Nissan 370Z: A Nissan Unlike Any Other

The Nissan 370Z car is one of those models that’s been loved for longer than I’ve been alive. It represents a company that responds to progress and continuously manufactures a car that transcends expectations. Ask any enthusiast and they’ll tell you a million reasons you should buy a Nissan Z. The car at hand is a 370z wearing Milestar tires, whose owner, Joe Velazquez, was kind enough to have a chat with me about his build.

Sarah Bernson (SB): My first question can feel a little generic but I find it can help get the storyline started, so…How’d you get into cars?

Joe Velazquez (JV): I would have to say that I have always been intrigued by cars. I grew up loving lowriders and muscle cars as it was common in my community. Up until the first Fast and Furious movie released when I was in high school. I then became infatuated with the import scene with limitless possibilities in customization.

…But the craziest memory is when I drove down to Arizona for a car show and my car wouldn’t start the morning of the show.…

SB: I think the natural intrigue we find is starting to burn out in the newest generation so I love to hear people say they’ve naturally been into cars for as long as they can remember. The import scene is super vast and certainly one of my favorite communities as well. There are loads of different cars under the import umbrella though. What made you ultimately gravitate towards Nissan 370Zs?

JV: After I got out of the military and moved back to SoCal, I started hanging out with other car guys and several of them also had Z’s. I really liked the body shape of the Z when compared to anything else in the scene. It really sets itself apart from everything else that was easily achievable. The body shape appears to be already widebody and the width of the wheels can be insane.

SB: Friends can be the best (or the worst) influence on us when it comes to car purchases. You get to get up close and personal with their car and so often you catch whatever car-virus they’ve got. Why’d you go with the Nissan 370z out of all the Zs?

JV: I actually went to a dealership to look at cars and I was undecided on what I really wanted before I showed up. After looking at several cars, I was dead set on my current red Nissan 370z. It just stood out when compared to a Genesis 3.0T or Evo MR. 

…I grew up loving lowriders and muscle cars as it was common in my community. Up until the first Fast and Furious movie released when I was in high school.…

SB: Sometimes the right car just hits differently. Like the Genesis and Evo are cool cars but I totally get what you mean. When you got the car did you have a vision for what it would become? What was your goal for the car?

JV: My goal was (and still is) to collect as many unobtainable parts for my car as possible. The more rare, the better. The harder to find, the better. Eventually I want to track my car for fun.

SB: Z cars are fairly abundant so looking for rare parts is totally a good way to separate yourself from the pack a bit. I’ve heard Z’s are a great platform for the track! What are your future plans for the car?

JV: I plan to find rare LMGT wheels and a NISMO mid logo steering wheel. The car itself is mostly complete with how I want it to look.

SB: Hell ya! Wheels make such a huge difference! It totally looks complete as it is though. Super sick! What would you say is your favorite design element and/or performance element of the car?

JV: I would have to say the handling of the car. I was hesitant about getting air suspension because I have been inside cars with terrible air setups. They sometimes bounce around too much and I felt like it might be more of a hassle when talking to others who had them. My air suspension setup is mixed with the full SPL components to make this car handle like a champ in the canyons.

SB: SoCal is known for incredible canyon roads and cruises. Of course, having the right setup is key for performance and safety. Do you have any particularly interesting memories with your Nissan Z?

JV: It’s a little hard to say what my favorite memory is. But the craziest memory is when I drove down to Arizona for a car show and my car wouldn’t start the morning of the show. I had to spend the entire event wondering why my car wouldn’t start. Luckily, a friend was with me. We had to push it up the U-Haul trailer the next day. It wasn’t easy since we needed a chain pulley to help us crank it up and the help of some friends and neighbors.

SB: Ugh! That sorta thing is the worst. I suppose that comes with the car territory though. I always like to ask people if there is anything else they want to tell me about their car, otherwise I feel like I’m manhandling the conversation a bit too much. So, am I missing anything?

JV: I would like to thank my friends at Garbage Dream for always supporting me, Concept 3 Performance for always taking care of my car, and my Nissan mechanic specialists @Zona_Z34 and @VQ_power. I would also like to take the time and thank @kuruzuauto for always keeping my car clean and detailing my car before every major car show.

