Z Car Garage is expanding to support our vintage, late model and motorsport work. We are seeking an experienced and skilled automotive technician to join our team. This is not an average automotive job. We work 4-10hr days and offer competitive pay/benefits.
Requirements: Automotive experience, your own set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.
Nissan/Datsun experience is NOT a requirement, you just need to have passion.
Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Share this, spread the word and please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.
We love to see our products being installed and used on customer cars. Datsun enthusiast Pat S is running our Z Car Garage CV Axles in his 550whp RB26-powered Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-X.
Pat installed our CV Axles himself on his 1973 Kenmeri Skyline and reports that it went smoothly. Here are a few pictures he sent us:
We were stoked to hear Pat report the improvement over his standard half shafts:
“Testing out my new axles from Z Car Garage…no more clunking, no more vibrations, just smooth as glass. Strong as hell too”
Here is the video of Pat “testing” out the new CV Axles, enjoy!
Pat is also a member of the Wild Cards, a group of enthusiasts based in Southern California. You may have seen their crew featured on the Hoonigans:
As if the Rb26 wasn’t enough, the extremely rare Riverside Super River wheels re-finished by Izanami captivated us:
Here is a fun fact about Pat: we were both participants at the All-Datsun Meet at Mt. Shasta back in in 2004! This 3-day event featured a full track day at Thunderhill Raceway before heading up North. Pat drove his SR20DET-powered Datsun 510 (blue, front row):
We enjoy helping Z cars owners get their cars in top shape to Enjoy The Ride. David P purchased this 1975 Datsun 280z on the East Coast and the exotic shop it was at had difficulty with it. David moves between San Francisco and Massachusetts and wanted us to sort his Z out before hitting the roads here. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles along with tuning and aesthetic upgrades transform this Z.
Affectionately called “Triple Six”, the Z arrived at our shop from the East Coast via Masney Auto Transport (Thanks David). David had not seen the Z in person yet since purchasing and it needed some attention, Z Car Garage style.
The car was not running upon arrival and Rob had many suggestions after the initial assessment. From David:
“When Rob called to tell me that my car had made it there I said ‘Ok great. Can I tell you what I want done?’ to which Rob replied ‘Nope’. He said ‘I want you to come down here, drive my car and then say to me, OK I want you to do to my car whatever it was that you did to yours’, and after driving his car I did say those exact words.”
ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles
Indeed, we had David test drive “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car with full suspension and our ZCG Big-Brakes:
“I drove Rob’s unassuming, Safari Gold 240Z, that he appropriately named Butters, and God damn was it fun! I was surprised when he told me it had 275 horsepower, not a small number for a car that’s so small and light, its just that it felt much more powerful than I ever thought a sub 300 hp car could feel.”
After the test drive he was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂 Read below for a brief description of these parts:
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 David’s brakes and 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 installed a new master cylinder for David and fixed the wheel/hub area:
At the rear, the aftermarket disc setup was replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes:
Factory handbrake functionality IS retained! A few close-ups of the front and rear setup:
Panasport Wheels
Complementing the new brakes on David’s Z are Panasport wheels! We replaced the generic aftermarket wheels with 16×7 Panasports and Bridegstone S007a tires in 225/50/16.
The new brakes fit nicely behind the new Panasports: We dialed in the spring set on the coil-overs and adjusted them for the best ride quality.
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.
David received axle set #324. Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units shown below with more pictures in the gallery:
Details
To ensure that David could pick up his Z from us and start Enjoying The Ride immediately, we performed clean-up work on the interior and sorted the turn signals and headlights. Aesthetically he wanted to change a few things like the front end. We installed a Euro front bumper with Josh fabricating some brackets to make this 280Z look great:
David was blown away by the suspension and braking upgrades:
“I was completely convinced that Rob was not only the right one, but probably the only one that could bring my 1975 280Z up to its fullest potential. I say the only one because of the custom built Z car garage suspension and brakes that Rob uses. We agreed on a comprehensive upgrade to my Z that would be completed in two stages. The first stage was completed this past March. The 45 year old suspension was, to say the least, upgraded. Because Rob believes in a holistic approach, the suspension work also included the proper brakes, wheels and tires. All of the components were specifically chosen to work together in order to produce a car that handles phenomenally and almost unbelievably well.”
