Fran's Z - Hagerty Article

[w3wilkes]

https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/what-happens-when-a-z-car-obsessive-hands-a-hot-rodder-a-blank-check-and-a-240z/

[Patcon]

That's got some big rubber under it! 2000 hours at a minimum $50 an hour. $150-200k in the car. I like some of the metal work. Some I don't...

[w3wilkes]

I'm not real keen on the frenched bumpers.

[Patcon]

Yes, I agree. That was one of my big dislikes. I am also not sure about the rear edge of the door, but I think I do like the door going to the bottom of the rocker panel

[w3wilkes]

Agree on the swiss cheese on the back of the door (at least you don't see it when the doors are closed). I thought it was tasteful the way they widened and lengthened the car to not do flares and have some big meats on the road. The widening is most noticeable on the space between the bucket and the hood. I like that they stayed Datsun powered and kept the interior stock except for the shift knob. And boy howdy, that did have to cost a bunch to do!

[grannyknot]

Well executed for sure, nice workmanship but for me this car falls into the category of a bodyman who thinks he is a designer and isn't.  Most of the body modifications have to do with the wide rear tires, but unless they are not telling us something about the engine, an L28 with a lumpy cam and triples isn't going to produce enough hp to warrant the wide tires in the first place.

So, it's a look, looks like a Japanese muscle car but doesn't have much muscle and it has lost the sleekness of the original form in the process.

It's his car, his money and he seems to be happy with it so who am I to comment,  but when I modify a car I have to justify it to myself, it needs to add something, just not seeing it here.

 

[Jem2749]

All that work to widen the car and the wheel fitment looks terrible.

[Patcon]

I guess the wider rubber might help with ultimate traction as far as throwing the car around bur definitely not enough horsepower to break those loose. I have mixed feelings about wheel flairs but I think I would prefer flares to the work they put in to widen the car.

[rturbo 930]

8 hours ago, Jem2749 said:

All that work to widen the car and the wheel fitment looks terrible.

Yup, front fitment is way off, totally sunken in the fender. Rear isn't bad. 

The bumpers look bad, and the front fender arch looks silly with how much it was moved up. Having the door and rocker combined ruins the proportions of the door since it is now much more square. Hopefully the actual rocker is still there underneath since it's a major structural component of the car.

I really don't see the point of having done all this. It doesn't look good, and as mentioned, there isn't even a need for such wide tires with a stock L28. As far as handling goes, I suspect there's a limit to how much rubber is really needed to have fun with throwing the car around, and I'd say he has way more than he needs. Also, If I was doing a build like this with custom wheels, my choice would definitely not be five slot mags. It's surprising he couldn't think of anything better than that, which makes me think he's just not very familiar with these cars, or Japanese cars in general.  

I have to agree with grannyknot that this guy is a bodyman who thinks he is a designer, but is not. This is not an improvement on the original design. I've seen the results from people who can rework a classic design and have it come out looking better than the original, and this is not it.

Edited March 16 by rturbo 930

[w3wilkes]

On 3/14/2024 at 10:22 AM, Patcon said:

That's got some big rubber under it! 2000 hours at a minimum $50 an hour. $150-200k in the car.

I wonder what Fran told Hagerty the declared value should be for insurance? My guess is that when Fran stated the value it prompted Hagerty to see the car for themselves which then prompted the article.

[Jem2749]

10 hours ago, w3wilkes said:

I wonder what Fran told Hagerty the declared value should be for insurance? My guess is that when Fran stated the value it prompted Hagerty to see the car for themselves which then prompted the article.

“You think it’s worthWHAT? We gotta see this.”