1973 LS1 Swapped Datsun 240Z - George Nguyen

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1973 LS1 Swapped Datsun 240Z

George Nguyen

Instagram: @Datass.sun

Photographer: Marvin Recinos

Instagram:  @mr2mivin

Performance Stats: 350 HP, 365 ft./lbs, 0-60 in 3.2s

My name is George Nguyen and I’m a car enthusiast like the rest of us who grew up in the 90’s yearning for an MR2, RSX, or that sweet yellow 3000GT on the end of the street.  I’m a Data Engineer by day and a home mechanic by night, enjoying building and modifying cars as much as I love driving and tracking them. 

I’m your typical car guy, my garage smells like tires and oil.  There’s sawdust on one end and metal shavings on the other next to a dirty welding machine.  Now I’ve had the pleasure of completing one of my dream builds.  A classic 1973 Datsun 240Z, but with a twist.

I grew up being the youngest in a household full of boys in the quiet city of Tustin, California.  My family was spread apart in Garden Grove and San Jose, where gang influence and the import scene grew rampant.  Back in those days, all my idols wore baggy clothes, had beautiful girlfriends, and most importantly: drove infinitely cool JDM cars.  They would roll up in their EK9’s, and DC2 Integras and my favourite of the bunch was an S14 Silvia.

Unfortunately, my brothers and I were too young to be driving then, so naturally, our room was filled with posters of the then-new Acura NSX and any other car I could rip a page out of an Import Tuners magazine.  To top it off, The Fast and The Furious came out while I was in Elementary school and sent every casual car enthusiast into a roid-raging gearhead frenzy for the next decade.  By the time I was 12, my brother and friends were tuning their cars and taking them to Willow Springs.  And so my fascination was driven into obsession.

If you enjoyed this car story why not read this ONE HERE

What made you choose this Car and Customise it?

I didn’t actually know about Datsun 240Z’s until I saw a SpeedHunters issue on the Star Road blue Fairlady Z.  The lines, the look, and the nostalgia for a period I never even knew existed completely blew me away.  I actually never even owned my own sports car, only an automatic Mazda 6 sedan which I added the usual bolt-ons to.  By the time I reached my mid 20’s I had finally saved up enough money to buy a barely running project car.  While I always dreamed of owning an STI, that was out of the budget, and then I remembered how badly I wanted that blue S30Z.  

After some research, I found that there were plenty of 240Zs at an affordable price if you were willing to do some wrenching, especially the ones sporting domestic engines!  The Z I ultimately bought was already LS swapped but in poor condition.  It was automatic but the trans had a burnt clutch pack, the differential was grinding and the driveshaft was out of alignment, all drivetrain fluids were leaking, the harness was shorting, the fuel-starved at street speeds, and the interior was horrid. Other than that, the chassis had a normal amount of rust and the price was right.  It was the perfect project car for me to really get my hands dirty on and hopefully end up with a dream build.

What does it feel like to own and drive your car?

This 240Z has been such a huge part of my identity.  It’s always a topic of discussion when meeting new friends and existing friends want to know what I’ve done last.  I can’t even go to the gas station or grocery store without getting a couple of compliments or occasional comments from older folks saying they used to drive a Datsun 40 years ago.  The car is such an attention grabber it kind of becomes you.  

What can I say about driving it?  It’s needlessly fast for its own outdated chassis.  Despite the weld-on frame rails, boxed subframes, trans tunnel reinforcements, strut bars, and full suspension mods the car feels too fast for its 225 tires and manual steering.  It’s maybe due to that unruly nature that this car always puts a smile on my face.  It keeps up with the best of them in the Angeles Crest Canyons.  If you can bear the faint smell of exhaust in the cabin, the Z gives new Mustang GTs and Camaros a run for their money at traffic lights and on the highway (most owners reluctantly give a thumbs up as they sheepishly smile and disappear in the rearview mirror).  I drive this car with the utmost respect knowing that I can’t drive it at its limits; that’s why I do track days so I’ll eventually get there.

What do you think makes your car Unique?

Sure the Z is LS swapped, but that’s not inherently unique since it’s become more common these days.  It is somewhat unique in that LS-swapped cars go full out with widebody kits.  But I felt the classic looks of the Z speak for themselves and decided to go for a subtle sleeper build instead.  

What does make this Z one of one, is the fact it was hand built in my garage. That comes with it a ton of custom touches and parts that you won’t find from the factory or aftermarket. I’ve fabricated both mechanical and aesthetic parts, from fuel cell cages to AC compressor brackets, to quilted door cards.  It’s surprisingly cheap to have metal cut using SendCutSend and weld it yourself.  I’m lucky to have the help of my brother and some friends who can design my parts using CAD software.  I give them the designs and dimensions, they draw it up, and then we send it! 

