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:

Lou

Khang

Glenn

 

On Sunday 6/13 we attended the Morning Motors Cars & Coffee event hosted by DrivingWhileAwesome (DWA) in Santa Cruz, CA. The event impressed us again with a fun vibe and superb variety of cars. One of the many perks of DWA Morning Motors is its location surrounded by the best driving roads. This morning however, I ran solo in my Datsun Roadster straight to the venue in front of the Old Wrigley Building.

 

It’s smart to arrive before 8:30am to grab a shaded parking spot and coffee/donuts (thanks DWA!) before they run out. The event is so close to downtown Santa Cruz and HWY 1 I invited my family to enjoy the cars and visit our favorite beach afterwards.

 

Mandatory Nissan/Datsun

I was happy to see so many Nissans and Datsuns at Morning Motors.

 

There were a three Datsun 510 wagons and one 510 2-door! This is Mark G’s 510, a client we’ve been lucky to work with, you can see more details about his Dime HERE

 

 

Our very own Nick F. in his 1972 510 wagon on SSR wheels:

 

Ray’s Hakosuka Skyline, now sporting  our Z Car Garage CV Axles! We look forward to seeing Ray for more upgrades on this already stunning Skyline that gets driven everywhere:

 

Pall’s R32 Skyline in (AH3) Pearl Red. Pall K acquired this Pearl Red (AH3) R32 from our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers. We love the gorgeous paint color and Volk TE37SLs. He is also a ZCG client!

 

Todd’s R32 Skyline GTS-T. I just saw him on the Breakfast Club Rally yesterday!

 

Another ZCG client, Eric’s Infiniti FX35 sporting upgraded suspension and R35 GT-R wheels.

 

350Z and G37 sedan on Z34 wheels:

 

I counted five (!) Nissan 240SX in both S13 and S14 trim. This S13 was my favorite:

 

 

S14 with “Silvia” badging:

 

Lone Z32 (NA), Q45 and a bagged Q60:

   

In Search of J-Tin

Morning Motors did not disappoint if you are Japanese Classic fans. Honda S800:

  

NA Miatas!

  

 

EG Civic, EM1 Civic Si and S2000 CR:

  

90’s icons…Supra and NSX and FD RX-7 (on FIKSE wheels)!

   

So much variety! Enjoy this short video:

Euro Classics

Yearning for Porsche’s? Or something a bit less “mainstream”? DWA CnC did not disappoint. Rosso Dino 246:

 

308, 4C and Chris’ “Rat Alfa” GTV:

 

Spotted my first, local Porsche 911 by Singer. It was impressive with so many details to enjoy:

 

 

Sweet 993 C2S with sexy multi-piece Turbo Twists:

 

 

Naveed’s new 964 911 GT3 RS (991)

  

A trio of cool BMW 2002s, one powered by an M20 6-cylinder!:

  

American Muscle

From 60’s to 80’s. Mike Garret’s familiar purple Mopar with late-model drivetrain and really wild Plymouth Fury race car tribute:

 

Eclectic

  

DWA CnC is definitely my kind of cars and coffee. It’s a great venue with amazing driving roads nearby and the cars were so diverse. We highly recommend checking it out! Thanks to the DWA crew for hosting. If you haven’t already, listen to their podcast and make sure you give them a follow on Instagram.
More pictures in the gallery below!

 

…[read more]

 

On Saturday, June 12 I attended the Breakfast Club Rally. This was my second time at the monthly event and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to enjoy the beautiful Northern California roads and scenery. I took my Datsun Roadster and left San Jose Saturday morning, driving 80 miles North to the starting point in Mill Valley. I spotted this MGA buzzing along the freeway, and many more vintage cars were on their way. Enjoy this report from the event.

 

Cars & Coffee? Yes Please!

 The Breakfast Club Rally (BCR) started almost 1 year ago, now running its 15th rally event. What started out as a small group enjoying weekend drives blossomed into a full-on Cars and Coffee (still unofficial) meet just before rally participants head out according to run group (rally map available to pre-registrants only).

