You might recall the previous form of this car, “DocZ” that was a metallic red with throwback S30 wheels:
Larry Chen was commissioned by GQ magazine to do a photoshoot Sung and and some cool cars, including the “78” car. See more shots from the photoshoot on Larry’s Instagram.
We love to see owners installing our Z Car Garage CV Axles on their vintage Nissans and Datsuns. Steven added a set to his gorgeous 1972 Skyline GT-X that he performed a full restoration on in New Zealand.
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. Over 250+ CV axle kits on client cars with unanimous positive feedback.
Steven shares his experience replacing the original half shafts with ZCG CV Axles on his Hakosuka Skyline…
“I decided to upgrade as my overall goal was to build one of the best Skylines in the world, having the old clunky axles wasn’t going to fit the bill. It helped to see photos on the website of Hako’s with them installed (see Ray and Julio’s Hako’s) however still nervous about how the quality would stand up to certification in New Zealand. After a lot of online research I chose on the ZCG CV Axles and rapt with the results.
Steven kindly shared installation photos (more in the gallery below) with us:
“As always when buying stuff from half way across the world I am very nervous however the website looked great and the buying/shipping process was simple. The Axles were extremely well made and packaged, we have very tough certification rules in New Zealand however the certifier had no issues with the axles. They were as simple as undoing 4 bolts on each end of the factory axles dropping it out and putting the CV Axles in place and doing up the bolts. Absolutely no modifications and nothing more than a 14mm spanner needed.”
Super stoked to hear Steven enjoying the axles, enjoy this video of his installation:
“The noticeable benefits were noise reduction, smoothness of rear suspension movements and they look great”
Skyline Dreams
The Hakosuka Skyline is undeniably a JDM icon. We asked Steven about his history with Japanese classics and his dream to own the original Skyline…
“Life time goal starting out in 2005 with a 1998 Nissan Skyline GT (4Door) in Grey, moving onto a 1998 Nissan Skyline GTT in 2007 (2 Door) in Red, to a 1999 Nissan Skyline GTR in 2020 in white I was well down the path of getting to the dream of trading my way to own a Hakosuka. The GTR market went crazy in 2022 so I made the most of the opportunity to sell and bank the money for when I finally manage to locate the right Hakosuka as I knew I would need every cent for the rebuild. Having never been to Japan and not speaking a word of Japanese I came across Scott Palmer from Nippon2u, he was an Aussie so we could have a good yarn and he happened to have the car (1972 Nissan Skyline GT-X KGC10 13,678kms, Grade 3.5, L20, 2HT, 5 Speed) but laughed when I said I was keen on purchasing it as the prices were crazy and the rebuild costs to have it clear certification in NZ were enormous given its 50 year old thin steel.”
“These cars are the pinnacle of Japan’s motorsport history, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy the auction was 11:56am on 7 th April 2023 and we set a price of 6,860,000 yen but that was soon passed to 6,905,000 yen and still didn’t meet the reserve. I just needed to take the leap and hope it was a solid car as with auction fees etc. it came to 8,120,000 yen…on par with the market and still cheaper than an R34 GTR in NZ. Finally on the 21 June it was on the ship with Dolphin shipping and arrived in Auckland on 6 th July, 4 months after auction. Walking into the PTS logistics office I had no idea if the car would even run or roll, the car luckily was exactly how I imaged it to be, original/solid but needing a good restoration.”
The Restoration
Steven’s goal for the restoration was to build the car utilizing best in the world components.
“Even before it arrived in New Zealand I had developed a project plan with what I deem the best of the best in their respective fields. I wanted to do as much as possible but also wanted to make sure we achieved the highest quality finish possible, and I think this is the high quality example of the Hakosuka in the world. I stripped the car down to a bare shell within days and started restoring everything whilst moving the body and drivetrain to the professionals. Spent hours building custom brake lines, stripping subframes, machining/pressing/customise mounts. Chris Calder of Waipukarau long term friend and in my opinion the best painter in the country. Full bare metal, rotisserie strip down and paint job which included the cutting and flaring of rear guards, complete replacement rear panel and unstitching a lot of the panels to treat. Smoothing of engine bay, removal of body holes for aerial and front bonnet centre trim. The car was also fully sealed underneath.”
