I can personally appreiciate both the mint as stocker and the highly modded beasty with VG/VQ/VH/LS... SR heart, but if i had to choose id keep the good ole VG in there.
I've already designed my future nose panel badge , Chevrolet and Nissan would probably both want to sue me, but what they won't know won't hurt them!
Amongst other things indeed! Surprised you didn't mention Kerry Baily's Sports sedan - and yes, the commentators do refer to it as a 300ZX, though there isn't much original Z32 left. Powered by a 6 litre small block Chev, his car won the ASSC in 2003, 2nd in 2001/2, 4th in 2009. Has competed every year except 2004 after a big prang and fire in NZ in which Kerry recieved quite severe burns. Not strictly mid engined, but almost. Engine is not allowed to be behind driver if the original car is front engined; in reality it sits about where the gearbox is, and the car runs a transaxle. Not sure if cars that are originally mid/rear engined are eligible - Frank Gardner's Corvair was outlawed after it won everything in the late 70's - a very clever piece of engineering. Almost an F5000 with a car body. 6 litres (366 c.i.) is the capacity limit for non turboed motors. Wicked power from the top cars in this class, budget and reliability somewhat less than V8Supercabs.
If you want to get picky 300ZX's aren't Z's they are ZX's lol. Totally different design philosiphies: light weight, straight six engine, cheap sports car. heavy, high powered, GT car. One reason for modification aside from the performance part is that genuine parts are rudely expensive so why pay twice as much for parts that perform half as good (generallising i know). So i think in terms of the discussion that even the most hardcore purists could let aftermarket shocks and exhausts etc off the hook on this one. How many people have driven a ZX with stock airbox, exhaust, boost? They aren't very fast by today's standards. 6.2 0-100 and 14.2 1/4 mile. So again the normal mods, boost, intercooler, exhauast and airfliter upgrades are just updating the car to modern standards. In theory you need to match teh brakes and suspension etc to the other upgrades too - although not many people do this. I think even an engine swap is still in the realm of ZX because it is the same body as pointed out before and teh VQ30DET is teh most true to design as you can get especially twin turboed - just a newer VG. You would have to wonder if you would still have that 95kg weight advantage if you put on another dump pipe, turbo, oil lines plumbing and so on. I don't think a sport sedan counts as it doesnt use the original chassis - it just looks like a 300ZX it's all fibreglass chassis nothing really from the original design its got pumped out guards massive front and rear spoilers different suspension.
a zx no way mikey the car you have mentioned here is no way a 300zx but serves a purpose. it has to be called something. i think modes to any car also serves a purpose for 2010 performance. we are not talking a classic kept original car i never ment this post to indicate this. i have a few modes myself, but i will keep the heart of the car the motor, and build around a car that was created by nissan. a high performance road car. if you want a race car this is a different thing. why not build a race car, then who cares what it is as long as you have fun doing it. again everyone is different this is a good thing as life would be boring if we were all the same.
Actually if you want to get really picky, all jspecs says 300ZX on the rear center garnish against a Z on the steering wheel, Z on the fornt nose panel and the Nissan Failady Z label on the rear spoiler. Lets face it, the only reason an X got added to the 280 and 300 was to give our yanky counter parts something to feel proud of and separate their cars from the 'Fairlady'.
Yeah, there have been a few 300ZX based cars in that class, I think I remember a yellow one which may have had some left over Formula 1 turbos on it for a while too which held the lap record at bathurst for a very long time. The reason I mentioned the Integra and Calibra over the Zed is that they were even more drasticly changed from standard than the Zeds were and are far less commonly seen out on race tracks in high level competition.
I would argue its the aesthetics that make your car a zed... doesn't matter what engine it is they all do the same thing, turn a rod in a circle, but the looks are what makes a zed different. you can have a heart transplant from dave down the street, does that make you dave? no, its all the other little things that make up you. or you can get legal and what ever it is rego'd at is what it is.. meaning you can change the engine and its still a zed... modified zed yes... but still a zed.
lol fair call, though I did say it was aesthetically based... but if you change your looks and shit shit on the inside then you have done more than enough to get yourself shot.
