On Sunday I joined a group of vintage sedans for the Super Drive event in Pacifica, CA.  Now in its 16th year, SuperDrive Sunday is a single day road rally open to any and all vintage vehicles. Our friend Geoff assembled a group of classic cars I couldn’t help resist calling the “B-sedan Squad”. These models were competing in the heated vintage race groups of the late 60’s/70’s: I drove Rob Fuller’s 1971 Datsun 510, Geoff in his Inka BMW 2002, Cameron in a BMW Neue Klasse 1800, Ramon and Chris in their Alfa Romeo Berlina 1750/2000, and Diego in the E30. We left San Jose headed to Sea Bowl via 280N:

 

Rob’s Datsun 510 with S13 SR20DET sporting Go-Green paint and 14″ Panasports:

Euro Vibes

 

The scene at the pre-rally gathering was filled with cool cars, mostly Euro/Italian. I’m always on the hunt for Japanese metal and spotted an S30, ITR and Mitsubishi 3000GT. I was the lone Datsun 510.

 

There were at least 9 Alfa Romeo Berlina/Giulia sedans of all years. These are very pretty, capable vintage saloons. Many Alfa GTVs and Giulia Spiders:

 

More cool cars, some I’ve never seen before. like this Fiat Abarth 750 “Double-Bubble”:

  

A few familiar favorites:

 

 

Rad wheels abound too!

 

More pictures in the gallery, enjoy this short video:

 

Let’s Drive!

 

The group left Sea Bowl and headed south on scenic HWY1 with great weather and good company. Geoff and I split off from HWY 1 for a blast up Tunitas up to 35/Skyline. This was a fun stretch and I had to focus and keep the 510’s boost in check through the twisty bits!

 

From 35 we made a quick stop at Alice’s Restaurant. It was pleasant to see everyone enjoying their cars. We even ran into our friends like Naveed and met Alex, organizer of the Berkeley Cars and Coffee.

 

Alex (in his Berlina) joined myself, Chris and Geoff for a stretch down HWy 9 to Boulder Creek.

 

 

From Boulder Creek we ended the trip with a drive to 17 via Bear Creek Rd. This is a very technical section, again mostly free of traffic so we could have fun! All had a great time and I highly recommend getting out next Super Bowl Sunday to Super Drive! #DOITINADATSUN

More pictures in the gallery below!
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We have several exciting projects at the shop that will get full reports on zcarblog.com. This is only a brief sample, please tune into our Instagram story for more sights and sounds.

Return of the #46 BRE Datsun 240Z!

 

The BRE #46 Z is back from paint by our man William and it is finally getting the hand-painted livery applied at the shop as I write this. You may recall that the Z was flipped on to its roof with John Morton at the wheel racing at the 2019 Classic 24hr race at Daytona International Speedway

 

The Z will be re-assembled, dyno tuned and tested in a few weeks at Sonoma with our hero John Morton and Rob Fuller! Super amped to see #46 back in fighting form and very happy for owner Randy Jaffe. Check our IG story to see the livery being applied by hand, this is a lost art and incredible to watch.

 

1970 Salt Flat Racer Datsun 240z

This historically significant 1970 Datsun 240z was built by a team of Nissan employees to compete at Bonneville in the F/GT class. In 1976 their efforts resulted in a new land speed record of 166.037 mph, which stood unbroken until 1985. This Z resided in the Nissan Museum and is now in the care of Randy Jaffe. Lots of neat details the Z 432R seats and G-nose. More to come! Big thanks to Randy and Nissan for letting us bring this Z back to life. We just finished the exhaust and dyno tuning,

 One of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s will get a full report soon as well as the Stillen SMZ:

 

Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240z returned for a Rebello 3.2L with triple-Mikuni carbs on a Harada intake and CD009a 6-speed transmission:

     

Several S30 Z cars are getting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) like these two 280zs:

Ed B’s 240z and a pretty 280Z

 

Khang’s Z getting a 3.2L with Jenvey ITB EFI and our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) plus our Z Car Garage CV Axles.

 

The OMS Pace Car

This is a 1972 Official OMS Pace Car Duplicate. It is at present one of only two known survivors. Fifty were originally produced by Nissan Motors to commemorate the DATSUN 240Z being selected by the Ontario Motor Speedway to Pace the 1972 “U.S.A.C. California 500 Championship”. This one belongs to our long time customer and friend Linda. More to come!

B-Sedan Datsun 510s!

 

Larry Oka’s B-sedan is getting built and prepped with our Z Car Garage CV Axles. The Corky Bell 510 is also scheduled for a full restoration:

 

R32 Skylines!

 

Mike’s R32 GT-R is back for turbo, fueling and exhaust upgrades, full report soon! #TETUESDAY

 

We just got this really clean R32 GTS-T in:

Dyno Tuning your 350z/370z/Q/G

We have been dyno tuning your late model Nissan/Infiniti sports car daily. Bolt-ons, UPREV tuning, “popcorn” maps. Our customers leave happy with more performance. Call us to schedule an appointment! Here are just a few cars:

 

LONG LIVE THE Z! Check out our Instagram story for more updates!

 

We love to see our products being installed and enjoyed on customer cars. Classified Motorsports in Kelowna, BC is running our Z Car Garage CV Axles in this Datsun 510 race car.