“Engine was removed and sent to PPRE in Whanganui which they were keen to get their hands into as a change from their normal rotary engine building. Gareth was given a bit of a free licence to make the engine the best it can…”
– Haltech Nexus R3 and PD16 Computers
– Nissan r35 GTR Coils
– Ported and Polished Cylinder Head and Manifold
– Fully custom built stainless steel headers and exhaust
– Custom build in tank fuel system
– L20 2L Engine, 141hp at the wheels
– EFI Hardware full ITB kit, fuel injection system, inlet manifold with Billet distributor
and sensors and electronic accelerator.
“Rear CV axles we sourced and imported from Rob Fuller @zcargarage in the San Jos California and fitted perfectly. Front adjustable suspension was built by Evan @ Speedfactor in Tauranga, they were able to build a coil over system which bolted in directly along with all of the necessary reports for certification.”
“Bede Stevenson at bspeed engineering custom built the engine rocker cover Along the way I had a few great mates that helped with guidance as they are at the top of their field especially Isaac Probert and the team at Manawatu Auto Electrical. They completely re wired the car from scratch which involved some technical programming of the two Haltech computers as well as an incredible attention to detail. This included me having the opportunity to build the front wiring loom alongside Isaac and learn a few new skills along the way. Then a massive list of parts were sourced through FNLHVN.com in Japan, the owner Jamel is awesome. This was one of Chris Pocock’s final jobs as the owner of Classic Custom Motor Trimmers, he has spent decades building custom upholstery and he was determine to take on this complete re trim. I took it upon myself to build the centre console from scratch to better modernise the driving experience.”
“Aidan at Pine Engineering in Wakefield (South Island) was able to customise a set of genuine Watanabe 3-piece wheels to my specifications to get as much rubber on the road as possible. This was a great option for difficult wheel sizes and offsets The tyres and rims were a massive challenge however Jared Parker from Zestino Tyres in Wellington was keen to get involved and supplied the 195/50/15 and 245/45/15 ZS01’s. Every nut, bolt and bracket on the car has been either replaced with new or I have stripped down and had it powder coated by Glen @ Elite Powder coaters in Palmerston North, also any bare metal fittings we gold anodised in Palmerston North by Graham @ electroplating Manawatu.”
After a 14-month long journey, Steven has some final thoughts on the restoration:
“I have been very fortunate to have had the ability to build American, British/Aussie and now Japanese cars and I can say hands down the Japanese definitely made life a lot easier with their design and materials. This included everything fitting perfectly, metric!!!!, having the foresight for electric windows, air conditioning and even adding threaded mounts for 3 point seatbelts from and rear even though they only came with lap belts. Weight is only 840kgs, independent rear end, HANDbrake, and perfectly fitting straight 6 motor. This car has been built to drive so once it has done the car show scene it will be seen out on the road and around the odd track cruze event. I have recently managed to blow up my challengers motor so that’s the next project.”
Steven has been Enjoying the Ride in his dream car Hakosuka Skyline. What’s next? He’s got a mint set of Recaro seats to match his interior and he’s trying to source a complete replacement set of window glass for the car and store the factory glass. We are confident he’ll score a set of make his own 🙂
Back in October the Hako was featured in New Zealand Classic Car magazine and he’s been driving everywhere, as it should be! You can follow his adventures on Instagram
Thank you for your support Steven, your Skyline is amazing! 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 250+ 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 200 sets of our ZCG CV Axles are installed in client’s cars all over the world:
We are excited to offer the Z Car Garage Heat Shield for your triple-carb’d L-series Z car. This is a one-piece 304 stainless unit with laser-etched serial number. Proven on all of our L-series engine builds and dyno testing.
