Feature: Introducing “The Smurf”

I never was much of a fan of the Smurfs as a kid. Hell, I don't even like the color blue. But with the 3D Smurf movie (Sony Pictures) quickly approaching (Lord help us), I find it especially strange to have fallen for a 2009 Monterey Blue Nissan 370Z, named The Smurf. I think what it all comes down to, is every now and then a modder really hits the sweet spot, riding the line between wild and mild, modified and stock, and horrid and humdrum. It takes a lot of planning to build a show winning vehicle, and when a newbie comes out of the metal work, and creates a classic example of what this exemplifies, I think it's important to give credit where it's due.

Smurf is a first effort for Tony Freedman, who only just caught the modify bug a little over a year ago. Well, I shouldn't say it was completely his first effort, as he was the proud own of a Chicane Yellow 370Z not but a few weeks before the Monterey Blue. You might be thinking to yourself, I bet that bright yellow must have blinded him during those sun quenched days in Alexandria, Virginia? Nope. Then he probably just got tired of the hoards of bumble bees humping his deck lid? Maybe, but that's not the real reason.

Tony only had the Chicane three weeks (318 miles) as he merged onto a two lane road, which warned, Right Lane Ends, Merge Left. He could see that the right lane was a right turn only lane, so he made a knee jerk reaction, and pulled the Z immediately into the left lane. He unfortunately didn't see the other vehicle that had just pulled around to pass him. According to witnesses, the Z bounced off the vehicle, went airborne for few milliseconds, hit a curb, and t-boned an oncoming vehicle going 45 mph. “If anybody ever asks about the safety of a Z, I can tell you they're darn good,” says Tony. “I came out of that with only a shattered left foot.” The other driver suffered a shattered pelvis, but is thankfully alive and well today.

Alexandria doesn't exactly have a stock pile of 370Z's for cruise night, so when Tony's insurance agent came out to assess the damage, he did a lot of head scratching and number crunching before coming back with a figure that totaled $6,000 over the price of the original car. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, he took the check, hobbled back down to the Nissan dealer, and ordered another 7-speed Monterey Blue 370Z, which is the one he'd wanted in the first place. The new Z eventually came-in and sat in the driveway for a few weeks while Tony licked his wounds. He would hobble out from time to time to look at his baby before hobbling back, as that was about all he could do while his foot was in a brace.

It was during these difficult couple weeks that Tony decided he was going to make the most of this Z. He scraped up a few hundred dollars, a few hundred more, then a couple thousand after that, and before he could get a pair of scissors to his bank card, he'd unloaded the value of the car back into it. This is all within under a years time, mind you. Tony estimates he's done just about everything he could, prior to supercharging, which is an option that has not been ruled out for the future. At the moment, his Z's stock 273 horsepower now peaks at 318, thanks to a Stillen intake, stainless steel headers, lightweight pulley, dual exhaust, Berk HFC's, and tuned Cobb AccessPORT.

The day I interviewed Tony, he had just dropped his Z off at a body shop for some work, which amounted to a Bay Speed Aero carbon fiber hood (custom painted with Monterey Blue accents), and matching Decal FX carbon fiber wrap for the roof. “If it's good enough for a Ferrari, then it's good enough for me,” says Tony, referring to a vinyl wrap he'd seen on a custom Ferrari recently. “This will be the last big project of the year,” he says reassuringly, as I wondered how many times he must have spouted these words before. But Tony does not regret any of the work (or money) he's put into his Z. He's blown his warranty, Nissan dealerships won't even service his car anymore, “But, I wouldn't take it back for the world,” he says. “It's too much fun.”

His favorite modification to date is his blue demon eye (blue) headlights, angel eye (white) LED's, and LED (white) vertical landing strip. “I really love them, and the other people who happen to love them are my local police department,” says Tony. “I've been pulled over and told I have too many lights.” This just happened a few weeks after getting the lights installed. “The funny thing is after I signed the ticket, I asked if the officer wanted to see under the hood—a few seconds later I was on the side of the road with a couple police officers shining their flashlights under the hood, looking at all the modifications I'd done.”

The Smurf has taken first place in the Wild Category, at Z Dayz in North Carolina. It will most likely be heading to Georgia this Fall for the 2010 Z Nationals, so if you'd like to see the car in person, that will be one of your last chances for the year. “The people I have met are great,” says Tony. “It is an amazing feeling to get out of your car at a show, and have someone walk up and say they just wanted to meet me because they've seen the car somewhere.”

You hear that Open Clutcher's, that's a first class invitation to get out there and give the Smurf some much needed love and support. All macho dudes can just pretend it's a Smurfette if it makes you feel any better. In addition to love, Tony also takes cash (donations), Visa, American Express, Stillen superchargers, and any spare sponsorships you might have lying about. Just kidding, although I'm sure he'd take any of the above.

Good luck Tony. Get used to that empty feeling in your back pocket!