Something that is entirely apparent throughout our interview is the way Joe not only connected with his Nissan 370Z , but how the car brought him into a rich community. He was inspired by his friends who had Zs, and later when things went rough, his friends were there to help. This story is a common one among car enthusiasts. All of our origin stories are unique of course, but I might go out on a limb here and say that we are all in this for the community almost as much as the cars. The cars are the medium that holds us all together and it’s really something beautiful.

Balanced Attack: The Nissan 370Z That Was Meant to Be Driven

When the Nissan 370Z was introduced back in ’08, it had all the makings of an absolute dream machine. The 370Z 2-door sports car with its sleek, low slung design was a vast improvement from its predecessor, the 350Z. The all-new variant, redesigned from the ground-up featured an all-aluminum body structure with increased rigidity, lightweight components, improved suspension, and a 3.7-liter VQ37 VHR V-6 engine to boot that held its own against formidable foes that cost double, the value of the Z. Even today, this sixth-generation model holds a special place in the hearts and minds of gear-heads worldwide as it continues to impress with its visual allure and capable performance both on and off the track.

It wasn’t long before he decided his weapon of choice was a ’16 Magma Red 370Z.

Three years ago, when it came time to purchase a new car, Joe Velazquez wasn’t looking for your typical commuter vehicle. “The kids moved out of the house and it was time to upgrade into a more sporty ride that I could enjoy on a daily basis”, mentioned Velazquez. It wasn’t long before he decided his weapon of choice was a ’16 Magma Red 370Z.

By the time he drove the car off the dealer lot, Velazquez had already formulated a plan to begin modifying his 370Z and execute it tastefully. The first order of business was focusing on improving vehicle horsepower performance. A Motordyne M370 upper manifold replaced the factory unit and was coupled to a Nismo R-tune cold air intake to improve airflow. A set of Motordyne long tube headers vacated spent exhaust gases through a Fast Intentions 2.5-inch exhaust system. A Mishimoto 19-row oil cooler, power steering cooler, and radiator were all used to improve cooling capabilities. An UpRev software module was installed to maximize fuel and ignition timing. The ECU performance tuning was reworked by @saul_nismo_knights.

In order to efficiently transfer the vehicle newfound horsepower onto the tarmac, Velazquez opted to install an Action Clutch stage 3 clutch and lightweight Chromoly flywheel. With all the improvements made to the 370Z from the factory, there is an inherent flaw. The internal concentric module inside the clutch slave cylinder made of plastic degrades over time. He decided to convert to an external module using a ZSpeed CMAK V2 clutch slave cylinder delete kit. The final piece of the puzzle was implementing a heavy-duty RJM Tilton HD clutch pedal system that’s designed to work with the factory remote reservoir, and OEM type or aftermarket clutch slave cylinder.

With the engine complete, Velazquez turned his attention to the handling of the car. Stopping power is now handled by R1 Concepts 6-piston front brake calipers and 4-piston rear calipers that assist with cutting rotating weight and are larger in size than OEM to help improve braking. Tein springs and a Hotchkis front sway bar was installed and mated up to Momo RF-5C wheels in 19×9.5 +15mm offset upfront wrapped in Milestar MS932 XP+ 255/35-zr19 tires and 19×11 +23mm offset wheels towards the rears with 295/30-ZR19 rubbers.

Velazquez admits one of his guilty pleasures includes stretching the Z’s legs around the twisty roads of Azusa Canyon for some spirited driving. According to him, the upgraded suspensions modifications made a “night and day” difference. “Out the box, I felt the Z exhibited excessive body roll and the initial cornering didn’t feel right. Concept 3 located in Santa Fe Springs is my one-stop-shop that not only helped dial in my suspension but also installed a slew of SPLParts including front and rear camber and pro end links, bump steer front outer tie rod ends, eccentric lockout kit, and titanium rear traction arms. The Milestar MS932 XP+ tires offer fantastic grip and overall performance that helped further increase the handling capabilities of the Z.” The chassis and suspension were completed with a Z-Speed aluminum under shroud and Street Faction rear bash bar w/jack point.

Subtlety wasn’t the goal.

