Keep it simple, make it nimble. It’s not quite as clever as Colin Chapman’s “Simplify, then add lightness” ethos, but feel free to make it into a bumper sticker if you like.
Over many decades, Saitama-based kyusha specialists Mizukami Auto have been perfecting their own lightweight recipe, and the fruits of their labour have been distilled into this bare-bones, time attack-spec S30 Nissan Fairlady ZG.
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When I visited Mizukami Auto last month, Hakosuka Skylines and Porsche 911s were a common sight in the outdoor storage yard, but there were no shortage of Z coupes around the place, all waiting to offer up their bodies to any project in need. Inside the shop, it became clear that the S30 is their favourite.
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Mizukami-san told me this all started out as a hobby, and back in the day he built Z-cars for the zeroyon (quarter mile). The hobby soon blossomed into a vocation, and Mizukami Auto was set up to buy, build and sell a wide variety of cars, which enabled its camera-shy owner to work on his own projects on the side.
With its staunch rear end and long aerodynamic ‘g-nose’, in some ways the Fairlady ZG was the perfect Japanese drag car base in its time. In fact, if you head along to any Japanese drag racing event today, there’s a good chance you’ll still see a bunch of old Z-cars hitting the strip.
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But times change, and while Mizukami Auto’s demo Z is still all about straight-line speed, these days it’s about speed through corners too.
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I keep hearing the phrase ‘simple is best’ on social media and in train conversations around Tokyo. It’s a tad pretentious but It rings true here in a number of ways. The easiest way to improve a 50-year-old car’s power-to-weight ratio is to put it on a diet. Less mass equals more fast. Simple.
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Inside, the S30 has been gutted, bar the dashboard, which makes sense because it’s a thing of beauty in original form.
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A roll cage that extends all the way from the rear suspension towers to the front suspension towers plus extensive spot-welding throughout the shell keeps things rigid and safe, while carbon fibre door cards keep things civilised. Mizukami-san has also fitted a Bride seat with TAKATA Racing harness, a Nardi Classic steering, and various gauges and meters from HKS, AEM, Stack and AccuTech
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Under-hood, Mizukami Auto could have gone crazy with turbocharging, but that would have added weight and over-complicated things. Instead, Mizukami-san has built the best version of the original L-series, now bored up to 3.1L.
Additional power-making upgrades include three Weber 55DCOE side draft carburettors, a custom pie cut 6-to-1 header and exhaust, and MSD ignition products to produce 375hp and 39nm of torque at the crank.
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The fuel cell and surge tank in the rear ensure uninterrupted delivery of dinosaur juice through hard cornering.
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The suspension is by Spirit, and there’s a brake bias adjuster next to the driver that enables split control between the 4-pot AP Racing front callipers and the 2-pot HiSpec units at the rear.
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Outside, the 240ZG benefits from front and rear overfenders, with custom Mizukami Auto canards providing smoother airflow over the front and rear wheels. The rear of the Z is already pretty sleek, but the ducktail spoiler adds a little more stability.
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The wheel and tyre combo is classic JDM – RAYS Volk Racing TE37Vs shod in Yokohama Advan A050 semi-slicks.
And that, my friends, is all there is. A simple machine from much simpler times, updated and refined for the modern era. It’s a beautiful thing indeed.
I’ll leave you with a clip of Mizukami-san driving his Z around Tsukuba’s TC2000 course back in 2011.
Toby Thyer
Instagram _tobinsta_
tobythyer.co.uk
#Simple #Nimble #Mizukami #Auto #240ZG