Have you ever been stuck with a seemingly insurmountable deadline? Say, one week to build a car from bone stock to showstopper? The guys at Do-Luck USA do. The company has been in the United States since 2002 and provides aero kits for performance and cosmetic improvements. It also offers a host of other products including racing harnesses, chassis tuning, and wheels and handling enhancements. Do-Luck's first step was deciding which platform to work on. Having already shown what can be done on the NSX, Supra, EVO VIII and STi, the company chose the Nissan 350Z to be its show queen at SEMA. As the hunt began, the shop techs found themselves in a race against time. Down to the wire is the story behind this 2003 Z. The shop had only a week to acquire, build and transport it from Kent, Wash., to the SEMA show in Las Vegas.
Shopping was stage one of this odyssey. The Do-Luck guys are very particular about their cars, and finding one to their liking isn't easy. As fate would have it, the one that fit the bill came at a premium. With the ball rolling, the guys began with a facelift involving all four fenders. Do-Luck flared fenders, front and rear bumpers, skirts, carbon bonnet and carbon wing were air-freighted from Do-Luck Japan. After all of the panels were expertly fitted at Do-Luck USA (the rear fenders had to be cut from the chassis), the car was sent to Autobody Paint for a custom lime green/gold metallic paint job.
Then the task of giving the 350Z some muscle began. Do-Luck wanted to make this show queen a competitor on the street/track as well. This meant it had to be built in stages. Keeping a stock block and transmission for the time being, the techs went with the new HKS Rotrex supercharger kit. This complete bolt-on system promised about 80-wheel hp over stock at only seven pounds of boost! This is a realistic boost limit, since the stock VQ35DE motor cannot handle high-boost applications in stock trim. The kit is complete with an intercooler, oil cooler, additional injectors, plug-and-play fuel management, fuel pump assembly, bypass valve, intake and Rotrex supercharger with bracket. The Rotrex utilizes planetary rollers instead of gears and subsequently runs quieter and more efficiently. Nismo headers and a new HKS titanium exhaust were fitted to the motor to give all of that supercharged exhaust a free-flowing exit.
What good is power if you can't control the car? This Z was intended for Time Attacks, so Do-Luck chose HKS Hipermax RS coil-overs at all four corners, along with Nismo front and rear anti-roll bars to keep the car planted and pointed in the right direction.
You've gotta have nice shoes to go with the suit, so Do-Luck Double Six 18-inch wheels teamed with ultrahigh performance Toyo Proxes T1-S tires (245/35s up front, 275/35s out back) give this bad boy some nice kicks to go with its new threads. The fat polished lip on these wheels keeps the bling factor high. Brembo 14-inch rotors and calipers up front make sure the pilot of this ship can stop when needed. Stock calipers and rotors remain out back. Goodridge steel braided lines filled with ATE Super Blue brake fluid keep brake response nice and crisp.
What's it like to be the pilot of such a car? Pretty posh. To start, Do-Luck had custom, light orange leather upholstered on the stock seats. Holding the driver in place is a set of Teamtech harnesses. Full carbon-fiber door panel and center console inserts round out the interior refinements. To keep things bumpin' inside, Do-Luck installed a full Kenwood audio system with Dyn Audio speakers and a custom box and amp rack filling up the hatch.
After a week of stress and sleepless nights, Do-Luck USA succeeded in getting its little gem completed and ready for SEMA. The guys drove 20 hours straight from Kent to Las Vegas the same day the Z was completed. Miserable and tired, the Do-Luck troopers hit their target deadline and had their show queen on display for the week.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. The guys at Do-Luck got to enjoy the fruits of their labor on the ride to the Super Street Time Attack a few days after SEMA. A couple of Mercedes-Benz S600s wanted to play but only got to see the carbon spoiler and Nismo exhaust tips. Piloted by Eiji "Tarzan" Yamada at Buttonwillow, it turned in a time of 2 minutes and 8 seconds. Not bad for a show queen. Tarzan even gave it a thumbs up!
With SEMA over, the Do-Luck wizards are thinking about the Z's evolution. With only a month and some change before the 2005 season arrives, the guys face another deadline. Although this car is a daily driver, many Time Attacks and drift exhibitions await next year. It's rumored that a full engine build with Nismo internals and more boost is on the way. So don't blink, or this show queen may blow right past you.