We met Ken W last summer when he stopped by Z Car Garage to meet Rob and have his S30 inspected. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles along with upgraded suspension parts and a Rebello 3L engine transformed his 1971 240Z into a fantastic sports car.

 

The Right Z

Before we dive in to the upgrades let’s take a look at how Ken got into Z cars and finally found the right one…

“When I was a junior in High School, the cool kids were driving Mustangs, Camaros, and ‘Cudas. Always different, my imagination was captured by the ’71 Datsun 240z. Being a Kansas farm boy on the lower end of the economic scale, had to settle for a ’64 Ford Fairlane 500 4-door with the 269 V-8. Knew that someday I’d own a 240z. Spent 2018 researching the 240z market. In January 2019, bought a red ’72 240z with Wilwood brakes, QA1 coil-over suspension, 17” wheels. A little rough but convinced me that owning a 240z as a daily driver, was going to make me happy.”

 

We inspected Ken’s red ’72 240z and found many problems. Rob suggested finding a chassis in better shape to make his own. After our evaluation Ken consulted with fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C to affirm that ZCG was the right place to be. Ken was convinced that the S30 is a great rally car and began searching again, finding this green ’71 on Craigslist, near Sacramento.

“Rob gave this car his approval as a basis for the rally car that I wanted to build. ZCG is so popular that we weren’t able to get it in for the chassis upgrades before the Mother Lode 400 rally in June 2019 . The car was fine, but only fine. Yes, the brakes and suspension worked and the motor was dependable, but with the enthusiastic style of rally driving, showed they really weren’t up to the task.”

 

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

The upgrade process began, giving Ken the ability to brake on a dime, perform well and daily drive. We handed him the keys to “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car and he was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂

    

As fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C mentioned in his review, on top of braking performance, pedal feel is extremely important and our Big-Brakes deliver. This is a direct result of working with Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. All fitting behind a 15″ Watanabe or Panasport wheel and retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few details below:

Calipers: Stoptech ST42 4-piston front & rear race calipers (Alum 6061 mil-spec Type III anodized)

Rotors: 280mm x 20.6 with Alum 7075 hats

Pads: Stoptech 309 sport street pads

Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.

A few closer detail shots of the calipers, rotors and hardware:

 

We removed Ken’s brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. The Z also received Tokico 5-way struts with Eibach springs and suspension parts from Techno Toy Tuning. New parts included adjustable T/C rods, rear control arms, new bushings, rack bushings, steering coupler, factory Nissan ball joints, new wheel bearings and more.  We really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.

 

ZCG Big-brakes up front:

 

T3 T/C rods and new brake master cylinder/booster:

 

Suspension Techniques sway bars installed front and rear:

 

At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality retained! Ken was pleased with the brakes:

“I really the brakes. Having experienced stock brakes and the Wilwood’s (Stage 4 front and rear), was really interested to discover if the ZCG Big Brake kit was all that I’d heard about. I’m here to say that the Big Brake kit exceeded all expectations. Under hard braking, feels like I’ve just driven into a huge pool of thick super glue or that someone immediately behind me has just switched on a huge electromagnet. Undeniably shorter braking distances. Huge confidence when diving deep into corners.”

 

Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. Ken’s Z received set #298. We have over 100 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

 

Stock half shafts and control arms (L):

   

Before/After suspension upgrades. Not shown is the ZCG exhaust system using 2.5″ piping to a stainless resonator and Magnaflow muffler with slash-cut tip:

 

Great feedback again from Ken regarding the suspension upgrades:

“In August 2019 it went into ZCG shop for the upgrades. Let’s talk about the suspension first. My red ’72 had QA1 coil-overs and it wasn’t particularly balanced or optimized. Too soft in front, too harsh in back, little squirrely under brake or gas. By comparison the ZCG components showed care in selection, thought in design and clear goals in creation of a balanced package. The car is impressive under braking, squatting uniformly and smoothly. Under hard acceleration, it tracks straight. The CV axles are works of art and well suited to handle the Rebello motor to come.”

 

More Power

 

With braking and suspension sorted all Ken needed was power to match. Without going too wild we opted for a Rebello 3L, retaining SU induction. The 3L still leaves room for aggressive cam/Mikuni induction upgrades should he feel the need. A few pictures of the fresh motor, more in the gallery below:

 

Ken enjoys tinkering with vintage motorcycles and rallying. While running the Snowball Rally the car did really well and he had a great time but unfortunately, it was hit by a motorist (not part of the rally). We called upon our man William from William’s Auto Body to fix everything and re-spray.

 

While the motor was out, we cleaned up the engine bay. Everything came out, the bay was painted, new seals around all hoses going through the firewall. The engine got an MSA 6 to 1 header, all intake/exhaust gaskets, MSD6Al box with tach adapter, Koyo race radiator, zinc’d hardware and new alternator/starter. We  ensured that he would be able to rally wherever and whenever.

 

Backing the 3L is a 5-speed with JWT aluminum flywheel and Exedy clutch:

 

Rob dyno-tuned the Z with the stock L24 (109hp/128tq) and the 3L, now making 199hp/209tq to the wheels:

 

Enjoy the L-Series music!

 

Panasport Wheels

 

What is the perfect companion for Ken’s Z, now that it has full suspension and wicked brakes and fresh paint? Panasport wheels! We replaced the old-school slotted wheels with 16×7 Panasports and Bridgestone’s killer S-007a tire in 225/50/16.

“The Wilwood Stage 4 front brakes required a spacer to move the generic Japanese front wheels out far enough to avoid fouling the calipers. This meant running 215/45/17 tires. A drawback to the 17” wheels is that the space-saving spare can’t exceed 16” in the spare tire well.  I totally love the beautiful Panasport wheels! When I take the car to Z car meet-ups, everyone says “this car has been to ZCG, right?” The wheel and brake combo means I gained 10mm tire width and no spacers. We agreed that for rally purposes, I’d change the tires every 3 years, so Rob picked out some nice sticky ones.”

 

Rallye On!

 

Ken was smiling ear to ear and told us we built him a Z car he really enjoyed:

“The results are fabulous! My car is such a hoot to drive. Quick off the line, easy to spin the tires. Now I understand why Rob recommended the CV shafts. The car was awesome on the 2019 California Melee. Had so much fun driving the rally with my brother who flew in from Kansas. He drove it much slower than I did, so when I took my first shift, diving it deeper and deeper into the corners, accelerating harder and harder out of the corners, that I proposed establishing a safe word if he wanted me to ease off the fun.”

 

 

We have been checking in with Ken and he’s happily Enjoying The Ride. We even spotted his Z cars while cruising through the neighborhood.

 

“I’m so happy to have met Rob and provided him with a car that has ‘good bones’. Enjoyed working with ZCG. A key for me is that ZCG has been able to provide all the upgrades, in an integrated package. Didn’t want to use multiple shops and fight through finger pointing. Trust Rob and his crew, they’ve done these upgrades 100 times or more. They know what works and what doesn’t. Personally, I care more about the quality of work performed and the result, rather than shopping for the lowest price.”

 

Thank you Ken for allowing us to help you achieve your vision of the ultimate Z car. We loved working with you. Long Live The Z!

More pictures in the gallery below: