Richard Grieco. Quentin Tarantino. Jean-Claude Van Damme. If you can't find the connection between these three people then you may actually have a life and may even get constant punan. Clearly we do not fall into this category of people with social skills because we know, without even researching it on Wikipedia, that the connection is not Kevin Bacon but rather the Nissan 300ZX. From Richard Grieco's big-screen debut in If Looks Could Kill to Jean-Claude Van Damme's forgettable Timecop, to Quentin Tarantino's cult-fave Kill Bill: Vol. 1, the main car that everyone remembers seeing in these movies was the legendary Z32.
Before the Nissan 350Z brought the two-seater sports car back in style, the Nissan 300ZX ruled the streets. It was the car that catapulted a new genre in the tuning scene: those who wanted a beefy car from the production line and modified it just to make it even beefier. Those who bought Toyota Supras, Mitsubishi Starions and Mazda RX-7s. Those who didn't want displacements smaller than 2 liters and had enough money to spend. Those who watched Richard Grieco movies and, uh, maybe not, because nobody watched Richard Grieco movies.
At any rate, the 300ZX carried the bloodline of the Z family, one of the most celebrated in automotive history. The Z32 was made to become not only the best sports car in Japan but also the best sports car in the world. It came off the lot with a 3.0L double-overhead cam V6, making an impressive 222 horsepower. It featured a 10.5:1 compression ratio and a valve timing control system that provided smooth idling and improved bottom-end torque. It was clocked to roll from zero to 60 mph in 6 seconds and run the quarter mile in 15. The sticker price when it first arrived in the U.S. was $27,300. In other words, it was major. In Spanish, they would say it was "muy mayor!"
That's why it's an actual surprise we don't see much retro love when it comes to tuning the 300ZX. It seems everyone prefers to modify the other super cars of the '90s, like the Supra and RX-7. So when we found out about Russ Tennyson's 1990 Nissan 300ZX, we quickly stopped watching Timecop on TV and rushed to photograph and feature it. Not only was his Z32 tuned to its maximum, but it was also carrying some power never before seen inside a 300ZX. Under the hood is a 2.6L RB26DETT engine taken from another renowned Japanese sports car: the Nissan Skyline (ever heard of it?). And the horsepower numbers boasts an outstanding dyno-proven 416 hp at 7,500 rpm.
"I built this car because I love the look and feel of the classic Z32," explains Russ, "and I chose the RB engine because of its reputation and potential for power. But the most important thing before I even committed to the engine was the budget. Enter the folks at MA-Motorsports, who said I can do it within certain financial parameters." As an electronics tech by day, Russ is all-out Nissan 300ZX whore by night. He made sure that if he was to build his dream car, he would have to do it right. And right he did.
Inside the RB26 is a JUN crankshaft, spewing out JDM flava in yo' ear. Showering the chambers of combustion with pure black panther gasoline is a set of 650cc RC fuel injectors, taking cue from the Aeromotive fuel regulator as to how much gas to spit. To help with the Darth Vader breathing, Russ decided to go with a stout MA-Motorsports custom dual exhaust, vroom-vrooming out some of the air that individual throttle bodies help to suck in. But the India.Arie award for best engine component under the hood has to go to the Garrett GT35R turbocharger. Lined up with a GReddy Type-R blow-off valve, the GT35R compresses the much-needed air to boost the RB26 into unprecedented horsepower numbers.