Ted Shimizu and Jason Eshelman have known each other since puberty. In the twenty-odd years they’ve been friends, they see each other more like brothers than buddies. Like typical bros, they hung out together after school and also shared the same hobbies. When they got tired of video games and girls, they became infatuated with the tuner scene. In high school, they daydreamed about one day driving an NSX, Supra, 3000GT or 300ZX. But once they graduated and moved onto successful careers, Ted and Jason finally had the means to make their dreams a reality.
Ted picked up a ‘95 300ZX while Jason found a ‘92 Supra shell. Both cars started bone-stock, naturally-aspirated and full of hope. More than ten years later, the boys finished their projects with reliable turbo conversions, custom paint jobs, rare JDM parts and more. Best of all, these cars were built in their own garages and the owners still view each other like family through it all.
Twin-Turbo Ted
Before there was a 350 or 370Z, the 300ZX carried the bloodline of Nissan’s Z legacy. Called the Fairlady Z in Japan, the car was produced for almost two decades in naturally-aspirated, single- and twin-turbo variants.
Ted aspired to build a JDM sports car and reasoned on a 300ZX instead of more popular choices like the Supra or NSX. “I was infatuated with the seemingly limitless possibilities that could be had with the Z. I wanted a daily drivable four-seater while having a twin-turbo, tuned motor. I also wanted a unique import that didn’t always get the attention of law enforcement or thieves,” Ted told us.
With destiny on his side, he scored a clean non-turbo example in ’99 after scavenging through a used car lot.
Immediately, Ted got busy updating the exterior first. “I was very ricey and I have a thing for body kits,” he laughed. The owner started out with a Wings West kit and then progressed to a couple different versions of Do-Luck front ends. He continued switching up the body to Bomex parts with a Varis rear bumper and AbFlug diffusers. The hood was sourced from Border Racing.
As Ted swapped through parts, he realized the pieces were fairly rare in the Z32 community. Like an antique collector, he stored the spares in his parent’s garage, just in case he damaged anything on his occasional track adventures.
The rear fenders were another piece of glory. Although subtle, they’ve been widened two-inches at each corner by Evan’s Auto Body. The entire car was resprayed Toyota Camry blue by California Auto Body.
With the exterior finished, it was onto the milk and honey of the project. While still enrolled in college, Ted saved enough pennies to upgrade his NA 3.0 liter VG motor to twin-turbo status. A GReddy twin-turbo kit included new manifolds and TD04-15G turbos. The motor now had 300hp powering the rear wheels and still ran like a champ even after 227k miles on the odometer.
After receiving his college diploma, he moved onto what many enthusiasts would consider to be a dream job—starting a new job at GReddy USA. For two years, he was living and breathing the scene as a sales rep. Just before he left to expand his career, his close friends at GReddy presented him with a generous gift—a TD05-16G upgrade kit.
“The new turbos were installed while I was out of state by my friends Jason and Alex Rivera,” he told us. “They did this without me knowing. My father gave them the car secretly, which I discovered upon returning home! Talk about a surprise, right?”
The Z32 was delivered to Specialty Z in Chatsworth for the final tune. At 15psi on pump gas, the twin-turbo spun the dyno to 394hp while Q16 race gas pushed the motor past 500hp at 21psi.
Later, Specialty Z also swapped in a new five-speed manual tranny from a twin-turbo spec model to cope with the power.
VG30DE converted to twin-turbo makes 505hp on Q16 race gas
The chassis wasn’t neglected either. Ted received help from SP Engineering, Concept Z and Dynamic Autosports to locate parts such as the Endless big brake kit, HKS coilovers, Stillen sway bars, Border Racing seven-point rollcage and Super Advan SA3R wheels.
Although not everybody appreciates Nissan’s Z32 chassis, this twin-turbo four-seater deserves some respect. It started from a teenage dream and took years and years to become the daily-driven track and show car it is today.