Hard Habit to Break: Bruce’s Two 1970 Datsun 240z’s

Filed under: 240z,Featured Cars and Projects
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on October 20, 2020

We met Bruce L at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. He has owned these (two) Series 1 240z cars for decades and wanted us to revive them. Bruce has performed all work himself and never let anyone else touch his Z cars so we were honored to oblige. In addition to getting the cars road-worthy each one sports our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles. Let’s take a look at how Bruce got into S30’s.

Beginnings

Bruce was introduced to Datsuns with his parent’s Bluebird 4-door 1300 (he took his driving license in this in 1969). He even purchased a brand new 1971 Datsun pickup in 1970 for $1800 and got a glimpse of the Z car:

“In the dealership showroom floor while purchasing this Pickup was a brand new early production Dark Green 1969 240Z with a Tan interior. The price tag was 3,400.00 ish. There was no way I could afford that kind of money for another car, let alone a sports car, and I needed a truck to haul my Dirt Bike to and from the Hollister Hills off-road park. Still, I wanted a 240Z instead of any of the muscle cars of the era. They just didn’t speak to me. Too big and bulky and the Cobra had no top to speak of in those days and it didn’t say buy-me.”

In 1973 Bruce walked into that same dealership to see and purchase a used ’72 Lime Yellow 240z. Leap forward to 1982 and he purchased “Christine” from the same Datsun mechanic that used to work on his yellow ’72. Later in 1989 is when he purchased “Valerie” from a lady named Valerie who wanted to sell right after the ’89 Loma Prieta Earthquake.

“I love both of my Z’s even if I had to store them both for ten years. Rob brought them both back to life for me and added all of the improvements to make them come alive. And a thrill to drive once again. I still do all the small general maintenance for the most part on both Z’s, but have given the chore of anything else that I don’t wish to tackle at 67 years old to Rob.”

Bruce and his wife are fantastic people that have been active in the Z car community for a long time. After seeing us at the Rolex event, our operations and many happy customers Bruce wanted us to go through all of his personal cars. Both Series 1 S30’s came to Z Car Garage, starting with Valerie and later the Hot Rod, Christine.

Valerie

Valerie had been sitting for about 10 years and we performed the basics to get it back on the road again. The fuel tank was removed, boiled out and all fuel/vapor-associated lines were replaced:

Chassis

The chassis was treated to a light refresh with new parts and bushings from Techno Toy Tuning. T3 finishes the suspension in our signature color and we really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. T3 adjustable front T/C rods and lower rear control arms:

Bruce had already done springs and struts on Valerie long ago…but nothing had serious miles on it so we just had to correct a couple of things, trimmed front springs for a nicer stance and trimmed bump stops. We also replaced the rack and moustache bar bushings.

The diff was removed and re-sealed:

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

Our readers are likely familiar with “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car with full suspension and our ZCG Big-Brakes. Following a test drive in Butters, clients are sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Read below for a brief description of these parts:

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 Bruce’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit on both Valerie and Christine. Up front:

The rear drums were replace with the ZCG setup and factory hand brake functionality remains!

The ZCG Big-Brake Kit fits nicely behind 15″ (Valerie) and 16″ (Christine) Panasports and Bruce is really happy with the disc brake upgrades.

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

We installed CV Axle kit #258 on Valerie and #266 on Christine. Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units:

More pictures of the ZCG axles installed, also visible are the T3 control arms:

Engine

Bruce gives a little background on Valerie’s drivetrain:

“I originally intended to make Valerie a commute car for my wife to travel between Prunedale and Morgan Hill. The job never materialized and I then decided to make Valerie into a show car. Everything about Christine in terms of how she was built is identical with Valerie, except for the engine which she still retains a 2.4 L with E-31 head, Schneider cam and stock twin” SUs.” Valerie has a 5 speed transmission with custom shift lever.”

With the engine gone through by Bruce many years ago, we went ahead replaced the oil pan gasket, pulled/sealed transmission, installed a JWT clutch and updated ignition with Pertronix.

