Dan J has been with Z Car Garage for all of the maintenance and performance modifications on his 2015 GT-R. You may remember his last few visits when we installed the AMS Alpha Kit and brake/suspension upgrades:
We love that Dan not only owns a lovely supercar but drives it hard. Whenever we see him it’s either at ZCG or a track day! Dan is getting faster on the track and at his last Laguna Seca event he noticed transmission temps starting to rise.
To make sure there were no further temp issues he visited us to install the HKS DCT cooler kit. This kit works extremely well and we can’t stress the high quality of this product. Everything fits as if it were an OEM part. It’s that good. Here are a few pictures of the installation:
Factory oil cooler assembly:
Aluminum oil lines:
Oil cooler, air ducting, kit-supplied washer tank tank installed:
Hello and good morning Dear Zcarblog readers! We have many customer car and event reports to bring you this week, so let’s get to it.
If you are a fan of Japanese classic cars there’s a good chance that you have visited Japanese Nostalgic Car. JNC’s senior minicar correspondent and all-around J-Tin guru is Ricky Silverio and he is also a Z-car owner! Here is his pristine, 10k-mile 2003 350z Track model that we will be performing services on soon:
Enough about Z cars let’s talk about the other steed in his stable…Ricky recently visited Z Car Garage with his 2017 Mustang GT:
“Although the public knows the shop specializes in Nissans, I am aware of the broad range in specialty that ZCG possesses. What really stands out in the cars no one knows about is the DSE equipped Camaro that was done a few years ago as well as the myriad race and special projects. That’s what makes me know that ZCG is a misnomer as everything can be accommodated at the shop.”
The Premium-package equipped Mustang came to us with only 226 miles on the odometer and we happily obliged Ricky’s request to begin modifying it. Ride height and handling were addressed with an Eibach Pro-kit:
We discussed Ricky’s driving preferences and intentions (neutral, good turn in, street-use) when choosing alignment settings following the new spring installation. He was stoked:
“Although I chose mild springs I was surprised that brake dive was eliminated, turn in was very crisp and the car became more tossable. Firmness was slightly higher but the difference is huge which surprised me. But I must add the alignment specs really made the difference and ZCG delivered as always!”
What’s next for the Mustang? Since Ricky is comfortable with ZCG, on his next visit we will perform a baseline dyno and intake/exhaust mods. Ricky will have joined the ranks of a rather peculiar correlation between Z car owners and Mustangs demonstrated by our customers Jeff V, Kevin Band Scott L. Z/Mustang associations aside, Ricky is a car enthusiast with a love that started with Japanese cars and encompassed all:
“I love all cars and although I have been versed in Japanese cars since the day I was born, I dig everything! I used to have old minis and European Ford escorts and my uncle was into restoring old 60s American cars (Mustangs too) so that’s where my love for muscle cars were born.”
Here is Ricky’s ridiculously clean, 30k-mile NA Miata sitting on Enkei RPF1s and tasteful interior upgrades:
Ricky and I had some lively discussions about his latest Ford purchase and the new S550 Mustang’s design.
“The S550 Mustang chassis when it came out gave me the best of both worlds. Iconic car and platform but now with IRS and finally true world car engineering and refined elegant and beautiful design. The Americanness of the car can be found in its size (I’m still getting used to its length and width) as well as its V8, typical ford panel fit, rattles and various hard plastic surfaces. Other than that the experience is vastly different as the car really is a now a “normal” globally accepted and designed car. From its IRS, Getrag 6 speed, it feels more European / Japanese in dynamics.”
We both agreed that the new Mustang is the spiritual successor of the S15 Silvia, an “S16” if you will or the car Nissan should have built! Ricky then took it up a notch drawing a connection between an old school Toyota and the Ford:
“Totally agree Alvin that by subliminal design (even chassis code with an S and 5) that with the Ecoboost the Mustang truly channels the S15 Silvia! With the V8 it even channels the true first release of the original Celica Liftback (twin cam 2 liter) which the US never got, especially in white”:
“That’s what does it for me. It channels those Japanese cars but also caters to the heritage of the Mustang which is what inspired the Japanese cars in the first place! Imagine Japanese cars inspired by the original Mustang, and now the newest Mustang channeling the qualities and design of the cars that were inspired by it. Mind blown.”
Even though we are a Nissan specialty shop we never leave our customers hanging with their other rides. We love the new S550 and Ford is one of those companies that gets it. More to come as we work on Ricky’s Z33 and GT!
There are vintage races every month of the year, but few draw such amazing metal as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Now in its 44th year and commonly known as the Monterey Historics, the Reunion is a highlight of the famous Pebble Beach “car week” in August. This event features the best of every decade of racing history, all condensed into four days of qualifying and competition at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway.
The action on the track is only part of the story at the Reunion. The real fun is in the paddocks, where hundreds of cars stand ready to race, attended by their anxious owners, drivers and prep teams (sometimes all the same person).