 

The CVs are being installed in a R200 with OS Giken Super Lock LSD:

 

This 510 is powered by Chevy V8, you can see it action below:

 

You can see more of the 510 on Classified Motorsports’ Instagram. Thank you for supporting us and enjoy the Z Car Garage CV Axles!

 

 

Happy New Year! Today we drove our cars to Mt. Umunhum for the first cruise of the year. Our group included:

Mrs. Butters, our Series 1 shop 240z

 

Rob J’s 1970 Datsun 240z (Full story soon)

 

Marks 1972 Datsun 510

 

I drove my 1967.5 Datsun Roadster

 

Datsun enthusiast/racer Glenn C brought his FD RX-7, with fresh Volk TE37 wheels:

 

 

It was great to get out and drive our Datsuns. Many of us have not seen each other in person for months.

 

At the summit, Mt.Umunhum’s parking lot was at capacity. We chatted for a bit while many folks admired our cars.

 

Here’s a short video of the drive:

 

Thanks to everyone that came out.We hope you get to the Enjoy The Ride this year, let’s make 2021 amazing. DO IT IN A DATSUN!

More pictures in the gallery below:

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***HAPPY HOLIDAYS From Z Car Garage***

 

One of the real joys this holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you and wish you the very best for the new year. From all of us at Z Car Garage we thank our friends, family and customers again for another exciting and productive year! Enjoy our 2020 recap and upcoming projects. Please note our holiday closure below:

 

ZCG will be closed from 12/23/20 and we will re-open for business on 1/5/21.

 

 

Before we take a look back at highlights from 2020, here several exciting customer projects coming along at the shop:

 

Richard’s Sunshine yellow (#919) 1971 Datsun 240z came to us in 2018 and received a total mechanical restoration with upgrades including a 3.1L with triple-mikuni ph44s, KA24 5-speed transmission, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), Z Car Garage CV Axles and Z Car Garage Heat Sheild.

 

We also upgraded the interior with leather Recaro seats and sound deadening. Stay tuned for a full report!

 

Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240z returned for a Rebello 3.2L with triple-Mikuni carbs on a Harada intake and CD009a 6-speed transmission:

    

Dirk’s 1973 Datsun 240z is back for a 3.0L engine and tuning, we can’t wait to show you the dyno results!

 

This historically significant 1970 Datsun 240z was built by a team of Nissan employees to compete at Bonneville in the F/GT class. In 1976 their efforts resulted in a new land speed record of 166.037 mph, which stood unbroken until 1985. This Z resided in the Nissan Museum and is now in the care of Randy Jaffe. Lots of neat details the Z 432R seats and G-nose. More to come! Big thanks to Randy and Nissan for letting us bring this Z back to life.

 

One of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s will get a full report soon:

 

 

Highlights from 2020

 

Even though 2020 was crazy year  for all of us we still managed to have fun on and off the track. The shop made some really great progress as well.

Enjoy these highlights from 2020 and  Z you in the New Year!

 

240Z

Mrs. Butters Shop Series1

PROJECTZ: Jason’s 1971 Datsun 240z

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

PARTS: Z Car Garage Big-Brakes for Jaime’s 1972 Datsun 240z

KAMIKAZ: Randy’s 1970 Datsun 240z

AWESOME Z: Bill’s 1970 Datsun 240z

Yoni’s 1972 Datsun 240z

Greg’s 1973 Datsun 240z

Daisy’s 1972 Datsun 240z

Do It Yourself: Ken’s 1970 Datsun 240z

Dave’s 1972 Datsun 240z

280Z

Life is a Journey, Enjoy the Ride: Cece’s 1977 Datsun 280z

Greg’s 1977 Datsun 280Z

Long Live The Z: Ruth and Larry’s 1978 Datsun 280Z

Triple Six: David’s 1975 Datsun 280z

Rallye With Family: Geoff’s 1972 Datsun 240z

300zx

Love Thy Monster: Paul’s 1991 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo

Jay’s 1990 Nissan 300zx Twin Turbo

Worth the Wait: Chris’ 1992 Nissan 300zx Twin Turbo

 

Silvia, Bluebird, 510, DR30 and Fairlady Roadster

Rick’s 1965 Nissan Silvia

High School Sweetheart: Kevin’s Datsun Bluebird SSS

Mark’s 1972 Datsun 510

TUNING: Eric Straw’s SR20-Powered Datsun Roadster

 

350Z

For The Track: Dan’s Supercharged Nissan 350z

Josh’s Supercharged Nissan 350z

TUNING: UPREV and EcuTek Dyno Tuning For Your Z/G

 

370z

Big Brakes and More Boost for Max’s Stillen Supercharged 370z

 

R32

Mike’s 1991 Nissan Skyline GT-R

Racing

RACE REPORT: David Love Vintage Races with CSRG at Sonoma

RACE REPORT: Datsun 510s Rule at Laguna Seca!

 

Rallyes/Events

Breakfast Club

DWA Rally From home South

Z Car Garage Datsun 240Zs Enjoying The Ride!

Happy 510 Day!

PARTS: Z Car Garage Big-Brakes on Two Datsun 240Zs

EVENTS: Fuel Supply Co. Cars & Coffee 2/29

EVENTS: Cars and Coffee with Driving While Awesome!

 

Media

MEDIA: ZCG Shop Tour with Hoonigan Autofocus

MEDIA: James’ Z Featured on Hoonigan Autofocus!

MEDIA: ZCG-Built Datsun Roadster on Hoonigan Autofocus

 

 

 

Enjoy The Ride!