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Near my house is the Los Angeles Arboretum, a very large place with many different gardens. I noticed an ad in our local newspaper about an event they were having called "Serpents in the Garden". This event features 30 classic Shelby Cobra cars (some authentic and some replicas) placed throughout the gardens. It was on a nice Saturday morning, so I decided to check it out.

Last year I traveled to Japan for work. I was working on a project with Nissan and was lucky enough to visit the Nissan DNA Garage. The night before I stayed with Keizo and his family, and in the morning Keizo and I drove to the Zama Operations Center.

The Zama Operations Center is a large Nissan factory, and from the outside you would not know that there is such a large museum housed inside. Once we checked in, we were guided to the very back of the facility to a small red door labeled "Nissan DNA Garage". We were given an quick orientation by the crew that oversees the museum, and then we were let in.


Once you enter the small door, the museum is gigantic!


All of Nissan's famous racing vehicles and many rare production vehicles are maintained in this museum. Over the 2 days that I was able to visit the museum, I took almost 1900 pictures! Here are pictures of some of my favorite cars.

Z33 Fairlady Z Super GT MOTUL AUTECH #22



Xanavi R35 GT-R Super GT #23




Xanavi NISMO GT-R R34 JGTC 2003 #23


Nissan Skyline Pennzoil GT-R R34 JGTC GT500 #1


Nissan Skyline Pennzoil GT-R R33 JGTC GT500 #23


Nissan R88C


Calsonic GT-R R32



Prince R380-I


Nissan NP35


Prince Skyline 2000GT




Datsun Fairlady 1500


Skyline H/T 2000GT-R


Fairlady Z 432




GT-R

I am slowly preparing my G35 for the track again, and finally getting around to doing some of the minor modifications that I have wanted to complete for a very long time. I recently purchased a Works Bell short boss and a Works Bell Rapfix II quick release. The price is pretty high, but the quality of these parts are very good! Once installed to the car, it is a very tight fit with no movement or play.

WB Steering Boss Rap631s


WB Rapfix II Quick Release

This weekend I purchased a new 20 ton shop press for my home. I have had a set of dimple dies for many years, but have never used them. I cut a panel out with my plasma cutter, carefully drilled all of the holes, and then used the press and dimple dies to dimple the metal. The dimples add rigidity to the part while taking away materiel and weight - plus they look cool!

This weekend I built the mounting brackets for the dual core engine oil cooler. The lower radiator support was also fabricated. I still must complete the following:

1. brackets for the headlights
2. brackets for the front splitter
3. brackets for power steering cooler
4: front bumper cover quick disconnect fitting install
5. front tow hook install
6. front bumper grill mounting
7. ducting and air diverters to direct airflow through fluid coolers and radiator