We had a blast at the RMMR and I was once again fortunate to be on the pit crew for a significant Datsun race car. Read further for our report, illustrated by a 200+ shot gallery with videos. Enjoy!
The BRE Datsun 240z driven by John Morton
For this year’s Reunion, Z Car Garage prepared and supported the #46 BRE Datsun 240z piloted by our hero John Morton. Owner Randy Jaffe restored this Z over several years with fanatic attention to detail. Briefly, the original 1970 car was wrecked in 1977 and sat idle until Randy located it in 2016. The car was rebodied and reconstructed using all of the original surviving parts with help from Peter Brock, John Morton, John Knepp, and Jon Caldwell from the storied BRE team. Stay tuned for an in-depth look at the build.
A sampling of the original parts is shown below including the exhaust header with megaphones, SW gauges, and BRE remote oil filter/cooler. Original BRE heat shield and fuel block pictured above. All assembled by the crew at ZCG prior to testing:
Randy approached us at the 2015 RMMR and expressed his vision to complete the car and have John Morton drive it at the Historics. Randy made a fantastic, highly (the most accurate to date) correct BRE tribute Z, but it would need full race preparation to compete at the Historics. After taking the Z to several shops Randy shipped it to us from his hometown in Georgia and we began prepping the car. Here is the Z the day it arrived at the shop and in-progress:
On the dyno making some beautiful, triple-Mikuni carb’d, straight piped, L-series music. We were now ready to run the Historics:
The paddock life
It’s one thing to be at Laguna Seca’s famous Corkscrew to watch the cars wind down that 5-story twisting drop, but it can be just as much fun to walk through the paddock, getting a close look at the race cars and talking with their owners who are happy to answer questions. Before we look at #46 on the race track, let’s first take a trip through the paddock and visit our fellow racers:
Upon my arrival Thursday morning I was pleasantly surprised to see #46 pitted with several fellow Datsun Z racers from Group 4A: 1973-1981 FIA, IMSA GT,GTX,AAGT Cars. All of these Z’s were tuned by Rob at ZCG! The camaraderie and good times spent with these folks was memorable. We shared pit space with our friends and fellow vintage racers Glenn Chiou, Dave Stone and Larry Oka. Dave Stone returned to the Historics in his ’73 260z built by Troy Ermish. Lots of neat details of this one in the photo gallery:
David Martin’s crowd-favorite Frisselle 1972 240z:
The S30s looked awesome together out on the track!
A rare sight indeed, four Datsun roadsters were racing at ‘Seca! Michael Sweeney’s ’65 1500, our friend Ron Carter running his 2nd Reunion in his ’67 2000, Phil Mendelovitz’s ’67 2000 and Michael Chandler’s ’66 1600.
Rounding out the Datsun contingent were Jonathan Ornstein’s 1979 Datsun 280ZX, prepared by Les Cannaday and the Leitzinger IMSA GTU 240sx owned by Phil Mendelovitz:
We’ll visit more paddock candy later, now let’s take a look at these cars on that 2.238-mile, 11-corner wonder officially known as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca!
Race Day: Keeping Up With John Morton
The RMMR was preceded by a “shakedown” event a week earlier called the “Pre-Reunion”. We had a successful Pre-Reunion race week where John Morton finished 6th and 8th place in a sea of high-powered Porsche RSRs and 934/935s! The#46 BRE 240z ran flawlessly and John was turning faster lap times with each session clicking off 1:41s down to 1:40s:
With the Pre-Reunion completed and the Z dialed in it was time for our big race at the RMMR on Saturday in Group 4A. John put on another stellar performance running consistent 1:40’s with a best of 1:39.6 during the practice/qualifying sessions. Although the routine of running pit crew was familiar to me it never gets old. From fuel filling, engine warm-up to tire pressures and checklists I love sharing the sights and sounds from each session.
John was happy with the Z’s performance. Sylvia Wilkinson, John’s lifelong partner also told us good things by giving us a breakdown between sessions complete with lap times and feedback from John. After qualifying 16th place Saturday morning the only change we made was a fresh set of spark plugs.:
After the Z was ready for the big race, John got strapped in and he motored away to the starting grid. John Morton was driving #46 again.
We anxiously followed John on foot to the starting grid. A wave of colors from vibrant livery was displayed as the cars staged. I was in heaven because all of the rad machinery in one place…with #46 in the middle of it:
The signal was announced and group 4A rolled out to the starting grid.
This video coverage of the group 4A race from Motor Trend and Travis Baraki gives you a sense of the staging, rolling start and a few turns, watch for #46!
Want to know what it’s like behind the wheel of the BRE Datsun 240z? Take a few laps with John Morton in #46 in this video we compiled from in-car GoPro footage. Lots of multi-camera angle action highlighted here from dicing it up with Porsches to passing BMW M1s 🙂 Turn up the volume and enjoy!
