If you haven’t taken a look at my shop tour of Malaysia’s R Tune Garage yet, go and do that before continuing here.
OK, are we good now? Great!
It’s always great to find someone who is into the same things as you are, and when we’re talking about Speedhunters that would happen to be cars. But it’s a whole different thing to find someone who is truly passionate about cars. Someone who goes to sleep thinking about cars and wakes up doing the same (and sometimes anime, but that’s for a different story).
Ever since he was little, the S30 was that car for Dwayne Ho. It was the rich heritage and styling that won him over, and he knew that when the time was right he would own one.
That day came when he found this S30 in stock form. Of course, it had a few rust spots here and there but for a year, Dwayne was content – he had his dream car after all.
Eventually, the urge to fix those rust spots took over. Dwayne stripped the car back in preparation to do a little body work, but things quickly got out of control. For the next six years the Z was under the knife.
When Creativity Goes On A RampageOne of the first things Dwayne did was replace every bolt-on steel panel with carbon fiber.
The purpose behind the excessive use of carbon – besides the weight reduction, overall strength when compared to regular FRP, and simply looking badass – was to prevent future rust from occurring.
With the exterior mostly taken care of, next on the list was the S30’s suspension. The billet lower control arms were sourced from Arizona Z Cars, and everything else was done in house at RTG. To achieve the best possible handling Dwayne replaced all the bushings, too.
15-inch AME mesh wheels fit perfectly with the carbon-clad exterior and pull the overall look together well.
All In The DetailsIt’s one thing to change the exterior and make something look incredibly menacing as Dwayne has with his S30, but often times the engine is left stock. Fortunately for us, it’s not the case here. Dwayne has taken the time to create a work of art underneath the carbon fiber hood.
What are some of the first things that you see once the hood is removed? Is it the colorful trumpets attached to the 45DCOE Weber carburetors? Or maybe it’s the MSD ignition system making sure the engine doesn’t skip a beat in delivering the correct spark?
Maybe you’d notice the custom RTG brackets, or the ‘Z’ dipstick?
I think you get the point – virtually everything under the hood has been customized or changed. Although the valve cover says 2400, that’a more of an homage to the engine that originally powered this S30. Dwayne took the original 2.4L engine out and put in its larger 2.8L brother. He then proceeded to stroke it to 3.4L.
Along with forged pistons, rods and a stroker crank, the engine features a performance cam and oversized valves – and the list goes on. The exact power figure is still unknown, but Dwayne estimates it’s somewhere around the 300 mark.
Spent gases are dumped out of custom headers into a stainless steel exhaust system, again, all done in house at RTG.
The power and torque currently finds its way to the ground through the S30’s stock transmission, though Dwayne he says that will change soon.
As it was for the exterior and the engine, the interior is also a work of art and testament to RTG’s abilities. It’s nothing too over-the-top though; minimalism is key (in regards to the interior at any rate)
The trunk, however, is a different story. Stainless steel fuel lines snake to pumps, and the custom RTG stainless steel fuel cell has been wrapped in leather.
The goal behind the leather was two part: Firstly, Dwayne wanted the tank to look like it belonged there, thus the dark leather helps it blend in with the rest of the interior. The second part was to get rid of the horrid glare that reflects off the stainless steel when driving.
Having spent the day at RTG and with Dwayne, it’s easy to tell that this S30 is a true representation of his work ethic. He’s put in hours upon hours of effort, energy, stress building his dream car.
This level of passion is something I hope we all can see in our own personal builds, or whatever it is we are doing.
Ron Celestine
Instagram: celestinephotography
"What are some of the first things that you see once the hood is removed?"
Me?
I first noticed the painted-over hood latch
Then, my eyes were drawn to the faux anodized fittings for fuel to the carbs
And, as you radly pointed out, "the ‘Z’ dipstick" draws attention to yet another fake anodized fitting. This time for cooling. At least turn the screw head away from the viewers?!
I always have the screw head where I can see it - I hate getting my hands/fingers cut on those stupid things - I will even spend a bit more money on the fuel injection hose clamps to avoid this
yep, they were the things you first looked at.... you're a scmuck.
A. Why is painting over a vestigial latch bad when the hood is now held on by four toggle-clips/snaps?
B. How do you know the anodized finish on the fuel fittings and the dipstick are fake?
C. Where are your positive comments?
D. Why do you bother visiting this site if all you come here to do is whine about other people's cars?
Well, because that's actually the pure definition of RICE. Not hating, just pointing out that emulating the looks of Milspec AN [Airforce Navy] crush fittings to what's purely for looks (so non-crush-fit) is Rice.
Not sure why I have to post "positive" comments. I merely answered a question the author had posed. Like I said above, I see/appreciate S30s on a daily basis. FWIW, I'm not talking about anodized finishes. I'm pointing out the use of a hose clamp that emulates a real AN fitting. Like ChristanC mentioned, it is a fancy hose clamp. Not exactly what I'd put on my own S30 or a customer's. That's my 2 cents.
A: is irrelevant as Rotary points out.
B. Yes they’re worm drive type clips that have screw lock style covers, given that he made up proper heavy duty lines in many other places it does seem a little odd but at the same time it will function just the same as a regular rubber hose with clamp would so it’s fine.
C. See B. Also you put the screw heads where you can see them because you actually need access to them to tighten them up.
Yup, it was very odd to me as well. Hey, more power to you if the dress-up look is what is desired. Star Road uses fake AN hose clamps exclusively on their S30 builds, so it must be "in"!
This z is sweet! Definitely the coolest example I've ever seen. Thanks for the great article.
I really hate the "look at me" built old Nissan cars.
Fine example. Tastefully done. Would love to own something similar
you sir have built one fine looking Z! I'm loving the old school paint job, not sure why more people don't do this nowadays...