Old Lady to Young Lady Part 1

The more I drive my Nissan Fairlady Z, the more I am annoyed at my inability to shift from the 3rd to the 4th gear. Almost 80% of the time, I hear the gear grinds and I thought I had been making mistakes while shifting. Even when I fully stepped on the clutch, it felt like the gears did not stop spinning and caused the gears to grind. I started to skip the 4th gear and go straight to 5th from 3rd. Nevertheless that is only a temporary measure. I knew I had to get the car properly checked by an expert. I talked to a buddy of mine, who I knew back in my Celica club days because he drives a Nissan Skyline V35 now and it has the same engine as the 350Z. He told me to visit a workshop named Redsun Motorsport and I know a little about this workshop. This workshop specializes in Nissan sports car but it is also famous for being expensive and geared more towards modification. I was reluctant but I knew the owner is the expert that I need and I sent my car there as soon as possible. 

Workshop CCTV image

During my 350Z's first week stay at the workshop, there was no update from the workshop and I only get to see my 350Z's photo from the workshop's Facebook page. One day I visited the workshop, I found out that the De-cat pipe and Y-pipe were removed together along with the transmission. In the beginning, the owner mentioned that there was no need to open up the transmission because after 15 years, most of the gears would have received some damage. However, I came to the shop and found out that every gear was removed from the transmission for checking. I was shown how most of the gear had chipped or missing a tooth especially the synchronizer rings. In the end, replacing the transmission with another unit is the best solution to this. The owner will be buying a replacement transmission and install it. According to him it would take around another week to complete the replacement. 

De-cat pipe with Y-pipe

Transmission Gears

Transmission Gears

Transmission Gears

Besides the main problem with the transmission, I also had the owner look into some other parts of the under carriage of the 350Z. During the last check, the front crossmember and rear M-shaped crossmember require replacement and also the lower arm bushes. The owner looked at it and from his analysis, he told me something that I was affected deeply. Judging from how both crossmember is dented, he concluded that the previous owner might have driven the 350Z of the ground and landed on a divider because both the front and rear crossmember are dented at the exact same spot in a straight line fashion. This damage definitely will affect the car's handling and the lower arm bushes are wear and tear items. Judging from how the rear crossmember was dented, it would require some machining to get to the screw to remove the crossmember. The owner will source for used crossmember for replacement. The lower arm bushes need to be pumped out and replace with new lower arm bushes.

Front Crossmember

Rear Crossmember

Since the gearbox was removed, it was a good chance to take a look at the condition of the clutch disc. During the previous check up with the other workshop, the owner told me the clutch is still thick. He came to this conclusion by driving the 350Z and suddenly stepping on the clutch pedal while driving to test the reaction. However, looking at the clutch disc now, it is so thin that with just a little more use, the head of the screw on the surface of the disc would be shaved off. That is why figuring the bite point of the clutch was difficult. It definitely needs replacement and Redsun's owner ordered a stock OEM clutch disc for my 350Z which is enough comfort for daily drive. No sports clutch needed here and that is good news for my left foot.

Flywheel

New Clutch (left) and Old Clutch (right)

Exedy Clutch

This is just the beginning of the process of reviving my 350Z with many more to come. I know my 350Z is in good hands and I can not wait for this to be done. I was told it would take another week. Stay tune for more update.

Fast and Furious 8

Remember 2 years ago when I put up some post on the Top 3 JDMs used in the Fast and Furious franchise ? If you have not, the links are Fast&Furious:Honorable, Fast&Furious:GT-R, Fast&Furious:Supra and Fast&Furious:WRX STI. This year the franchise welcomes a new addition, The Fate of the Furious, a.k.a. Fast & Furious 8. So, here I will discuss about the JDMs used in this new installment.

We all know that the main character, Brian O'Conner has been the one who drives JDMs consistently in every movie that he is in. It is also understandable that with the passing of the late Paul Walker, his character had to be retired. The whole scene where Brian is happily playing with his son, Jack and along with his wife, Mia by the beach was heartwarming and the last ride with Brian and Dom which ended with them driving off towards different direction was just sad. The franchise had to change and that means there will be a significant decrease in JDM appearance because the other characters are not fans of JDMs. Han was also driving JDMs throughout the movies he was in but unfortunately, he too died. However, lucky for JDM fans, there is a new character in this movie that drives JDMs. We were introduced to a new special agent in-training/assistant to Kurt Russell's, Mr.Nobody. This character is played by Scott Eastwood and he not only drives one Subaru but two Subarus in this movie.  His first ride was a modified Subaru BRZ and if you read my previous post on Fast & Furious, you might remember that this is not the first time a BRZ was featured in the franchise. The BRZ's first appearance was a brief one in Fast & Furiuos 6 and was not driven by any of the cast members.