Engine
The triple-Weber L28 simply received an ignition timing set, making 161hp/160tq at the wheels:
Enjoy this dyno video below with sweet L-series music:
Part Two
David reports that his Z went from junk to handling better than a 911. Here he is (above) Enjoying The Ride on Skyline near Alice’s Restaurant. What’s next for Triple Six? Full engine upgrade!
“The second stage, that we will be starting soon, will be the engine work. The goal is to get 300hp out of the old in-line six. Rob’s love the cars that he works on is evident in the quality of his builds. A true craftsman in every sense of the word.”
We look forward to working with you David, LONG LIVE THE Z!
The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) is one of the oldest Z car clubs in the nation. We are proud to be a part of this group and support its members, like former ZONC president Ken C. Ken brought his 1970 S30 to Z Car Garage for a dyno tune and minor sorting. In true do-it-yourself fashion Ken performs most of the work himself, even installing a set of our Z Car Garage CV Axles in his garage.
“When I was 19 and in the Air Force I saved up for a Pinto, saved more for a Maverick…then I saw a 240z. I always wanted a 1970 and got this one in 1985. I drove it everywhere including Maine. I do 99% of the work myself with lots of details/upgrades like a huge cooling system (custom shroud) to support the A/C, rebuilt steering rack and all lightning.”
We recall seeing Ken’s Series 1 240z at the ZONC Annual Car Show in Brisbane, CA where he picked up an award for his efforts:
You can imagine how honored we were to have Ken let us work on his Z that only he’s allowed to work on. He had built a Rebello 3L with 5-speed/stock clutch and wanted us to do final sorting:
“Rob has always supported ZONC, done good work for its members so I trusted him to help get my Z in shape. It was running too rich, stumbling and it would die when A/C was turned on.”
Rob dyno tuned the L-series with SUs gaining more hp/tq and eliminating the hesitation Ken reported. The dyno plot shows his old L24 from a ZONC dyno day at the shop vs the current Rebello 3L now making a stout 183hp/191tq at the wheels. Enjoy this dyno video with sweet L-series music:
ZCG CV Axles
Z Car Garage is proud to offer a CV axle conversion kit for your Datsun S30 and 510. We have sold over 100 sets of axles, with customers installing and enjoying them on everything from street cars to full-blown IMSA racers. These CV axles will help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. Full details can be found HERE
Ken had purchased a set of our ZCG CV Axles and installed them himself.We love to hear from customers that are using our products and he reports that the axles were easy to install and well-engineered. Thanks Ken, and nice work:
“The ZCG CV axles—much smoother happy with less vibrations, best CV axles I’ve ever seen. It took me about 90 minutes to install. Super simple and easy and Rob is of course always supporting his own products with great service.”
Please contact the shop or visit our website to order your CV Axles!
Time To Enjoy The Ride
Ken continues to enjoy driving his Z, to shows or cruises and around town:
More inspiration for the Do-it-yourself’er…Ken is also restoring this ’72 S30 back to its stock blue/white in his garage (and kitchen)!
Thank you Ken for entrusting your Z to us. Ken is an avid baker and makes his own jerky, we also thank him for the cookies (which he’s known for) and snacks he provided to the ZCG crew. LONG LIVE THE Z!
We love to install bolt-on parts that add power to your Z/G car. At Z Car Garage UPREV or EcuTek dyno tuning can maximize power gains from individual modifications like intake/exhaust upgrades. Today we bring you three cars that received dyno tuning to maximize performance gains from common bolt-on parts. Enjoy!
Salvador’s 370z
Salvador visited us for a dyno tune with EcuTek on his 2018 370z.
The dyno shows significant gains in power/tq making 314hp/264tq to the wheels:
James’ 350z
James visited ZCG for an UPREV tune on his 2003 350z.
The Z responded really well to the dyno tuning session, making 256hp/257tq at the wheels. We also re-located James’ steering-mounted controls to allow map switching.
Z Car Garage offers the ARC(Advanced Racing Controls) license. This add-on service to the existing UPREV Flash allows you to have adjustable launch control, burnout mode, and flat-foot shifting for $150. This is for cars with manual transmission, VDC/cruise control. Call Rob for more details!
Malcolm’s 350z
Malcolm’s Z came to us with a tune by another shop. It was E-tuned and Malcolm reported that it just didn’t feel right.
After UPREV tuning he picked up 13hp/10tq making 309hp/272tq to the wheels:
Enjoy this video showing all three Z’s on the dyno and contact us if you are interested in UPREV or ECUTEK tuning for you Nissan or Infiniti!
