Filed under: 280Z
by Alvin G @ 12:23 am on May 2, 2023
This 1977 Datsun 280Z features a GM 350 V8 engine with T56 manual transmission, 4-wheel Wilwood disc brakes, authentic G-nose (rare) front end and bolt-on fender flares. Recent service at Z Car Garage includes a new Modern Driveline clutch/flywheel combo with new TO bearing, new exhaust system and dyno tuning.
This S30 is a great starting point for someone that wants to do a V8 Z car. See video of it driving, walk-around and dyno on our FOR SALE page HERE
Tony H acquired this 1971 Datsun 240Z through our friends at Bring a Trailer and visited Z Car Garage for mechanical sorting. We are big fans of BaT and despite not winning the auction outright Tony still ended up with the Z…
“I bought my Z directly from a seller on Bring a Trailer after being the high bidder but not reaching the seller’s reserve. I drove down to SoCal to pick up the Z car with my friend. We test drove it and it seemed ok but I knew it definitely needed a good tuning. We made a deal and on the trailer it went.”
Z Dream Car
Tony’s Z story is simple: “My Dad had a body shop when I was growing up. I saw tons of cars come through but the one that wowed me the most was the 240Z. I remember wishing I could own one of these cars one day. The rest is history!”
The Safari Gold ’71 was on display at Dublin Nissan before coming to Z Car Garage and it isn’t the only Datsun 240Z in Tony’s stable. His silver S30 was also on display in the showroom, right next to our 2023 Nissan Z!
Spotlight with Nissan
Making this Z even more special was its role in a 2021 Nissan commercial with actress Brie Larson featuring the debut of the 2023 Nissan Z. The previous owner kindly provided Tony with media containing outtakes from the commercial (see video below) filming:
Mechanical Sorting at Z Car Garage
As Tony mentioned, the Z was in great cosmetic shape but needed some mechanical work to be enjoyed. Starting in the engine bay we installed a new battery hold down with frame and new cables. All cooling hoses were replaced and we replaced the existing brake booster vacuum hose with a braided unit:
We installed an MSD coil, dialed-in the the SU carbs, adjusted the valves, corrected issues with the choke cables, added a ground to his Pertronix install and set the timing. More photos of the engine bay work in the gallery below:
The exhaust was replaced with our ZCG exhaust system using a Magnaflow resonator/muffler and slash-cut tip:
Dyno Tuning
We dyno-tuned Tony’s Z with a baseline of 136hp/138tq. After Rob’s tuning the Z made 143hp/148tq at the wheels:
Enjoy this video showing the dyno runs, walk-around and the Nissan commercial this Z was featured in:
Chassis
The braking systems was overhauled with new hoses and brake lines. Rotors were roughed-in with chamfered pads, lubed all suspension parts and poly bushings and bled the brakes. All 4 struts were replaced and we installed Tony’s springs, trimmed for best fit with urethane MacPherson bump stops and full in-house alignment services:
We also replaced all of Tony’s fuel vapor hoses in the back of the car. Z Car Garage developed a small kit as these vapor line pieces are NLA. This will help eliminate fuel small that can enter the cabin when filling up your Z. We always fill up the fuel tank to ensure our vapor hose kit works perfectly:
Enjoy The Ride
Tony was happy with the work Z Car Garage performed, and we loved to hear his feedback:
“When I brought Rob my car it was was not running right. It felt lethargic. It was miss firing and most of the time wouldn’t start up. When I got to Rob he pointed out some issues with the engine bay set up. He said he would take care of all the issues and did just that! When I picked up my Z it felt like a totally different car. I remember thinking to myself that this must be the way it felt when the car was first driven off the dealership lot. Rob did an amazing job tuning and cleaning up the engine bay! Z Car Garage is great!”
Thank you Tony for trusting your Z with us, we enjoyed working with you and loved seeing both of your Z cars on display. More photo of Tony’s 1971 Datsun 240Z in the gallery below:
WE LOVE RACING! On March 24-26, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted the David Love Vintage races at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage had a blast racing and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in the B-Sedan Group. It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our report with in-car footage and photos
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.
Video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom), Enjoy the sweet L-series music!
ZCG clients running at the David Love Vintage races included:
#8 Gabe Rothman
Gabe has been an avid track day weekend warrior for five years and we will highlight our preparation of his B-Sedan 510 soon. Let’s hear his race report from Sonoma:
“This year’s David Love Memorial, as always was a first-class event attended by the usual fun and friendly rabble of vintage racing enthusiasts. The weather was perfect, with clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures, but cool track temps which made for ideal racing conditions.”
