Z Car Garage is proud to offer 13×7 Panasport racing wheels for your Datsun 510. These are +3 offset and perfect fitment for your B-Sedan/TransAm series Datsun 510 running vintage-class spec 205/60/13 Hoosier R7 (and other) tires. Price is $250 per wheel.
Shown above: Rob Fuller and Masayoshi Kobayashi, President of Panasport/Mag Formula Inc at Laguna Seca with the 13×7 Panasport wheels we run on our Bay Area Datsun Dealers 510. Here are the 13×7 Panasport wheels featured on a few client 510 race cars:
Kelvin’s Ex-Ted Gruner TransAm 510
Gabe’s B-Sedan:
Todd’s Far Performance 510
Ed’s 510
More photos of the wheels can be seen in the gallery below
Contact us: rob@zcargarage.com or call 408-452-0350 to order your set!
Panasport wheels for your Spec Miata!
Yes, when Z Car Gargage is not supporting and racing Z’s or 510s we are avid Spec-Miata fans. ZCG now sells 15×7 +35 offset Panasport racing wheels for your Spec Miata. Price is $250.00 per wheel.
Panasport wheels for your Z car
Treat your Z to a brand new set of Panasport Wheels! We special order this offset to enable fitment of a 225/50/16 tire on the 1970 to 1978 S30s. Price is $325.00 per wheel
Contact us: rob@zcargarage.com or call 408-452-0350 Limited availability (pallet pictured)
Wondering how a set of Panasports would look on your Z car? Please enjoy pictures below of ZCG customer cars in just about every color imaginable with Panasport Wheels:
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou has been a friend and client of Z Car Garage for many years. His canyon-carving companion is this 1972 Nissan Fairlady 240Z-L featuring our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and dyno tuning. Before we get into the details behind this rare, right-hand drive survivor let’s take a look at Glenn’s Datsun story.
Racing Is Life
Glenn is passionate about vintage racing and loves re-telling the stories of legendary privateer Z car racers. Like privateers of the period, Glenn builds his Z cars, maintains and manages his racing efforts himself. You may have seen Glenn’s FAR Performance 240Z in VIPS Restaurant livery as raced in the 70’s by Loren St. Lawrence or his Ex-Greg Sorrentino IMSA 260Z at events like the Velocity Invitational and Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Glenn restored these cars himself and the VIPS Z is now going back to Bay Area Datsun Dealers livery as raced by FAR Performance privateer Walt Maas.
Glenn also races a Datsun 510, championing a vintage race group dedicated to theHistoric B&C Sedan class. He is currently restoring the 1968 Ex-Finn/Harris U2.5L Trans-Am 510. You can follow his racing adventures on Instagram.
Finding a Fairlady
When he’s not working on race cars, Glenn is enjoying his 1972 Nissan 240Z-L. It’s “the dream list” car that started his Datsun passion. Glenn has owned it for several years, enjoying it as a back-road burner on the street and rallye events.
The Z has a great story behind its acquisition. Purchased from Chiyoda Nissan as a used car by US Air Force lieutenant David Zabel in ’73, it was brought back with him to the States in 1974 and driven until 1992. Glenn found the Z in 2010 sitting in a Datsun collection in Ben Lomond, Ca. Below are period photos from Japan in the 70’s at Yokota air base near Tokyo and ski-trips at Lake Tahoe:
Find out more about the story behind this right-hand-drive survivor over on Petrolicious with photography by Courtney Cutchen with a great video. To this day it still wears its original paint, interior and neat Japanese-market features like the 8-track Nissan/Hitachi radio and passenger side foot rest. Glenn also sourced the rare rallye clock that is functional, running off an oscillator box in the passenger footwell.
Drivetrain
We actually tuned Glenn’s Fairlady back in 2012. The 3.0L stroker is fed by triple-Mikuni induction backed by a Nissan 240SX 5-speed transmission and OS Giken limited-slip diff. With Rob’s tuning it produced one of the highest dyno numbers we had seen back then putting down 249hp/227tq to the wheels:
Z Car Garage Big Brakes for Glenn’s S30
The Z clearly had more than enough power, but braking was always something Glenn wanted to improve and once he heard about our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes for small wheels he became a believer after test driving them. Rather than tell you how we feel about this product, let’s hear Glenn’s experience.
“Throughout my years of Z car ownership, I have run a variety of brake setups. My Z cars have seen everything from restored OEM Sumitomos, Toyota 4×4’s, trick Wilwood setups, even frankenstein’d Baer calipers. There is no doubt that it has been one area that I have never been completely satisfied with. Over time, after many years and attempts to find the ‘perfect’ setup, I had given up and just settled for what I had.
