Music City Z's

ZCon 2025 was held in Nashville this year, and being just down the road, there was no way we were going to miss it. We prepped the 280z and the Pulsar NX and headed into town for what turned out to be one of the best weeks I can remember.

The event kicked off with activities throughout the week, but one of the highlights for me was the drift and autocross event out at Nashville Superspeedway. Seeing Z cars of every generation tearing around a real track never gets old. From vintage 240s to brand new RZ34s, the whole Z lineage was represented and putting in work.

Speakers night was something else entirely. The lineup of guests this year was incredible - Peter Brock, Hiroshi Tamura, Motohiro Matsumura, and more. I brought a BRE 240z model with me and got Peter Brock himself to sign it. Meeting the man behind BRE Racing was a bucket list moment for sure.

I also got to have a discussion with Motohiro Matsumura, EVP of Nissan Motors. Here's where it gets personal - he actually worked with my father decades ago when Nissan was exploring supplying the SR20 engine for legends racing. When I mentioned my dad's name, he remembered him. That one caught me off guard. In the best way possible.

I also grabbed a moment with Hiroshi Tamura, the chief product specialist behind the GT-R and Z. Watching him sign autographs and talk shop with fellow enthusiasts was great.

The final day was the People's Choice car show. The night before, I got the two cars staged and ready to go.

She entered the Pulsar NX in the "Other" category and took home 2nd place! Peter Brock presented her with the trophy, which made it even more special.

After the show wrapped up, we drove both cars over to the Nissan Americas headquarters for one last photo op. A fitting backdrop, even if the building is newer than our cars are.

What a week. ZCon 2026 is in Arizona - that's a bit of a haul for us - but Nashville was one for the books. No question.

Carbon Dressed

I'm not normally one to install purely aesthetic parts, but I couldn't resist installing these two bits right before taking the Z to the Z Nationals show. Z1 was running their fall sale so I grabbed a carbon fiber engine cover and a carbon fiber radiator air guide - both Z1 pieces designed for the 2023+ Z.

The install on both is about as straightforward as it gets. The engine cover swaps directly with the OEM plastic piece, and the radiator air guide replaces the stock unit up front. No trimming, no modifications - just bolt-on. I had both pieces on the car within an hour of opening the boxes.

One thing I noticed after pulling the factory engine cover - the tops of the air-to-water intercoolers were now fully exposed. The OEM cover had been hiding them, and they weren't exactly show-ready. So I took the time to polish them up before dropping the carbon cover in place.

The difference in the engine bay is immediately noticeable. The carbon weave gives the VR30 a much more finished look, and the polished intercooler tops peeking through don't hurt either. The air guide up front cleans up that area nicely - it's one of those pieces you don't think about until you see the upgrade.

At 1,700 miles the Z is still relatively fresh, but at least the engine bay will look presentable at the show!

Cornered!

The rear bumper end caps on the 280z were done. These are the rubber corner pieces that wrap around each end of the rear bumper, and after nearly 50 years they were cracked and deteriorated. Replacements? Nobody makes them. Not surprising for a part that Nissan stopped producing decades ago.

I decided to 3D scan the original part and build a digital model from the scan data. The first shot shows the original on the kitchen table covered in scan targets. Once I had the scan, I spent a good amount of time in the modeling software cleaning up imperfections and customizing the model to fit both the right and left sides of my car specifically. It took a few prototype prints to get the fit dialed in.

Once I was happy with the geometry I test fitted one on the car to verify everything lined up with the bumper and body.  For the finish, I went with Plasti Dip black topped with Plasti Dip clear for UV protection. This matches the treatment I'd already applied to the rest of the bumper rubber, so everything looks consistent.

The end result looks like it belongs there. Another unobtainable part brought back to life with a scanner, a printer, and some patience.

Keeping Cool with the Pulsar

The A/C condenser fan on the Pulsar NX had seen better days. The motor was shot - corroded and tired after 37 years of duty. Unfortunately, like so many parts for this car, a direct replacement doesn't exist anymore.

I grabbed a generic 12V 80W fan motor from Amazon. It was the right spec but predictably didn't match the original mounting pattern on the fan support bracket. No surprise there - when has anything bolted right up to this car?

I designed an adapter bracket to mate the new motor to the existing mounting hardware and printed it in MatterHackers CarbonX - a carbon-fiber-infused nylon. It's rigid, heat-resistant, and more than up to the task of living near a condenser. One of the advantages of having a printer dialed in for engineering materials is that problems like this become an afternoon instead of a dead end.

The old assembly next to the new one tells the whole story. Thirty-seven years of heat on the original versus a fresh motor with a bracket that'll probably outlast the car.

Another discontinued part problem solved with a spool of filament and a couple hours of CAD work. The Pulsar's A/C system is back in business.

Finding Its Voice

The Z came from the factory with a capable twin-turbo V6 but a pretty tame exhaust note. With the sway bars freshly installed, I decided it was time to let the VR30 breathe a little. I went with a two-piece setup from Z1 Motorsports - the Premium Stainless Steel Y-Pipe and the Touring-Ti Titanium cat-back.

First order of business was getting the factory exhaust off the car. I worked backwards from the rear - mufflers first, then the mid-pipe, and finally the factory Y-pipe. One thing that surprised me was how small the OEM Y-pipe diameter was. You'd think a 400hp twin-turbo motor would have a little more room to breathe down there.