“While I had a few ups and downs over the weekend, I had far more ups highlighted by setting a new personal best of 1:53.9 en route to a 4th place finish in the Saturday feature race. This time represented a 2-second improvement from my previous best. It just goes to show that the best mod is the driver mod — track time rules all! I can’t take all the credit though. As always, I received phenomenal trackside support from Rob Fuller and Z Car Garage, who were there to help me fine-tune the car and provide valuable insights and advice. Rob, in particular, is an invaluable resource. His insights are always tailored to suit the driver and have helped me rapidly move to the front of the B-Sedan field despite this being just my second season in the car.”
Watch Gabe putting in work with his Personal Record session, volume up and enjoy!
#72 Tom Dockery
Tom Dockery drove his Ex-Norm Balzer 510. This car made its debut in May 2019 and we are excited to share its full story and profile Tom’s journey into racing soon.
Tom made a triumphant return to last year’s 2022 CSRG Season Finale after the car was down for repairs. He’s getting back into the rhythm of things and we are happy to see him behind the wheel again. Let’s hear his race report…
“The weekend didn’t start as planned, as work issues forced a late arrival to the Friday practice day. I managed to get on rack for the last practice of the day, but the combination of track conditions and my absence from Sonoma Raceway produced really slow and sloppy laps. Saturday, morning practice was an improvement and I was able to find a better Sonoma rhythm. Qualifying race in the afternoon was interesting mostly because the Mini’s were thrown into our group. There were a few of the Mini guys running similar lap times with me so the were certainly in the mix at the start. Sunday I put on new tires and I continued to find more speed and faster lap times. I look forward to picking up where I left off at the end of April when the SVRA event comes to the Sonoma.”
Here is in-car video from Tom’s 510 with a cool rear-facing camera angle, enjoy!
#7a Kelvin Tse
Kelvin’s 510 features our Z Car Garage CV Axles and dyno tuning. He and his brother Kenny both had a total blast with us at the David Love event.
#64 Kenny Tse
Photo by Josel Cobangbang
Kenny drove the Ex-Ted Gruner B-Sedan 510. He had pretty serious goals this year and he was picking up the pace really well.
#7 Rob Fuller
Photo by Josel Cobangbang
Rob Fuller piloted the Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute 510. Here is his report from the race weekend with in-car video:
“Once a year we get to attend the David Love. There was a good mix of 19 cars in Group 3 Sedans (2002s, Alfas, 510s and Minis). ZCG supported 5-cars total: myself, Tom, Gabe and Tse brothers Kelvin and Kenny. Cars in the field: Parker and his dad Bruce were fast in their Alfas. Parker’s car was acting up so I opted to start from the back rest of the weekend. We’ve been making changes to the suspension setup in BADD 510 and its working well…very slippery on Friday from recent rains, better over weekend.”
“Honorable mention goes to Kenny who picked up the pace towards his goals, Kelvin and Tom getting back into the swing of things. Gabe joined the ZCG team last year and his car had alot of issues we’ve been sorting them out with each event. It’s been a blast watching him excel…he makes great decisions, listens and he’s fast. He was up in the front of the field and we are super excited to see how he does at the SVRA events. Gabe’s car has a 2L in it so it’s a pretty heavy car but man he is wheeling it. Really proud of him and all the guys. We had a great spot and the vibe in this ZCG pit is filled with friends, family and fun. great time. Kudos to the CSRG people they put on such a great event. Excited to be a part of their organization.”
Enjoy this in-car video from Rob’s 510 as he starts from the very back of the race group:
You can see more of Rob’s race videos from the CSRG event (and other race) on his YouTube Channel. Give the guy a thumbs up and subscribe while you are there!
“CSRG has been gracious in letting ZCG provide pace cars for the race events… since it was raining and we did ‘t get our RZ34 in time we thought it appropriate to have Mrs. Butters do the duty…pretty cool to have Butters out there with pace car lights leading the track. Even the Pace Car driver really enjoyed her.
Photo by Josel Cobangbang (L) and Geoff Pitts (R)
A weekend of great racing and good times
It was so wonderful to share this experience with our friends and CSRG family. We look forward to another B-sedan event and special shoutout to ZCG crew including Nick F and Cooper. Running all of the cars above would not be possible without them.
Rob also test drove a few cars for clients to give feedback. Big thanks to Meghan for taking photos and video around the paddock. Here is a paddock highlight reel of what it’s like at a vintage race…you should join us next time!
There were cool cars everywhere in the paddock:
ZONC corral
Our friends from The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) hosted a car corral on Saturday to support the David Love Vintage Races at Sonoma Raceway! Turnout was great and this CSRG event is free and family friendly, giving everyone the opportunity visit the pits and drivers up close. Super cool to see our client Linda Williams’ 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate with fellow Nissan/Datsun owners!