This heat shield will fit Mikuni, Weber, Dellorto and Jenvey induction with several intake manifolds like the Harada. Also available for 4-cylinder L-series applications as well! Utilized on both race cars and street cars. Shown below are ZCG clients running the heat shield on their cars, starting with JDM Legends’ epic S30 build:
We love to see our products being installed and used on customer cars. Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft is running our ZCG Heat Shield in this vintage 260z race car! Volume up and enjoy!
Richard’s 1971 Datsun 240Z:
Khang’s EFI L-Series with Jenvey ITB and Z Car Garage Heat Shield:
Vincent’s 1973 Datsun 240Z:
More Z cars running the ZCG Heat Shield:
The ZCG Heat Shield is available for purchase for $169.00 with product information below. View this product and other ZCG parts on the new “products” page of our website HERE
Filed under: 240z,Performance
by Alvin G @ 2:40 pm on October 12, 2024
At Z Car Garage we love keeping Z’s on the road. From concours-level restorations to light refurbishments, helping a client realize their vision is our passion. The Bartel family shipped their 1973 Datsun 240Z from Arizona for mechanical and cosmetic sorting, ZCG-style. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, chassis tuning and dyno tuned LS3 V8 engine transformed this Z into the dream car Jeff and son Ryan enjoy at rally events.
The Bartel’s Z Story
Before we dive in to the project let’s hear how the family got their Z car…
JEFF: My son and I began looking for a Datsun project car for pre-1975 Targa rally driving events in late 2018. We scoured the internet for resto-mod 510’s or S30’s that with modern drivetrains for reliability and maintenance. After a long and exhaustive search we came across a 1973 Datsun 240Z with an LS3 V8/T56 on one of those trendy online auto auction sites. On paper the car appeared to have just about all of the desirable upgrades, including larger brakes from an OEM, coilovers, a LSD diff, aluminum radiator, fender flares, 17” wheels, Vintage Air air conditioning, fuel cell, decent gauges, extensive body work and paint and nausea-inducing rear wing. We decided to bid and won what seemed like Z at the right price…
…Upon test driving the car and wearing the most rose colored glasses one could wear, we still found that there were a lot of issues. Soon after ownership we took the car to a couple of repair shops to get our list of issues addressed, but quickly found the level of service and Z Car knowledge to be lacking everywhere. After coming out of those suspect shops we entered our first CA Targa event early 2019, and couldn’t even complete the first day of the event. A combination of broken diff and clunking suspension cut our event short. We decided to give Rob and Z Car Garage a try after seeing so many of their successes online.
Mechanical Sorting at Z Car Garage
We agreed to inspect the car and during that process found many of the car’s important systems were in need of complete replacement.
ROB:It was very important to Jeff and Ryan for this Z to be enjoyable and up to the task of vintage rally events. We obliged to help them with that goal in several visits. I was Z car purist when I was younger, thinking one should always install Nissan engines into a Nissan… with time and wisdom it is hard to deny that LSx engines are pretty stellar with respect to power and packaging. It was time to make this Z a ZCG-style LS-powered S30.
JEFF: While tuning and driving the car Rob noticed that the existing fuel pump system was not providing sufficient fuel to the engine especially during spirited cornering (not to mention extremely noisy fuel pump and strong fuel smell in the cabin). Rob and his team replaced the underperforming fuel pump and delivery system, relocating the pump to a safer and quieter location, installed a Hydramat fuel pickup system in the fuel cell to avoid starvation during heavy cornering. A new dual exhaust system with X-pipe was also installed from headers back to the tips to improve flow and clearance.
Z Car Garage Big-Brakes
We are proud to have several of our ZCG products on Bartel’s 240z. We installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) which have the been standard on numerous ZCG builds. 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.
ROB: A staple of the ZCG upgrade package is a set of brakes. So we did the ZCG BBK, with new brake M/C and new booster. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained! Suspension was upgraded to T3 f/r coil-overs done in our signature black. Thanks Gabe for allowing to have our own color! We also did f/r wheel bearings and full alignment.
