Keep on driving Dmitriy and Long Live the Z!

George S owned a 1971 Datsun 240z back in 80’s, sold it in the 90’s and recently tracked the car down to its current owner in Atlanta. Sadly, after all those years the Z wasn’t in the greatest shape (2013):

A little history on George’s ’71:

I purchased it in August 1981 with 75,000 miles from a single girl in the Marina District. It was my every day car for 10 years, putting on an additional 75k miles. Along the way added the Enkei gold rims, added a Monza exhaust system which was popular then and re-painted it in 1990(similar shade, but not the Datsun blue)

Serviced it regularly and never had to do anything other than the basics. She ran like a charm, was never in an accident.

Sold it in 1991 to a guy I worked with who drove it back to Tennessee a short while later. Thought about the car often, but had no info on it until the guy in Atlanta called me in October 2013. Think he said the car had about 190k miles.

George, obviously missing his Z car after tracking it down had considered restoring it and consulted with us at ZCG. It turns out that Rob actually knew the current owner in Atlanta and the two discussed the Z’s state of repair. Rob felt that it was one of those cars that would be difficult to stay ahead of the curve on. The recommendation: buy an S30 that’s ready to drive, and that’s exactly what George did…

George picked up a 1972 240z with an automatic transmission in SoCal. We were impressed with its super low 57k miles, original paint and stunning red interior.

  

Once it arrived at ZCG we went on and corrected issues with braking system and fixed front suspension parts. We found a really clean set of Series 2 wheel covers to replace the later units and really made the car standout proper. Congratulations on your Z and Enjoy The Ride, George!

Mo M comes out of Capitola, CA and he is a car enthusiast with a show-winning Toyota MR2 that he built last year. His next project is this NA 300zx with a planned V8 engine swap (LS3). Before the Z receives the new drivetrain, Mo wanted to make sure it could handle the power.

 

We went through the entire car with Mo and installed his suspension parts including full Powertrix coil-over suspension, f/r camber arms, new T/C rods and sway bars:

 

Stock suspension vs new coil-overs

 

 

Fender rolling:

 

One of the things plaguing Mo was that he had several general repair shops work on the car. They replaced the clutch and flywheel assembly but he was getting a persistent grinding upon startup. We replaced the starter, installed a JWT aluminum flywheel and clutch.  We also fixed brake master cylinder.

In 2011, the engine inside the “Gimlet” was tired. The owner, Kevin, wanted to keep the 2.4L block that came with his 240z so we built a 2.7L using his existing block. This is a Rebello specialty for customers that want to keep their L24 block.

The engine/transmission were removed and prepped:

We installed a JWT aluminum flywheel and HD clutch:

Engine re-assembly time!

 

The triple Webers were re-jetted for the 2.7L:

  

A new tach tach adaptor so his tachometer would work with new ignition items like the MSD box:

  

We bring up this build from 2011 because we recently saw Kevin for the first time and in the 5 years that’s elapsed he put 3500 miles on the Z. C’mon Kev, you gotta Enjoy The Ride and put some real miles on her!  Here is the 2.7L all buttoned up and back in the Gimlet:

This time we refreshed the clutch hydraulics, fixed a couple of things in the suspension and performed an alignment.  Long Live The Z!

Hello Z-Car fans! We have another great story from a customer that finally found their dream Z with a little help from Rob at ZCG. Read on as Tim joins the ranks of Z-ownership…the journey begins.

When I was 8 years old, I used to count how many 240Zs I saw on the road each day. The most was 38. My mom loves to tell the story how I cried for days when I read in Road & Track magazine that the 240Z would be going out of production some 7 years before I would even be old enough to drive. The year was 1973. Fast forward 43 years later. I called Rob 5 months ago to enlist his help finding a Series 2 240Z, and someone to build me a “sleeper.” I visited the shop and met all the guys. Not only did I love Rob’s obvious passion for the cars and encyclopedic knowledge of everything about modifying, maintaining, and driving them, but Rob never tried to “sell” me on ZCG. After my visit and tour of the shop, I went home and saw a Youtube video of the sole legendary OS Giken TC24-B1Z in the U.S. , featuring ZCG. In fact, the black “Behemoth” was in the shop during my visit.

  

When I asked Rob why he didn’t mention any of those accolades, he said “I wanted your visit to be about you, and your journey, not about ZCG.” I had clearly found my partner in crime. Now I needed a car.

It had to be rust-free, and a candidate for a period cockpit and interior restoration, and period updates to the suspension and engine. For 5 months I scoured Craigslist and eBay, and Rob not only inspected (and rejected) countless local candidates, but helped evaluate cars in New York, Salt Lake City, Denver, Phoenix, and Irvine. I was freaking, but Rob insisted that I remain patient… that the right car, at the right price was out there. Finally, one of ZCGs own customers called Rob about selling his Orange ’73 240Z. Not only did it fit the bill, but it was one of ZCG’s own, and over 50% of my planned mods had already been done by ZCG.

Delivery day for Tim at the shop:

Tim was happy as the car did already have some great performance and handling upgrades including a 2.8L block with a hotter cam and head work, triple Mikuni carbs, 5-speed transmission, limited slip differential and aluminum radiator:

Improved handling and looks through Tokico struts w/Eibach springs and Panasport wheels:

 

The car still has original paint, and is a perfect launching point for Tim’s vision of a “sleeper” Z. Stay tuned for more installments as we proceed with a classic restoration to the interior (with a few of ZCG’s modifications) and a meticulous re-spray of Nissan Orange #918.  A ZCG Big-Brake Kit kit will precede an engine rebuild to a 3.2 liter stroker.

Many thanks to Rob Fuller at Z Car Garage for helping me realize a boyhood dream. My Z-journey begins… 44 years in the making.

We are happy to report that Tim got no less than 10 honks and thumbs up on his drive home to San Francisco from the shop! Enjoy The Ride and Long Live The Z!