About Us

Back in 1993, whilst a young man trying to upgrade and tune his Nissan Silvia S12, Paul Smith came across reluctance from companies to supply the necessary parts to modify it because the car was no longer made. So as not to be put out by this, Paul simply decided to manufacture his own! This gave him a great sense of achievement and admiring glances from others who were tuning more modern cars.

Iin 1997 Paul purchased his first 300ZX and discovered that few companies actually specialised in this car, more importantly it’s engine appearance which is quite dark and bland in stock form.

Searching I found HKS did a boost hard pipe set which was not only expensive, but poor in design and quality - this was to be Paul's first task - and a few months later the first stainless steel hard pipe set was developed. From there on out Paul has supplied over 300 sets of these worldwide and this basically is what started him on the road to wanting to find something new to brighten up the engine bay and give it an award winning show look.

Paul is proud to have been the main contributor to many people winning awards for the Engine appearance in many different countries and hopes that we continue to do so for many years to come.

On July 1st 2007 Paul retired from the business and is now concentrating on other "projects". DTA-Motorsport (UK), a Zaat International Ltd company, has taken over all aspects of the business and is continuing to run Smithy's Place with the same enthusiasm and dedication as Paul did for so many years. Integrating Smithy's Place with DTA-Motorsport (UK) and Ultimate Car Bulbs will create one of the largest "one-stop-shop" operations for the 300ZX community worldwide. More quality products, competitive pricing and First Class customer service - Smithy's Place is now ready for the 21st Century!