JEFF: The team at Z Car Garage began with replacing the poor performing brakes with the complete ZCG Big Brake Kit. With the car now stopping as it should, they next turned their attention to the suspension. A set of front and rear coil-overs were installed on the car along with adjustable T/C rods and camber plates arms and so on. The car was then height adjusted and corner balanced.
Cooling and Driveline Upgrades
On their first visit we changed the spring rates to improve handling and put some friction modifier in diff. At the very end of this visit unfortunately the car was making some strange noises. We suspect the previous builder had starved the engine of oil a few times leading to rod knock. so we send it to Rebello for a rebuild. In spring of 2021 we had made enough power and focused on cooling modifications with a new fabricated a fan-shroud setup.
JEFF: With brakes, handling, fuel and exhaust systems addressed, we set out on our second CA Targa event in June 2021. This adventure took us through the CA desert and across the Sierra Nevada Mountains two times. If you live on the west coast you might remember the incredible heat wave with temperatures approaching 115 degrees F. This caused severe over heating problems with the existing cooling system, which made for many unplanned stops along the way. While we did have many great conversations waiting for the car to cool, some with our feet in a Sierra Nevada river, we knew this was unsustainable. Another issue that became noticeable during our second event was the wicked noises coming from the clutch, rear differential as well as the driveshaft. On the positive side of the coin, the car turned, stopped and handled incredibly well and we managed to complete the roughly 1,500 mile event under our own power. We were also able to establish that the car is extremely fast and with that the stock seats and belts were just not quite enough to hold us in place or to provide even the temporary illusion of safety. Woohoo!
Next up were the cooling, cold air intake, clutch, rear diff and driveshaft upgrades along with safety and comfort improvements. We installed a new aluminum radiator, rerouted the upper and lower hoses and changed the cold air intake system to reduce intake temperatures. The transmission got an upgraded flywheel. kevlar/ceramic, 11″ 26-spline clutch, new Tilton T/O bearing and aluminum driveshaft from South Bay driveline…the Z was now ready to drive anywhere.
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. ZCG CV axles were installed and the rear differential was rebuilt with a new R180 OSG LSD unit, bearings/seals etc.
Dyno Tuning
Rob dyno tuned the LS via HPtuners software. It put down a stout 408hp/387tq to the wheels:
Enjoy this extended video of Ryan and Jeff’s Z including dyno runs, test drive with Rob and engine/exhaust sounds…volume up!
Wheels
Wheels make the car and a set of VOLK TE37V wheels from another client project ended up replacing the 17″ Rota wheels the Z came with. The TE’s transformed the car!
Details
After running a successful Targa event in 2022, the Bartel’s returned to ZCG in 2023 for a small list of improvements including rear hatch body work, installing a BRE type rear wing, minor improvements to the suspension, turn signal/high beam and seat rail repairs along with getting the AC system running more reliably. These are the details we excel at:
The previous owner left several holes in the firewall behind the evap box, so we removed all A/C components and made a new seal to isolate the cabin from exhaust and heat. In the back, we fixed the rear strut after locating a spacer placed in the coil-overs. With the A/C system sorted, we did hatch seals and pulley/belt on the compressor were all properly aligned.
If you are doing spirited driving or long road trips, the Recaro Specialist seat is the best for your Z car! More photos of the interior and roll bar in the galley below
JEFF: To improve safety and hold us in place ZCG installed an Auto Power roll bar with. custom removable harness bar. Rob convinced us upgrade the stock seats to Recaro Specialist seats and 5-point harness system, along with front and rear strut tower braces for increased rigidity. New Hella H4 headlights were also added to replace the original ones that barely worked. Ryan and I had Rob’s team add a 330mmMomo steering wheel.
Exterior paint by our manWilliam, modified rear spoiler some BRE side-view mirrors top the cosmetic changes:
Driving is Believing
Jeff lives in Central CA while Ryan lives in Arizona. They share this car Father and Son and we get reports from each of them sharing how much they love the car now.