Great on-track shots of #46:
John’s fastest lap (1:39.6) with telemetry from Harry’s Lap Timer:
The race was exhilarating and both nerve-wracking to watch. John was driving insanely well yet again, even battling an M1 and 934 for several laps! With only 4-laps to go and in 12th position the halfshaft failed exiting turn 3 and John (thankfully safe) waited to be towed back into the pits. It was heartbreaking but that is racing. We will be back! With help from our friend Glenn a new halfshaft was installed Sunday so we could load up the Z. Thanks Glenn!
We were thoroughly impressed by John’s skills (at 75 years old!) and how the Z battled big-dog cars running full aero with massive rubber.
John said on several occasions, “This is the best prepped race car I’ve driven”. We couldn’t have been happier to hear this. Worth toasting to!
Of course none of this would be possible without a great team so we give a huge thank you to family, friends and the crew at Z Car Garage.
The Z was a success off-track as well. Randy drove the BRE car along with other racers via police escort to the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue Show. Icing on the cake: he even won an award with John Morton riding along:
Enjoy this video from the event including the police escort, nice revving amongst expensive show cars and some good times with Pete Brock and John Morton:
Paddock Highlights
This year’s RMMR was the most enjoyable because of the wonderful people that we pitted with and folks that stopped by to visit. Randy Jaffe really put in a tremendous effort creating a Datsun-lover-friendly atmosphere. In addition to commemorative stickers he placed posters up for friends to sign in memory of John Knepp:
John Morton spent time signing memorabilia and taking photos, a true class-act.
Another aspect of the fun is family. Randy invited his sisters to be part of the race weekends and Josh’s father Keith Corwin was an integral part of our team:
We were humbled by the number of people that stopped by including Pete and Gayle Brock and Mike Joy. I caught Pete Brock taking iphone pics of our engine bay!
Here is Mike’s interview with John for Motor Trend’s race coverage:
Our pit-buddy Glenn Chiou was great to be with. The vintage Datsun race world had better keep an eye out for this rising star!
Rob and crew always willing to lend a hand, even if it’s for the competition!
It was great to see our friends from Bring A Trailer who had a tent with several cars on display including a Lancia Delta Integrale:
Epic Racers
At every corner there is wicked metal with history begging to be told. Please visit our photo gallery for more! Here is a Shelby Cobra factory team car CSX2136:
One of several gorgeous Porsche 934s. This one mixed it up with John for many sessions:
Mazda’s incredible collection of racer cars from the 767B to MX-6:
From highly collectible and expensive to downright zany you never know what to find in the paddock. Check out this Deathmobile from the movie Animal House:
Extravagant and impressive rigs:
We are huge fans of Canepa and this 935 and 959 were a treat to see:
Street Standouts
Throughout the weekend, open areas around Laguna Seca are filled with a selection of vintage and exotic cars that would put most stand-alone car shows to shame. This year we held another Datsun/Nissan Corral but attendance was relatively low. We did spot a few gems like three S30s, a Datsun 510 and ’69 Datsun 2000:
Lovely E34 M5 and 356:
The Vintage Wheels of RMMR
I am a wheel addict and I love vintage wheels. Once again the paddock did not dissappoint. BBS, Volk, Minilite, American Racing…all shod with meaty slicks of sometimes incredible proportions:
Thank you!
We hope you have enjoyed our recap of the 2017 Monterey Historics! Please browse our mega-gallery of pictures from race weekend below. Big thanks to our friends and family members that helped us make this possible including the Keith Corwin, Dave Stone, Tim Arnett, Ron Carter, Michael Anderson, Josh Corwin, Andy Vargas, Larry Oka and Meghan Fuller. We certainly enjoyed the company of friends and visitors in our paddock, here’s to another 60 years of vintage racing in Monterey, California.
Special thanks to the following contributors to our photo gallery:
Ricky Silverio, Josh Corwin, Naveed Abed, Mark Hutchinson, Matt Dockery, Kurt Hafer, Chris Brewer, Alex McDowell
Huge thanks to Randy Jaffe, John Morton and Sylvia Wilkinson!
Long Live The Z!
We had a memorable time at the Monterey Historics and we can’t wait to share it with you. This amazing week was made possible by Randy Jaffe, our hero John Morton, the ZCG crew, family and friends. While I work on our pictures/videos please enjoy this short clip (sound up!). A full report on zcarblog.com is on the way. Long Live The Z!
Z Car Garage will be at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion this weekend with John Morton behind the wheel of the #46 BRE 240z. Come out to Laguna Seca and watch the BRE 240z run in Race 4A on Saturday at the times listed below:
Don’t miss the vintage racing action and please stop by to see us in Row D of the paddock. We had a successful Pre-Reunion race last weekend where John finished 6th and 8th place in a sea of high-powered Porsche RSRs and 935s!
Comments Off on EVENTS: ZCG at the Monterey Reunion 8/17 to 8/21