When it came time to modify the exterior of the vehicle, Velazquez wasn’t looking the replicate your typical cookie-cutter build. “I wanted to create a 370Z that people haven’t seen before at shows or driven on the streets. Fly1 Motorsports located in Ontario CA, helped transform my 370Z from a stock to a show quality build using their honeycomb carbon fiber parts.

Subtlety wasn’t the goal. The exterior consists of a mishmash of various products. Slick Carbon based in South Gate CA provided a set of CF side mirrors, CF roof, CF A-pillars, and CF 2015+ Nismo-style rear wing. A closer look reveals a Fly1 Motorsports honeycomb carbon fiber hood, front fenders, vortex generator, and splitters. The exterior was completed using a Zakustech honeycomb carbon fiber louver to recreate a sleek retro-inspired design while maintaining an aggressive appearance. A pair of EL Stig RGBW LED demon eyes and EL Stig RGBW halos were retrofitted into the original headlights to set the car off-in-style.

With everything taken care of but the interior, Velazquez wanted to keep modifications to a minimum. After adding Street Faction door cards, a Momo MOD30 steering wheel was affixed to a Works Bell short boss, Rapfix quick release and Rapfix flipper. A pair of Momo Daytona Bucket seats were mounted to Buddy Club brackets and rails and Cusco 5-point harnesses were secured to a Next Level Performance roll bar. “ The Momo seats keep me firmly planted but comfortable when driving on any road including twisting through the canyons. It didn’t feel like I was sloshing around allows me to drive with more confidence.

Currently, the vehicle is undergoing a facial transplant using a combination of Varis Kamikaze widebody parts combined with Nismo bumpers. Velazquez’s 370Z was built to be the perfect example of a “driver’s Z” that was tastefully modified and that’s exactly what it is. Everything works, everything looks in place, and it continually turns heads anywhere it goes.

Chip Foose’s Hemisfear

I’ve known designer extraordinaire and TV’s Overhaulin’ personality Chip Foose for 30 years since he was a student at the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Art Center is one just a handful of automotive design schools in the world and being close to Hollywood it has also produced a number of movie designers and even designers who transition both worlds.

At the time I met Chip, in 1990, he was working on his final graduation project which was sponsored by Chrysler to design a niche market vehicle. Chip took a bit of an unorthodox spin on the concept, he didn’t want to design for an existing market, he wanted to create a new one. With its unique flair, Chip’s 1:5 scale model of the Hemisfear (photographed by John Thawley) gained significant recognition and was even featured in the April 1991 issue of HOT ROD magazine.

It also may have helped inspire the Plymouth Prowler, as careful study of the two indicates some design similarities particularly in the “double bump” decklid. Incidentally, the Prowler debuted six years later in 1997.

After Chip graduated, he eventually went to work for Hot Rods by Boyd Coddington where he worked on numerous creations for Boyd. I joined him there for a little over a year and it was a very educational and inspirational experience for me working alongside Chip and watching him design everything from watches to wheels to sports cars—all seemingly effortlessly—he never appeared to be stuck for an idea.

It also may have helped inspire the Plymouth Prowler…

It was while he was working for Boyd that Chip began work on the chassis for what would eventually become “Hemisfear”. Unfortunately, there was never enough time to complete the project even though Chrysler had contracted engine builder Dick Landy to supply a stack-injected 426 Chrysler Hemi. It too was relegated to a corner of the shop with the chassis.

The project sat until 2005, when Chip, who had since opened his own shop and design business in Huntington Beach, California, signed a die-cast toy deal with RC2 Corp. that also included seed money to complete the Hemisfear build. The original scale model was digitized and all the data was fed into a computer so that a full-size version could milled out of foam on a five-axis mill.

The foam was then used as the buck from which a mold was made for the limited production of just five carbon-fiber bodies made by Gaffoglio Family Metalcrafters in Fountain Valley, California. Incidentally, that buck hangs from the ceiling of Chip’s shop. Meanwhile, John Hotchkis of Hotchkis Performance worked with Chip on the design of the racecar-inspired, fully-independent suspension with rocker arm-actuated coil-overs mounted behind the grille shell in the front and double wishbones in the rear.

The Dick Landy Hemi was ultimately replaced by a different 392 cubic-inch Hemi fitted with electronic Hilborn fuel injection and carbon stacks. The engine is mated to a ZF five-speed transaxle similar to that used in a DeTomaso Pantera. Of course, it rides on Foose-designed Nitrous two-piece, five-spokes.

