Based on the limited information I have found, the car led some races and finished 2nd in two. This was no small feat in this fiercely competitive IMSA factory-backed arena for an independent team to accomplish. Remember, this is the series that produced the amazing RX 7’s, Roush 700+ hp Merkurs and the dominating Toyota […]

Once Becky drove the car, it really started to settle in – We did it. After all the hassles, the thoughts of giving up and selling it, and the setbacks, it really was totally worth it. Jason took it for a long drive and came back with a satisfied smile – After all, he had […]

With a half-day of garage time available one weekend, I got started on restoring the steering wheel. The S30 had a wood-look wheel that was actually a grained plastic of some sort… it’s pretty convincing. I started with a light sanding with 400-grit, which really brings out the original color and variations. NOTE: You don’t […]

While awaiting the wheels and tires, I decided to restore the axles for reliability. New u-joints and boots were installed, but this wasn’t a project for the faint of heart. If I had to do it again, I’d buy refurbished units or one of the conversion kits that uses CV joint-style axles from a later […]

During this period of “down time”, I realized that I’d been putting off a pretty critical part of the restoration. And it’s an important part, but aside from paint and body work, it’s easily my least favorite part of the job. The interior. And this one was going to require a complete redo. The butterscotch […]

Now that the engine and trans were installed, the Z made its way back to our garage to await completion. Remember the parts car that had all the cool suspension and brake bits? They’d been collecting dust in the garage since the project started, so it was time to clean and paint everything in preparation […]

While Jason was busy designing, cutting, welding, and assembling, I got to work on the bumpers. The rubber had some cracks and nicks in it, and I just couldn’t see replacing rubber strips that I never liked in the first place. So, I removed the bump strips and overriders and began welding in all the […]

We left off in the last episode with a discussion of the amount of custom fabrication required to perform this swap. And, like we said, it’s been done before, but usually involves off-the-shelf parts. Anyhow, there’s a lot that has to be fabricated and modified. For example, the RB oil pan won’t fit in the […]

This is where the restoration turns into a much bigger project – and really gets rolling. Whenever I had talked to Becky about possibly selling the Z, she’d encourage me to press on and stay the course. She even gave it a name: Bella. So, I thought, what better engagement gift than to build her […]

Yep. You read that right. It took a woman to get me back into the Z project – this time, with a vengeance. Those of you who are ONLY here to read about rebuilding a classic Z can just skip on to the next page. Or, stick around and find out how this project REALLY […]