The Z31 300ZX always had the power to walk
the walk, but this one has the chassis to shimmy it through the curves too. And
in addition to that, it’s a super-rare special edition…
There’s an age-old adage that’s been
swirling around the mists of the car modification plains from time immemorial:
‘Start your project with the best possible base’. This can generally be interpreted,
quite logically, to mean starting off with a car that has, say, straight
panels, no rust, a healthy engine, or whatever else plays to your skill set.
But a further dimension can be added by considering starting your project with
something rare and unusual. It’s anathema to the concours chamois-buffers, but
worth infinite scene points to those in the know. And it’s by following this
path into the unknown that’s seen Adam Vannieuwenhoven create something truly
special out of this Shiro Edition 300ZX.‘What on earth’s that?’ I hear you
shout. Well, calm down, and allow me to explain… inz1988, Nissan introduced a
limited-run Z31300ZX
Z31
Nissan 300ZX
With a number of unique features; ‘Shiro’
is Japanese for ‘white’, and as such the model was finished in fancy Moong low
Pearl white paint. There were no option boxes to tick, with all of the
following coming as standard: a five-speed overdrive manual box(no ponderous
auto boxes here!), viscous LSD, Recaro seats, T-tops, white alloys, European spec
front spoiler, thicker sway bars, and up rated springs. All of this, plus that
brutish turbocharged 3.0-litre V6, and a handy 125lb weight saving over the
standard turbo model. Just 1002 of these were built for the US market, and a lot
less than that exist today. And given the scarcity of the thing, how did Adam
find himself with the keys in his hand?
VG30ET
3.0-litre V6 turbo engine
“A friend of mine had a Z31 when I was in high
school,” he remembers. “That was my first introduction to JDM cars and modifications.”
That lithe and lissom 1980ssilhouette clearly made a impression on him too; “A
couple of years later I bought my first300ZX, a 1986 2+2,” he says. “It cost
$235, with a blown motor and broken transmission.
It was the first ever car I wrenched on,
with no prior knowledge of working on cars. It had a lot of shared memories
with my family and friends, with many personal experiences along the way, and
it still lives on as my father couldn’t bear to see the car go – he purchased it
from me in 2008 and he still drives and modifies it today!” We can see how the
early seeds of Z31 yearning were planted, germinated, and blossomed into verdant
reality. So where does the Shiro Edition peep through the undergrowth?
“A
friend of mine had a Z31 when I was in high school,” he remembers. “That was my
first introduction to JDM cars and modifications.”
“In 2008 I received an email telling me of
a Shiro – the Holy Grail of Z31s – that was for sale in Illinois,” Adam
recalls. “It needed some TLC but was in very solid shape overall, with all the
Shiro Special features intact. Working in Connecticut that summer, there was no
way I could personally go and take a look at the car –but not wanting it to
slip past, I bought it sight unseen and had it delivered to my home in Wisconsin.
Three months later I finally got to see it for the first time…”
I know what you’re thinking – that’s a pretty
risky play. First of all, buying a car you’ve never seen is fraught with
potential for calamity, and twiddling your thumbs through a three month
time-gulf before you actually inspect the goods leaves you with little comeback
if all is not as it should be. But this just goes to show Adam’s enthusiasm for
Z31s, and his keenness to have the right one. A Shiro is a Shiro, after all. And
c’mon, how bad could it be?