The most important aspect to me when it comes to braking on a street driven car is feel. Yes, stopping power is extremely important, but also is not that difficult to achieve on an early Z car that is naturally light to begin with. Feel, however, is something that has always managed to escape me. On my vintage 240z race car, we use multiple master cylinders, swap them in and out, fiddle with our brake proportioning valves, fine tuning them to fit our driving style and preference. We are trying to find that ‘racer’s edge.’ In all honesty, when it comes to a street car, I want nothing to do with all that.”
“Wheel sizing and style was also extremely important to me. I love old school wheels and the sizes they came in. I needed a brake caliper that would fit under my 15” Watanabe RS wheels without having to shave or drastically modify my setup. If it was not for being in love with these wheels, I would have opted for Z Car Garage’s larger big brake kit.”
Our clients asked us to make a BBK for smaller wheels so even a guy running 14″ vintage 5-slots slots could brake like a modern sports car. Typical big-brake kits use a 4-piston setup up front and a ZX in back; Proportioning is hard to get right, varying from car to car. We wanted a brake system that suited the car and totally bolted in, no M/C change, no proportioning valve, no booster change.
Working with Stoptech again, we developed this smaller BBK as a direct bolt-in solution for the 1970 to 1978 S30 Z cars. We’ve been with Stoptech since the beginning and love their products. With over 150 brake kits sold, we are stoked with all of the positive feedback. Let’s get back to Glenn and hear his initial impressions of the big-brake kit:
“Rob informed me he was working up a solution and he wanted me to be test the brake kit. Rob promised three things – they would brake amazing, they would fit under my 15” Watanabes, and they would feel as if they belonged on the car. Did I doubt it at first? Sure, a little. However, I also knew that the fit and finish of all products that came out of ZCG were top notch, and that Rob thoroughly tested all his products against his own standards. Which I’m sure everyone knows, are extremely high.
In preparation for the Monterey Historics last year, I had brought the Z race car to the shop for dyno time. Rob gave me the keys to his Butters Z and said “Go drive it.” Under 14″ wheels sat his brand new ZCG brake kit. I gladly accepted and took the car for a ride.”
“WOW, what a difference. The feel, modulation, power, sharpness was amazing. Hands down the best brakes I had ever driven on a Z car, and these were on a car with stock suspension, tires and probably cruddy tires! I told Rob, “sign me up!”
Glenn wanted to run the brake kit on his Fairlady and we happily obliged. He had also been gearing up for a road rallye so the braking system would be throughly used. You can see his Z (top left) along with his buddy Erich C’s S30 (top right, also getting a ZCG BBK!):
“Then came the day Rob called me up and said they were ready to rock and roll. Lucky for me, I was just about to head out on the 1000-mile Coastal Range Rally! The kit came with beautifully anodized front and rear calipers, hats, rotors, brakes lines, reversible brackets (for early and later Z offsets), and a factory ⅞” master cylinder. Read that again… Yes, a proportioning valve was left out from that list! The brakes were a straight bolt on and ZCG did all the math to get both the master cylinder size and piston sizes correct. We brought the car in for install and within a day the car was ready to rock.”
Glenn’s 240z now had 4-wheel disc brakes ready to tackle the street and rallye:
And of course, the brakes fit beautifully under the 15″ Watts. Kane approved, and Glenn was stoked:
“I could hardly wait to jump in the seat of the car and take it for a spin. The brakes were now on a car with suspension, tire, power, and a proper alignment. It was everything I had remembered from driving the Butters Z and MORE. The brakes performed flawlessly on the Coastal Range Rally, taking abuse from California’s most challenging roads”
“Attention to detail goes a long way. This is exactly what these brakes delivered, and what continues to be delivered by ZCG.
LONG LIVE THE Z!”
Still Enjoying the Ride
Last weekend we caught up with Glenn and took the FairladyZ out for a spin to stretch its legs. Glenn was one of the first clients to run our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes back in 2018 and we are happy to report that he is still braking late and deep all while Enjoy The Ride!
Over the years we’ve been fortunate to drive our Datsuns together through the local Bay Area backroads. Glenn’s Z always looks sharp while sounding sensational. Here is a video from our recent drive, volume up and enjoy!
You can find him carving through the Santa Cruz Mountains or taking a break at Alice’s Restaurant off Skyline…
While we were catching up with Glenn he reminded me that the ZCG Big-Brakes are better than any of the other setups he’s driven, the only one that feels and behaves like a modern car. He loves them.
