On this #ThrowbackThursday we were happy to see this discovery from our friends at Classic Motorsports Magazine. They found these archived photos from the NOPI Nationals in 1997 and pictured is Rob Fuller auto-crossing his 1971 Datsun 510!

 

Almost a decade later and to this day Rob has not changed much. He still races Datsuns and here he is in the very same 510 auto-crossing at the Mt. Shasta All-Datsun Meet.

GO GA 510!

 

 

We are extremely happy for our friend and fellow Datsun enthusiast Tom D and his newly acquired B-sedan Datsun 510. This is a historically significant race car built and run originally by Norm Balzer.  Here it is at Road Atlanta in 1977:

 

Tom brought the 510 to Z Car Garage to have it prepared for the upcoming race season:

“I bought the car rough three years ago from Steve Link with the help of Dave Stone. Since then I exchanged information with MaryLee Balzer (the original builder and owner’s widow) and Jon Koobation, the last guy to campaign the car. Both kept all the records and materials associated with the car.  They graciously gave me all of it, even Norm’s race jacket (so cool). My plans are (with Rob and ZCG support) to get the car track ready.  The car will be campaigned with its original livery and as much of the original equipment as possible, including the FIA prepped L18.”

 

 
The car was wildly successful on the West Coast.  Many, including Larry Oka referred to the car as the “other BRE car” since it was built with the help of Mac Tilton and hardware from the BRE garage as the Trans Am series ramped down.  Tom plans to run several events this year including CSRG April at Infineon Raceway, The HSMA Festival of Speed in Late May,  The Rolex in August and the CSRG Charity Event in October. We are currently breaking the car down for race prep. It is shockingly original and a treat to see!

 

 

Enjoy that twin-Mikuni carb’d L-series sing!

A Rich Racing History

Purchased from a local Datsun dealer in 1971 for a one dollar, Norm Balzer took this Datsun 510 which was damaged in shipping straight to the garage to create one of the most successful B Sedan race cars on the West Coast.  With help from Mac Tilton, many parts were sourced from the BRE garage.  Norm raced the car from in B Sedan from 1973 until 1979 and then later as a GT2 entry in 1980.

Willow Springs 1976 and RA in 1979:

  

Jon competed with the 510 in GT2, GT3 and IMSA/GTU Special Group 2 from 1981 to 1992, amassing a number of first place finishes including a win in IMSA SP2 at Laguna Seca in May of 1983. Together Norm and Jon took this Datsun 510 to the podium forty times with thirteen first place finishes and six Southern Pacific Division Championships. Overall they competed in eighty-six races between 1973 and 1992.

 

 

Stay tuned for an in-depth look at this historical Datsun race car!

We are very excited to have Mr. K’s 1972 Datsun 240z at the shop! Yutaka Katayama (affectionately known as “Mr. K”) put Datsun on the map while serving as President of Nissan Motors USA.

 

This Z was Mr. K’s personal car, with touches like the “G-Nose”, custom mix Yellow Pearl Paint, wire wheels and automatic transmission. It was most prominently featured in Nissan’s multi-million dollar Datsun Heritage advertising campaign in the late 90’s.  Check it out in this Super Bowl Ad – “The Dream Garage” lead a series of T.V. commercials featuring Mr. K (played by an actor):

 

In 1977 Mr. K retired and before returning to Japan he gave the Z to his long time Administrative Assistant, Johnnie Gable and her son Kenny Ueda. The family still owns it to this day, driving to many events and Enjoying The Ride.  Johnnie contacted Z Car Garage to bring the Z in for some TLC. We are honored to have this national treasure at the shop and look forward to getting it back on the road!

  

If you listen closely, you can almost hear it whisper the words of Mr. K’s simple philosophy, “Love cars. Love people. Love life.”

  

Thank you Johnnie and Kenny for making the trip from Southern California, Long Live The Z!

 

Z Car Garage is featured in the current November issue of Grassroots Motorsports Magazine! Writer/GRM Live Host David S. Wallens visited our shop earlier this year and also dyno’d the new ND Miata with us. Grab a copy on newsstands now!

 

Classic Motorsports Magazine recaps the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion in their November issue, showing Rob Fuller’s IMSA GTU Datsun 240z and Randy Jaffe’s #46 BRE Datsun 240z.

 

 

On the cover of the current September issue of Classic Motorsports Magazine is Randy Jaffe’s BRE Datsun 240z. The 12-page feature on Peter Brock’s racing history with the Z also discusses Randy’s restoration of the famous #46 car. We were very happy to see Z Car Garage mentioned in the article after our efforts to support John Morton racing #46 at The Mitty earlier this year. Pick up a copy soon!

  

Our team removing and replacing a failed engine in the BRE Datsun 240z at the Mitty last April, video below:

  

 

Z Car Garage is also in Grassroots Motorsports Magazine in the August issue:

  

We are excited for the 2018 The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion where John Morton will be racing the BRE Datsun 240z again! You can see our report from last year’s RMMR HERE.

Need help planning for Monterey Car Week? Classic Motorsports has a great guide to all of the events during HERE.