I honestly don’t know what to say. It’s kind of hard to describe what it feels like to be sitting here typing out this article. There’s this expectation I have, but more importantly, I hope I can do this one the justice it deserves. This one’s just a little bit special to me, not so much because of the car, but the man behind it. Milt needs no introduction; a man who seems larger than life, but is really about as down to earth as they come. Even though I only know him through facebook, and a few other mutual friends, he’s still someone that I look up to not just because he’s built a few killer cars, but he’s just the kind of guy who you can respect. Candy, Milt’s Z, also needs no introduction as this is the second time she’s graced S:N for a stand-alone feature alongside countless shots from event coverage over the years. She’s still as bad as ever, but could this be the last hoorah? They do say all good things come to an end…
Photos By: Phillip Awad exclusively for StanceNation.com
Candy is Milt’s second Z. After owning one in 05, Milt went on to build SCWEET1, a black Lexus SC that catapulted him to interweb super-star, or just made him pop up on my radar in the desolate planes of the mid-west, haha. I just remembered seeing pics of his SC all over the Lexus forums and other sites back in the day. I remembered seeing pics of Milt too; the big, tattoo’ed guns, shades, and I tried talking to him thinking I’d be brushed off, but to my surprise back then, I wasn’t. I was a bit green behind the ears back then when it came to wheel fitment and wheel specs, but Milt whipped me into shape and gave me some pointers and advice that I’ve taken to heart over the years. Through him, I’ve made a lot of friends out in California that I never thought I would being 2,000 miles away. That’s just the thing; everyone knows Milt, and if you know Milt, you start to meet others that know him too.
Over the years, the cars may have changed, and Candy certainly has, but Milt has stayed the same as I’ve known him. He’s almost like a Godfather of the car community in SoCal especially when it comes to fitment. There’s a lot of reasons why Milt is so well-respected, and Candy is the rolling example. Despite the car looking somewhat the same since we last featured it, it’s still wildly different, so let’s get down to business.
The biggest change to Milt’s 350Z is the color, yet again. However, this time instead of a subtle change from white to matte white that the car last had, a complete color change was in the cards this go around. The color is still a matte finish but of the gunmetal variety, and to add a little sparkle, an aluminum flake was thrown into the mix. The front end was updated with a newer front bumper with inlet duct for the intake, an updated HR hood, and a Veilside front lip and side-skirts. The result is clean and simple, and a look that flows with the whole car and doesn’t take away from the focus of the car. After all, Milt has a reputation to keep, and when it comes to fitment, well…just look at the photos.
This Z has worn more sets of wheels than I can even remember, and each set has left all of us in anticipation of how could Milt top himself from before. From Work VS-XXs, to Work Equips, to Garson Deep Nines, and back to Equips, his latest set of wheels redefines the term, “got dish?” The SSR Vienna Courages were originally a set that Milt was trying to sell albeit they weren’t nearly as aggressive. After no one bit, Milt decided to take them down to VR Wheels and have them work their magic on them. When I saw Milt had put the Equips up for sale, I wondered what he had up his sleeve. I knew I shouldn’t have worried, but I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. I had just received my SSR Viennas from VR and thought I had gotten some pretty big lips and then I saw Milt’s and suddenly felt a little insecure, haha. These SSRs measure up at 19×12 in the front and 19×12.5 in the rear with 7″ and 8.5″ lips respectively.
Milt still subscribes to the old-skool hard-slam of coilovers, and rolls on Aragosta True coilovers which have been re-valved for higher spring rates. Stillen sway bars tighten things up, while custom camber arms in the front and SPL camber and toe arms in the rear allow for fine tuning of the suspension. To help keep the chassis stiff, Milt had a custom X-brace made by Empire fabrication since he decided to ditch his old Cusco cage to make way for a more refined interior, complete with diamond stitch headliner and seats. Tucked neatly behind each wheel is a StopTech BBK finished in a copper-orange color that just seems to fit, haha. I don’t know what it is, but over the years that BBK just seems to work no matter the color of the car or the wheels. Milt’s fitment is just so on point, even when it comes to how close those calipers get to the wheels, and he certainly isn’t afraid to drive Candy anywhere despite how low she is. It’s just Milt’s dedication to the Low N’ Slow lifestyle.
Really though, all it takes is looking at the pictures. I just hope these words have done enough justice to both Milt and Candy, and the impact they have made on the car community in general. Without people like Milt, the stance game wouldn’t be where it’s at today. Wheel fitment has always been apart of the car culture, but Milt was one of the people who pushed the envelope back in the day when people were still trying to wrap their heads around offsets. Even though the cars may change, Milt hasn’t. Still the same likable guy I started talking to a few years back who keeps telling me to go lower and get even wider wheels, haha. Even though his current plan is to sell Candy, I just know that I shouldn’t worry about what’s next. It will probably be just as cool and as iconic as this Z and his old SC. Milt does it because he loves this style and he’s damn good at it. Guys like him don’t change. They just get better with age. Thanks again Milt, you are without a doubt, the Fitment King.
