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Attention ON3GO and z-REX & point-counter point


SportZ2

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I need your hires image for the JSR write-up in the upcoming issue of Sport Z Magazine. I don't want to use mine, so get it together and send them to me. I figured if I put this in a post the other members of JSR would put pressure on you. I need them no later than Monday the 2nd of February.

 

On another note, we are thinking of having a point-counter point (remember SNL of the 70's) on the pros and cons of a stock Z and a modified V8 Z article. You know, the purist's against the pillagers. I'm looking for one person from each side to defend their cause. We already have a couple of people in mind for the stock version and I was thinking that you guys could come up with someone from Hybridz that you think would best defend the modified version. Who will step forward and represent?

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you need images of our cars or the JSR logo?

didnt i send you a pic already of my Z?

thanks

 

also i think z-REX is on a trip to florida for work...

 

mike

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My list:

 

Pete P.

Mike Kelly

Dan Juday

Davy

Tim (Tim240Z)

MikeKZ

SuperDan

Ross C.

 

All of these guys are very prominent on the board and in the Z community. No hard feelings to anyone that I didn't include, but the guys above have been around forever. I would say GrumpyVette, but I'm not even sure if he owns a Z. I do know that he is the master when it comes to engine knowledge.

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What point are we arguing? Simply defending our ideals regarding modifying Z's?

 

I can sum it up in one sentance. We want to. :D

 

I will volunteer to write the article as well... Though it sounds like Len is really keen on it! My only concern is that we don't come off as arrogant and uptight about modifying our cars, the way SOME purists have about not modifying their cars.

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There would be one question:

 

"Does a V8 from an american made car bastardize the Z?"

 

One side will make a statement for why it does and the other will state why it doesn't.

 

This is not about modifying a Z, because there are many ways to do this without using a V8. It is more to do with culture and how things are looked at differently

 

Here's an example of what the stock Z owner might say: Do you think a Chevy owner would dream of putting a L6 into a Camero for performance reasons only?. Probably not.

 

Your goal is to explain why the V8 seems like a perfect fit, and maybe it should have been the engine of choice for Datsun in the beginning.

 

These are examples, so you could come at it in a few different ways. The answer is not as simple as "I get more bang for the buck".

 

This will be the start of an ongoing "point-counter point" on a variety of issues, not just conversions that will begin in the Summer issue.

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Can this be for any motor or JUST v8?

As theres other motors like... L28ET in a 240Z, RB26DETT in S30 Z, VG30DETT, ford V8, SBC, Jag V12 (in dots case), 13B in Z (in Aux's case).

would open alot more topics and for some good reading

im down for it just being a V8 subject but i was just wondering.

 

mike

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The questions is based on American made vs Japanese made. Some of the engines you mention are Japanese.

 

The key words are "american made"

 

Putting an american motor into a Z is probably the most common of foreign conversions and not so common in other cars, ie: Audi, BMW, porsche, etc. the reason has to go deeper than performance only. Why does this car stand out more than the others?

 

This is where bastardizing comes in. Is it considered evolution, the ideal of creating the perfect sports car or a fun way to make a sports car faster.

 

If you take the latter point you will lose the debate. It should go deeper than raw numbers.

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I knew that the straight six would be mentioned when I used the Camero as an example. But the straight six was not a performance mod which would make my point. You can say the same for the Mustang. But then again who bought those specific models with the intention of thinking they were buying the best all around performance car on the market. Certainly not grandma. I doubt there are to many chevy owners that think of putting a twin turbo from a Z32 in their car when trying to make the perfect performance car.

 

Remember, I'm on the V8 side here, I'm just trying to point someone in the right direction when and if they decide to take on this question.

 

If you think the question should be phrased differently, I'd love to see them.

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I'll take it on, if you like.

 

I've been defending the swap for about 15 years now, and I know how to keep it civil (which I agree is important - I don't want the V8Z rep. coming off as arrogant, etc.)

 

How would this work? Ask a question of the purist side, and let the V8Z side counter? Then back to the purist side, and the V8Z side counter?

It could be done in a special thread on HybridZ, with a moderator being the only one to post the responses from either person. We wouldn't want to have others chiming in.

 

My initial response to the question is it bastardizing to put a V8 in the Z, is that it depends on who you ask. My point of view is that it's my car, and what I do to mod it is MY business alone. If others think it "bastardizes" the image/aura/idea/intent of the Z as Nissan designed it, that's there delusion, and I won't argue with them. The Z is a mass produced vehicle made to put money in the coffers of Nissan. It's not a 1-of-40 made Ferarri GTO 250.

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It would be nice to be able to fully understand the resentment felt toward hybrids by the "purest" so that a direct defense (or offense) can be developed early on. When the Z was more ubiquitous, it didn't matter what was done to it, because there was any number of others that could be seen as a prime example of what Datsun created. I feel that 20 years ago, the purest didn't exist because the Z was seen much more frequently. Now days, the Z is not seen nearly as often, and I wonder if this sense of "loss" to the purest is exasperated when an potential example of an unmolested, and hard to find, example of the Datsun history he so much enjoys to relish in, is now only a partial history and no longer represents the "pure" picture of what was created. The purest has no other place to satisfy his hunger for the total Datsun experience. I feel that in the future, the polarization of purist and hybrid will become more distinct as there become fewer examples of this fine design.

I don't feel any amount of rational, point-by-point explanation of "why" we do this will provide much merit in their eyes because I feel the purist is motivated more by emotion in their opinion. To attempt a debate using numbers will have no effect on the opposition. Obviously the numbers speak for themselves, and cannot be disputed, but your task will be the emotional aspect of soothing their apprehension, concern, and opinion that "we" have removed, from a dwindling number of Z's, the history of this Datsun creation. A new 350Z with a 500HP N/A V8 today would be a unique vehicle that would not draw near as much "purest" commentary as it will 30 years from now.

Perhaps convincing them that a hybrid is better than no Z at all will provide a more compelling argument. How many Z cars, wasting away to nothing have been saved simply because one felt that it would be neat to put a V8 in it and end up with a nicely, semi-restored example. The only reason I bought my BlueovalZ (bad example here) was because of my desire to build a V8 Z with a Ford engine. I had no desire to mess with the OEM L6, and with that said, I can almost guarantee that this Z would have rusted to nothingness in the back of the previous owners yard.

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I'd be willing to state that there are an obscene number of cars on this board that ANY purist wouldn't have touched due to rust. Drewz's V8 car being a good example, as was Pete's! Purists tend to want factory restorations, and in order to have a restoration job done you just don't start with a car that is 50% gone... But for some reason, the hybridz crowd will.

 

I would bet that as a group we've probably saved over a thousand Z's that would otherwise rust to nothing, and put them on the road again!

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