best friend while on the big yellow cheese school bus going to high school back in 10th grade. You see my best friend fell in love with the new 300ZX as soon as he saw the first commercial for them and swore he would own a twin turbo one day, while me on the other hand thought they were kind of dull and couldn’t compete with a nice strong corvette.

That is where my 300ZX story begins, where it is currently is an entirely different place. While my best friend back in 1990 is still my best friend today he has yet to own a 300ZX, while I on the other hand never got a corvette and ended up falling in love with the Nissan 300ZX. I should probably thank my insurance company for ensuring I never got a Vette, as I almost purchased a used one in 94 when I was 20 but my insurance quote was $7,200 a year and that was with out any points for a 86 corvette w/ 100,000 miles on it.

My Nissan enthusiasm started back in 1996 when I got sick of my 92 cavalier while working in Delaware during a college internship that summer and decided to hit the local used car lot looking for something more sporting. Being that I was a college student earning decent money working full time that summer I wanted something more sporting and went to the used car lot w/ the idea of an Eclipse, Talon, or Integra as a nice sporty alternative to my drab cavalier. Once there, the salesman quickly showed me what they had to offer and kept steering me towards a 91 240SX SE but I insisted I wasn’t looking at that style car. He then asked if I had ever driven a 240SX, of course I hadn’t, so he talked me into at least driving it. So he runs back and gets the keys, as I look the car over. It was an incredibly clean 91 burgundy 240SX w/ full black leather interior and completely loaded 5 speed and best of all it only had 23,000 miles on. Now I should mention one of the reasons I was looking for something sportier was because I was also a sport bike owner and loved to drive fast, so when I went to the used car lot I took my 86 GSXR1100.

Now, the salesman and I are off on the normal side roads that lead to the highway and the car feels very nice, and I must admit that I loved the options, leather, color of the car, etc. etc. So now we hit the highway and I get on it, well I’ll be damned, this little 240SX is quick and I proceed to take it up to 95 and it seems to have no issues getting me there and feels to have plenty of room for more. The only issue I had was it was shaking a bit at 95MPH, which I mention to the salesman, who at this point looks as though he could piss himself. He responds with “well you know you are doing 95 right”, to which I respond “ya, I didn’t want to go any faster with you in the car, you saw my bike, I like to go fast and have it feel smooth.” The salesman assures me it’s just the tires and they’ll balance them and get it fixed. Long story short, we get back to the dealership and I’m sold on this 240SX and believe it or not I leave later that night not owning anything more for the 240SX than I did for the cavalier.

Ok, now why is this story about the 240SX important when I should be discussing my 1990 300ZX, well I’ll tell you, because if it wasn’t for me getting that 240SX I would have never been sold on Nissans and more importantly I would have never thirsted for the ultimate Nissan!

For the full year I owned my 91 240SX I loved it and was very impressed with it and swore that I would one day own a 300ZX Twin Turbo. The way the 240 handled and the speed it had in 3-5 gears was what sold me and made me think that if the 240 is this nice the 300ZX Twin Turbo must be the ultimate driving experience. Then one day it happened, my 240 got totaled. It was just over a year to the date after I bought it and I was driving to a friend’s house when a car made an illegal left at an intersection causing me to hit him at almost full force doing roughly 40MPH. I got out yelling and screaming and looking at my pride and joy, now knowing it was done for. As a few of my friends showed up at the scene of the accident (they happened to be driving by) my best friend looks at me and says: “well you know, you can get the Z you’ve been talking about now”.

That was it, roughly an hour after my 240 was totaled I had my mind made up that it was time to go to the Z! Luckily for me my 240SX only had 34,000 miles on it and I got paid out over $10,500 for it (only paid roughly 7,250 for it a year earlier) by the insurance company within 14 days of the accident. In the mean time my Z search began, and what a process that was since I didn’t know much at all about the car. What I did know was that I wanted a 5 speed for sure, preferably black but would take burgundy or charcoal and possibly red, but it must be a Twin Turbo and fit within my price range of $12-15 and worse, I needed a car ASAP as I had no transportation. I was online (think back the summer of 97 and the internet was still fairly new) so I started searching the car sales places online and also happened across TwinTurbo.com (yes .com not .net), not to mention I had every classified paper, Autotrader, etc for the greater Maryland area. I spent a good deal of time on twinturbo.com reading and asking the basic questions to familiarize myself enough to at least look for a good Z.