Hemisfear, also known as the Foose Coupe, was introduced as a limited edition vehicle at the 2006 SEMA Show when two vehicles were unveiled, the pre-production lime green car which is Chip’s personal car and the first production model in black. Chip’s car made the cover of the July 2007 issue of HOT ROD but soon thereafter the economy went into recession and there were not many buyers for a $300,000 open-wheel hot rod.

Jump ahead a dozen years to the 2019 Grand National Roadster Show when Chip is honored with the Builder of the Decade Award and out of his closet comes Hemisfear. Looking just as tough and yet as beautiful as ever it was not difficult to persuade Chip to take me for a ride and let me drive—a little.

It gets your attention like sitting in a Top Fuel dragster when they fire it up.

The interior is snug and the quilted champagne leather cockpit tapers down into the narrow foot box where ribbed and logoed billet aluminum pedals mirror the steering wheel and instrument cluster that were all designed by Chip. It’s comfortable and the carbon doors have a reassuring “clunk” as they pull too.

What really gets your attention is pushing that button on the dash and hearing that 500 horsepower Hemi burst into life right behind your ear. It gets your attention like sitting in a Top Fuel dragster when they fire it up. You know there’s a fire-breathing monster back there and the only way to escape is to snap it into gear and get outta there.

The clutch is an easy push and the linkage to the ZF axle smoother than expected. The peak of the grille is low and it’s a little difficult to see the wheels so we ease out of his shop onto the street. All the while that engine is sucking air like an angry pitbull.

My biggest fear of driving anything as outlandish as Hemisfear is, well, fear, fear of all those idiots on the road who are on their phones trying to snap pictures and not watching what they’re doing. Thankfully, it’s an early weekend morning and traffic is light. We turn out of the industrial zone and head north on Pacific Coast Highway towards Seal Beach. It’s a nice stretch of open road but ‘cop-ulated’ so best be careful.

Nevertheless, I squeeze down on the throttle and we rocket along the coast, lifeguard huts flashing by like mile markers, those big Pirellis humming along like an 18-wheeler. It’s a blast and what traffic there was shrinks away in the side mirror.

This is the true definition of a hot rod…

All too soon, we’re in Seal Beach looking for a place to U-turn. Hemisfear is longish, low and wide and I’m uptight about damaging it. Chip is as nice as he appears on TV but you don’t want to be the guy remembered for shattering his dream car.

Soon enough, I get it turned around and head south thinking this is so much more than the sucky, underpowered V6 Prowler it progenated. I drove a lot of those and this is not that. This is the true definition of a hot rod—a lot of power in a lightweight body.

For more info on Chip Foose and his projects visit: chipfoose.com

Purist Group Winter Drive

Automotive Gathering for a Good Cause

Over the past five years, Purist Group has held their annual “Winter Drive” toy event to benefit underprivileged, less fortunate children and their communities during the holiday season. This charity automotive car show and meet was envisioned by Purist founder Sean Lee as a way to bring the community together, letting car enthusiasts do what they love to do and play with cars while donating toys.

Founded in 2012, Purist Group is comprised of a unique collection of automotive enthusiasts of different nationalities and professions. Many of the members in this group are well-known in the industry including drivers, journalist, tuners, car collectors, and overall car geeks. This group exists not for commercial purposes but as a network to all the good people who share a common passion for cars, motorcycles, and the finer things in life. The prime focus of this group is helping others as well as one another.

The previous year, collectively as a group, the event raised over 20,000 toys to be donated to charities across the US including those who were impacted by the most recent Woolsey Fire. Last year’s event brought over 16,000 toys collected and continue to grow as of date, while rough estimates count 1,000+ cars rolling through the main entrance.

To commemorate this annual tradition, Winter Drive was once again free to all spectators but came with one special request: bring a new unwrapped toy valued at $10 or more to support a good cause and spread some holiday cheers. The event itself is a toy collection drive which features a massive gathering of hundreds of the most unique cars in the world, live music and entertainment, fun activities, contests, raffles, and giveaways.

You can bet your bottom dollars that a few super rare cars come out to play. Take for example this rare production LaFerrari Aperta. How rare you ask? Only 210 were manufactured with the final version being auctioned for 10 million dollars.

