Main Purpose for the 280Z-06

[Savage42]

Guys, now that I've got most of you up to speed on the car, I wanted to let you know why I'm actually building it. I've built a couple 510s over the last decade and had a ton of fun with them. My buddy and I have had a sort of rivalry at the local autocrosses, where it often was all about "him vs me". We both have class championships and have set several Top Time of Day, but it was the simplicity of his car (240Z w/ 400 SBC with springs, sway bars & race tires) against my 510s, which had exotic type stuff to try and run with him. I got tired of always having to work on stuff to get the 510 to compete with him, so I thought "next time I'll try a Z".

 

Well, coming from a family with a significant racing background ( http://swedesavage42.tripod.com ), I've been lucky enough to not only race my own cars locally, I've been able to drive many different cars across the county and even Canada & England. In memory of Swede, I've been driving the original '70 Plymouth AAR 'Cuda factory Trans-Am car. The one thing I really enjoyed was sticking kids in the car and being able to impact them in such a positive way. A couple of years ago, I met with Gary Manley. He used to own one of the sister AAR 'Cudas back in the '70s and originally ran the Pinto in Trans-Am. (no jokes needed) Anyway, Gary was a cancer survivor and he had a vision to use racing to really impact children with cancer. He put together the Caring Hearts Children's Cancer Foundation. The program was designed to go to the hospitals along the west coast, to spend time with the kids and also take the ones that are well enough to local car shows, exhibitions and races. It's amazing how a day of fun for a child can make all the difference in their attitudes and attitude is a huge key to beating cancer. I know, my sister died after a 6 year battle with leukemia and the doctors originally only gave her 6 months, but her positive outlook gave her the will to keep on going. On the last night my sister was alive, she talked to my brother about my racing and how much it meant to her that I was "continuing the tradition". She has been a huge motivating force behind my racing and this program.

 

So, this car is being built in association with many great companies who have helped us in different ways to put it together. (Besides, promoting products made for the Z and getting some added recognition for Hybridz is a good thing!) I'm doing all the work myself and we'll be taking the car all over the west coast to spend time with the kids and take them for rides, etc. Gary Manley died at the end of last year, but his vision lives on. We are continuing the mission and combined with my racing background, family history, and an awesome cause, we've setup several magazine articles and will be featured on an episode of Xtreme TV, a local show in the Seattle area. Since we were going to build a car, I thought I'd use my experience with Datsuns and with the great people I've met since 1991 when I bought my first 510, I knew we could make this program and car something special. "If you are going to do anything, you have to do it right." Thanks for all the help and input, guys! It's going to be a fun year with the car and the kids. We'll have our website with sponsor links and acknowledgements up real soon. There's more to life than just making a living, it's about making a difference!

http://album.hybridz.org/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=8934

[boodlefoof]

That is wondeful. I applaud you for your big heart! I try to get the local kids interested in my projects whenever I can. Much better for them to be spending their time wrenching on old cars than spending money on drugs or whatnot.

 

On another note... I love old muscle cars and the Cuda is one of my favorites. Although I suppose it is technically a pony car.

 

Cheers!

[Bartman]

I applaud your efforts as well and I remember watching Swede racing many years ago. I have a special needs child and she loves cars. I take her to auto events whenever I can and she enjoys seeing "hot cars". Sometimes people offer to let her sit in their cars, and she gets a big thrill out of it. Sometimes the cars are so nice, I can't convince her to sit in them; part of this is probably because I always make sure she knows that she's not allowed to touch the cars (without permission).

 

I'm sure my car won't be as nice as yours, but if you do any events in the Southern California area I would be willing to participate with my car as well.

 

Keep up the good work,

Bart

[johnc]

Its great helping kids with your car. Sometimes its a more fun then a day at the track. Back when my 240Z could be driven on the street I did a road rally where blind kids are placed in the passenger seat with route instructions written in braile. My codriver was a 10 year old girl that just giggled every time I got on the throttle. Needless to say we got lost a bunch of times but the organizers had secretly given the drivers maps and we ended up in third place with the girl getting to stand on the podium.

[Jeff]

Wow that is an awesome story and I applaud your efforts as well. Children with cancer just truly rip my heart out and knowing that their are people like yourself out there to bring some joy to their lives is inspiring. Good luck with the cause and I'll be curious to see what your Z is capable of.

[Savage42]

Bartman, I will definitely be doing something down in SoCal in the near future, so we'll definitely connect and do something at that time.

 

JohnC, that is cool stuff! When we had the 'Cuda in NY, this 5-6 year old boy comes up and loved seeing the Hot Wheels stickers on the car. I asked him if he liked Hot Wheels and he replied "Oh Yeah" and steps back to show me his Hot Wheels patches on the knees of his jeans. I put him in the car and his eyes were buggin' out like a kid in a candy store. After his parents took some pics, I asked him to climb onto the passenger side. I slid in, flipped the switches and fired it up. Straight 3" exhaust that dumps out infront of the rear tires, thundering off the skyscrapers in the Rockefeller Plaza, people came running, and this little kid starts shaking with excitement and says "This is the best day of my life!" Dang, how cool is that? It only took a couple of minutes to blow this kid's mind. I'm looking forward to doing that more often!

 

Jeff, thanks for the input. I plan to make the car a true performer but nice enough to attract car guys and some good media exposure. I'm really getting excited to get the car done so I can go out and do our thing. It'll be a blast!