DSPORT Issue #255
Text by APEworks // Photos by Rheis C. Setter
Cars are strange things; inanimate objects that seem to have the ability to transcend time and generate a zeal shared across generations. Having grown up with an artisanal craftsman for a father, British Columbia resident Bill Brinkworth naturally took on the love for hand-crafting scale architectural models and full-scale race cars from design concept art. “I wouldn’t be the car builder and father that I am today if it weren’t for my father,” Brinkworth relates. “From the basics of being a loving, caring and compassionate human being to gifting me with the skills to build and create at an early age, I am who I am today because of what he has taught me.
It was this trained eye that had Brinkworth focused on this particular 240Z becoming one with the environment in a friend’s yard. “I used to drive around in it when (my friend) and I were 17 years old,” he explains. “One day he called me up and said he was never going to have time to restore it and that his parents needed it gone so I showed up with a trailer to pick it up.” The first mod of the project, cutting out the tree that had grown through the floor so the chassis could be loaded onto the trailer, was executed and started the journey for Brinkworth and his son Dylan, the pair using the project as a learning and skills-building tool.
The Don
Whether it’s for street, showroom floor or circuit asphalt, the key to any great automotive project is the engine. While the 240Z started life with an engine considered “sporty” for the time, a full restomod build worthy of any merit or accolades would have to do better than to simply refresh the 2.4-liter L24 engine. With that in mind, a larger, more powerful engine was sourced and dropped into the engine bay. The new L28 powerplant addition increased total displacement to 3,023 cc through a series of components installed by Rebello Racing. From the inside out, the new motivator starts with a 81mm stroked P3040 crankshaft that turns a sextet of Eagle H-beam connecting rods and unspecified JE Pistons slugs in an overbored, clearanced and torque-plated block. The final combination of internal goods yields an 89mm x 81mm bore and stroke combination with an 11-to-1 static compression ratio.
Up top, the single overhead camshaft has been reground to a performance 279-degree specification while the head received the requisite port and polish to maximize flow efficiency and reduce casting imperfections. A Cometic head gasket seals the deal with ARP head studs providing the clamping power to keep everything in place. A Tomei Power intake manifold mates with the Weber 45DCOE triplets, each fed with custom-made velocity stacks. Underneath, the non-crossflow cylinder head sports a Kameari L28 racing header that collects to 3-inch stainless steel piping and finally terminates in a custom tulip-style exit. On 91-octane gas, the modified L28 is said to be good for 301-horsepower and 269 lb/ft of torque.
The Underboss
The more recognizable component of an automotive restomod project, and perhaps the more important component for the Brinkworth father and son build duo, is the work done on the chassis and exterior. “The car wasn’t wide enough for my tastes and other available fender flares and body kits were either overdone or way too aggressive body-changing,” he explained. To that end, the pair sketched up and fabricated a complete fender flare and rear spoiler solution from original artwork that would accent the S30’s original bodylines while adding the perfect amount of aggression to Brinkworth’s trained eye. The two then coordinated a slew of exterior parts to complement their handiwork, including a carbon fiber front bumper and rear diffuser, a modified Seibon hood, and Xenon front lip spoiler. The chassis was covered in Porsche orange paint before being fitted with its Hot Wheels 50th anniversary tour livery.
The Soldiers
The groundwork is manhandled by a set of BC Racing coilovers that support a set of Atara Racing Pisang 15-inch rolling stock wrapped in Nitto NT01 tires on the steering side and NT555R rubbers on the driving side.
The S30 receives additional stiff ening from an Autopower roll bar and Apex Engineered rear strut tower bracing. Elsewhere in the interior, a set of Bride Low Max seats provide the seating options in the revamped and reupholstered, carbon fiber-adorned cockpit and includes a modern-day audio system to reaff irm the car’s street-driven status.
Viva La Familia
“This car was built for the purpose of me and my son’s shared wild vision,” Brinkworth notes. “We wanted to create something that would be like no other 240Z while still being tasteful, and be enjoyable to drive. The absolute best part of this build is the many hours spent with my son, watching him use the skills I have relayed to him over the years and teaching him more new skills.” With that mindset, it makes sense that being recognized as father-and-son builders is more important than the awards and accolades that they have collected with the car, including winning the 50th Anniversary Hot Wheels Legends tour and displaying the vehicle at the Hot Wheels booth during the internationally renowned SEMA show in Las Vegas the same year.
“If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. Doing this particular build with my son has been an incredible journey that a father couldn’t be more proud of,” Brinkworth states,. Its a journey that started with his own father passing down the family trade and continues with him doing the same for the next generation.