This Koenigsegg Final Version “Thor” Agera was one of my favorite vehicles at the event. Based on the Agera RS, the 1,360-HP turbocharged Thor version comes with all the bells and whistles including an aero package and Aircore hollow-spoke carbon fiber wheels.

The Blitz Skyline GT-R R348 was built for the sole purpose of top speed driving which was a thing back in the ’90s for Japanese tuners. This iconic car competed in the Silver State Classic back in ’02 but didn’t finish because he ran out of fuel less than a mile from the finish line—mind you this was still a street car. Later that year, Blitz took the car to Germany to reach a speed of 343 KPH (214 MPH) on the German Autobahn because the speed limit was not enforced there at the time.

Another favorite, or should I say favorites, at this year’s event were these two widebody machines sitting side-by-side. Liberty Walk LB widebody Ferrari was tucking wheels.

While I’m not a fan of the RWB Porsche movement, the black on chrome wheels played into a perfect build.

If you missed out on last year’s event, you can learn about more ways to donate by visiting Purist Group at www.facebook.com/PuristGroup

Decorating the Bachelor Pad

The New Zonda Really Ties the Room Together

In this line of work, you get to see many rare automotive sights. We realize an average person might never even see a Pagani, let alone at a local car meet with four of them, or a national Concours show with an assortment of 14 Zondas and Huayras at a Pagani display! A sighting of a race-only Zonda Revolución never gets old and considering there are only five of them ever produced, the way in which one Miami race car driver decorated his condo, was nothing short of spectacular.

First off, let’s get one thing sorted; this is a carbon fiber replica of a Pagani Zonda Revolución. Sure the owner has the money to go real, but this is a 1:1 scale model using the original carbon fiber plug from Pagani direct. The owner is Pablo Perez Companc, the billionaire son of the wealthiest man in Argentina and a client who happens to know Horacio Pagani personally.

Companc is a dedicated customer of Pagani with his own Zonda Revolución, which he named Black Minion. Most of his nearly 800K Instagram followers believed the art car was real and were quick to critique the wall sculpture with all the ferocity the internet can muster. Many media outlets were guilty of spinning incorrect articles about how Companc essentially wasted “$1.5-million dollars” on V12-powered wall art that should be driven instead.

What Companc and his general contractor Finish My Condo did to his Miami abode was far from the fake news reports. First, there are only five Zonda Revolucións in the world and each one cost nearly $3-million, so not only is it double the estimates but no sane person is going to buy two of five and destroy a rare race car! Others believed it was his functioning race car, Black Minion. Again he had to clarify on Instagram: “…structurally will never be able to receive an engine or the entire mechanical part. I would never condemn Black Minion to being locked in a living room. Race cars are for driving.”

With that cleared up, let’s get down to the mechanics of how they did this feat that only Miami could pull off. The Pagani tooling still existed to pull a custom carbon fiber Zonda shell that had no interior, no engine mounts, and the chassis was designed solely to support its full weight of only a few hundred pounds. Before the condo interior was done, the floor to ceiling windows were removed in order to accept the shell and mounting column. After the Zonda was hoisted by crane on a wooden skid and the assembly of the aluminum mounting column started with a plate at the top. From there, the vertical plate for the column was bolted to the underside of the shell and hung by straps before bolting to the ceiling. The bottom was secured with a footing, then finished off with a polished aluminum plate to be surrounded for finishing materials, like flooring and drywall ceiling to wrap it up.

The end result is one of the most unique room dividers ever seen in Miami if not the entire country. In Miami, sometimes an $8-million 4,200 square foot condo just doesn’t create enough of a reaction and you have to flex on everyone like this. Talked about the world over, the Black Minion tribute is just that, a tribute to one of the best cars ever made. With a snarling V12 pumping out 789 horsepower and shredding 0-60 mph in only 2.6 seconds on the way to a 217 mph terminal velocity, the Revolución is the real deal. The Revolución is also beautiful to look at, which is why Companc has one to admire on his wall. Then again the Revolución isn’t road legal anyway and can’t be enjoyed all the time, so another member of his fleet, Wild Minion, is for that. Wild Minion is a Pagani Huayra BC but we’ll get into that insanity another time.