I arrived at 8:30am to an already packed parking lot. BCR is mostly vintage, “brand agnostic & 100% anti-snob”…and the scene was just as advertised. Cool cars everywhere. Of course, yours truly is always on the lookout for Nissans and Datsuns:

 

First up, this 1967 Datsun 2000, owned by Ian S. One of the most sought after Datsuns, these “half-year” models were introduced mid-1967 offering a 5-speed transmission and 150hp twin-Mikuni carb’d 2L engine…hot stuff for the era. This is SRL #601 (out of ~1000 cars) and it was fully restored years ago by Les Cannaday in San Diego. Ian is meticulous about maintaining this car, but it is no garage queen. The (655) Off-white paint with red interior is one of my favorites.

 

Met a fresh Datsun Roadster owner! This is Michael’s ’70 2000. He purchased and drove it from SoCal to San Francisco.

 

Two vintage Datsun Z cars. (top) is BCR founder Graham’s personal 280Z:

 

Two Datsun 510 wagons and Nissan 720 truck!

  

This was a total surprise…our client Mike’s R32 Skyline GT-R!  Fresh from our shop with turbo, fueling and exhaust upgrades he is out Enjoying the Boost! Watch the video below for the sounds this beast makes…full report soon.

 

So many cool cars please check the gallery for more photos!

 

Rally On!

 

The rally started at 9am and somehow all of the cars gracefully exited the lot, heading towards the coast to Point Reyes Station.  Weather and terrain changes abound and even a few route changes kept things interesting. Crazy machinery was always fun to see!

 

Arriving at Point Reyes Station was another opportunity to see cars I missed at the starting point. Folks took a snack/coffee break here in the quaint town. I sat down near the sidewalk, just admiring each vintage ride cruise by…like this Ferrari 250GT!

  

This is a grand, picaresque part of Northern California with rolling hills, pastures and Eucalyptus-lined blacktop. Coastal fog could be seen creeping into valleys and gentle rivers meandering through hillsides had me fighting to keep my eyes on the road!

 

One of BCR’s clever mottos is #DoneByNoon, and we eventually found our way to downtown Petaluma for lunch. I joined fellow roadster owner Ian (with his son) and Graham at Brewster’s Beer Garden in the historic district. Good food on the patio with great company.

 

Another perk of the BCR is the many talented photographers they have enlisted to capture rally goers in action. Your ride may have been immortalized so check out their work HERE! As we parted our ways, I snapped some rolling shots of Ian’s ’67 Datsun 2000 on the freeway. It’s hard not to take many photos of this roadster, it’s that pretty.

 

I headed back home to San Jose to complete the almost 270-mile trip. Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge and through San Francisco is always a treat.

 A short video capturing the day:

 

Thanks BCR!

Many thanks to the organizers, I had a blast with Breakfast Club Rally. I urge you to register for their next event, especially if you are in the South Bay area like me and want to see what driving bliss lies North.  #DoItInADatsun

 

More pics in the gallery!

…[read more]

 

Our customer Randy Jaffe’s 1970 Datsun 240Z Safari Tribute is featured on the latest episode of Hoonigan Autofocus with Larry Chen. This Z is based on the original car that won the East African Safari Rallies in 1971 and 1973.  Watch Randy and Larry discuss the foundation for the build and little details that remain faithful to the original. There are many other Nissans and Datsuns in Randy’s collection with more features on the way. Enjoy!

 

 

Stay tuned for a full zcarblog.com feature where we will take a closer look at our work on this cool Z.

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

 

 

Twenty years in the waiting, but the Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is returning to Laguna Seca this weekend, June 5-6! They are hosting a (FREE) car corral in the paddock of Laguna Seca with a limited number (30) of parking spots available for your vintage car. This event is not open to the general public, only parking corral participants! To get your car corral parking spot please contact Geoff at CSRG: race.director@csrgweb.org
Get ready for some B-Sedan Racing action!

 

Here is a map of the paddock with car corral parking area and race schedule. You will need to fill out the following form HERE
This info will be provided to Laguna Seca for use on the gate list. NOTE: One driver and one passenger per car, masks on, and no pets please. This is all part of Laguna’s COVID-19 protocols.

 

Z Car Garage will be racing and supporting our clients. Rob Fuller, Kelvin and Tom will be racing their Datsun 510s in Group 9:

 

Rob will also be racing the #49 Mazda Miata in Group 8: