We introduced you to Gary’s 1971 Skyline 2000GT last year and we are pleased to share the most recent developments with this nostalgic dream car. For starters it was featured in this year’s San Jose International Auto Show, where spectators admired the sharp, re-fininshed Watanabe wheels and stunning brightwork. The front and rear bumpers, 3 piece grille, and tail lights were all re-chromed:

The 14″ Watanabe wheels had their deep lips re-polished and spokes powdercoated an eye-popping shade of silver…the car looks fantastic rolling in motion with these fresh shoes, before/after below:

Gary is a man with good taste and attention to detail…it shows with all of his other Nissans. The Skyline is a bit different in that it won’t be getting a full-bore ZCG-style restoration. Instead Gary wanted to keep some “patina” to the car while restoring interior/exterior bits so the car can still be a true driver, no trailer queens here!

The interior has been transformed with front and rear seats that are much more comfortable  now and easy on the eye. Gary sourced several trim items like the “2000GT” console badge and rare steering wheel. Check out the seat rest logos and cool etched seat belts. Yes, Gary even restored the 80’s Clarion speakers in back 🙂

What is a driver’s car without a proper drivetrain? The C10 came with hot-rodded L-series motor that put out a respectable 160hp/190tq to the wheels but Gary wanted a little more motivation. Rob has worked closely with the folks at Rebello Racing and they brewed a recipe for one monster straight-6: a 3.2L, triple carb’d beast with 300hp as the target. With the engine out ZCG went to work on the bay, cleaning up wiring and unnecessary clutter left by the previous owner.

Check out the trick carb-linkage and brand NEW Mikuni 44s…very tasty indeed!

The 3.2 is going in…check out the before/after pics to see how clean the engine bay is now:

Eagle-eye viewers may note the factory-like fuel line. From dirty to sexy…ZCG-style

Ok, so how does the new engine perform?  Rob took me for a spin and for lack of a better word I was shocked. I wasn’t expecting the amount of thrust and response this NA motor creates. It breaks traction from a 25mph roll-on in 2nd gear!  The sound, oh my goodness that sound. It was like I was teleported back to the Japanese Grand Prix in the 60’s with a bunch of racing Hakosukas. Three Mikuni carbs on an L-series sounds incredible. Small birds and children watch out.  Here are a few short clips, Gary will produced better quality videos than I for sure:

The dyno reveals very impressive results:  272hp/249tq at the wheels! Looks like 100hp more does make a difference 🙂

A 1971 Skyline that makes more hp than my 2006 Nissan 350z and weighs hundreds of lbs less…and looks cooler too, what’s not to like? And the best part of the build is working with Gary. I’m sure you’ll see a bunch of  classic Skylines at car shows that are generally driven with a light foot. Not this one, it was built to drive hard!  So, what is next for the C10? Full suspension and a brake upgrade that still maintains period-correct parts…stay tuned. More pics of the build in the gallery, enjoy!

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The Wednesday Night Fun Drags are back and opening day is March 7! Join us as we enjoy an afternoon of straight-line madness. Several Z32TTs and an R35 GT-R are ready to go, are you? Check out one of our last events where everyone had a great time. For more details on the drags go HERE.

I wanted to feature Scott S’s ’94 Z32TT on the blog for a long time now,  but it’s just one of those cars that is hard to do justice with only a few words and pictures.  I have known Scott for many years and his Z always struck me as one of the cleanest, sexiest, most powerful 300s I have seen or had the pleasure to ride in.
Scott met Rob back in 2002 when he brought his 140k-mile ’90 Z32TT for some work. They decided that another platform would be better for modifying which led to the purchase of the ’94, bone stock with only 49k miles. More on the mods later, here’s what catches the eye  at first sight of JRZY ZTT(Scott is a Jersey native):

Slick black paint that seems to catch every reflection, and tasteful bodywork upgrades like the J-spec front facia, rear tail lights, early spoiler, and William’s trademark vented hood all subtly accentuate Nissan’s timeless design.  Scott has been known to collect/hoard wheels and tires and this Z has been through it’s share of shoes including: a set of R34 GT-Rs,  MINT staggered Volk SF Challenges, SSR Comps, and currently sports some very tasty Z33 NISMO Z wheels:


The interior has got to be the cleanest I have ever sat in…keep in mind this is a 18 year-old car!
A custom rear roll bar with integrated harness bar(now modified with door bars and NHRA-legal), Z33 seats and DEFI-link gauge system complement an otherwise stock cabin.
Scott has taken the Z to many car shows and placed well, though it was really built to enjoy the ride on the track whether it be drag strip, auto-x, or road course duty.  We would frequently see Scott attending shows and track days in the same weekend with his custom hitch/tow rack for race wheels/tires. Two-door sports cars can be practical! Below, Scott is at the largest Z-car gathering “ZCON”  in Texas and also arriving at Thunderhill Raceway for the All-Datsun Meet at Mt. Shasta:
At the heart of the Z is Nissan’s mighty VG30DETT, and it has been modified to different levels over the years.  It started with Sport 500 turbos and made 489rwhp/525rwtq, but failed on the track at Thunderhill. In its current form it is running a SpecialtyZ 3.1L engine with Sport 700s… …[read more]

I have always wanted a body-color hardtop for the roadster and I found one through a fellow Datsun owner about three years ago. The hardtop needed some love as the weatherstripping was deteriorated and the underside cracked. I was determined to tackle the project myself and after struggling with re-installing the windows and trying to paint/prep myself I gave it to Rob at ZCarGarage.

William at William’s Auto Body reinforced the fiberglass and applied slick black paint to match the body. The interior got a new 2-tone headliner and weatherstripping. Thanks ZCG!

Chris P. came to ZCarGarage to see how his bolt-on mods netted any performance gains. He installed Stillen Gen 3 intakes and Berk Hi-flow cats himself and Rob UPREV tuned the Z34 for an improvement of +11hp/9tq at the wheels:

Later this week we will have updates on several Z34 and G37 projects from simple bolt-ons to full forced-induction setups…stay tuned!