Tony K’s 1972 Datsun 240Z has a long history with Z Car Garage having received upgrades like a 3L with triple-Mikuni ph44s, 280Zx 5-speed transmission, suspension refresh, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles and Z Car Garage Heat Sheild.
Tony’s Z has a great history that begins with our friend and fellow enthusiast Rob Julien. Let’s take a closer look.
Keeping it in the Z Family
This Iris Blue Metallic (Porsche 911 color) Z was Rob Julien’s car when he first met Rob Fuller in the 90’s. A few years ago Rob J had the opportunity to buy Paul Hooks’ 1971 Series 1, another really nice S30 Fuller helped build in the 90’s (Full report soon). So the Iris Blue car changed hands going to a young Datsun 510 guy, customer Scott W, and finally Tony K, who at the time lived in Canada!
“I bought the car from Scott Wagner — a customer of ZCG — in 2014 as a replacement for my Ducati 748 that was totaled (along with me) a few years earlier in a near-fatal accident. I figured if I wasn’t going to ride bikes anymore, I wanted to get a car that offered a visceral and pure driving experience. Clearly I picked the right car and, unbeknownst to me at the time, the right man and garage to take care of my car.”
Very shortly after purchasing the car, Tony took it on the best road trip of his life:
“I drove with my wife from San Francisco to Vancouver where I lived and worked at the time, taking Rt 101 along the coast as far as I could up into Oregon before heading inland. The car was so great – planted and confidence inspiring on the twisty back roads, plenty of power, and a great soundtrack. While I lived in Vancouver, I met a group of Italians who loved cars, and we often took spectacular mountain drives during the spring and summer months and then garaged our cars in the winter.”
During its time in the Great White North we helped Tony out remotely:
“One of the best parts of my experience with the car has been the professional service, unparalleled expertise, and honest work from Rob and his great team at ZCG. I had spoken to Rob several times while I lived in Vancouver to ask him various questions, and he treated me like a valued customer; he spent quite a bit of time listening and explaining things to me even though I wasn’t a customer, and he didn’t know me from Adam. It was very clear to me how much he loved the Z and simply wanted to help me enjoy the car as much as possible. It was great to finally meet him and his team (and of course the shop dog) when I moved back to California and witness his infectious enthusiasm in person.”
Welcome Back to Cali
Tony serendipitously moved from Vancouver back to the Bay Area and immediately visited ZCG so we could handle everything on his wishlist. Let’s review the work we performed just before Tony left for Canada.
Engine Bay Services
The engine bay was painted black so we took this opportunity to paint it body color and perform general tidying. As usual William worked his magic to match the Iris Blue Metallic body color. Before/after:
New hydraulic lines/plumbing and wiring harness cleanup made this engine bay pop
We treated the engine to several upgrades including an MSA 6-into-1 exhaust header, new intake manifold with rebuilt Mikuni pH44 carbs, JWT HD clutch/flywheel, Koyo aluminum radiator:
We also installed what every triple-carbed L-series needs: a Z Car Garage Heat Sheild!
From dirty and grimy to fresh and clean. You an also see the freshened front suspension with new T/C rods and lower front control arms from Techno Toy Tuning
Tony’s Z also got the ZCG HID kit. We performed this mod on Gary R’s 280z restoration with great results: stock appearance during the day with HID brilliance at night. These were adjusted at his recent visit.
The Z Car Garage Touch
After driving the Z all the way down from Vancouver, Tony reported the rear brake drums had failed so he had the Z towed to us from Sacramento. It was time to take care of the little things that he wanted sorted as well as some exciting upgrades, ZCG-style.
The interior got some love with repaired tachometer, fabricated fire extinguisher bracket, new shift boot, shifter/bushings, NRG quick-release to work with his MOMO steering wheel, new front/rear window seals, rear hatch seal and MSA glove box insert.
Recaro Specialist Seats
We installed on of our favorite seats for the S30: the Recaro LXF. These are Specialist seats in leather that have proper brackets to make them fit, feel and look fantastic.
Dyno Tuning
The 3.0L stroker L-Series received a full Mikuni carb tune, sync, idle speed set and velocity stacks with filters. We also cleaned up the engine bay/tranny areas.
The stroker motor produced good power with Rob’s dyno tuning. Baseline was 191hp/187tq with final results of 208hp/201tq to the wheels:
Enjoy that sweet Mikuni-carb’d L-Series music on the dyno:
Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and CV Axles
As fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C mentioned in his review, on top of braking performance, pedal feel is extremely important and our Big-Brakes deliver. This is a direct result of working with engineers at Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. All fitting behind a 15″ Watanabe or Panasport wheel (and some 14″ wheels) and retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few details below:
Calipers: Stoptech ST42 4-piston front & rear race calipers (Alum 6061 mil-spec Type III anodized)
Rotors: 280mm x 20.6 with Alum 7075 hats
Pads: Stoptech 309 sport street pads
Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.
A few closer detail shots of the calipers, rotors and hardware:
We removed Tony’s brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. Early in its life the Z also received Ground Control coil-overs and suspension parts from Techno Toy Tuning. New parts included adjustable T/C rods, sway bar set, rear control arms, new bushings, rack bushings, steering coupler, factory Nissan ball joints, new wheel bearings and more. We really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.
Tony’s Toyota 4-Runner brakes removed and we installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit up front.
Our Big-Brakes utilize the OEM brake master cylinder and booster along with the factory hydraulic system. We replaced the M/C with a new unit, here are a few more shots of the front setup:
At the rear, the OEM drums brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!
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 100 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
Tony received axle set #263. Stock half shafts and ZCG units shown below with more pictures in the gallery:
Tony was pleased with the mechanical upgrades:
“I had the car towed to ZCG from Sacramento for Rob and his great team to install the ZCG Big Brakes, ZCG CV axles, new Recaros, new tires, and get a much-needed partial re-spray. The upgrades and modifications really transformed the car from really fun to drive to truly confidence inspiring, particularly because of the awesome brakes.”
Making it look good
After years of wear and tear the clearcoat was starting to peel on the roof (pictured below, left). As usual William worked his magic to match the Iris Blue Metallic body color, re-spraying/blending the top of the car.
We are happy to report that Tony is Enjoying The Ride. Here are a few summer pictures post fresh paint/upgrades, more in the gallery below!
“I have a few more upgrades I’d like to do on the car (a tad more power and perhaps upgrade the suspension), but one thing is for sure: there’s no one I’d rather have work on my car. But more importantly, I just need to drive the stink out of it.”
Thanks Tony for trusting us with your Z. This car has come full circle as Rob worked on it when he was 26 years old and now at 48. We are lucky to have a life filled with cool Z cars and more importantly great relationships with their owners. ZCG is a like home to them. LONG LIVE THE Z!