I seemed to be having no luck in my search; I kept finding either very expensive low mileage twin turbos (I would have loved that, but my checkbook at the time was only so large) or very high mileage ragged out Z’s. I also kept finding plenty of NA’s and a decent amount of automatic twin’s but again that isn’t what I was looking for. I even came close to driving to North Carolina to see a red twin that was for sale, but then the guy sounded very shady and decided a 5-hour drive for a shady Z wasn’t worth it. I would be the first guy at 7’Eleven every week when the new Autotraders came out and then on July 8th (15 days after my 240 was totaled) I was flipping through the new Autotrader and what did my eyes see but a 1990 Black 300ZX Twin Turbo 5spd fully loaded black leather with 72,000 miles on it for $13,500. YIPPIE! I was in heaven; I found exactly what I was looking for in the right price range in all the right colors and so on. I was on the phone immediately and must have sounded like a kid in a candy shop just asking question after question and everything sounded just right. I made plans to go that day and see this beauty that was just about 45 minutes away from me. The time couldn’t go by quickly enough, I had to meet him at 7pm that evening and here it was only 3pm or so. Time finally came and I made my way to the meeting location and there it was, on the top parking lot of a local mall in an empty area of the lot…DAMN WAS IT BEAUTIFUL! I still have the pictures I took that night! So I meet him and immediately begin to drool as he opened her up and I started to do the normal visual inspection…hell I just wanted to drive it! So then after looking it over, he hands me the keys and says lets take her out. It was like my first date, or my first kiss, I was nervous and shaking slightly and excited and my heart pounding, damn I found the exact Z I wanted. We took it out and all I can say is I was immediately in love and knew it was going to be mine. We got back to my car and I told him I was interested (trying not to look over anxious, but I think I gave that away when I parked my car and my smile was ear to ear) and asked what he would let it go for. Before I go there, I should mention he (a 37 year old corrections officer, which also seemed like a plus since he wasn’t a young punk like me that might be more prone to driving like a bat out of hell every time in it) put a K&N filter on it and a Flowmaster catback system on it and other than that it was stock and fully loaded, very clean interior, not visible damage, stock chrome rims, nice paint, tinted windows, and felt very strong. He said he really wanted $13,000 for it but also didn’t want to wait forever to sell it as he was getting married and needed the money for a new home. So knowing this was in my price range and that I wanted this car I offered him $12,500 and would buy it in 2 days (once my loan was approved for the additional amount as I also wanted to put a new stereo system and top of the line alarm on it). He accepted and on July 10th, 1997 the 1990 300ZX Twin Turbo became mine! It was an extremely proud day for me and it was sunny and beautiful out and I can still remember the smell of the car as my friend and I drove it back home. I took the t-tops off and drove it for hours that day all around town to all my friends’ homes and local hang outs to show off my new pride and joy.

At this point I had also become a regular on twinturbo.com and started to find out some of the possibilities of upgrading the Z and getting more out of her. Unfortunately, after buying it, paying taxes, getting tags, putting in a decent sounds system, and a very nice alarm I wasn’t left with much money at all and from what I read I should put some away for normal maintenance on her. So I was left feeling happy with what was the equivalent of a Stage II ZTT, which was by far the fastest car I had ever been in. But as always seems the case, the need for more speed kept biting at me, and the more time I spent on the Z forums the more I wanted to increase the upgrades. I came into roughly $1,000 a few months after buying my Z and knew that I needed to go with the JWT chip and at this point I think they were roughly $700 and I also bought a JWT “Pop Charger” thinking that was something different that the K&N that was on my Z. So I spent about $850 w/ shipping and so on, and then my chip and filter arrived and much to my surprise the guy I bought the Z from did have a K&N on there, but it was about half the size of the JWT. Yup, the guy had taken a smaller K&N and actually shaved part of the Mass Air Flow Sensor off to make this smaller K&N fit. But at least now I had the correct JWT filter and chip, which I immediately installed and did that ever, make a world of difference. My Z was now a Stg III ZTT and I felt invincible.

Now I had my Z and was thrilled with it, but of course kept seeing all these guys on the Z forums with some very nice heavily modified Z’s with nice body kits and ad ons and it kept me hungry for the chance to one day create my own “ultimate Z”. Unfortunately as things worked out, my job then became my life and my Z was my daily driver for almost 3 years as I seemed to work virtually from pay check to pay check and had no extra income for additional upgrades and barely enough for the unexpected repair or normal maintenance cost. Not to mention that as I was fully consumed with work and a relationship I lost interest in the Z forums and my Z pretty much became more of a necessity rather than my fun luxury sports car.

Then in the summer of 2000 I was forced to decide on the future of my Z. I had spent about a year starting my own company and after some hard work and much effort my personal businesses finally took off which afforded me the luxury to either upgrade my Z or get a new sports car. This is where it gets tricky, you see my Z now had 125,000 miles on it, looked pretty warn from being a daily driver for 3 years, and I was honestly a bit tired of it. I had my eye on either an Acura NSX or a Dodge Viper, but decided the Viper wouldn’t be a practical car at all and I’m just not a fan of American made vehicles (yes I know I own a Durango but that’s a different story), and I checked out a few NSX’s and actually got into one that was a black on black 94 and it felt almost identical to my Z when sitting in it. Now my logic was simple, if I bought an NSX I figured I would have to spend anywhere from $50-75k on it as I would get a 96 or newer and it would probably be stock. But then another thought popped in my head, I already owned my Z and the NSX did feel a lot like my Z and I remembered seeing all those heavily modified Z’s. I then got back to the Z forums and found out quickly that twinturbo.com was not nearly what I used to be and that this other site www.twinturbo.net was where more of the knowledgeable people hung out. So I started to ask and read and ask and read and determined that I could basically take my Z and about $10-15K and make it one badass ride.

Well, I made the decision to keep my Z and put some money into it and get her back in respectable shape. I made this decision in about October of 2000, at which point I decided to take care of the necessities first which included having my steering system completely redone as it was in very bad shape, had a new exhaust system put on (dynoflow) since my Flowmasters were about to rust off, get new power steering lines, and also get new OEM shocks as mine were just flat worn out. Reference www.leadleader.com/cars/wagz/before.html to see what my Z looked like back in October of 2000. Then as this process was taking place and my Z was at the shop I spoke w/ Stillen, JWT, and about 10 other places about what upgrades would be best to do for what my Z was having done. So still being a novice to the whole Z upgrade thing, I took the average of all the advice I got and ordered the following:

>HKS Intercoolers
>HKS EVC EZ Boost Controller
>HKS Turbo Timer (new style type1)
>Stillen Mid Pipes
>Unorthodox Underpulley
>HID style bulbs
>Eibach Pro Springs
>Stillen Ducted Nose Panel
>Stillen Short Shifter

At this time, my Z is at the shop, so the upgrade bug hits me hard, and I start going a bit crazy. I order from MVP Motor sports what is being sold as “stock sized Brembo kit”, which I bought the x-drilled kit that came w/ Goodridge Steele brake lines, Brembo brake pads, and Motul brake fluid. While this is on its way and since my wheels are coming off anyway, I then tell my mechanics to paint my calipers blue (this being my first blue addition to my Z which eventually becoming my “blue theme”). This then leads to my desire to find new rims, and I wanted some nice 18’s that fit my taste while being rare, this lead me to the ADR Enigmas which I then purchased in 18x9 rear and 18x8 fronts with Kumho tires on them.

Soon after that round of upgrades, I then got really hungry for more power, looks, and gizmo’s so I order the Apexi EL boost gauge w/ an A pillar pod, I get a new (slightly used) Z steering wheel, get new floor mats, new visors, new exterior window trim molding, new windshield cowlings, new hatch plastics, a new mass air flow sensor (since mine was previously shaved down and I had it slightly rigged), a carbon fiber www.woodtrim.com dash trim kit, an Itolla carbon fiber shift knob, new hatch carpeting and a few other odds and ends. I then get my Z back from the body shop in late January 2001, looking beautiful with its fully installed WW kit, tail, and new custom metallic black paint job. She feels like a brand new car and my love for my Z is 100% reborn!