To add to that, this Z and I definitely share a history.  The first 2 years of ownership were all about restoring the car until it was ready to drive on the streets.  At that point, it spent way more time on jack stands and trailer beds than its own tires.  I remember one cruise in the canyons, I was going downhill approaching a corner at 45mph when my ball joint disconnected from my spindle.  I was barely able to turn the wheel at all and I was lucky enough to be able to stop the car and send it slowly into a ditch at the side of the road instead of off the rails into the cliffs.  That’s when I knew I had to turn this car inside out, checking every bushing and bolt.  I’ve touched virtually every part of this car — as a result, it carries a part of my soul.  And I genuinely believe that.

What do you think?

Please leave your comments in the comments section at the bottom of the page

Why Not Submit Your Car Build Here 

Build List: 

Engine:

• LS1, 
• Fbody Low profile Oil Pan, 
• Stage 2 T56 transmission, 
• Champion 3-row Radiator, 
• Vintage Air AC, 
• Painless Wiring Harness, 
• Sanderson Shorty Headers, 
• Full Dual X-pipe Exhaust, 
• Millercat High Flow Cats, 
• Magnaflow Mufflers, 
• Fuel Safe Fuel Cell, 
• Holley Fuel Pump, 
• EVAP system,

Wheels/Brakes/Suspension:

• 2015 Mustang rear Disk Brakes, 
• Toyota 4x4 Vented callipers, 
• Brake Hardlines, 
• Willwood Clutch Master Cylinder, 
• BC Racing BR Coilovers, 
• T3 Front Lower Control Arms, 
• Apex Engineering Rear Control Arms, 
• RT Differential Mount, 
• Weld on Frame Rails, 
• Weld on Tunnel Brace, 
• T3 Front and Rear Tow Hooks, 
• Continental Extreme Contact Sport tires, 

Interior/Exterior:

• LED X Headlights, 
• Nardi Steering Wheel, 
• Dynamat Xtreme, 
• Floor/Tunnel Heat Insulation, 
• Custom Console Center, 
• Custom Door Cards, 
• Fuel Cell Cutout and Panels

Who did the work?

When I bought this car it was always intended to be a project to help me achieve my goal of being a great car builder.  So naturally, the car is almost entirely built by me in my garage.  It had a ton of issues, and to me that sounded like an opportunity.  The car originally had a damaged automatic transmission. So I took that as an opportunity to convert the car from automatic to manual.  

The rust on the car gave me an opportunity to tear the car down completely to bare metal.  I picked up a MIG machine to do sheet metal and structural welding.  There were tons of electrical gremlins, so I learned how to correctly wire the harness.

Of course, being the perfectionist that I am, I wanted to make sure I was proficient at everything before applying my skills to the Z, that’s why it took me almost 5 years to get to this point.  I also got lots of helpful tips from friends, so thank you to all those who have helped me troubleshoot!  I could write a book about how many hundreds, maybe thousands of hours I’ve spent either working on the car or learning-related skills.  The only thing I didn’t do myself was the paint job, which Jesse Hernandez from Perfection Auto Collision did a fantastic job on.

Future Plans:

My future plans for this car may be to swap out the rear end with a Ford Super 8.8 differential, CV axles, knuckles, and wheels.  Although if I’m honest with myself that’s completely unnecessary since I don’t ever plan to drag this Z.  Other than that, I’d call the car mostly complete.  I built it the way I envisioned it, even if that vision changed a dozen times along the way.  But I guess that’s the point, the plan all along was just to enjoy building the car and driving it.  And in that sense, the journey will never be over.  Who knows, maybe I’ll stop modifying this car and move on to another project or chassis.  Whatever happens though, I will definitely continue learning and having fun.

Advice/Tips

My only advice is this: wake up every day living the life you want, driving the car you want, or putting in the work to get there.  Before I started this journey, I never knew I’d be here with my personal dream build.  It may seem daunting, or unachievable, but it’s really like they say.  The days go by slowly but the years go by fast.  Eventually, you wake up and you’re where you always dreamed of being.  I’m not quite there yet, or even close to be honest.  But I’m much further along than I was before I started.

Shout Outs:

@perfectionautocollision_, @the_zboys

Cars, to me, are more than just a hobby.  They’re an obsession, an outlet, and are in many ways a representation of their driver.

I often find that stepping into that cabin, hearing the induction notes as I rev into the high rpm’s, and feeling the road vibrations through the steering wheel is enough to make me forget about my troubles and just focus on the pure enjoyment of driving.  Seriously, if you’re having a bad day, a winding road and a well-setup car might be exactly what you need.

Dream Car:

Mazda RX-7

Please leave your comments in the comments section at the bottom of the page

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