Well, after many excuses, phases, and hold backs due to lack of time, I think it’s finally time the Ugarte cousins showed their goods once and for all. Me (Giovanni) and my cousin Nelson have always showed Farm of Minds much love throughout the years but we never been featured on the site (all my fault) lol. But I think we are both pretty satisfied with how both Z’s sit today so we said it’s time.
Throughout the years I have seen both cars change dramatically and I couldn’t be more happy with the outcome. Nelson’s car by far has stolen the hearts of many Z31 owners throughout the years showing them that there is hope for the commonly “neglected” Z generation.
Nelson has definitely added his personal touches to the Z31 and has it sitting perfectly on custom three piece wheels made by our good friend Steeb over at 5ONE. And although it has always been a love/hate discussion about rocking big wings, I think Nelson pulled it off perfectly. The BCL wing works on his Z31 because it compliments the aggressive lines of the car, and just the way the car sits overall. Its pretty obvious the Z has been widened, not too sure on how much wider the custom fender flares made the car, but they worked out perfectly. One of my favorite mods on Nelson’s car has to be that rear diffuser… and oh…yea… The ROLL CAGE! That’s one of the main things that catches your eye as soon as you see the Z31. People’s reactions at car shows are always priceless when they see the chromoly heart on the rear of the roll cage, but thats because most people have never seen that before, and that’s what makes it so damn cool!
It’s never a dull moment when I go to shoot with Nelson. I know as he reads this he will laugh and agree that we have been through quite some frustrating scenarios throughout the years with our cars. The most common problems though, flat tires. Actually, even for this shoot we did together I ended cracking one of my Work Meisters and turned what was suppose to be a quick shoot into a rescue mission.
Which brings me to my car. The Z34. I have to say this is the cleanest the car has looked in a long time, specially since it’s all one color now. My Z34 is not something out of a magazine or anything crazy like that, I actually built this car (yes I wrench) for my pleasure. Like many car enthusiasts out there we get use to the power of our cars and we end up wanting more and more as the years pass. So yup…the Z is boosted. Many people don’t know that by looking at the car, but that’s because Stillen made such a great Supercharger kit that requires no front mount intercooler or anything like that to where it shows signs that the car is indeed supercharged.
This car has been a headache throughout the years but I can’t even be mad, it has brought much happiness to my life. Although there are many things I want to do to my Z34, I think it sits just right as is.
My Z34 isn’t as aggressive looking as Nelson’s Z31, but it can definitely hold its ground among other Z34’s. People always asked me if I will ever go wide body on the Z, and to be honest, I can’t see myself cutting up a perfectly straight Nismo Z34. But who knows, there might be a kit out there in the future that catches my eye and I might just have to cut things up a bit.
We definitely have a lot of people to thank for helping us get our cars to where they are right now. Steeb over at 5ONE is someone who’s work can be seen on both of these Z’s, from suspension and wheels all the way to making Z32 brakes fit in Nelson’s Z31. People sometimes may not see the amount of hard work (and money…lol) that get put into these cars; some people actually think it’s tedious what we do, but all that doesn’t matter, as long as we are having fun doing it and enjoy driving our cars.
Special thanks to the crew, Team Kin.
Nelson’s Nissan 300ZX Z31
Engine mods
VG30ET
single T3 Garret turbo charger at 8lbs boost
custom intake plenum
custom turbo intake
NGK spark plugs
RX-7 (FC) oil cooler
2.5 ” straight pipe exhaust
Exterior mods
aftermarket sideskirts and front airdam
Votex diffuser
Origin Lab canards
rare Kaminari center tail light
300zx turbo panel
custom fender flares
Interior mods
custom 4 point chromolly heart shaped roll cage
NRG quick release steering wheel
8 inch led bubble shifter
reupholstered black leather oem bucket seats
custom hydraulic drift E-brake
Suspension
all new polyurethane bushings
custom modified subframe with adjustable camber and toe
currently running -6 camber all around
Stance USA super sport coilovers with upgraded spring rates
Brakes
Z32 calipers
stainless steel braided and coated brake lines
280mm front rotors
290mm rear rotors
Hawk hp+ pads
oem Porsche Pentosin brake fluid
Z32 master cylinder with S14 automatic brake booster
custom hydraulic drift E-brake with coated stainless braided lines
Wheels
one off wheels 16×10j [F] 16×11j [R] Falken Azenis rt615k 215/45/16 [F] 225/50/16 [R]
Giovanni’s Nissan 370Z Z34
Engine mods
Stillen Supercharger Kit w/ Vortech blower and Apex air filters
UpRev engine management
Turbosmart PRV
Mishimoto oil cooler
ARK Grip X pipe with custom True dual exhaust blast pipes
Stillen Power steering cooler
Buddy Club E-throttle
Suspension and Brakes
Stance USA coilovers with custom spring rates by 5one
Nismo front and rear sway bars
SPL suspension rear arms
Megan front upper control arm
Nismo/Yamaha rear vibration dampener
Stop Tech BBK 6 piston front
4 piston rear with stainless steel lines and slotted rotors
Mercedes Benz DOT 4 performance brake fluid
GT-spec 4 point underbody brace
Exterior mods
Z-speed front skid plate diffuser
carbon fiber 10mm fenders
Seibon carbon vented hood
Aerojacket duckbill wing
Fly1Motorsports side blades
F1 carbon mirrors
Farmofminds lug nuts.
Interior mods
Bride Zetta III bucket seat with Bride low mounting rail
Takata Drift 3 harness
AEM Boost gauge on a custom A-pillar
Works Bell short hub w/ Works hub tilt mechanism
“Still Hood” camo green shift knob
Pioneer double din stereo
Alpine speakers all around
custom subwoofer box with 10″ JL audio W6 subwoofer
Nardi Suede steering wheel
Wheels
19″ Work Meisters S1 3pc custom reberreled by 5one Steebspecd 19×11.5 front and 19×13 rear
custom polished step lips and semi gloss black face
Hankook tires 285/30 front and 305/30 rear
3 Comments
Which spoiler is that on the Z31? I want to have a spoiler mounted on the sides of the hatch (which is what that looks like) so that I don’t have to drill into the top.
Nelson’s Z31 have an Instagram?
it’s a BCL (big country labs) wing