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.
For #throwbackthursday we take a look at Rob Fuller’s 1970 Datsun 240z. This Series 1 S30 gained notoriety 15 years ago when it was powered by an RB25DET drivetrain. We had many good memories with the RB-configuration and like all Datsuns, this one has a great story behind it.
In 1997, Rob spotted a ’70 240Z sitting in a driveway while driving down a back road in Georgia. He soon learned that the owner had the Z for a really long time and it hadn’t been running for years. Unable to afford the owner’s price, Rob offered to wash and detail the car, as well as bringing a car cover to protect it until he had funds for towing. Eventually a deal was made with the seller, and Rob towed it home to start working on it. In 1998 he started his first job working at Z Service Unlimited in Atlanta when the recently acquired Z overheated and failed.
Rob and the 1970 240z at Z Service Unlimited in GA, ~1997. (Right) Turbo Tom’s EFI turbocharged L-Series build, still at the shop today:
A customer’s ’71 240Z had rolled-over and Rob swapped it’s 2.8L/5-speed/R200 diff into his Z. He enjoyed driving the Z all around Georgia before relocating to Northern California where he was offered a job at a local Z shop. Once the 240 was shipped over, Rob saved up money for yet another engine transplant, this time a 3.1L stroker with SUs. He attended many track days at Thunderhill and Laguna Seca with the setup. In 2001, the car was painted ’70 Mopar Go Green by William’s Auto Body:
In 2004, Rob opened Z Car Garage and started building a turbocharged L-series (utilizing Turbo Tom parts) for his Z. After completing his SR20DET-powered Datsun 510 he was inspired to have the same modern powerplant for GO GA Z. The turbocharged, inline-6 from the Nissan R33 Skyline was a logical choice. The swap was completed by July 2005.
A quick breakdown of the build: T3/T4 turbo, Nismo 740cc injectors, GReddy intake manifold, custom Z Car Garage front-mount intercooler, C&R radiator, JWT aluminum flywheel and heavy-duty clutch. Ford Lightning MAF, a Z32 TT fuel pump DEFI gauges. Suspension consisted of full Ground Control parts with 5-way adjustable Tokicos, custom 993 Porsche brakes behind 16×7 Panasport wheels wrapped in 225/50/16 Kumho Victor Racer V700 tires.
How did it perform? At 19 psi, the Z put down 440 whp and 380 lb-ft of torque at the wheels on the ZCG dyno. All while making the most intoxicating sounds. Enjoy this compilation I made of the Z in action, speakers up!
We enjoyed driving the Z to car shows/events including long trips to JCCS (2006) and the Mt. Shasta All-Datsun Meet.
GO GA Z even got some media exposure (before the days of Instagram and Facebook!) Below: Sport Compact Car Magazine, Lighting Auto (JDM), and Turbo Magazine
So where is the Z now? In 2009 the RB25DET was removed and built up to RB28 spec for installation into Gary’s Behemoth.
Gary would later decide to run the legendary OS Giken TC24B1Z in his Z, making it the world’s first LHD OS Giken TC24B1Z powered S30. Rob’s Z was the test mule for the TC24, a little known fact. Here it is on the dyno:
The RB28 sits on display in the front office at ZCG, while the GO GA Z chassis is still being utilized for TC24 development.
We hope you enjoyed our trip down memory lane with Rob’s RB-powered Z. I loved this car so much I built a 1/24th scale model of it. Please read on to learn about the model and see more pictures. LONG LIVE THE Z!
About The Model
One of my hobbies is 1/24 scale model car building. In the past few years I’ve focused on building scale replicas of friend’s personal cars. Rob’s 1970 240z holds a special place in my Z heart and I thought it would be a nice challenge to make a model faithful to the real car.
I made sure the engine bay had the entire RB25DET drivetrain visible with Greddy intake manifold, injectors, turbo and FMIC plumbing, BOVs, and that Interstate battery. On the outside I used Go Green paint for the body, Porsche Big Red calipers with cross-drilled rotors, Panasport-type wheels, and a photo-reduced license plate that reads ” GO GA Z”. The interior even has DEFI gauges, a MOMO steering wheel and Recaro seats…just like the real thing! Enjoy the pictures and stop by the shop to see the model in its display case, but please do not touch it 🙂
Z Car Garage is excited to participate in the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 23-26 at Laguna Seca. We will be driving and supporting several vintage race cars, including this special 1979 Datsun 280zx raced by Jim Fitzgerald. “Fitzy” is the winningest driver in SCCA history with an astounding 350+ wins in his career.
He was never afraid to trade paint to get the win: in 1980 at the C Production Runoffs at Road Atlanta he was seen slamming doors with Freddie Baker in his E-Type on the front straight, on the pace lap! Video of the action can be seen in this HERE. Following this race, the ZX became known as the “Designated Hitter” car. Fitzgerald died in 1987 after crashing his 300zx Turbo in the Trans Am series race.
Comedian/Paul Newman fan Adam Carolla purchased the ZX in 2009, and put it up for sale with our friends at Bring A Trailer last July. Our customer Alex McDowell won the auction and Rob and I visited Adam’s shop in Los Angeles to pick up the car. The Fitzy car was awesome to see in person, from the livery to wide Panasports it got my heart racing. We loaded it up onto a trailer courtesy of expert Datsun-restorer/historian Les Cannaday:
Before leaving, Adam’s crew was kind enough to let us peruse his car collection.
This place just might be Xanadu for Datsun nuts:
Adam is a big Paul Newman fan and it shows! Bonus points for a poster showing our #49 IMSA GTU 240z RMMR!
The ZX arrived safely at Z Car Garage (thanks Les) :
Fast forward to 2018, the Jim Fitzgerald 280ZX gained acceptance to race at the RMMR with Alex McDowell behind the wheel! ZCG began race preparation.
Rob dyno-tuned the L-series beast and it sounds fantastic. See the dyno and unloading in this video below:
We will have another feature for each of the race cars running at the Historics! Don’t forget to purchase your tickets for Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion 8/23! Enjoy more pictures in the gallery below: …[read more]
It is no secret that Z Car Garage is known as the dyno house for vintage race cars in the Bay Area. Since 2015 we have been following Glenn Chiou’s heroic restoration of the #39 race car piloted by Loren St. Lawrence in the 1970’s. The best part, to us, is that Glenn is doing the restoration by himself and with the help of several key Datsun folks like Troy Ermish and Les Cannaday at CDM.
Being an automotive enthusiast of meticulous nature, Glenn took the hard road of replicating this vintage race car as if it were built in the 1970’s, right down to the exact livery. No easy task! You can follow the restoration in detail on his blog HERE.
Glenn’s goal was to run the car at Sears Point/Sonoma Raceway in June. With race day fast approaching and his first time out on the track with his completed Z, he wanted to make sure the engine was running safely. ZCG stepped in with dyno tuning to ensure his A/F and timing were correct:
Here is the dyno run, she sounded healthy!
Glenn’s first race day at Sears Point was successful and drama-free!
We are happy to report that Glenn also ran the Z at PIR a few days ago with a podium finish…38 years later on the same track his car was raced in 1977!
Glenn, we admire you and your passion to keep the spirit of racing Datsuns alive. Thank you for bringing #39 back to life and thanks for bringing her to the shop.
