Irl N. heard about Z Car Garage from our friends at Stillen. He purchased several parts and wanted them installed correctly on his 2017 Q50s Red Sport. We started with the Stillen cat-back exhaust system:
Stock Vs. Stillen:
Next, an AMS Heat Exchanger:
The suspension received SPC front/rear control arms, lowering springs and a rear sway bar:
Braking improvements included new rotors (from Irl) and we provided the Stoptech 309 pads that we love:
With just a few upgrades Irl’s Q50 really boogies now!
We have worked on the new Q’s before and now they are beginning to come through our doors often–look for more VR30DDTT goodness on the blog!
Gorgeous weather, an amazing variety of cars and exhilarating driving all on today’s drive organized by Naveed Y. The starting point was Buck’s of Woodside with an absolutely bonkers mix of vintage/modern sports cars from all marques:
Our customer James Stevens showed up with his turbocharged 1972 Datsun 240z, check out the Speedhunters article with great photos by Naveed HERE!
We departed up 84 to Skyline heading towards 9. There were so many cars in the group that we split up–some took Bear Creek Rd down through Felton and eventually we all met at Whale City Bakery in Davenport. Jeremy Gomez’ G-nose S30 was looking sharp sitting on Longchamps:
I was honored to pilot Rob Fuller’s S30, affectionately known as “Ms Butters Z”. This Series 1 240z has recent engine, suspension and further chassis upgrades we are very excited to share with you. I was impressed with its performance, stay tuned for a full report!
Our final leg of the trip was the best: HWy1 and 84 back to Alice’s Restaurant. Thanks Naveed for organizing the run it was a blast! More pictures in the gallery below, enjoy!
We are extremely happy for our friend and fellow Datsun enthusiast Tom D and his newly acquired B-sedan Datsun 510. This is a historically significant race car built and run originally by Norm Balzer. Here it is at Road Atlanta in 1977:
Tom brought the 510 to Z Car Garage to have it prepared for the upcoming race season:
“I bought the car rough three years ago from Steve Link with the help of Dave Stone. Since then I exchanged information with MaryLee Balzer (the original builder and owner’s widow) and Jon Koobation, the last guy to campaign the car. Both kept all the records and materials associated with the car. They graciously gave me all of it, even Norm’s race jacket (so cool). My plans are (with Rob and ZCG support) to get the car track ready. The car will be campaigned with its original livery and as much of the original equipment as possible, including the FIA prepped L18.”
The car was wildly successful on the West Coast. Many, including Larry Oka referred to the car as the “other BRE car” since it was built with the help of Mac Tilton and hardware from the BRE garage as the Trans Am series ramped down. Tom plans to run several events this year including CSRG April at Infineon Raceway, The HSMA Festival of Speed in Late May, The Rolex in August and the CSRG Charity Event in October. We are currently breaking the car down for race prep. It is shockingly original and a treat to see!
Enjoy that twin-Mikuni carb’d L-series sing!
A Rich Racing History
Purchased from a local Datsun dealer in 1971 for a one dollar, Norm Balzer took this Datsun 510 which was damaged in shipping straight to the garage to create one of the most successful B Sedan race cars on the West Coast. With help from Mac Tilton, many parts were sourced from the BRE garage. Norm raced the car from in B Sedan from 1973 until 1979 and then later as a GT2 entry in 1980.
Willow Springs 1976 and RA in 1979:
Jon competed with the 510 in GT2, GT3 and IMSA/GTU Special Group 2 from 1981 to 1992, amassing a number of first place finishes including a win in IMSA SP2 at Laguna Seca in May of 1983. Together Norm and Jon took this Datsun 510 to the podium forty times with thirteen first place finishes and six Southern Pacific Division Championships. Overall they competed in eighty-six races between 1973 and 1992.
Stay tuned for an in-depth look at this historical Datsun race car!
We are very excited to have Mr. K’s 1972 Datsun 240z at the shop! Yutaka Katayama (affectionately known as “Mr. K”) put Datsun on the map while serving as President of Nissan Motors USA.
This Z was Mr. K’s personal car, with touches like the “G-Nose”, custom mix Yellow Pearl Paint, wire wheels and automatic transmission. It was most prominently featured in Nissan’s multi-million dollar Datsun Heritage advertising campaign in the late 90’s. Check it out in this Super Bowl Ad – “The Dream Garage” lead a series of T.V. commercials featuring Mr. K (played by an actor):
In 1977 Mr. K retired and before returning to Japan he gave the Z to his long time Administrative Assistant, Johnnie Gable and her son Kenny Ueda. The family still owns it to this day, driving to many events and Enjoying The Ride. Johnnie contacted Z Car Garage to bring the Z in for some TLC. We are honored to have this national treasure at the shop and look forward to getting it back on the road!
If you listen closely, you can almost hear it whisper the words of Mr. K’s simple philosophy, “Love cars. Love people. Love life.”
Thank you Johnnie and Kenny for making the trip from Southern California, Long Live The Z!
Filed under: Events,Performance
by Alvin G @ 12:36 pm on January 5, 2019
VARA is hosting a vintage racing event at Autoclub Speedway January 18-20 in Fontana, CA.
There will be some exciting Vintage Nissan/Datsun groups running, a Japanese car show and autocross events for everyone to participate.
Our friend Mike Anderson will be racing his Rock Vest Datsun 2000 Roadster along with many Datsuns:
Let’s get more Datsuns out there, on the track and in the paddock!
