EVENTS: Motorsport Auto’s Z-Car Bash

The annual gathering of the Zs at Motorsport Auto took place over the weekend. Despite some unpleasantness early on with traffic cops ticketing every Z in sight and then a rare SoCal drizzle in the afternoon, the show settled into a generally upbeat atmosphere around Z-Cars new and old.

Graciously hosted by Z parts specialist Motorsport Auto, the event attracted Z enthusiasts of all ages, stripes and walks of life. Z Car clubs and individual owners came from all corners of southern California to attend, and at least one owner even drove his car from Washington state. Mr K autographed memorabilia was raffled off to support the clubs, and Zs were admired.

One of the most admired examples was a 240Z that looks like it had driven straight out of a Star Road catalog. With massive flares and deep special edition Work Equip 03 from the Japanese tuning house it drew a constant crowd of onlookers. Its centerpiece under the hood was a twin-turbo L-gata with triple Mikunis and an old school HKS surge tank. Gorgeous.

Another highlight was a bone stock Shiro Special Z31, one of 1,002 1988 300ZX Turbos finished in all white and equipped with sport suspension and Recaro seats, among other details.

This painstakingly restored S30 Fairlady Z, a genuine RHD example imported from Japan, gave spectators a small whiff of what it would have been like to see these cars brand new on the streets of Nihon in the 1970s.

Alas, chrome wheels, but we otherwise appreciated this very clean Z31 Turbo finished in a very 80s shade of Blue Mist Metallic with matching light blue interior.

Nearby, a Series 1 Datsun 240Z was parked. It’s not easy to find one that hasn’t been at least lowered, much less one with original hubcaps.

With many Zs nowadays sporting questionable mods, it’s refreshing to see one that is clean and not overdone, with a period color and stripe package and RS-Watanabes. Fads will come and go, but this style is timeless.

Suddenly, an interloper appears! Tally another bone stock AE86 to the tally.

The proud display of a “Louvergang” decal on the back of this 280Z brought a grin to this child of the 80s face. Some Google searching revealed that this is a real business that seeks to equip 80s style louvers on cars as new as the 350Z. However, the company name was perhaps a missed opportunity reference the Reagan Era band known for such hits as “The Kid is Hot Tonight” and “Everybody’s Working for the Weekend.” That’s right, Louverboy.com is still available!

Speaking of the 80s, if blacking trim out was cool this 280ZX took it to the logical extreme. Riding on era appropriate Enkei 92s, it looks like something that would have menaced KITT or Don Johnson as synth music played in the background.

Just some random badges of import. The 370Z 40th Anniversary marks four decades of the Z, while the 1984 50th Anniversary Z31 honored half a century of the Nissan Motor Corp.

Though the MSA event has grown less formal than the days when they blocked off the entire street, or took over a nearby park, the number of attendees was still substantial and this year early cars outnumbered Z32-and-up cars by quite a bit. Owners were free to come an go as they pleased, however, so it wasn’t possible to capture everything. There’s a few more highlights in the bonus gallery below, and in case you missed here are the galleries of previous MSA Z events from 2013 (Part 01 and Part 02) and 2012.