What’s next for the Z? Glenn says its due for a refresh..NOS door panels, some engine bay fuel plumbing updates and maybe a change from the Ground Control/Tokico coil-overs. Aside from the Z Car Garage Big-Brakes , it remains very much the same as he set it up over 10 years ago. Big thanks to Glenn for the support and feedback. We look forward to many more race events and drives with you. Enjoy the photo gallery below and LONG LIVE THE Z!
Today we received a surprise package from Sung Kang at Z Car Garage. Inside was the limited-edition FUGUZ Steering Wheel along with some very cool gear:
The steering wheel is 1 of 73 pieces, comes with its own briefcase and engraved quick-release adapters. How amaZing is it that Sung gave us steering wheel #49!!! Naturally we had to take a photo with a very happy Rob Fuller next to the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z:
Thank you Sung for this incredible gesture. We admire your Z car passion and efforts to help the car community thrive. Long Live The Z!
Filed under: 240z,280Z,Parts
by Alvin G @ 2:40 pm on May 12, 2022
We love to see owners installing our Z Car Garage CV Axles on their Datsuns, especially from overseas! Peter installed a set himself on this 1977 Datsun 280Z at his home in Halmstad, Sweden.
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 200 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
Peter has CV axle set #0323 and we are happy to report that he installed them himself with ease:
“The installation was very easy, the axles even came pre-greased ready to bolt in. There was even some red Loctite in the box, great! The axles look very sturdy and I’m sure they are going to last me a life time. An axle failure is the last thing I want, especially since spares are so scarce here in Sweden. Money well spent in my eyes.”
He sent us a few pictures before/after replacing his old half-shafts. Nice work!
Peter is really happy with the CV Axle performance, under all driving conditions:
“Hi Rob,
I got my car running yesterday. Must tell you that I love your axles! After installing them I’ve got zero vibrations in the drive line. Used to have some at 70mph+, especially during acceleration which I suspected coming from either the prop shaft or drive axles. I’m very happy!
Have a great weekend” Peter
Dreaming of Zs
There are around 130 registered S30 Z cars in Sweden, they sold so few that importing is basically the only option, and most registered today are. Peter shared his Z story with us:
“I had dreamt about a S30 for a long time. Driving modern cars on track for the last few years had me longing for something more analogue. S30s are few and far between in Sweden so importing one seemed like the best option. I bought it early 2019 from a car dealer in the UK, they had imported it from Jacksonville, Florida. Here it is after picking it up at the harbour”
Driven Hard with L-Series Magic!
The car was a real survivor with almost no rust, but a very worn engine. Peter’s initial plan was to tune the stock engine, but in the end it was easier to buy a complete unit. He had Datsun Spirit build a Stage 4 engine:
“I like their philosophy with low rotating mass and how they build their engines. I had many emails back and forth with DSI discussing how to support the engine, and everything they said turned out to work great. I really believe that the engine is the heart of the car, so any other engine than a L-series was not an option to me. Jenvey DSI ITB 50mm throttle bodies and fuel injection are controlled by an EMU Classic from ECU Master.”
Peter did the engine swap, but the final installation, wiring and tuning was done by a local reputable shop called JMB Optimering in Halmstad, Sweden. With a Kamaeri 6-3-2 header and custom 3″ exhaust they managed to extract 298hp @ 7500rpm at the rear wheels from the DSI Stage 4 3.0l.
Backing the ~300whp L-series is a 280ZX 5-speed transmission and upgraded suspension from Techno Toy Tuning. At the rear, an R200 diff with Quaife LSD an our ZCG CV Axles helps put the power down. Sparco Sprint seats keep him in place on the track.
Peter has been Enjoying The Ride on the street and track:
“All the work with the car has led to a lot of time spent in the garage, but I took one thing at the time so I have still put around 4000 miles on it since I got it. The idea is to have a summer car that can be used on the track regularly and on the back roads. This season the car will be used in a local sprint cup, consisting of five events, plus a few trackdays. I love driving on the Nurburgring, a place I frequently go to, and the plan is to take the car there as soon as the COVID situation is under control.”
DreamZ Come True at the ‘Ring
Peter recently drove his Z on the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife and shared his amazing experience with us. Yet again he put our Z Car Garage CV Axles to work at the magical track. Listen to the Z sing in this video from the Nurburgring and past autocross events, VOLUME UP!