On the dyno we dialed it in for best performance, making 128hp/127tq at the wheels, video below:

Just You and Me

Bruce and his wife Enjoying Valerie. He recalls an old car show we both attended (but did know each other then):

“I had Valerie stripped down to bare metal also and repainted in 1989 Mercedes Back Pearl. I then had her wet sanded and polished to a near mirror finish. I took her to the Ohlone College Car Show in 2002 where she won 1^st place in the 240Z category out of Fifty Two 240Z’s. Mr. K was present and awarded Valerie “Best of Show”, signing both awards.”

Christine

As soon as we finished Valerie, Bruce brought us his second 1970 S30 affectionately named “Christine”. This is his Hot Rod Z:

“I replaced the original 2.4 L engine with a rebuilt 2.8 L engine. I then had an E-31 Head Ported and Polished with a Schneider Cam installed. I installed a 280Z 5-speed transmission that required me to make a custom linkage making the gearshift lever appear to be in a stock position on the console. Then around 1985 I had the car stripped of all way down to bare metal, prepped, sanded along with having deletes welded in on the rear bumper to accommodate the Cobra style bumper.”

Christine was also sitting for a decade and we performed similar revival tasks as done to Valerie. The fuel tank was pulled, clutch and oil plump replaced and we did all the corrections that were needed, with ZCG touches. An MSD6AL box with Blaster2 coil was installed and triple-Mikuni PHH 40 carbs (now with titanium velocity stacks) were re-jetted. Rob dyno tuned Christine, making 165hp/159tq at the wheels:

Bruce was pleased:

“In 2019 I took Christine to Z Car Garage and had Rob Fuller complete a refresh on the engine to include a Dyno Tune on the Carburetors. Rob did a fantastic job of getting Christine back up and running the way she should be as she had been in storage for 10 years. Rob also did a complete tubular control arm upgrade along with installing solid one-piece half shafts and a complete four-wheel disc brake conversion kit to include the emergency brake.”

As Bruce mentioned, Christine also received our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles!

Both of these products are available now from Z Car Garage. Please email/call Rob!

The Big-Brakes look great behind a new set of 16×7 Panasport wheels with s007a tires in 225/50/16:

Enjoying the Ride

With both 1970 Z cars back on the road Bruce was out Enjoying The Ride. Above, Christine enjoys prime parking at the Pacific Grove Car Show during Monterey Car Week in 2019. Below, Bruce attended the ZONC Annual Car Show in Brisbane, CA earning 1st place with Christine:

On that car show note, here is a fun fact: Bruce has been the caretaker of “Sunshine”, a special Z32. Sunshine was previously owned by Carolyn Dudley – ZONC President for many years and personal friend of Mr. K.

After Carolyn passed away (RIP), her son sold the Z to Bruce. Under his ownership Bruce has given this 300zx a full restoration and keeps it running well at 157k miles.

“Sunshine was given center stage at Blackhawk Car Show in 2004. People were recognizing Sunshine and they approached her and laid their hands on the car and were praying. That gave me chills. I stopped taking Sunshine to events until I took her 2 years ago to the ZONC picnic in the bay area and still a lot of people recognized her.”

Feelin’ Stronger Everyday

We understand that it is hard to entrust a shop with your pride and joy. After purchasing Christine in 1982, all of the work performed on her was completed by Bruce and his best friend in a garage.

“I have never left either of my Z’s at any place to be worked on other than the 2 paint shops. (One in 1985 Sean’s Auto Body in Salinas – Black Acrylic Enamel and One in 1991 or 92 at J&J Auto Body in Auburn Calif – 1989 Mercedes Black Pearl). I also wasn’t concerned in 2019 with leaving either of my 240Z’s with Rob Fuller at ZCG because of his reputation in the Z World that I explored prior to contacting him at the shop. Christine was never purchased as an investment, she was purchased as a car that I cherished and now 38 years later Christine is still not for sale.”