Mine All Mine
March & April 2003
196,000 Miles of
Badass NA 2+2 fury
In a late entry to compete in the $800 Beater Challenge of the Lone Pine Time Trials, I picked up a 1990 Nissan 300ZX 2+2 (Non-Turbo) for $500. Lone Pine TT is a high-speed (90mph+) autocross on an abandoned airfield!
Lone Pine...WAY,
WAY, WAY out past Mohave!
The car had been spun off the road in a rainstorm here in Santa Barbara. It was in need of a front bumper, 1 rear toe link, 2 aluminum rims, rear shocks, four new tires, two new mufflers and an engine harness!
2nd Place – Don’t
Let The Mileage Fool You
Unfortunately, the cost of all of that would prove to be too much for the $800 budget. Instead, I fixed as little as possible. I replaced 1 rim, bought junkyard rear shocks and mounted some bald but donated tires (thatnks Matt!).
The result? I drove to a 2nd place trophy on with a gaping hole in the front bumper! The bent suspension arm made the car squirrelly, but I managed zero spins.
Of course, the thrill of the event soon wore off. I wanted more high speed thrills. I needed (uh-oh) more high speed thrills. I wanted to run on a real racetrack!
I put on Metal Master brake pads, bought a new set of Falken Azenis Sports and signed up for a Willow Springs trackday with NASAProRacing.com!