Peter’s report from the ‘Ring, enjoy:
“This year I realized a dream. Ever since I bought my 280Z I have wanted to drive it on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. But as usual during the rainy and snowy winter months in Sweden, you try to do all the maintenance and all fixes during that time. And as usual everything always takes longer which means there wasn’t any time for any testing before sending the car to Germany. The trip to the Eifel mountains and Nurburg is around 900 miles for, and this time I put the car on a transporter.“
“So after meeting up we spent some time bleeding the brakes, fixing new harnesses and off I went to the gas station. One of the things changed on the car this year was a new fuel tank from s30 world, and when I started filling up, a lot of fuel was dumped on the ground. Ok, time to get the tools out again, thankfully it was a quick fix with a ventilation hose. All this time I was in a little bit of a hurry because I also wanted to tweak my alignment, and time was running fast to make that appointment.”
“On the Nordschleife you want a very stable car due to the high speeds and high loads. You can say that in general a setup with more understeer is preferred, and that’s what most people run. The last thing you want is a car with a nervous rear end going over a crest turning at 150mph. I arrived at the race shop just in time, and the tech doing the alignment notice play in my inner tie rod ends. He says: ‘Don’t drive like this’. Great, I have shipped the car all the way here and it was just a waste of money…After some consulting with some other people I trust I decided to drive, ‘just stay off the curbs!’ Like that’s not going to be in the back of my mind…”
“Apart from the play in the steering creating variable toe (which is very interesting to drive with) the car worked great. The power and response is great from the DSI engine, no troubles what so ever. Just check the oil and fuel up! The Z Car Garage CV Axles have been working so well, absolutely no vibrations in the rear end!”
As expected, the Z garnered plenty of attention and Peter was shocked at the positive comments. The ‘Ring is also known for an incredible variety of sports cars to admire….
“I’m so happy to have driven the Datsun on the Nurburgring, and it’s a thing I’ve been thinking about constantly since starting this project. I have never gotten so much attention with a car, it just makes everybody happy. In Europe it’s a pretty rare sight, and to drive it on my absolute favorite racetrack is a thing that will be repeated again. I’ve been going to the ‘Ring since 2010 and have a few laps under my belt , and I’ve never had this much fun in a car ever. The Nurburgring is a magical place, there just isn’t any place like it anywhere.”
Thank you for sharing your epic Nurburgring experience with us Peter. Truly a bucket-list item for us and you are living the dream, Z-style. You can see more of his 280Z in action on his YouTube channel, and in the photo gallery below.
“I’m very satisfied with your products and service. I live in Sweden and any after market support is very scarce. They around 25 240Z here in 1973, that’s about it. A project is never finished and I have some more things to do, but now I plan to enjoy and track the car for the foreseeable future.”
Thanks for your support Peter! We love that you are driving your Z and enjoying our parts over in Sweden. Long Live The Z!
Filed under: 510,Events,Parts
by Alvin G @ 4:55 pm on April 29, 2022
We love to see owners installing our Z Car Garage CV Axles in their vintage Nissans and Datsuns. This 1971 Datsun 510 is owned by Dirk D. and he replaced his failing CV Axle kit with our ZCG CV Axles. You may have seen this Specialty Z-built Dime at events in the SoCal area and we are proud to be part of it!
We saw Dirk’s 510 last year at the Japanese Classic Car Show and noticed he was running ZCG CV Axles with an R200 diff and Quaife (ATB) limited slip differential. Great to hear that these parts earn Sebastian’s approval and he installed them with ease at the Specialty-Z facility in Simi Valley, CA. Dirk is stoked:
“After receiving them I was even more impressed. Sebastian said the installation went very smooth. I’ve been running them now for over 2000 miles and haven’t had any issues. Even after putting the wood to it a few times. And the fact that we put 498 horse power to the rear wheels proves to me that they are high quality”
Datsun 510 Dreams
Dirk has bee working for 10 years perfecting this 510 mechanically and visually. Here is a brief overview…
MOTOR: SR20DET Red top, Mazworx intake, 1320 Injector dynamics, dual scroll exhaust manifold with Garrett 30 GTX twin Scroll, Forged Pistons (CP), Rods (Eagle), ARP Studs, O-Rings, BC Stage 3 Cams (Adjustable cam sprockets), R35 GTR PRP Coil Kit, S15 Oil pick up, High Capacity Oil Pan, Setrab oil cooler, modified Mishmoto radiator, OEM Nissan Fan Clutch, High Capacity Fan, Canton remote oil filter
DRIVE TRAIN: 5 speed, RPS Carbon Fiber Clutch, Pressure Plate & Fly Wheel (billet aluminum), Custom Built Drive Shaft 300ZX Yolk & U Joints, ZCG CV Axles and Power steering.
