Nissan 350Z - Make Your Own Luck Modification

Nissan 350Z Front

Luck is a mysterious thing. Some people have it, some people don't. Of course, one theory on luck is that you make your own in life. As the saying goes, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." In other words, luck is earned through hard work and determination, not to mention the willingness to take a risk and to see bad luck and potential setbacks as opportunities for growth and a new direction.

Mike Shaw is a hard-working family man who makes a living as a truck driver. But it just so happens that he also has a real passion for cars, motorbikes and speed, which would explain why Mike owns this wild widebody Nissan 350Z as well as a 9-second Kawasaki ZX9, both of which have seen action on the streets of Indianapolis. But if it wasn't for an unexpected engine failure with just 9,000 miles on the clock-something a lot of people would call bad luck, but Mike preferred to see as a opportunity-we might not be telling the tale of this hard-working American and his Do-Luck dream machine.

Having played around with cars and bikes his whole life, Mike used to be into modifying mini trucks, but when it came time to build something new it was Nissan's new sports car that caught his eye. "The import scene was really heating up in Indiana, but everybody around here was into Hondas, so I wanted to do something different. I talked my options over with a buddy who suggested the EVO VIII or 350Z, but for me a sports car shouldn't have four doors, so the choice was easy."

That's when Mike headed to the local Nissan dealership and picked up a brand-new '04 silver 350Z. Within six months Mike had installed the usual intake and exhaust mods and in the spring equipped it with a carbon-fiber hood and some 19-inch Konig rims. A very reasonable beginning for a street car build, but that's when, with only 9,000 miles on the motor, Mike heard a bad knock coming from the bottom end. Pulling it into the driveway, that knock turned into a connecting rod punching a hole through the oil pan and led to an unsatisfactory experience with the dealership, which refused to cover the engine failure under warranty because of the cold-air intake. "I could have fought with the dealership and maybe got it covered under warranty, but instead I figured I'd use this experience as opportunity to build the engine."

That's when Mike parked his Z in the garage and completely disassembled it in preparation for a serious rebuild. Mike was originally planning to do a 4.5-liter Nissan V-8 engine swap, but after researching this option he decided a built VQ35 would be plenty powerful without needing all the custom work a V-8 swap would. For starters, Mike bought a new short-block, which he stuffed with Wiseco 11:1 pistons, Eagle rods and ARP main studs. He also had the heads ported and polished, at which point he assembled them with Jim Wolf Technologies S1 camshafts and valvetrain, and ARP head studs. To the heads he bolted a Kinetix Racing SSV intake manifold and a newly released SSV engine cover that's contoured perfectly to the manifold. On the exhaust side, Mike went with Stillen headers, an Invidia stainless steel test pipe and a GReddy TiC true dual exhaust. Sponsor X Level, an online parts supplier based in the Indy area, also pitched in a Cyber Speed Hyper Force ignition system, grounding kit and voltage system. All in all, a serious all-motor build with serious power potential, especially once Mike has the ECU fully tuned with a Haltech he plans to install soon.

Source: http://www.modified.com/