Filed under: 240z,510,Events,Racing
by Alvin G @ 2:40 pm on September 20, 2023
Z Car Garage is excited to participate in the Velocity Invitational at Sonoma Raceway November 10-12. This is a must attend historic racing event for Nissan/Datsun fans with IMSA GTU Z cars, exotics and more to enjoy. Tickets are still available, to purchase simply on click HERE, and read below for a preview.
Z Car Garage Racers
Z Car Garage is excited to be racing in Group 6 (1968 – 1978 IMSA GT Cars) and Group 10 (Mini vs Mustang Enduro). Here is a preview:
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou displayed his FAR Performance 240Z. This Z has a very rich racing history, driven in the 70’s by Loren St. Lawrence in VIPS Restaurant livery.
This is a wonderful event for the whole family, check out our report from last year’s 2022 Velocity Invitational. Z you at Sonoma Raceway November 10-12!
Join us for the 2023 Vintage Racing Season!
Z Car Garage is amped for more racing this year. Here is list of events we will be attending in 2023, including CSRG and SVRA . Please join us!
March
March 3rd to the 5th SVRA Thunderhill
March 24 to 26th CRSG Sonoma
April
April 27th to 30th SVRA Sonoma
May
May 4th to 7th SVRA Laguna Seca
June
June 23rd to 25th CSRG Laguna Seca
August
August 12-13 Monterey Pre-Reunion
August 16-19 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
We love to see our parts installed on client’s cars. Nino Tecson just received three sets of our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes for three of his own client’s Datsun 240Z builds:
Nino was pleased with the Z Car Garage brake kit upon arrival and shared some installation photos from his client’s Series 1 Datsun 240Z:
“Been hearing nothing but good things about this BBK from @zcargarage ever since it came out. Time to put these on some cars. Kit looks great, of course @zcargarage covered the basics, good packaging, no missing parts etc. Looking at the quality I don’t think there’s gonna be any fitment issues at all. Also I know @rawbfuller put in the time and thought into putting this kit together so I don’t have to deal with proportioning valves and brake bias etc.”
Nice touch with the Stoptech calipers in “Z” formation, Nino…
Nino is also an S30 owner/enthusiast with a very pretty Series 1 Z. You can learn more about his Datsun story in this Speedhunters feature with photos by Sara Ryan:
See Nino’s Z car builds and give him a follow on Instagram for more updates. Thanks for your support Nino we really appreciate your passion and Long Live The Z!
We have great news for clients that have purchased our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes. Happy to report that the product is now in-house and we will begin fulfilling all backorders in the next coming weeks. We sincerely apologize for the delay. Thank you all for your patience, believing in us and supporting ZCG.
The Last Stop in Braking for your Z
Z Car Garage Big Brakes are one of the best systems available for your S30 Z Car with over 200 kits sold worldwide and unanimous positive feedback. See our ZCG Big-Brakes on client cars HERE and enjoy the photos below:
Gary’s 1971 Datsun 240Z featuring the Datsunworks KN20 twin cam (DOHC) cylinder head is for sale. This S30 has been with Z Car Garage since 2008 where it received a full bare metal restoration with continuous performance development to its current form. Featured in numerous magazines, SEMA, and Japanese Classic Car Show. Fantastic fit/finish with chassis and running gear to keep up with its exotic engine. It is a magical experience to see, drive and hear the “Behemoth” in action. See more details below and serious inquiries only please contact rob@zcargarage.com
Drivetrain
There are ten KN20 heads in the wild with only three installed and currently running in cars. Z Car Garage has two KN20 cylinder heads. This KN20 is serial #SN10 and it has been installed into our long-time client Gary’s Datsun 240Z, affectionately named the “Behemoth”. ZCG is always exploring the boundaries of powertrains and Gary’s Z has seen a few engines including an RB30DET, OS Giken TC24 and now the Datsunworks.