More photos in the gallery below! See you at Sonoma April 27 and Laguna Seca May 4 for SVRA’s double-header vintage racing events!
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 are huge fans of the 1990-1996 Nissan 300ZX and this “Stillen GTZ” example is a unicorn among Z32s. In the early 90’s the GTZ was a limited run, special edition 300ZX Twin Turbo produced by Steve Millen Sportparts Inc. Only 6 GTZs were built in the series, and our client Mike B owns #6 finished in Diamond Black Pearl Metallic. Z Car Garage performed a mechanical refresh with dyno tuning to get it back in fighting form.
From Z to Super Z, by Stillen
Photo by Ryan Brackin
Steve Millen took Nissan’s World Class Sports Car and transformed it into the GTZ. Suspension, engine, transmission and aerodynamic upgrades used in developing this special 300ZX Twin Turbo could be found in Stillen’s performance catalog:
GTZ-specific parts included 17″ Billet Wheels…designed by Steve Millen and Elite wheels allowing 275mm-width tires:
Aerodynamics package highlights included the LeMans-inspired GTZ Rear Wing and GTZ turbo front spoiler that directed air into side-mounted intercoolers. Also shown are the vented front/rear fenders and louvered front panel:
Optional GTZ single tip exhaust system, fitting through GTZ Rear Valance opening. Performance upgrades included Brembo front brake calipers, EVC boost controller, HKS Boost and exhaust gas temp gauges. Catalog scans courtesy of Z32 enthusiast Jay S:
The GTZ received accolades from the press, with an orange example gracing the cover of Road & Track Magazine. Their April 1991 issue featured and extensive review of the car:
“It’s and absolute carnival ride to tip into the throttle, hear those twin turbos spool up and hang on as the GTZ reels in the horizon…a tractable, smooth road car that performs, handles and feels like a race car”
Motorweek put the Stillen GTZ up against a tuned Mazda RX-7 of the same area in their wonderful road test video, you can see it HERE. The GTZ is not to be confiused with the SMZ which was a special edition of the 300ZX that was produced in collaboration with Nissan to celebrate 25 years of the Z car.
Mike’s Z32 Story
Before we get into the mechaincal work let’s hear from Mike and how he acquired his 1991 Stillen GTZ…
“I was working in Phoenix during most of the 90’s in advertising and design for major automotive brands. My job was so stressful but at the beginning and end of each day I had a 30-45 minute drive home. I was driving a 1964 Triumph TR4 at the time and also a 1991 Crown Victoria Police Interceptor. I wanted a 300 ZX TT in black and then I would add all of the body stuff like wings and front valence etc later. Saw the ad for a Stillen GTZ in Autoweek magazine and bought it in 1994 with about 7,000 miles on it. It was like brand new.”
“I bought the car from a lady who had just moved back to Beverly Hills from Hawaii. While in Hawaii she saw the orange GTZ that was on the cover of the April 1991 cover of Road & Track magazine and wanted to have one built for herself. She called a Nissan dealer while she was in Hawaii that was in San Juan Capistrano, CA and ordered a Diamond Black Pearl Twin Turbo. She paid for it with a credit card. It cost about $40,000. It was then trucked to Stillen in Costa Mesa where the car was turned into a GTZ. She spent somewhere around $45,000 on the car to do that. She also had a car phone installed in the center console. It is still there and works. She also had TeleTrac installed which was a GPS tracking device in case the car was stolen, pretty rare at that time. Once the car was finished Stillen put the car in a wooden crate and it was air-freighted to Hawaii. She moved back to the mainland, got pregnant and decided the GTZ was not the car for a pregnant woman so she bought an Infiniti Q45 and had Stillen trick it out. I had the car serviced by Stillen, for the most part, while I was living in Phoenix.”
Mike recalls attending a Stillen Z meet in the 90’s and meeting Steve Millen for the first time with his GTZ. A recent visit to their facility in Orange County in 2022 yielded some great results:
“Steve Millen had sold the company and had moved back to New Zealand, but as I walked up the path to the front door of the shop an older guy was walking out of the building towards me….I was all…that looks like Steve Millen, and it was! We talked for a bit about the car and how he remembered it and the lady who commissioned it. He wrote a short letter for me stating that it was a genuine GTZ, number 6 in a series of 6 built by him. It also stated that my car was most likely the only one still in existence.”
The GTZ at Z Car Garage
We met Mike B in early 2022. He has owned this Z for 28 years and it was not running correctly so it came down to Z Car Garage from SF. We performed a full inspection, resolved some items while it was here and ordered several parts for it: “I was getting an oil change at a Nissan dealer south of SF a few years ago. While it was on the rack they noticed a few things that needed to be fixed. They didn’t recommend their dealer do the work and gave me Rob’s number and info. It was in the middle of covid so times were weird. They said Z Car Garage was one of the best in the country for Z work and I was happy to hear the shop was about 40 miles away from me. I went down to meet Rob and we discussed what should be done with the car to bring it up to snuff.”
