Christine Siepka’s 1978 Datsun 280z

I had the privilege of shooting Christine’s s30 over the weekend which I personally refer to as “one of the most highly anticipated builds of 2012.” That might be a bold statement; but if you look at her 30 page build thread– you will agree with me! I think I met Christine back in 2009 when I started JDMC. At the time she had a really nice Mazda RX8, but something about it just didn’t seem to fit her. Christine had a flair for style back then, so when I heard she sold the car to pick up a new project I knew we were going to be in for something nice.

The new project ended up being this lovely Datsun 280z. As a huge fan of the Z platfrom, a nostalgic car was an easy decision. When I asked why a 280z vs the ever-popular 240 or 260, her decision was mostly based on color and some unique styling cues the other two S30’s do not possess. Not many people may know, but an early Z in black is difficult to obtain. Nissan took a risk to test this color choice for the North American market with the 280z. Although the car has been repainted, having this original platform made plenty of sense in the restoration process.

Christine picked up her Z on February 14th, 2011. Although the car needed tons of work, it had plenty of nice things going for it and some minor surface rust as a Florida car.

The interior was in rough shape, but Christine took her time restoring the interior in a period correct manner. Really love the reupholstered 240z seats as well as the Datsun 240Z Rally Style Steering Wheel. The dash was cracked and in terrible shape, but some handywork by Christine resulted in this factory fresh finish.

There are a decent amount of old school Z’s around the Midwest, but I’m honestly not sure how they will react when they see the stance of this Z. I don’t know how Christine does it, as it was constantly scraping her frame rails and exhaust during the shoot! It just might be a tad aggressive for the traditionalists, but who cares anyways? I’m glad Christine built her car to her preferences, while maintaining its original character.

Custom wide flares fit the aggressive Work CR01’s. 15×9 -53 in the front, and 15×10 -53 rear (NO, this is not a typo). A slew of parts from Techno Toy Tuning along with Stance s13 gr+ coilovers give you this phenomenal look. Here is a huge wallpaper version 1920 x 1080.

MSA 240z bumper fits the front nicely along with the OEM Nissan fender mirrors. If you see the car in person, the mirror placement is intentionally misaligned for visibility Not many people realize this is the correct way to install the mirrors. Diggin the JDMC and 4SS vinyl placement.

Toyo Poxes 205/50 in front and 225/50 in the rear. Unfortunately due to the spindle nut cap that protrudes, centercaps are not an option for the front…..

But no problem in the rear….

One thing I forgot to shoot was her motor, but as you can see in this photo…. it definitely runs! The stock L28 will be swapped out soon, but we won’t spoil the surprise for you guys. Closing out this set with a roller. Thanks for checking out this feature and look out for BIG things with this car in the near future.

-jdmchicago

Mod List

Polished valve cover
280zx rear disc conversion
280zx 10” brake booster
280zx 15/16 Master Cylinder
Centric Posi Quiet Ceramic Brake Pads
Datsun Spirit Custom Spark plug wires

Techno Toy Tuning Tension Control Rods
Techno Toy Tuning Adjustable Front Lower Control Arms
Techno Toy Tuning Adjustable Rear Lower Control Arms
Pallnet Fuel Rail

ZCCJDM Sleeves/Camber plates
Stance s13 gr+ coilovers
NRG Suspension Bushings

Custom Wide Flares
MSA 240z bumper
Xenon Urethane Air Dam
Nissan OEM Fender Mirrors
Datsun 240Z Rally Style Steering Wheel
240z Seats
Refinished Dash

Front/Rear bumper delete
Antenna delete
Side mirror delete
Side moulding delete

Work Meister CR01
15×9 -53 front
15×10 -53 rear
205/50 Toyo Proxes front
225/50 Toyo Proxes rear

Final Automass Rd. 2 Coverage (Part 4 of 4)

Wrapping up our Automass coverage with one last set of drift pics. Looking forward to Round 3 next year!

Devin Bosch’s SC300. Interesting routing of his exhaust pipes.

Aj’s BMW e30 unconventionally powered by a Nissan SR20 motor.

Tandem run by Keith Carlos LS powered z33 and Juan Marquez in the CM Werks convertible KA-T S13.

Rocket Bunny!

Bill Cook drove down from Indy with his 1JZ powered s13.

Simba’s multi-color “work in progress” S13. He was going hard all day. Look out for a matching paint scheme next year.

Juan’s S13 vert again.

Fairly stock IS on coilovers.

Leigh’s Mk3 Supra

Tandem run with Ilia and Josh.

Omar’s relatively new S14.

Keith Carlos again with his LS powered Z.

Steve Stawarz (not Star Wars, but close enough)

AJ’s E30 vert again.

TF Dave taking a quick break.

Leigh’s Supra again.

Jake getting ready for the signal….