Here are few details on the powertrain setup for this Z:
-Rebello 3.1L Engine
-KN20 Cylinder head SN10 (but the performance level goes to 11)
-Induction type: Jenvey ITB EFI with Injector Dynamics injectors
-Engine management: Haltech Elite 750
-Header: Equal-length, custom fabricated by RacecraftNW
We are still in the tuning phase so Gary’s car is on a comfortable (conservative) setting. With the Datsunworks head it made 350hp/248tq at the wheels on 91 octane:
Even in a testing stage it is absolutely thrilling to drive. Gary’s car is a full ZCG-style restoration so it has the chassis to harness the power. The sound it makes is a sonorous tone only the K-series derived KN20 head creates…with a gnarly exhaust note to match. The ITB induction also provides a healthy wail…it’s a sensory overload and revs seem to climb endlessly.
To illustrate the Datsunworks experience we captured some video of what it is like to drive around town…the 6-speed and EFI really allow this car to be docile, especially when cruising on the freeway and at part throttle. Drop a gear and its becomes a wild animal. Not going to lie…it gave me goosebumps both as a passenger and spectator.
Watch the video complete with multiple dyno passes, street acceleration and fly-bys. VOLUME UP!
Body/Interior/Chassis
The “Behemoth” wears one of the best paint finishes we’ve done with fit/finish we feel would be hard to replicate. We collected parts for years to build. Glass was polished, unobtanium parts sourced. The interior features a fully restored dashboard with Recaro Specialist seats, power windows and a fully integrated roll cage. You can see the body restoration and chassis development here HERE.
The Z has early versions of our Z Car Garage offerings like 17″ Panasport C8 wheels (NLA), full coil-overs/adjustable suspension throughout and ZCG Stoptech ST42 (328mm) Big-Brakes:
Enjoy The Ride
Beyond the show-quality features and impressive drivetrain, this Z car loves to be driven and has attended many car shows, gatherings and road rallies like the 300-mile Tokyo Calling event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally
You can see it in action on the rally in the video below:
Gary’s Datsun 240Z will always be the pinnacle of Z car builds for us. It is ready to be enjoyed by the next owner and all we ask is that you give it the same love and respect we have given over the last 15 years. All sale inquiries can be made through Rob: rob@zcargarage.com. See below for all of our documentation of the this Z including every video, magazine feature and blog post:
On Saturday, August 26 we attended the Tokyo Calling 3 event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally. Z Car Garage participated with a group of client cars and enjoyed a wonderful day of driving through the foothills of Northern California. The event also featured 200+ Japanese classics and 90’s-era wonders to appreciate during the morning social gathering and rest stops. Enjoy our report with mega-photo gallery and video!
Breakfast Club Rally
The Breakfast Club Rally (BCR) started 3 years ago as a small group enjoying weekend drives. It blossomed into a monthly event with one hour of hanging out drinking coffee, followed by two hours of driving on the second Saturday of the month. Registration is free and always open to all makes. I highly recommend it for anyone looking to enjoy the beautiful Northern California roads and scenery. You can see our previous BCR reports HERE!
The initial BCR Tokyo Calling event and Tokyo Calling 2 follow-up were a huge success. We did not want to miss their third all-Japanese, mostly-vintage rally so I assembled a group of Z Car Garage clients and friends to participate in TC3. We left the shop at 6:15am heading to Sonoma, here is a preview of our cars:
Beau’s 1976 Datsun 280Z
Beau’s Datsun 280Z is fresh from Z Car Garage full cosmetic and mechanical restoration featuring Recaro Specialist seats, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles!
Ken’s 1970 Datsun 240Z
Rob drove our client Ken’s 1970 Datsun 240z. This is VIN#1762 Series 1 features our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), Z Car Garage CV Axles, L28 with Jenvey ITB EFI and KA24 5-speed transmission.
Armon’s Z has a great story we will share in its own feature. He got this car running on his own and even performed rust repairs. He’s running our ZCG Heat Shield on his triple-Weber carb’d L28:
Rob’s 1971 Datsun 510 Wagon
I drove Rob’s Datsun 510 Wagon. It features a 2.4-liter KA24DE engine with five-speed manual transmission sourced from a Nissan 240SX. The car is a wonderful driver and it is FOR SALE.
Linda’s 2023 Nissan Z
Linda Williams drove her 2023 Nissan Z. This is the special,”Proto Spec” edition limited to just 240 units. We love her “1OF240Z” tribute license plate. Linda joined us on the last two Tokyo Calling events in her 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate. She loves driving it everywhere.
Nick’s 1972 Datsun 510
Nick drove his 510 Wagon with recently added L18/twin mikuni ph44s and dyno tuning. In true rally-style, Nick and co-pilot Ben wore their headsets to communicate. This Dime has so much character!
Bluebird
Our client drove this Bluebird Coupe. It is a RHD example that was not sold here. Built by our friends at RacecraftNW it features an S15 SR20DET with 6-speed transmission, TSR Brembo brakes and VOLK wheels. Full feature coming to zcarblog.com soon!
The Z Car Garage Nissan Z
Josh drove our shop 2023 Nissan Z with Fast Intention TDX cat-back exhaust system. Full report with audio coming to zcarblog.com. Our morning caravan of 11 cars enjoyed cruising up I-280 through the Golden Gate Bridge. Nothing beats driving with fellow Z car owners!
Tokyo is Calling before the Rally!
Our crew arrived at the rally start in Sonoma and it was already filled with fabulous J-Tin nestled between the vineyards of Gundlach Bundschu winery. BCR hosted a “social gathering” from 7:30-9am so we could take in all the glorious cars. The vibe was tremendous, and as usual it went by too quickly. Let’s go through some of the highlights, with more photos in the gallery below!
Over 25 S30 Z cars were present!
I am always on the lookout for Nissans and Datsuns, and roadsters get my attention. There were at least 7 in attendance including a genuine 1967 2000. One of the most sought after Datsuns, these “half-year” models were introduced mid-1967 offering a 5-speed transmission and 150hp twin-Mikuni carb’d 2L engine…hot stuff for the era.
Ian’s SRL is #601 (out of ~1000 cars) and it was fully restored years ago by Les Cannaday in San Diego. Ian is meticulous about maintaining this car, but it is no garage queen, attending monthly rally events. The (655) Off-white paint with red interior is one of my favorites. Yes, it even sports a factory Nissan hardtop with all the stainless trim!
This familiar Honda S2000-powered ’69 2000 is now local with current owner Mark, nice meeting you!
A right-hand drive ’69 2000:
High and low-windshield roadsters models were present:
There were 15 Datsun 510s in wagon and sedan form. Our client Jay installed a set of our Z Car Garage CV Axles on his Green 510. Jay is a hardcore rally driver and also brought his mint wagon with family!
Back to Z cars, Pratibha and Andre recently acquired this ’73 240Z, welcome to Z family!
Our client Cameron’s Z32 Twin Turbo visited Z Car Garage for maintenance work, downpipes, inlet piping, larger intercoolers all from Specialty Z. Cameron has been bringing his 300 to us for many years and we we are really glad to see him driving again. More Z32s were on the rally!
Leo’s Nissan Pulsar GTi-R
We were pleasantly surprised to see Leo and his Nissan Pulsar GTi-R at Tokyo Calling 2 and he returned again for TC3! This RHD, JDM hot-hatch is known as “Baby Godzilla”, sporting all-wheel drive and an SR20DET drivetrain. What’s wild is that this Pulsar used to be owned by our very own Gary at Z Car Garage! Leo purchased it back in 2017 and drove it all the way from Reno, NV.
There were a handful of S14 and S13 240SX:
Nissan Skyline
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou has been a friend and client of Z Car Garage for many years. He drove his R32 Skyline GT-R with BBS LeMans wheels and period exhaust/aero. It was great to see our R32 Skyline clients Miles (Rays wheels) and Kurt W. (in his GC8 Subaru). All will be getting zcarblog updates:
The lone S130, with T-tops off for proper Napa motoring!
Enjoy this walk-around and driving video from Tokyo Calling 3:
So many cool cars please check the gallery for more photos! Next, let’s check out some non-Nissan/Datsun action…
Kei Classics
Suzuki Cappuchino and Autozam AZ-1 and mesmerizing the crowd with their size and neat features.
Honda
There were no less than 25 Honda S2000 sports cars on the rally!
Honda was well-represented including late model DC2 Integras, a few NSXs, CRXs and EF/EG hatches rounded out the display:
Toyota
Some of our favorite Toyota’s including Supra (A60, A70, A80), first gen MR2s, and AE86s! The Lexus IS300 SportCross with A80 Supra wheels was sweet!
Trucks and Vans
Let’s not forget the Japanese classic trucks and vans! Pajero Evolution, HiACE, REPU and Nissan:
The wildest car I found was this 4th gen Toyota Corona Coupe:
Rally On!
Photo by Zach Hubbell
The rally started at 9am and I was tasked with leading our group. There was no cell phone reception but I was armed with a turn-by-turn rally printout. I enjoyed hustling the green 510 Wagon through the backroads:
One of the perks of BCR events is their team of professional photographers at various stages capturing epic rolling and detail shots so people can focus on enjoying the drive. I encourage you to visit each of these SIX photographer’s photo albums to see shots of your rides:Blaine Olguin, Ben Kim, Alex Nibyt, Vijay Sankar, Everett Lederer, and Zack Hubbell.
Arriving at Sam’s General Store in Calistoga was another opportunity to see cars I missed at the starting point. Folks took a snack/coffee break here in the quaint town. I was just admiring each vintage ride cruise by…like this Isuzu Vehicross!
The rally concluded back at the Gundlach winery where BCR arranged for lunch from Kinoko Japanese Home Cooking. Folks enjoyed Donburi surrounded J-Tin everywhere. It was a superb venue to enjoy cool cars and great company.
Thanks BCR!
Many thanks to the organizers, we had a blast and I urge you to register for their next event, especially if you are in the South Bay area like me and want to see what driving bliss lies North. Here are a few thoughts from Rob re-capping the Tokyo Calling 3 event:
“We headed out from Z Car Garage with our clients and friends and made the 100-mile drive up to Sonoma wine country. Saw familiar faces and new ones it was really cool to see the Non-Datsuns. There was a REPU rotary-powerd truck which I really love. I grabbed some coffee, chatted and had fun admiring the variety of cars with friends. We got on the road and the routes BCR selects are really fun with great scenery and people along the way. “
“We met up in Calistoga, had lunch with friends. Loved seeing our clients on the drive… and one car had an exhaust weld failure. I took one of my shoelaces to secure it and this temporary exhaust bracket got us back on the road. I love Datsun adventures and we do anything to keep driving! Highly recommend the Tokyo Calling events, actually all the BCR events are loads of fun. They are a great group and we will Z you at the next rally!”
The Drive Home
Our adventure was not over as we had to travel another 100 miles South to the shop. We caravanned back, traveling through the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and through San Francisco.
Thank you to all of the Z Car Garage clients that made the journey with us. Huge thanks to BCR for extending their hospitality to our crew, everyone was thrilled. Here’s to the next rally and always, always #DoitInADatsun! More photos in the gallery below…
Filed under: 240z,510,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on September 5, 2023
WE LOVE RACING! Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the 20th Charity Challenge at Sonoma Raceway, this weekend September 8-10. Z Car Garage is participating and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group (John Morton Cup). This vintage racing event is totally FREE to spectators so please join us! Bring the family, enjoy cool cars and charity rides around the track.
See our 2023 Nissan Z as Pace Car!
Z Car Garage is happy to announce our 2023 Nissan Z will be on Pace Car duty at the Charity Challenge. Again, admission is FREE for this event and you will have access to all spectator areas on track, race cars and drivers. Parking is in Lot 2 overlooking the paddock. You can see our report from the 2022 Charity Challenge HERE
Z Car Garage Supports Five Datsun 510s!
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno:
#88 Todd Rueppel
Todd enjoyed his Z Car Garage trackside support experience with us at the Laps For Laguna event!
#7 Kelvin Tse
Kelvin and his brother Kenny are regular ZCG trackside support clients…
Gabe’s B-Sedan and his Dad’s B-Sedan:
#7 Rob Fuller
ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car
