“Great Drives” is a new Zcarblog series highlighting scenic routes and destinations we have enjoyed from the past and present. Whether it is a nice cruise or thrilling adventure, we hope to inspire Bay Area vintage car owners to Enjoy The Ride! Have a great drive of your own that you want to share? Feel free to contact us on Facebook, Instagram or by e-mail.

Pescadero Beach, 7/8/18

Starting from San Jose, there are several fun routes reaching Pescadero State Beach.  Sunday’s Fun Run was organized by fellow Datsun owners, beginning in Downtown Saratoga heading up to Skyline via HWY9.

We had 11 cars in the group and joining us as Guest of Honor was Josh Martin, star of the successful Utah-based JDM Legends TV show.

Three Datsun Roadsters: my 67.5, Aidan’s ’69 SRL and Stacey’s 1970 SRL:

Three S30s: Dirk’s silver ’73, Andrew’s ’77 280z and Brian’s ’72:

Brian’s S30 was freshly restored, sporting a Rebello 3L, our ZCG Big-Brakes for small wheels and
ZCG CV Axles. Full report on his Z including dyno results soon!

 

Representing the finest from Nissan in the 90’s was Josh in the ZCG 300zx Twin Turbo and Naveed in his splendid 1991 Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R:

Our friend Matt drove his F2oC-powered Datsun 510 and we also had this STi(Tim) and 911 (JR) come along:

  

The blast up HWy 9 to the 35 junction was fun. After a brief photo-op at Sempervirens lookout we headed to Alice’s Restaurant at the 84/35 junction.

 

Alice’s was quite busy and the car show there was impressive.

 

BMWCCA was holding an event/rallye so parking was a challenge. I spotted this clean, Kouki S14:

From Alice’s I led the group down 84 towards the coast. This was my favorite part of the drive. We were blessed with zero traffic and an opportunity to open up the throttle and enjoy the turns. Linking each apex one after another was addicting, like the esses at Buttonwillow. Brake dust was wafting in the air from running hard!

 

Instead of taking 1 South we turned left onto Stage Rd (a route I learned from Glenn Chiou). Stage was bumpy but the reward was a nice, eucalyptus-lined stretch in farmland. Another photo-op session and my first time seeing Naveeds’s R32 in person to study the details. It’s the perfect amount of JDM style with the re-barreled Nismo wheels and subtly aero from Top Secret:

Sensing the mass of cars from the BMWCCA rallye headed our way we promptly headed into town and reached our destination at Pescadero Beach:

 

Here’s a short video of the Fun Run, turn up those speakers!

Weather at the coast was perfect and we departed via 1 and back up 84 for lunch at Alice’s. Again, 84 was clear and we Enjoyed The Ride:

Thanks to the organizers everyone had a blast! It was also nice to give Josh a sample of our beautiful driving roads here in the Bay Area. Stay tuned for the next Great Drives feature and enjoy more pictures in the gallery below!
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“Great Drives” is a new Zcarblog series highlighting scenic routes and destinations we have enjoyed from the past and present. Whether it is a nice cruise or thrilling adventure, we hope to inspire Bay Area vintage car owners to Enjoy The Ride! Have a great drive of your own that you want to share? Feel free to contact us on Facebook, Instagram or by e-mail.

Mt. Umunhum, San Jose 7/1/18

Growing up in the Bay Area I have always been fascinated with Mt. Umunhum. Dominating the peak is an 84-foot tall radar tower built to watch over the nation’s airspace during the Cold War. Decommissioned and closed off to the public since 1980, last year this former Air Force station was converted into a place where you can view the Santa Clara Valley from 3,486 feet.

Mount Umunhum is the fourth-highest peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains just south of San Jose and can be reached by the new five-mile Mount Umunhum Road which is off Hicks Road in Los Gatos. The road is freshly paved and filled with a mix of hairpins and blind corners. Elevation gain is impressive with 2000ft+ over 4 miles.

Enjoy this short video of the drive up to Mt. Umunhum:

At the summit we had a 360-degree view from the Pacific to the Sierra Nevada.  The sunset was spectacular and I just had to bring my family back again the following day to share the experience.

Though it is only a few miles from our home, the drive to Mt. Umunhum is exhilarating and the summit well worth the climb. If you are driving your vintage car make sure the cooling and braking systems are up to the task!

Interested in the history of Mt. Umunhum? Watch the video below:

Stay tuned for the next Great Drives feature and enjoy more pictures in the gallery below!
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The ZONC Annual Car Show will be held Saturday July 28 in Brisbane, CA. This a fun event in a great location so bring out your Z, G, Datsun or GT-R! Pictures from last year’s show can be seen HERE with more details below. Z you at the show!

When Lehan brought his 1991 R32 GT-R to Z Car Garage it was barely moving under its own power…the clutch failed.  We installed an OS Giken TS2CD clutch and flywheel along with an OS Giken T/O bearing.

 

The OS Giken clutch/flywheel combo weighed 32.8lbs compared to the old setup at 39.6lbs:

Clutch removal/installation:

 

 

We also replaced the rear main oil seal while we in there with an OEM seal. The R32 was treated to new clutch hydraulics including master and slave cylinders + hose.  It is prudent to replace these units if they haven’t been done in the last 3-5 years.

 

With a new clutch and hydraulics sorted Lee was back on the road.  He was really surprised that we could do a 2-day turn-around clutch replacement on on his 25-year old Japanese classic supercar.  Enjoy the Ride Lee and thanks for your support!

Hagerty recently produced a video featuring local Bay Area Datsun owners Courtney and Dustin Frisk. The couple got married last year and Z Car Garage prepared Courtney’s 240z in time for their special day. Check out the video below and find out more about their love for Datsuns in Hagerty’s article HERE.

Learn more about ZCG’s work on Courtney’s 240z HERE. Enjoy The Ride, you two!