At Z Car Garage we are fortunate to be a part of many Nissan/Datsun enthusiasts lives. Here is a great story of how we helped re-kindle one couple’s love for their Z. Ruth and Larry bought their 1978 280z brand new and immediately enjoyed it with Ruth daily driving for several years. Unfortunately, life gets in the way and Ruth put the car in storage for a long period.

  

We met the couple in 2008 when Ruth came in to ZCG to get the Z up and running which resulted in a full mechanical refresh.  All hydraulics (brakes/clutch) were restored. The suspension was treated to urethane bushings and Tokico 5-way struts with Eibach springs and a set of beautiful set of Panasports. Finally, we cut and buffed the paint and Ruth’s Z took on a new look…it was almost like 1978 again!

 

  

The next step for them to drive and enjoy the car happened a few years later when we restored the entire interior of the car: a full dashboard restoration, Recaro LXF seats (Leather!), custom carpet kit, sound deadening, all weatherstripping, seals, etc.  These are all the details that ZCG performs to take a 280z from an awesome car from the 70’s to a timeless classic that can be driven anywhere.

The Little Things:  sill lock trim!

 

Dashboard: gauges and knobs:

    

The result of the interior restoration:

 

It had been years since we had seen the Roth’s other than routine maintenance. It was time to dive back into the project with a full external restoration.  The cut/buff from a few years back wasn’t sufficient and it showed in areas like the hood. Those amazing pinstripes and lower rocker trim were looking a bit tired as well:

 

We called upon our man William from William’s Auto Body and both Ruth and Larry had two requests: 1) The Z car must be as awesome inside as outside and 2) we absolutely must keep the pinstriping that had been on the car since new. William was more than up to to the task. This time we went ahead and installed electric power steering for ease/use, our upgraded rearview mirror (as featured on Gary Roser’s car, report later) which includes a backup camera, GPS, temp:

 

 

Re-chromed bumpers and restored guards:

    

Full glass/chrome trim/weatherstrip R&R. All NOS Nissan!

 

Inner fender liners:

 

NOS emblems replace pitted/fading orignal pieces:

 

Rear tail light panel:

 

Restored side moulding:

  

William applied the factory paint color and the Z looks fantastic. We cleaned up the louvers too.

 

The best part, of course, is that Ruth and Larry are still in love with their 280z! Enjoy The Ride and thank you for letting us be a part of your journey. Your dedication and passion for the Z is contagious and we love it!

More pictures in our gallery below: …[read more]

 

Commuter Week continues at Z Car Garage. We take average transportation and make it exciting! Chris C hails from from San Francisco, CA. He commutes in his Infiniti FX35 that we performed several upgrades to last year:

 

Based on our service with the FX he asked us to step out of our comfort zone and take care of his fiancee’s Ford Edge. We happily obliged. With 84k mies on the coloc came in for a little refresh including new tires, springs, shocks, brake pads and address a few nagglish issues she’s had.

 

 

KYB shocks up front/rear with H&R lowering kit. The springs drop ride height by 1.75″/1.5″, respectively:

 
Stoptech brake pads front/rear but not our usual favorite “309” item. Instead we used the Stoptech “105” pad which is made for daily driver usage. Note the huge fender gap at stock ride height:

   

After the H&R lowering kit the Edge looks great, here is a before/after:

 

 

We love to help folks improve their ride so they can Enjoy The Ride!

 

Daniel M came to ZCG to add a few touches to his commuter: a 2007 Infiniti G35 sedan. With 69k on the clock we installed a Stillen Gen. 2 cat-back exhaust system, UPREV tuning and Hotchkis sway bars.

 

 

Before/after of the Stillen cat-back exhaust system:

 

The exhsust looks and sounds great:

 

UPREV tuning yielded gains of 9hp/7tq to the wheels:

 

Enjoy The Commute, Daniel!

 

The Nissan R35 GT-R like any high performance vehicle, requires regular maintenance to ensure the car is performing its best and is well protected. Here at Z Car Garage we are not only interested in carrying out performance conversions, but can take care of all your Nissan R35 GT-R routine servicing. Enrique G came to us for 36k services on his Solid Red 2012 GT-R. He loves driving and you might recognize his car from our last fun run to Canepa Cars & Coffee:

 

While servicing the Nissan GT-R we only use genuine Nissan parts and oil that is recommended or exceeds the manufacturers standards. For example, the GT-R’s VR38 engine with its plasma-sprayed bores has been developed to run on Mobil 1 (0W-40) fully synthetic high performance engine oil.  As such ZCG carries this oil specifically for GT-R servicing.

  

For those doing track days, we can tailor your service to include any extras you may need such as additional transmission fluid changes, alignment and dyno tuning. Give us a call to discuss your next pre or post track day service.

Enjoy The Ride, Enrique!

 

 

 

 

We love to hear about Datsun owners enjoying their cars with family. Pervis E has owned this 280z for many years and wanted to pass it on to his (lucky!) daughter. He thought it would be prudent to install some new tires for safety and also add some stylish wheels. We happily obliged with a set of 225/50/16 Bridgestone RE760 tires and timeless 16×7 Panasports:

 

Here are a few before/after shots:

 

Give us a call if you would like Panasports for your Z!