Welcome to The 383YZ racecar Site!

The 383YZ started it's life as so many other "Z's", a normal 1971 240Z. It was a daily driver for many years until it was purchased by Ted Fisher in... of 19.. 

After a major disagreement between his original 240Z racecar, and a wall at, what was then Firebird International Raceway, Ted decided to scrap it, and  build a car with a little more race prep, and dispensable fiberglass fenders that could be replaced a little easier than cutting a mangled quarter panel off. 

After the purchase of the car was complete, it was disassembled, stripped, and dipped to get rid of all the nasty stuff the years of road driving had flicked on it. It was then sent off to the body shop to have the roof, and most of the front end cut off. A Nascar style roll cage was built, and major chassis stiffening measures taken. During all of this, Ted opted for tossing the original strut system in the front, and went with an upper control arm, and coil-over setup for more adjust-ability, and spring options. Under the rear corners, the original setup was replaced with adjustable gas-charged units, with adjustable springs, and adjustable camber plates. Sounds like a chiropractor's dream!

When all of the chassis and frame work was completed, it was time to make the outside as pretty as the underpinnings. Ted chose the 280YZ fiberglass body kit form ZTrix.com to give the car that low-wide look, and to cover the massive 335/35z18 tires, wrapped around 12x18 CCW wheels that would call the fender wells home. A custom molded fiberglass hood was built to give a little more clearance and cooling, and to complete the look. The rear quarter panels were molded into the body, and the front spoiler was cut, trimmed, and molded into the front fenders so the whole thing looked like it was always meant to be.

Under the hood, lived a 300+ HP Rebello prepped 2.8 liter Nissan 6 cylinder from his previous racecar, nestled in front of a race clutch, and a few different transmissions and rearends, depending on which track the car was removing asphalt from.

Inside, a new fuel cell, fire suppression system, and bespoke aluminum dash were installed for go-fast juice, safety, and so the driver had something pretty to look over while he was negotiating corners.

After all the chopping and cutting, stitching, welding, and molding (like so many plastic surgeons) was complete, This little beauty was ready to enter the ring in the welter-weight division... Weighing in at just over 2700 lbs! With a full tank of gas!

300 hp...2700 lbs...adjustable coil-overs and 13" wide slicks at each corner, adds up to, let's see, add the 2, carry the 6... about 1.5 seconds slower than the 600-700 hp ASA/Nasa Unlimited Class cars putting around the road course at Phoenix International Raceway!

A Fast, Nimble, Pretty little thing to take to the track, or to the local burger joint. Mission accomplished Mr. Fisher... 

Duff Patty is the new owner of the current version of this racecar. He purchased it from Ted Fisher in 2006, and after slipping it into his garage under cover of night, went work on a few upgrades. After a couple of conversations about how the car handled on the track, what kind of upgrades and tuning ted had done to the car to get the most out of it, the conclusion was that it had everything it needed to compete with the bigger, higher HP cars in the class, except one thing. More horses under the hood!

Duff knew how to do that. A V8! He went to work looking for an engine builder who could pull some serious power out of an engine, and stopped looking at local engine builder Larry Peto of Larry's Engine and Marine in Tucson. Larry was a second generation engine builder with 30+ years of building experience.  He was a former water speed record holder, and and was then the owner of a twin engine 2600 HP speed boat. The fastest boat in the world. (at one time)

Being a hot rodder, and racer since his teens, Duff had been swapping engines, and customizing motorcycles cars for years. Having done a couple of V8 Z swaps in the past, this was a no brainer! 

After a few weeks, and a many thousands of dollars later, it was time to hear the baby's first cry. Okay well, not it's FIRST cry, but A first cry. After a call from Larry letting him know that he was setting the engine on the Dyno for a test run, Duff headed for the machine shop for a listen. Upon arriving, Larry informed him that it was making a little more power than he thought it would. I think "It may need to be de-tuned a bit" was the exact phrase he used. The key turned, and it made the most glorious noise! Kind of like an electric chainsaw, wired to 220 volts! Larry ran it through the test and and the computer screen said 503 HP, and 487 ft lbs of torque, with an almost flat torque curve! It was a beautiful day!

The engine was wrapped up, tossed in the back of the truck, and taken home! more parts were ordered, a new race transmission, a custom driveline, little parts. A few months later, the project was complete! The car was put on the track a few times for testing, and things were looking good, then...

Hard times the hit economy in 2008. there was no money to continue with the testing. The car was put into storage util there was time and money to put it back on the track. That time has come. 

Check back for the project progress. We will be adding updates, and we might just let out a few pics of the little additions we are doing to it! 

Thanks for stopping by!