Inside the BRZ

By the WRX STI

From the outlook, we could see that the BRZ is equipped with a Rocket Bunny bodykit. This particular bodykit has been trending and I have to admit, I am a fan of it too. The fender or wheel arches are widen with an add-on, making the stance wider. In the spoiler department, instead of a huge wing attached to it, it only has a ducktail spoiler. On the inside, there seems to be a green, full body roll cage, sport seats, blue harnesses and an aftermarket steering wheel. This car is definitely ready for the track or drift course.

We first see Scott's character in the BRZ when the team formed a blockade in front of the now, bad-guy, Dom Toretto. Then, he made a rookie mistake which allowed Dom to escape and the chase began. So, the whole team was on the streets, chasing and we got to see the BRZ drifts a bit, alongside Deckard Shaw's Jaguar F-Type Coupe. Dom had to loose the BRZ and he drove into some construction poles, which then began to fall. Scott's character was too focused on chasing Dom and it was too late to brake. This resulted in the sacrifice of the Subaru BRZ under the fallen poles. Although I must say, that is better than getting blown up by explosives like how most cars get destroyed in the franchise.

Drift !!

Drift !!

When he realized he is doom.

R.I.P. BRZ

In the next act of the movie, we were transported to the icy terrain of Russia. The team is here to stop Dom from helping the bad guys steal a nuclear submarine. When things went south, the bad guys remotely controlled the submarine and tried to make an escape. So, the team rushes out on ice, in their new rides, hoping to reach the gates before the submarine escapes and disappears. This time Scott's character drove a Subaru WRX STI. This is the latest model of WRX STI and at a glance, it might seem like the only mod is the GT Wing and rims but actually, the front and rear bumper and front lights are aftermarket parts. It is safe to say that the WRX STI is also equipped with a roll cage, sport seats, harness and aftermarket steering wheel like the BRZ. However this time, all we see is the WRX STI just driving around, mostly dodging missiles, bullets and explosion. Surprisingly, not a scratch was made on the car and remain like new. This is so unlike the Fast and Furious movies I know, where most cars were destroyed. The WRX STI made it out in one piece. I am happy it was not sacrificed in the movie but felt like the WRX STI could have a bigger part.

There you have it. The only two JDMs that were driven by the cast member in this year's Fast and Furious 8. I hope that in the next sequel of the franchise, more JDMs could be driven by the main characters. Although the amount of JDM was low in this movie but there is a an extra scenes where JDMs could be spotted but not driven. This scene was when the team just got attacked by the bad guys and needed to get some equipment after. They arrived at a facility where all the impounded cars were kept a.k.a. the Toy Shop. When the scene opened, most of the audiences must have their eyes on the Bentley Continental Coupe, which would be driven by Roman Pierce in the first chase scene. However, keen JDM fans like myself would be able to spot some JDMs on the racks by looking at the side view. In the same scene, a yellow, Honda S2000, a blue, Subaru BRZ (Scott's car) and a white Nissan Concept could be spotted on the left rack. Meanwhile, on the right, fans would notice a blue, Nissan GT-R R35, a grey, Toyota MR-S and a red, Toyota Supra MK IV.

In the photo below, audience get to see the same cars from the front view. This confirmed the cars that I noticed from the side view were exactly the cars that I mentioned before. I would say this is a very good collection and I would like to have this many cars in my garage, if I have a garage.

The photo below shows the Nissan IDx concept car that was revealed in 2013 in a show. A lot of fans have been asking Nissan to make a production car out of this fine concept. However there are no plans for that to happen. Many speculations were made and most of them said that this could be either the new Silvia or the new Fairlady Z. I personally think this would suit the Silvia badge more. Let us hope Nissan will make use of this concept.

I did manage to find one more hidden gem and that could be a Lexus LFA, if I am not mistaken. Sorry for the blur photo.