Sebastian at Specialty Z dyno-tuned the 510 using a Haltech ECU with maps for E85 and 91 octane fuel. It made 369whp at 16psi and 498whp at 20psi. Enjoy this video of the dyno pass:
Interior
Inside, a finished custom interior features carbon fiber and alcantara touches:
Dirk’s 510 was featured in the February 2019 issue of D Sport Magazine:
Enjoying the Ride
Dirk has been driving his 510 everywhere, most recently to the Petersen Museum Japanese Car Cruise-In last weekend. Both Sebastian and Dirk are impressed with the Z Car Garage CV Axles:
“Sebastian from Specialty Z told me about your axles after informing him that I just snapped a set aftermarket CV Axles the first time I put the wood to it. So I decided to upgrade to ZCG CV’s. I thought that weak link was going to be an issue that was unsolvable because prior to your CV’s there was nothing on the market that would hold up to the power that this car has. It’s great you guys have offered this solution to the market.”
Dirk purchased this 510 with the SR20 swap already in it, assuming it was a turn key car. Unfortunately the engine failed due to the previous owner’s tuning and 76 mm turbo. Dirk knew Sebastian for quite awhile and talked him into helping him rebuild the car to its fullest potential.
“I wanted a car that wasn’t only for drags or track but could also be driven as a daily driver and still haul ass. With no cooling or tuning issues whatsoever. With major help from Sebastian at Specialty Z and Jamie @ Fab Tech I’ve got everything I asked for and more out of the car couldn’t be happier.”
We asked Sebastian what his thoughts were on building Dirk’s 510:
“The thing I enjoyed most about Dirk’s 510 project was that it was something that we normally don’t do as far as the platform goes. So it was new and refreshing. We never worked in depth with the SR20 in the past or the 510 chassis. We stuck to high quality (as we usually do anyway) parts for the build so it was hard to leave others out, overall we were happy with the fit and finish of the Mazworx intake and exhaust manifolds. We used a Garrett GTX 3076 for the turbo and Garrett never disappoints. As far as the drivetrain goes, the ZCG axles were a pleasure to install and the quality was second to none. We had issues with the previous axles and immediately noticed the difference in noise (lack of) and even a nicer feel while driving the car.”
We have known Sebastian for many years and Specialty Z is a legendary Z32/late-model Nissan tuning house. Seb is a trusted friend and is always willing to help ZCG. It goes without saying that his shop is top notch with many high-profile projects like tuning pro-racer Chris Forsberg’s TT 370Z. Time flies: (L). Ginash and Eric from JDM Legends at SEMA. (Below) Rob and Seb at Z Car Garage:
You won’t see too much from Specialty Z in regards to Datsun related work, but we frequently refer local clients to Seb that have late-model powerplants. Indeed, we sent Bay Area local Jose P to SPZ for tuning on his SR20-powered Datsun 510! We are also super excited to see Seb restoring our Box-flared Datsun 510 that he purchased it from Rob a few years ago:
Seb plans to run a Rebello 2.2L with dual-Mikuni induction, here are a few photos from fresh paint and assembly:
Thank you Dirk and Sebastian for your support! Happy to see you enjoying the Z Car Garage CV Axles in the Dime. Enjoy The Ride!
We have many more photos in the gallery and please read below for more information on our ZCG CV Axles:
ZCG CV Axles
Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. These are 100% bolt-in replacing your half-shafts and does not use aluminum adapters commonly found in aftermarket units. We have over 200+ CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
For years we have used aftermarket CV axles that utilize an aluminum adapter prone to loosening up over time. Despite efforts to keep things tight (Loctite, hardware changes) we had to keep an eye on them. We developed a better solution that eliminates the need for aluminum adapters and remains 100% bolt-in like a factory half-shaft.
Designed and manufactured locally with KAD Models, the ZCG CV axle kit works in both R180 and R200 configurations.
These are the beefiest CV axles on the market. They have been tested on the track by our vintage racing customers and also in high hp* street cars (powershifting, clutch dumps, etc.). Each axle has a serial # for peace of mind:
The CV axle kit is available now from ZCG for 1595.00 + freight and they come with everything you need to install on your car. Contact us at 408-452-0350 or send Rob an e-mail rob@zcargarage.com to purchase. Installation is just like doing a half-shaft: there is even a marking that shows you where to line up bolts and special hardware:
The ZCG CV Axles in action
The video below demonstrates the “looseness” associated with aftermarket CV axles that use adapters compared to the ZCG axles without adapters. Several customer race/street cars running our CV axles are also shown. Enjoy!
Enjoy this video made by our client Hazel. She installed our ZCG CV Axles on her Hazel’s 1970 Datsun 240Z
Over 150 sets of our ZCG CV Axles are installed in client’s cars all over the world:
