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On Saturday, September 24 the Breakfast Club Rally is hosting Tokyo Calling 2, their second All-Japanese car rally in San Rafael, Ca.
To register and see more details, please visit their website HERE
We have run several rallies with Breakfast Club and it is a total blast, you can see my previous event reports HERE.
Stay tuned for caravan information from Z Car Garage.
Z you there!
From all of us at Z Car Garage we hope you have a wonderful 4th of July weekend!
Long Live The Z
Shown above are our clients:
The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) is one of the oldest Z car clubs in the nation. In its prime they had over 600 members with close ties to Yutaka Katayama (“Mr. K”) and Nissan USA. We had a wonderful time attending their 50th Birthday Celebration at the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Ca on June 5, 2022.
Despite some morning rain the turnout was impressive for a relaxed gathering. No judged car show or awards, just Z-Car fans catching up with old friends and meeting new enthusiasts. (above) Aerial photos by Bryan Delohery.
A selection of Datsun race cars also joined the “generations” display. Datsun 510 guru and racer Troy Ermish displayed his 1971 B-Sedan 510 “Penny”:
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.
Glenn has vintage raced this Z at several high-profile events. He turned a track-mishap into an opportunity to perform a total-restoration (again) and bring this Z back in “Bay Area Datsun Dealers” livery as raced by FAR Performance privateer Walt Maas.
Rob Fuller of Z Car Garage displayed his #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z. An interesting note, both Glenn and Rob’s race cars have ties to ZONC gatherings decades ago.
Linda Williams’ 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate was staged next to the #49 IMSA GTU race car (the original OMS Pace car). Z Car Garage revived this historically-significant Z from its slumber to make it a nice driver for Linda while retaining its survivor status. She loves driving it everywhere.
ZONC teamed up with Nissan to display the new 2023 Z as part of the “generations” display in front of the Blackhawk Museum. This is the Performance model sporting a 6-speed manual and Passion Red paint. And Z Car Garage got to drive it back to our shop at the end of the event!
Here are a few of my favorite S30 Z cars from the gathering, starting with this flared beauty on Watanabe wheels:
Flared Series 1 Z with G-nose and Works-style wheels:
We were pleasantly surprised to see many Z Car Garage clients so let’s take a look at what they drove. Ed B is the original owner of this 1971 Datsun 240Z ZCG has maintained for almost two decades:
Bob Russell is the original owner of this S30 we will have a full report on zcarblog soon!
Representing the G35s were our clients Larry and long-time client Jason:
Eugene and long-time client Craig showed their 350Zs:
Richard M’s ZCG-modified 370z was representing Z34s
Here is a video from the 50th Birthday Celebration with load-in of the #49 IMSA Datsun 240Z, walk-around of the displays and the new Z leaving, enjoy! More highlights below…
Who could forget the S130 280zx! We spotted 4:
Three Z31s, including David’s sweet 25th Anniversary edition. This was his first ZONC event, welcome and thanks for bringing your Z out David!
In the middle of freshly painted/detailed Datsuns and Nissans was this rather dilapidated S30. Upon closer inspection viewers were treated to the tremendous revival of this real-deal Nissan WORKS rally car. Recently I had just posted a blog report on Randy’s East-African Rally Tribute, so seeing an actual, surviving rally car in person blew me away. We all geeked out pretty hard on the details, and they were impressive:
This is chassis #2 of 4 that were built by Nissan for the 1971 Monte Carlo Rally. It is the project of Tom K and noted Datsun expert Steve Pettersen and their restoration website is a must-visit for history and feature documentation (as shown above). The Z remains largely intact with original parts like the Nissan competition exhaust manifold and roll bar. Period-correct parts like the Ikeda Bussan rally seat and reclining navigator seat were sourced. Check out the heater-port to defrost the headlight covers, Nissan-branded acrylic windows and more:
Authentic Magnesium rally wheels and Kanto Seiki 8krpm tach! Thanks Tom and Steve for bringing it out to the ZONC event!
This Z deserves its own spotlight, but enjoy this walk-around video until we can visit Tom and take some proper coverage:
Our client Steve’s Nismo Z33 and a brace of 350Zs in the generations display. Good to see a build from way back, Tom’s supercharged 370Z.
Jay’s 510 features our Z Car Garage CV Axles. We will have a full report soon as he just completed a DWA rallye in the Sierras!
Matt’s 510 with turbocharged KA24DE:
Andrew’s 4-door Hakosuka Skyline and Josh’s 620 truck
The lone Datsun Roadster was Hotep’s ’69 2000 with L-series drivetrain and factory, OEM hardtop!