The Z1 Y-pipe went in next. The difference in diameter was obvious - the stainless piece replaces the restrictive OEM mid-pipe with larger tubing and braided flex joints. The weld quality on the Z1 piece is impressive - clean welds and solid flange connections.

One thing worth mentioning - the Y-pipe fit tight against the chassis. I had to bend the pipe down slightly to keep it from making contact with the body, which wasn't the easiest thing to do on stainless. Not a dealbreaker, but it took some persuasion.

From there the titanium cat-back bolted right up. The fitment was excellent - everything tucked up tight with good clearance around the differential and sway bar. The titanium mufflers are noticeably lighter than the stock pieces.

The Z1 titanium tips fill out the rear diffuser nicely. Subtle but purposeful.

First startup was exactly what I was hoping for - a deeper, more aggressive tone at idle that opens up under throttle without being obnoxious. The Touring-Ti lives up to its name. Civilized when cruising, but it lets you know the turbos are there when you get on it.

Raising the Bar

With the big brake kit buttoned up, I turned my attention to the Z's handling. The Z1 Performance Sway Bar Set was next on the list - front and rear bars to tighten things up and reduce body roll.

The install is pretty straightforward if you've got a lift. Remove the stock bars, bolt up the Z1 units, and set the end link positions. I went with the outermost mount holes on both bars. The Z is a street car, but I want it to feel planted.  If I were tracking the car I’d use the inner-most mounting holes.

That red front bar tucked up under the subframe looks like it belongs there. Between the big brake kit and the sway bars, the chassis side of this build is really coming together. Time to find some good roads!

Stopping Power

The NISMO Clubsport wheels had barely been on the Z for a week before I decided to address what was behind them. The stock brakes are perfectly adequate for street duty, but once you see those little silver calipers peeking through 19-inch NISMO spokes, you know they need some company that matches the rest of the build.

I grabbed the Z1 Motorsports Forged Street Big Brake Kit - their red calipers are cross-compatible with Akebono, and the kit comes with sprinkle-slotted rotors and stainless steel brake lines. The whole package is a serious step up from the stock hardware.

The install spanned about a week of evening garage sessions. One thing I ran into right away was the rotor shields - the larger Z1 rotors wouldn't clear the stock shields, so I had to trim them. I used a sheet metal nibbler on my drill and ran it around the edges to remove the outer lip. I put a plastic bag over the hub assembly to keep the little metal bits from getting into anything they shouldn't.

As I swapped each caliper I capped the hard lines to keep the brake fluid from draining out. I definitely did not want to purge air out of the entire system.

The before and after really tells the story. Those stock silver calipers look like they belong on a Sentra compared to the Z1 units. The red calipers fill out the wheel wells and look right at home behind the NISMO wheels. I used Motul RBF 600 to refill and bleed the system - no sense putting budget fluid behind a big brake kit.

At 1,550 miles the Z is already getting the brake setup it deserves. Time to put some miles on them and see how they bed in!

NISMO Clubsport Shoes for the Z

I've had the Z's wheel and tire upgrade on the radar since day one. The Sport trim comes with a respectable setup, but the plan was always to go NISMO Clubsport wheels with stickier rubber. I ordered the wheels — 19x9.5+25 up front and 19x10.5+22 out back - along with a set of Continental ExtremeContact Sport 02 tires: 255/40ZR-19 front and 285/35ZR-19 rear.

Everything arrived mid-February. I also grabbed a set of Autel TPMS sensors with metal valve stems - I wanted something more durable than the rubber-stem variety.

A few weeks later I mounted the tires myself. I used blue rim protector tape on the barrel to keep the gloss black finish scratch-free on the tire machine - those wheels are too nice to mark up on the first day.

With the tires mounted, balanced, and TPMS sensors programmed, I swapped them onto the car today at about 1,550 miles. The difference is immediate - the gloss black Clubsports against the white paint completely changes the stance.

The wider rear setup fills out the fenders nicely, and the offset tucks everything right where it should be. I'll put some miles on them and see how the ExtremeContact Sport 02s compare to the OEM rubber, but first impressions are solid. The Z finally has the shoes it deserves.

Pulsar Oil Change Using Valvoline Restore and Protect

Just recording an oil change here for the Pulsar.  I used Valvoline's new Restore and Protect on this change; maybe it will help the stuck lifters!  Since the odometer doesn't work on the Pulsar there's no point in recording the mileage....

Replacing the 280z Brake Check Value

The 280z had the original brake master cylinder check valve.  I suspected that the valve was leaking so I decided to replace it along with the old vacuum hoses.  Unfortunately replacement valves and hoses are not to be found (although reproduction hoses for the 240z are out there).  I instead grabbed generic check valve and figured that I'd make my own hoses.

The new check valve was slightly smaller in diameter than the old so I printed a TPU ring to fill the gap.  I painted the firewall mounting bracket for the valve.

To form the hoses i used a spring made for copper tube bending.  I marked where the bends should be on the hose and used a heat gun to heat the hose in the areas of the bend to the point where the hose was slightly smoking.  After naturally cooling the hose will have nice bends where heated and I've found this method to be quite effective when I need to shape a hose.

Was it restoration perfect?  No, but it's good enough for me!