Fred Chang’s project cars have graced the pages of more publications than Pamela Anderson’s spreads (no pun intended) have been in men’s magazines. And with good reason. He chooses only the highest quality parts, enlists the most reputable tuning shops and his builds demonstrate that form and function can go hand-in-hand. Fred's Nissan 350Z may seem tame compared to some of his other projects, but it is precisely for this reason that it is January’s cover car.


To keep his car unique, Fred stripped his 350Z and had M1 Autobody paint the interior and exterior Tafetta White, the same color code used on Acura’s base RSX. The stock 350Z already has clean lines, but he decided to give it a slightly more aggressive look with a full PowerHouse Amuse GT body kit. Aside from the Ings+1 GT wing, the rest of the exterior was left untouched.


The 350Z sits on 19-inch Volk Racing GT-S wheels wrapped in Advan Sport rubber. A’PEXi SpecV coilovers are expected to provide the most favorable handling characteristics when Fred is at the track and an ARC strut bar keeps the chassis rigid. Peeking out from the 5-spoke design of the wheels is a 4-pot big brake kit and calipers from Project Mu.


The simplicity of the interior follows the simplicity of the exterior. Bride racing seats have become a staple in Fred’s stable of cars, so it’s no surprise he chose the Bride Zeta III bucket seat for the driver and the more comfortable Bride Brix II for the passenger. A four-point Takata harness holds him into place, while the passenger must hang on to the “oh shit” handle. As a personal touch, Fred replaced the stock steering wheel and shift knob with a 3-spoke Nardi wheel and ARC knob. Just behind the cockpit is a custom 6-point roll cage created by Design Craft Fabrications.


Short of forced induction, few bolt-on modifications are able to extract an appreciable amount of horsepower from the 3.5-liter VQ35, so Fred stuck with the basics. A Skunk2 High-Rise Plenum Spacer raises the upper intake, resulting in better throttle response and increased low-end torque. An A’PEXi Power Intake allows more air to flow into the engine and combusted gases exit through the lightweight A’PEXi Power Titanium Single Exit Exhaust. Engine dress up includes an A’Pexi grounding kit, ARC radiator cap, ARC radiator cooling plate and ARC oil cap.