Jay M purchased a set of Panasport Wheels from Z Car Garage and recently shared his Z story with us. We are an authorized Panasport dealer and have limited sets available for fitment on your S30 Z car. Before we show you how a set of these 16×7 wheels look on almost every Z color imaginable, let’s hear about Jay’s 240Z…

“The car was from California and made its way to Gainesville FL and was put in storage.I had been looking for a good 240 and this one was taken by the owner to a shop owned by a friend of a friend.The guy wanted to get it running and sell it.  That triggered a phone call to me while on a anniversary trip with my wife to Italy, we were living in St Augustine Florida at the time.  My buddy sent me some pics and a quick video and he grabbed the car for me.  It was all there and very little rust. I had not really considered a Blue one, much less one with white interior.”

The car was restored by Jay and 3 friends minus paint and the head work in his 2 car garage over 3 years. Jay has met so many people in the Z community and learned much about Z cars:

 

Beautiful engine bay with new engine:

Check out the before/after on the interior…great work Jay and friends!

  

Jay recalls how he found ZCG and eventually purchased a set of Panasports from us:

“I found the on Z Car Garage videos on YouTube very early on which led me to your website.  I went to Daytona to see Randy Jaffe’s #46 BRE 240z car run and left just before John rolled it. I met Rob at the Amelia Concours earlier this year and bought a set of Panasports from the shop. I also have become friends and an Insurance client of Jim Frederick in Lutz Florida who I believe has the finest collection of low VIN original Z’s in the World!  Jim has also helped me with parts and advice on this build.  I am hoping Larry Chen will make it down to film Jim’s collection.”

 

The Panasports do look fantastic on this #115 Metallic Blue 240Z. Thank you for your support Jay, glad you are Enjoying The Ride!

 

Panasport wheels for your Z car

    

Treat your Z to a brand new set of Panasport wheels! We special order this offset to enable fitment of a 225/50/16 tire on the 1970 to 1978 S30s.

Contact us: rob@zcargarage.com or call 408-452-0350 Limited availability (pallet pictured)

Wondering how a set of Panasports would look on your Z car? Please enjoy pictures below of ZCG customer cars in jus about every color imaginable with Panasport wheels:

 We met Vince M in 2019 when he was looking for a shop to take care of his 1972 Datsun 240Z. Vince’s goal for this Persimmon Red (#110) S30 was to have a reliable weekend driver and replace the cracked dashboard he grew tired of looking at. We installed a new dash from Vintage Dashes, sorted all ducting and installed new Z Therapy SU carbs.

 

Z Car Garage specializes in restoring and maintaining the S30 Z car. We love stock examples like Vince’s just as much as modified cars. Vince contacted us and patiently waited in the queue to get his Z at the shop:

“Searching online for someone that I could trust to repair my Z, I came upon rave reviews from other owners of Rob at Z Car Garage and reached out to him. Rob asked that I email him pictures of my car, particularly the engine compartment, to determine if he could help me, and within 5 minutes, Rob called me back. I immediately recognized that I found someone who not only supremely understands Datsuns, but also shared my enthusiasm and passion for keeping my Z on the road.”

 

Z History

Vince’s Z Journey began when he first started driving in 1974:

“Our High School P.E. teacher doubled as our driving instructor, and while we were learning to drive Dodge Monaco Sedans, his daily driver was a 112 Yellow (Lime) ‘73 240z. I asked him what he thought of his car, and he responded: “It’s the best car I have ever owned.” That’s all I needed to hear, and soon found myself at the local Datsun dealership in Millbrae California. There on the lot was a ‘72 240z, 4-speed, white on red, with only 33,000 miles on the clock. The dealer reluctantly took me out for a test drive and this 15-year-old was forever hooked. Great styling, smooth power delivery, a flawless gearbox and only two seats, which thankfully guaranteed that my car would NOT be chosen to endlessly cruise with my buddies on Friday’s and Saturday’s, usually ending with an interior filled with spilled drinks and food.”

 

Vince has since owned 300 different cars, but there has always been a Z in his life. His current Z is a ‘72 240z, 4-speed, 110 Persimmon Red, white interior, acquired 5 years ago, with a California only history. The car had a cracked dash with a glued-on cover, a clock that did not work  and original carburetors that badly bogged down while accelerating. It was time to get Vince back on the road.

New Dashboard

 

We removed the old dash assembly and performed clean-up work in preparation for the new Vintage Dashes unit. More pictures of the process in the photo gallery!

   

The heater box was refurbished with new heat/defrost vents, gaskets and all HVAC cable controls were lubed:

 

Ducting and completed heater going back in:

 

Since the dash was out we had access to the heater core which got pressure tested and serviced. All coolant hoses under the dash and in engine bay were replaced:

 

 

Every single bolt was replaced in the dash and the gauges refreshed. The clock was replaced and functions perfectly.

 

The completed Vintage Dashes dashboard and assembly ready to go back into Vince’s Z:

Dash install complete:

Vince is really happy with the new dash installation:

“As for my dash, I had several options but settled on a newly manufactured replacement dash from Vintage Dashes, minimizing downtime, and allowing me to keep my old dash in case I wanted to restore it. I trusted ZCG to take apart my entire dash and EVERYTHING connected to it. The result is a dash that looks like new (because it is) and everything connected to it working properly, including the clock, which by the way keeps excellent time.”

 

Engine Bay

 

A new set of SU carbs from Z-Therapy were installed along with all new fuel hoses and fuel filter:

 

Enjoy the Ride!

Vince is a great guy and a great Z car owner. He made this video showing his Z after the work ZCG performed, enjoy!

We love making our clients happy:

“My goal for this car was quite simple, I wanted a 1970’s time machine that I can use as a weekend driver, with the operative word being “use”, because in my humble opinion, Z’s are meant to be driven. Except for the carbs, the car was mechanically sound, but I wanted it to run like it should. I was also tired of looking at the dash cap, and wanted to have everything in working order, like it did in the 70’s, including the clock…”

“…In fact, everything works and runs so flawlessly, my car with 92,000 miles runs better than the 3-year- old Z I drove off the dealer lot back in 1974, a testament to Rob and ZCG. It feels good to be back in the 70’s, even if only on weekends. Thanks Rob, and long live the Z.”

Thank you for your support Vince, and yes, LONG LIVE THE Z!

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It really makes our day to see a client still enjoying their Z years later after visiting Z Car Garage. Last weekend we saw Michael D’s 1972 Datsun 240Z at the 34th Annual Z Car Convention (ZCON) in Colorado Springs, and it reminded us how we’ve worked with him since 2007. Let’s take a closer look at this Nissan RB25DET-powered S30 featuring our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, full suspension and Panasport C8 wheels.

Photo: Bryan Delohery

 

Go Green Inspiration

 

In 2005, Rob Fuller performed an RB25DET engine swap into his 1970 240Z, affectionately named Go Georgia Z (GO GA Z = Go Green Georgia Z). The RB is a turbocharged inline-6 engine from the Nissan Skyline (R33) GTS-T in Japan, requiring new drivetrain mounts and supporting modifications to work in the S30 chassis. Once completed, Rob drove his Z all over California, attending several long distance car shows like Motorsport Auto in SoCal and the All-Datsun Meet at Mt. Shasta.

 

 

Rob’s RB-swapped Go Green Z gained notoriety and around 2007 is where our relationship with Michael began. He wanted ZCG to do an RB25DET swap similar to Rob’s in to his super clean ’72 240Z:

Photo: Bryan Delohery

 

As we know it’s always been tough to keep up with demand at ZCG. Mike is a great guy and kept offering us his business but Rob wasn’t ready to take on the project. Instead, we focused on preparing his car to handle the RB swap. Driveline upgrades included a ZCG-prepped 4.38 R180 LSD (since replaced with R200 3.55 Quaife LSD), restored hydraulic/brake lines and our ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles.

 

After the RB swap was completed in 2013 at another shop, Michael returned to Z Car Garage to sort a few more items. We did not like how the fuel system wasso it was redone by us. We also sold him our custom ZCG (Z31) motor mounts and tunnel bracket reposition for the OEM RB25 OEM transmission.

 

A few specs on Michael’s current setup: RB25DET rebuilt with RB26/Neo/N1 parts, BorgWarner EFR 7670 turbo, GTR coil set, Bocsh 1000cc injectors, TIAL 50mm BOV, McKinney Pan and Radiator, Wiring Specialites Harness and a LINK Ngtr+ EMS. With 525whp/480ft-lbs, the suspension and brakes were upgraded. We installed a full Ground Control coil-over suspension (remember this was in 2008) and Michael reports great performance still:

“In regards to the performance of the suspension upgrades, coil-overs, Tokico struts/shocks I was considering T3 and Arizona Z control arm suspension replacements. My suspension performs so well with the stock A-frames etc that it didn’t make any sense to change them. I would add, without spoilers my 240z stays very grounded at 130 mph and I know what I am talking about after having owned a ’14 R35 GTR for 7 years.”

 

Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and CV Axles

 

To cope with the power of the RB25DET, Michael has our ZCG Big-Brake kit. Not to be confused with our current Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), this Big-Brake kit was our initial setup from over a decade ago. This 328mm sized kit requires 17″ diameter wheels and the massive ST-42 calipers are finished in bright red. We actually did all the R&D in-house for this setup…using a 280ZX master cylinder and our own mounting brackets.

 

Since it was in its infancy we did not market or sell this BBK to the public, installing it only our clients vehicles. There are about 20 sets of these early, 328mm BBKs on client Z cars like James’ Turbocharged L-Series 240Z, Scott’s 260z, Gary’s Datsunworks-Powered 240Z and Lou’s RHD FairladyZ:

 

Panasport Wheels

 

Michael also got a set of our custom Panasport Racing C8 wheels. These 3 piece, 17×9 wheels allowed fitment of a 255/40/17 tire under stock fender flares.

 

When ZCG was starting to build a series of RB-powered S30s, Rob brought in a pallet of C8 wheels destined for the builds. Michael wanted a set so we hooked him up with a silver spoke finish. They look great on his Z:

 

Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. We have over 130 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

  

We built Michael a set of CV Axles, shown below:

 

Interior

 

Michael is proud of the interior on the Z, keeping it aesthetically close to stock with updated materials and comfort in mind. A Restomod A/C unit keeps things cool. A very special thanks to Luis at Vargas Auto Upholstery:

“Sewed in centers of original seats, Auto Meter digital speedo and tach to modified to look original in original housings, the dash which is impossible was done with requirement to minimize stitches and never cross a stitch, stereo housing was built to match the faceplate of original, has remote electric windows and locks, power steering, hands free phone, android auto for maps, and seats that hold you in while providing comfort for 8+ hour drives.”

  

Enjoying the Ride

 

Michael contacted Rob in 2003, just after he purchased his 60k-orignal mile 1972 Z to get the upgrades started. He’s driven it since 2004. Here is what it looked like when he picked it up, and a current photo:

Michael’s goal for the build, aptly named “TRBUTEZ”…

“It is called TRBUTEZ.: A tribute (act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration) to the many under $3k  starving student Z’s I owned that carried me through life with unconditional loyalty, performance, and dependable reliability. This one is for you. Thank you!  My goal is to upgrade the build of the car for an even better personal experience while maintaining the respect this car deserves through preservation of every original detail possible.”

 

We were stoked to see Michael and his Z at the ZCON event on Colorado Springs. After all these years he’s still Enjoying The Ride!

 

When you think it couldn’t get better…he won (4) awards!

Thank you to ZCON organizer Christopher Karl and Meghan Fuller for the show photos! More in the gallery below.

 

 

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We have several exciting projects at the shop that will get full reports on zcarblog.com but today we want to highlight a few cars that we prepared for next week’s ZCON event. Please tune into our Instagram story for more sights and sounds as we have Z32, R35, S30, 370z, 350z, S130 and yes, even some Z31 updates heading your way!

 

ZCON Here We Come!

 

Z Car Garage is proud to be a sponsor for the 34th Annual Z Car Convention (ZCON) hosted by ZCCA in Colorado Springs 8/16-20. This is the largest Z-car event in the US and we are stoked to participate. Here are three client cars destined for ZCON, enjoy!

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”.  It really is a small Datsun world, as the official OMS pace car is none other than our very own Joel Anderson #49 IMSA GTU 240Z .

 

This OMS duplicate belongs to our long time customer and friend Linda. She acquired it from a family in SoCal and tasked ZCG with making it a nice driver. Full report soon but it got loaded up today for its journey to Colorado!

 

Jack’s LS3-Powered Z32

 

Jack and Yolanda have been a part of our lives since the beginning of ZCG. Being long time members of The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) and supporting our shop along the way, we are grateful to them. ZCG will be restoring the Primadonna Z back to its former glory this year! We are also helping the couple finish their LS3 V8 engine swap into their “Primadonna” Z32 Convertible. Yes, Jack had to get back in the game after building those 240z cars so he built a Z32 body kit from scratch. Like the S30’s he built, this widebody Z32 has evolved over time:

   

ZCG finished the LS3 swap and dialed it in with road-testing and dyno tuning.

 

It even sports full A/C and OEM shifter for the automatic transmission. The Z was loaded up with the OMS pace car today and heading to ZCON, full report soon!

 

 

Mike’s Datsun 240Z #193

 

Mike’s vin # 193 Series-1 S30 was ZCON bound but needed further work to be truly show-worthy. We love that he’s on board with us to finish the car correctly. It’s a beauty and it will be sensational.

 

Z You There!

This will be an eventful week for us. ZCG will be attending the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion this weekend, then it’s on to New York for the Global Reveal of the New Z and finally we will be in Colorado on Friday for ZCON! We are stoked to see the cars, faces and meet new people. Watch our IG/FB and twitter for updates!

 

More Projects

 

Jas D’s red 300ZX (above) and one of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s (below) will get a full report soon as well as the Stillen SMZ:

 

Randy’s 1970 Safari Tribute Z returned from its trip to Los Angeles to be filmed for Nissan’s commercials! We installed a new engine and made some suspension changes, full report soon!

   Watch for Randy’s Z running through the desert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kigk38DCFs

David’s 240Z

Long-time friend and client David attended a track day at Laguna Seca. This Z was built over 15 years ago and sill running strong. We prepped his Z for the track, full report soon!

 

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

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

 

Aaron’s Q50:

   

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

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