The Z had an older exhaust system on it in rough condition. Rob had one in his parts stash so we hooked Mike up with a fresh Stillen axle-back exhaust system. We replaced all power steering hoses, rack bushings, valve covers, PCV valve, EGR, O2 sensors and everything under the plenum:
We installed Koni Yellow sport shocks F/R, lubed sway bars, and performed a full alignment. The passenger side door window motor failed, NLA but we had one and installed it. The oil was changed and car prepped for smog.
Dyno Tuning
With larger 740cc injectors we made a new chip so we could dyno tune it. It has a Greddy Profec b boost controller, set boost for 91 octane and made 310hp/352tq at the wheels. Solid gains over the baseline of 221hp/236tq:
The Stillen GTZ in action: walk-around, dyno runs and in-car driving with Rob and Mike B, enjoy!
Mike was really happy with the Z Car Garage service:
“Z Car Garage is great! I feel really confident that Rob does the best work out there and really knows his stuff. I took my car in for the boots etc and when all of the work was completed late last year my car was like a whole different beast! Rob did work on the engine like larger injectors and replaced all the fuel lines etc. He did some suspension work as well which took it to a whole new level. My first trip down to the shop, when the car was ready, Rob took me for a spin. That car had never handled like that before or performed like that. I think he said I got about another 100hp to the rear wheels after time on the Dyno. It was unreal to drive.”
“The engine pulls now like it has never before. The power comes on fast and it just feels like it can go and go! When Stillen first built the car they installed Bilstein shocks and Tokico adjustable struts. Over the years I had those replaced and the car never handled as well. When Rob was done with the car it now corners like it used to…like a road grader!! We took a corner near his shop at about 80, and this is a corner I’d usually take at about 40. It handled that corner like a race car, no body roll and tons of grip.”
With the mechanicals sorted, Mike went a step further and had paint and bodywork by our man William. Mike also had the original decals reproduced so the car now looks like it did back when it was built:
Mike’s GTZ at home in San Francisco. Although he’s owned it for nearly 30 years it’s time to let it go to another Z enthusiast. The GTZ is up for auction on Bring a Trailer right now! You can view the auction HERE
We enjoyed working your special GTZ, thanks for your support Mike and Long Live the Z! More photos in the gallery below:
Filed under: Nissan Z
by Alvin G @ 2:40 pm on April 7, 2023
Today we took delivery of our 2023 Nissan Z at Nissan of Dublin, Ca. This is a 6-speed manual, Performance trim finished in Black Diamond Pearl with Graphite Leather interior.
Huge thanks to Dan Passe and Jonathan Buhler from Nissan North America for making this a reality! Our RZ34 has been waiting in Dublin Nissan’s showroom (next to our client’s Datsun 240Z) since December and we had a wonderful experience with Mario (General Manager) and Louis (Parts Manager).
Mario, Louis and the team at Dublin Nissan treated us like VIPs. If you are in the market for a new Nissan, visit their brand new dealership! They were kind of enough to let us be a part of the Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) of our new RZ34. This included protective film removal, detailing, front lip/air deflector and center cap installation. It was a new experience for Rob and myself that we appreciated.
Enjoy this video of the Pre-Delivery Inspection:
Rob with Louis and Mario, great people at Dublin Nissan:
With 22 miles on the odometer we drove our new Z back to Z Car Garage in San Jose. I have driven the RZ34 several times last year and it still amaZed me. It was a great way to celebrate our 19th Anniversary (see below)!
Z Car Garage is excited to enjoy the new Z and begin tuning it with parts development following. Enjoy more photos from our delivery and read further about our RZ34 journey with Nissan. Long Live The Z!
From Prototype to Production
Our journey with the new Z began in May 2021, when Nissan invited us to their Headquarters in Tennessee to get up close and personal with the Z Proto. We thank Dan Passe and Jonathan Buhler for bringing ZCG along for the ride. Here are the past New Z events that we’ve been fortunate to be a part of:
Today marks the 19th Anniversary of Z Car Garage. We thank all of our clients and friends for supporting us along the way. Your business and trust is greatly appreciated! It is hard to believe ZCG opened its doors in 2004. Enjoy these photos of the shop from today and 19 years ago.
2004 vs 2023
Front office 2023 compared to 2004, with a young Rob Fuller laying down the flooring:
Our (soon to be) dyno room in 2004 and 2023:
Z Car Garage is excited for another 19 years! LONG LIVE THE Z
