Let the rumble begin.

Being the motorsports spectator that I claim to be. The season of motorsports is in it's early blossom and I must head out to the smell of race gas and burning rubber.  I love the rumble of the V8 with cars tidy paint jobs.  But thanks to Steve C. for the ticket, I am able to fulfill my motoring passion.

Z Nationals

Another year and the show scene has begun, which is all about the old school steel for me. No HI sin for this guy. The year starts off with the Motorsport Auto Z nationals. Held at the Irvine Valley park. This year seemed to be a bit smaller, at least from my perspective.

It's usually the same suspects each year, but there's always something interesting.


Old school HKS exhaust on a Z32


Not really rare, Corvette powered Z


When asians think of a mural for their trunk they think of South Park???


Real wood interior


She may give you wood



Outside the show area, was a group of RC enthusiasts flying their helicopters. The skills displayed was amazing and it was nothing i've never seen before. Time for a new hobby?
The show wasn't as great as past events, probably due to economy? Doubt it, hopefully next year will be a much better turn out.

For more pics of the event click here

Camarillo revisited

It’s been a few years since I’ve been at Camarillo airport for a drift event. The last time I was here was probably around 2002 maybe 2001. Memory is fuzzy, but I guess that’s what tire smoke does to a brain. During that time, not many really knew what drifting was all about. Mainly enthusiasts who drove RWD vehicles from Japan could relate to you, more so if you were an AE86 driver. Now it’s 2008 and I had an opportunity to once again drive at one of the birthplaces of drifting in mainland U.S.A.
Photo courtesy of Wes H.

An early photo of me and Moto (Club4AG) gridding for some tsuiso practice at the first Camarillo Drift Day. Not really, at the time the art of tsuiso wasn’t utilized at the Drift Day events.

Not much has changed, this plane still sit in the same spot.

Drift Day staff checking on surface condition.

The surface itself has changed. It’s been repaved to be much smoother. Hence more tire friendly. If you’ve been here back then, you’ll know that the surface was really rough and consumed tires with a vengeance. To give you an idea, in my mild na corolla I had at the time, went through 4 tires with time to spare. Usually I’d go through 1 pair in a whole day at the old Irwindale parking lot.

Unfortunately my day was pretty much cut short, due to a blown engine. The gods have spoken with an iron fist. So it’s time to bust out the camera again and take some random shots.

No they didn't drift the Hertz Mustang. Though it would have been cool to see.



Many of the flying bill boards come from this airport. It's actually cool to watch how they actually attach the bill boards to the planes.

I even brought out the same helmet I used at the first event.

Even with my engine mishap, it turned out to be a great event. The low number or drivers, provided lots of seat time I wish my car ran right so I could have utilized the time. Thanks to Steve for letting borrow his car for a couple runs. Naoki and Drift Association staff for putting together another awesome event. If you're interested in drifting or even learning how to drift please visit the Drift Day website for more information.

For more pics, click here.

West Coast Z Nationals

When Spring rolls around, so do the Zs. This past weekend was the annual West Coast Z Nationals, hosted by Motorsport Auto. I don't know which was the hotter, the cars or the weather. It was a great show of all kinds of Zs from very original stock cars, to Japan wannabes to out of the box thinking. I do love this show due to the uniqueness on how each owner represents their vehicle.


Some nice original example

A very unique rear engine rear drive Z. Powered by a Maxima VQ. A work in progress.

Some may see a rust bucket, but I see a survivor. Though I don't know how much longer it'll last.

Toyota 7MGTE powered Z.




Many twins were out were roaming the show.

Tastefully done cars to represent the Japanese market, they just need the steering on the other side to complete the transformation.


The 260Z, a rare but never fully embraced model of the Z. This was the smallest group at the show, but they did have cool a Japan FairladyZ equipped with the G nose option.

Probably the most unique engine i've seen at the whole show. Twin cam twin turbo L series engine. What makes this possible is the use of chopped up KA24DE cylinder heads. An engineering marvel IMO.

Yet another Nissan using Toyota parts. Roof spoiler from an MA60 Supra on a 280Z.

Z owner's rendition of the Mach 5.


Drag race Z31.


I didn't take too many pictures of the Z32 or Z33 models, so I just took group pictures.

Nissan Motorsport brought out their former IMSA race car. Very cool to see.Nissan also brought out their GTR. Soon to be reigning terror on the streets. This was my first time to actually look at this car up close. Very impressive, now if only Nissan will let me have the keys for a day.



There was a plethora of wheels from new school to old school.


Maybe the rarest wheel for a early Z owner. Z432 optional magnesium wheels. Please leave your flares at home. If you still don't know, it's the one in the center.

The Z, a classic that has made it's mark in America. It's good to see examples that have continued to defy the years, except for that orange one. For more pictures of the event click here.

It's one of them weeks.

A week later I have nothing to show. I've been pretty busy working on different projects for the car lately. So I haven't have much time to add content. Please forgive as show season is upon me and things must be completed before then.


Trying to turn this bundle of wire harness.


Into something I can use for the standalone I picked up a 1 year ago. Yeah i've been putting it off for a long time.


Started to give the car some color.


Just completed assembly of another transmission that I broke a while back. More on that at a later date.

Picked up another front bumper for cool guy look. Let's hope we don't break this one. Yeah right.



Swung by the West Coast Z Nationals to snap a couple of photos. Give me some time and I'll get the photos up soon.