Kelly Palfi again with Kevin’s MR2 in the background…. and that’s a wrap!

Wallpaper Break!

Taking a small break from Automass coverage to give you a free wallpaper from Glock Photo (Greg Szoda). Ming’s Vertex Widebody S15 hasn’t been around that much this year, so his new look took many by surprise at the last FNL meet. Last year’s insane Weds Kranze LXZ “VIP” setup was dumped for a more conservative and platform correct set of TE37 SL’s. Several wallpaper sizes available for download.

Wallpaper sizes: 1920×1080 | 1680×1050 | 1200×798

Automass Coverage (Part 3 of 4)

Photography: Bill Fan, Darian Duchan, & Synth19

Words: Ilia Smolov & Simba Nyemba (Edited by Synth19/Ginash G)

Most people that stopped by AutoMass heard the event advertised as a “Drift event and car show”. In my opinion….AutoMass was ALL car show, but in the best way possible. Not only did some of Chicago’s best show cars make it to the festivities on Sunday, but even the drifting portion of the event highlighted the “car show” aspect of drifting, which to me is a point missed by many people in the US. The show cars parked at AutoMass had enough style and creativity to compete with any other city in the US, with great Evos, Hondas, VIP cars, vans, BMWs, and everything else imaginable. My personal favorite was the black S30 owned by Christine. This car was as close to a perfect Datsun as I have ever seen. It’s pristine condition and perfect choices in parts had me floored, and best of all the car was home built! To me (and most people in Japan), drifting is as much a rolling car show as it is a motor sport. In my eyes; building the flashiest, wildest drift car possible is a huge aspect of the game, and to see so many great looking cars at AutoMass made me personally very happy. Anyone can take an S13, install some sport max and an LS1, and drift around a course. Building something that could be confused for a show car and making it fly is much more difficult, and I loved the variety and great look of many of the cars. That was a huge part of what made AutoMass’ drift portion of the event so cool to me- it wasn’t a “real” drift even per se, it was a chance for guys from the Midwest to bring their drift cars and show them to the crowd, in the coolest way possible. -Ilia

The show organizers were at Toyota Park around 5am with the drift cars starting to trickle in around 8am or so. Here is a photo of Dave from Touge Factory during the drivers meeting. This universal symbol for white power doubles up as a tandem train signal at Automass.

Josh’s getting ready for his first run of the day. LHD-coverted 180sx on 18×9.5″/19×11″ Weds Kranze Cerberus II.

Speaking of Dave, here is his Rocketbunny LS1 powered S13 on stance coilovers.

Another group getting ready for their run.

Tim Turkalov showing that a stock KA can down and dirty.

Ilia’s FC… probably the lowest car at the event in “end of season” condition… expect it to be shiny and new in the spring… and in a similar condition by the fall.

Not sure who this is, but I like how the front bumper is holding on to dear life in this slide. Somebody tag him… oh wait.. this isn’t facebook.

Daelen Snow’s 350z from Minnesota.

Brad shooting the tandem train. Junkhouse and company were getting 6+ cars deep mirroring each other through the course clouding up the course.

Tandeming Ilia, AJ in his e30, and Leigh in his MK3 Supra.

This is Victor Spadaro’s BRZ. I’m impressed that a BRZ registered and came all the way down from South Dakota!

Justin’s BTRcc built Genesis on Stance coils.

One of the many notable cars of the day belonging to Jake Possemato fresh out of the paint booth. The car formerly owned by Mr. Chob went through a transformation and now dons a pearly yellow paint job with Works 9 aero and red chrome vinyl- definitely an AutoMass favorite. Jake, who is still a fairly new drifter put out some great runs going for crazy angle on his entry despite the fresh paint job.

Fred Kaneko’s flat pearl white FC on Work Equips.

One of the more seasoned drivers at Automass, Josh… but what is his secret?

…Obstructed vision is the secret to his success.

Building a cool looking cars equates to multiple pics from multiple photogs.

Factory fresh stock FR-S driven by Phil Stubkjaer of Grip Gambler.

Unfortunately one of the tandem runs got a tad rowdy.

Rocket Bunny again….

Kelly Palfi with BN aero, s14 kouki wing

Maybe the best looking Z31’s in the country owned by Brian Kolar of Grip Gambler. This beast has roughly 400 HP.

Paul Choi’s Miata on Stance coils.

Sparkled-up Car and helmet!

Michael Chrysty making some tweaks/adjustments to his 325.

Smoke show from the pits. Bill with a few lens’ weighing more then the Miata posted above.

Fisher’s rocket bunny s14 from early in the day. During a ride-along later in the afternoon, a lucky passenger was able to experience a 4^th gear rolling burnout that resulted in blowing a rear tire, ripping his rear fender and side skirt off, and shooting them 40 feet in the air.