Somehow, this only spurs me on more and I go crazier and get more upgrades. I then proceed to add to my list of upgrades over the course of the next 8 months (Feb 01-Sept 01) the following:

>Chromed Plenum
>JWT Dual Intake w/ Dual MAFS
>JWT Dual Pop ECU
>Nismo 555 Injectors
>Apexi SAFC
>Apexi EL Fuel Gauge
>HKS Hard Pipe kit
>Custom build GR Racing dual pop
>Hose Techniques Floblu vacuum hoses
>Greddy SP exhaust system
>Apexi Twin Chamber Blow Off Valves
>Nitrous Oxide Systems 100 Shot NOS Kit
>NOS Purge kit
>NOS Blow down tube
>Autometer Phantom White NOS Gauge (blue bulb added)
>Simpson 5 point Racing Harness’s in Blue
>Ztoyz.net Custom full interior leather & vinyl trim kit in charcoal on black
>Ztoyz.net Custom full leather seats in charcoal on black
>Optima Red Top battery
>Custom painted Dodge Intense Metallic Blue Pearl timing belt covers, fuse boxes, battery top, throttle cover, fan shroud, clutch/brake/pwr steering caps, strut bar towers, as well as the entire underside of the hood, the door jams, and the gas tank area
>Top Speed Front Strut Bar
>Custom Illuminated rear panel
>Custom cut hood mirrors
>Custom Clear rear side markers
>Clear corners
>Jspec Tail Lights & Custom EL Jspec rear panel (have the option of either the Jspec red of custom Blue EL panel)
>Custom Made (Ashley Powers) White EL face gauges
>Racing Pedals
>APC Chrome Fire extinguisher
>Custom blue powder coated balance tube
>Custom painted Hicas unit, cruise control unit, hood latch, and power steering reservoir
>Thermal Flex FloBlu Silicone hard pipe connectors
>Chromed every visible nut, bolt, screw in the engine bay
>Chromed Throttle Bodies, radiator clamps, and hood stand
>Chromed HKS hard pipes as well as piping for the dual intake system
>Zenon driving lights

>Freshly Rebuilt engine

>Chrome radiator guide/cover

>Greddy TD-05 Turbo kit

>RPS 6-puck race clutch

>Alpine 7965 Head Unit and Alpine amps w/ custom hatch box system

>RaceLogic Traction Control System

>Autopower Race Roll Bar custom powder coated in Blue

>Manaray 18x9.5 rear and 18x8.5 Sport VR-5 EXE 189 chrome rims w/ Toyo Proxes

>SpecialtyZ blue bushings

>Blue powder coated valve covers

Unfortunately on 10/10 this past fall just after installing fresh NGK #6 TT plugs and taking her out for a joy ride, my stock turbos seized on me which then prompted me to get my compression tested and lead to my ultimate decision to get a newly rebuilt engine as well as the Greddy TD-05 turbo kit. While that’s being done I’ll also have a new RPS 6 puck race clutch installed as well as a few other goodies. I should have the new engine, turbos, clutch, and other parts all ready by spring and believe me I can’t wait. What started out 15 months ago as a small restoration project has turned into a real journey and I’ve gone from planning on $10-15k in upgrades to over $40k invested (includes labor costs). Yes I’m sure I could have had the Viper or the NSX at this point, but neither would give me the personal thrill I get from my Z, nor would either be able to hang with me!

So long story longer, this is my 1990 300ZX Twin Turbo that has become my personal “Ultimate Z”. I’m often asked what my ¼ miles times are and I honestly don’t know because I’ve never taken my Z to the track. I actually don’t really value track times nor did I build my Z for the track or autocross, I simply built my Z the way I wanted my ultimate Z to be. I wanted something that I was proud to drive, something that would catch people’s eyes and grab their attention, and something that when lined up against I knew I would have the advantage. After the installation of the new turbos and engine my Z should dyno at over 600 Rear Wheel Horse Power with my NOS spraying.

I’ve gone from thinking the Z was a “drab and dull” car that I wouldn’t want, to a car that somehow I can’t seem to part with and one that is anything but dull or drab! I’d also admit that if it wasn’t for many of the online forums and trusty knowledgeable members (have to say big thanks to the ECZA and Harry Yamashita especially) I certainly couldn’t have done any of this without the wisdom, skills, and abilities of them! Thank goodness for garages because this car has become the queen of mine – she’s my Ultimate ZTT!