This rad little B13 Sentra b13 packed a full SR20VET engine from a Nissan X-Trail and 6-speed transmission!
S12, and S14 Nissans:
A very large showing of R35 GT-Rs parked together
Plenty of cool, modified cars but this one caught our eye, it is a GT-R “T-Spec”.
Only offered in two colors, Millemium Jade and this Midnight Purple finish made iconic by special-edition R34 Skylines. Inside, a Mori green interior and alcantara touches really set it apart from other models. Best part? The owner drives it everywhere despite being an ultra-rare and pricey variant.
I had the opportunity to drive the 2023 Nissan Z from the ZONC show back to our shop in San Jose with a group of die-hard Nissan fans. Huge thanks to Nissan! We had the Z for a few days to enjoy so stay tuned for a full report!
Spending the day at the ZONC 50th Birthday Celebration reminded us to (in the words of the late Mr.K), ” Love cars. Love people. Love Life.” This is a club that keep the Z community together year-round and we are excited for their next events. Don’t forget to check out our picture gallery below! Big thanks to the ZONC organizers and Nissan for bringing the new Z out. Stay tuned for a full report our time with the 2023 Z!
James Glenn Babb, beloved friend and colleague left this world suddenly on 4/17/22. He was 21 years old. We miss him dearly and offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends.
James enjoyed life to the fullest, pursuing his passions and bringing people together along the way. He was also a Nissan 350Z owner and we were fortunate to have him working with us at Z Car Garage. Here are a few thoughts from the team at ZCG remembering James:
From Nick Filip,
“Young James was a character cut from a very special cloth. I’ll never forget when his first day at the shop started when Rob didn’t call him back quickly enough and he showed up to find out why. He brought passion and dedication with him in every endeavor that I was lucky enough to see. From developing and drifting his Z, to helping at the shop, to music, to paintball, James was entirely stoked, and that stoke was infectious. He will be sorely missed by everyone who was lucky enough to spend time with him and see the light he brought to any situation”
From Joshua Corwin,
“Young James personifies the idiom, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” The first time I met James, I didn’t pay him much attention. But during his short time working at Z car Garage, through his hard work, commitment, eagerness to learn, and critical thinking, this purple haired, pierced and tattooed young adult impressed me everyday. Not only was his work ethic top notch, but his attitude, charisma, and passion was remarkable. He is missed not only as an amazing shop helper, but as a unique and exceptional human being.”
From Rob Fuller,
“James was only with us for a short time and left a lasting impression with Z Car Garage. He was bright, ambitious, funny, rad and had an incredible work ethic. I could not believe how hard he worked, taking pride in everything he did. He loved loading cars on/off the dyno and sometimes driving them on the dyno. He helped Gary organize our stockroom and got along really well with everyone. We understood when he had to leave so he could focus on school…we missed him everyday and wished we could give him another shot at working with us. “Young James” as we called him at the shop: a brilliant soul that left this world too soon. We told his Mom and brother that we are here if they need anything on the Z.”
As Rob recalled, one of our fondest memories of James was how excited he was to have his 350Z dyno tuned at the shop. He was ecstatic about loading his own Z on to the dyno and running it through the gears.
I will never forget meeting James by chance on Skyline, Christmas Eve of 2020. He was so kind, introducing me to his friends and crew. He even gave me a demo of drifting in his beloved 350Z that we helped him set up at ZCG. He was so jazzed! My Datsun alongside James’ Z:
In the video below you can see James piloting his Z on the Z Car Garage dyno, and that unforgettable drift session we had:
On May 17, Z Car Garage attended a celebration of James’ life in Los Gatos, Ca. There was an incredible outpouring of love from friends and family at the event. James’ Z was driven and displayed by his brother, Mason. Guests laid flowers over the Z, in remembrance of James:
Our hearts go out to his mother Jane and brother Mason, his family and all friends lucky to have been blessed by James’ presence. James truly embodied the words Mr. K said best, “Love cars. Love people. Love life.”
Thank you for being a part of our lives James, we know you are somewhere Enjoying the Ride! More photos in the gallery courtesy of Stella and friends. Stay tuned for a Memorial Drive in honor of James with a date announced soon.
Rob’s Bay Area Datsun Dealers 510:
Gabe’s B-Sedan:
Kelvin’s Ex-Ted Gruner Datsun 510
Nick’s Datsun 510 Wagon:
Rob’s Turbo6 80’s-revival project:
Rob Fuller’s 1971 Datsun 510 featured on Hoonigan Autofocus with Larry Chen
Enjoy The Boost in this video of the 510s in action. You can also see more on our Instagram story. We hope you can Do It In A Datsun today too!