Scott’s LS1 s13.5 on Weds Kranze

Wrapping up today’s coverage with Kevin’s MR2. Part 4 tomorrow!

Automass Coverage (Part 2 of 4)

Here is part two of our Automass coverage. If you haven’t seen it yet, make sure you click here to check out Part 1! One thing I noticed about Automass (especially with round 1 back in April), is that there were virtually no pics from the car show. Now we all know the event is a good combination of show and driving, but why the lack of pics of the former? My theory is that drifting is something we rarely see in the Chicagoland area, so of course everyone is going to be stoked on shooting action pics vs. the show. Even though I was working the booth most of the day, some great friends helped me out quite a bit so I was able to shoot more then last time. Automass 1 was so bloody cold and windy, that I personally wasn’t too motivated to shoot that much. Anyways, In Part 2 here we’ll cover the show. Back with pics of the drifting in part 3 and 4.

Christine’s s30 was one of the highlights of the show and I took a quick shot during roll in. This build was over a year in the making and came out incredible. Most of the typical old school Z’s you see in the midwest don’t usually have an aggressive look about them, but this is an exception. The over-sized Z/G flares are needed to support the Work CR01’s in 15×9 and 15×10 -53 offsets.

Jason demonstrating gangnam style to Pat from Wagon Lifestyle @ the JDMChicago booth. Christine in the background, STOKED.

One of the Many Honda Ruckus’ that showed up @ Automass.

More Ruckus’ rolling in reppin’ Swapt Chicago.

Jason’s e60 on Leon Hardiritt Orden wheels. As a true daily driver, this car has taken tons of abuse as demonstrated by some vinyl coverup on his front fender. Looking forward to seeing this car back to it’s former glory when it gets back from the bodyshop.

First bagged G37 in Chicago on Volk RE30’s.

Devin’s track-spec S2k @ the Team Project X area.

Max’s Lexus IS 350 on Work Gnosis GS5’s. Static suspension and perfectly dialed in. Props to Max for winning best Lexus and best stance at the show. He literally came out of nowhere with this build.

Crowd starts to gather to watch the drifting. Pretty cool that Automass was able to order some grand stands for round 2.

Equilibrium, JDMChicago, and Project X booths behind the grand stands. Pat had a great idea to mount our Nabori flags on our tent, which turned out to look pretty cool with the wind.

Another crowd shot.

CJ Motorsports intake plenum on Project X Larry’s TT 350z. There are only two of these in existence.

Plenty of 240’s who drove on the track at Automass, but it was nice to also see some clean examples in the show. Here is a pristine s14 on Enkie PF01’s.

Another shot of Christine’s s30. I think we can agree that it looks dope from all angles.

4 Star Society relaxing at the show with several of the food trucks on the background. Special Wutang shoutout from Vic.

Los Garage came through with their Ruckus’

Really cool paint job on Sonny’s Ruckus.

Fizz Autosports Bagged Fuga on Weds Vishunu 20×10 +12 all around.

Deejay’s supercharged G35 on Advan RSD’s.

Ron’s timeless and clean 350z on J-lines. I wonder if J-line is still around?

JDM Chicago Staff rides… if you’ve ever been banned on the site, now you know who to beef with.

Eli’s supercharged G35 from Project X. No doubt, Work Meisters look good on everything.

Stu’s supercharged G on Advan TC II wheels. Good seeing a few cars such as this one coming down from neighboring states.

Automass turned out to be a great family event!

Scion FR-S’ are showing up everywhere. The level excitement reminds me of when the Nissan 350z started showing up stateside in late 2002. Classy look on Work Emotion CR Ultimate’s in a matte bronze color.

Didn’t I just say Automass was a family event?

Ryan’s S13.5 on SSR Professors.

Another set of Work Meisters on this Scion. JDMC approved!

Cassidy’s RSX on a set of custom “magic purple” Enkie NTO3’s.

Mico’s track/circuit inspired Si.

Huey’s IS-F on HRE 590RS wheels and an Artisan Spirits aero kit. The front bumper sustained some damage several months ago, but Huey made a C-west front lip work to cover up the damage while new aero is in the works. In case you’re wondering, I had Huey move a flag to get an unobstructed shot.

Christian’s Impreza WRX STI we featured a few months ago.

Another 240 in the show.

Seen this widebody Evo a few times recently. I’m assuming this was built somewhere else, and then purchased recently by someone in the Chicagoland area…

Some Vintage Volk Wheels.

GTI on BBS wheels. IIRC, placed best Euro at the show.

Clive’s STI with some Subaru-inspired livery on WedSport Sa67r’s. As subtle as the graphics are, they really give the car a unique and whimsical look.

Ray seems to change his look more often then the rest of us change our underwear. Work wheels/Esprit livery and cowboy-inspired shirt collection seemed to be the “must have” for Ray this summer.