JEFF: With cooling, driveline, safety and comfort addressed and plenty of test miles on the car, we set out for our third CA Targa event in May 2022. This event took place close to home in the Paso Robles wine country. The event was over 1,000 miles, covering many excellent canyon roads. Starting with a 390 mile bonsai run from Phoenix AZ to Los Angeles CA and continuing for up through the central coast of CA. During that time, we beat on the car mercilessly, and the car ran pretty darn flawlessly. Needless to say, third time was the charm, and the trip was a smashing success.
The Father/Son duo would go on to successfully complete the Targa California rallies in 2023 and 2024, followed by numerous driving events and gatherings. Each time they were super stoked with the Z…
RYAN: Targa ‘24 is a wrap. Over 2100 miles from AZ to Monterey and back. Some fantastic roads, 2 historic race tracks, endless good times and some of the best people around. That’s Jeff Bartel grinning in the drivers seat. Getting to run the rally’s with him has been a gift. Looking forward to the next one, and hopefully the Targa AZ works out. Gonna start pre running next week.
RYAN: The Japanese Corvette on the final day of the 2023 #targacalifornia. Over a thousand miles in a long weekend with some great humans, new roads and beautiful cars. The recipe for the car is at last perfect thanks to Rob and @zcargarage. All that and to top it off I get to do that whole thing with my father. Looking forward to the first Arizona Targa this fall.
Thank You!
We enjoyed working you Ryan and Jeff. Thanks for you support and keep making memories while Enjoying The Ride in your Z!
Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles continue to win over Z-car enthusiasts locally and globally. Elmo P recently purchased a set of both for his 1972 Datsun 240Z and had them installed himself in SoCal. Before we go into the installation details let’s take a look at how Elmo got into Z cars…
ELMO: In 2005, I decided to sell my first 240z, a 1973 which I owned for almost 17 years, and the car on which I learned almost everything I know to this day about wrenching. I felt I had outgrown the Z and it no longer fit in my life. However, immediately after the sale, I felt sick to my stomach for weeks and never really got over its sale. Over the next 13 years, I would periodically search for a replacement 240z, only to find out prices had skyrocketed and I could no longer afford one. Fast forward to 2019, I was now ready to resume my search. I found a 1972 240z that had been meticulously cared for by its 2nd owner of almost 47 years. The car was mostly stock, minus the addition of an L-28, and Panasport wheels.
My goal was to modify the car tastefully, with modern components where needed to increase driving pleasure, yet leave the classic body-line largely unmolested to not disturb or detract from the design’s natural beauty. Over the past 4 1/2 years, I’ve made modifications to every area of the car and I can finally say that I’m at about 95% of attaining my vision. As mentioned previously, Elmo wanted the body to remain mostly unchanged. The only additions have been a front grill and spoiler from Star Road in Japan, front bumper delete plates from Skillard, one-piece rear bumper, and Euro tail lights and front turn signals. Wheels are Volk TE37V, 16×8 +0, and 16×8.5 +10 with Toyo R888R tires in 245/45/16.
Interior
ELMO: The interior received many upgrades including Recaro seats, Speed Hut gauges, re-upholstered door panels, tranny tunnel, and rear shock towers, billet pedals, new dash cover and a Sparco steering wheel. However, one of my favorite modifications is that of cleaning up the rear shock towers by removing the old vinyl covering and plastic caps, and smoothing off and painting the tops of the towers, along with the addition of aluminum cover plates and new covering on the towers.
Drivetrain
ELMO: When I bought the car, I knew the drivetrain and suspension would be my main focus area and hence, the area where I would divert most of my modification funds. All suspension component upgrades are from Techno Toy Tuning., including adjustable coilovers, control arms and diff mustache bar. Gear shifts are handled via a rebuilt close-ratio 5-speed from a ZX which transmits power to a 3.9 OS Giken LSD. Although the L-28 that was in the car when I purchased it was recently rebuilt, my goal was to replace it with a larger displacement street/race engine to increase the fun-factor. After months of searching for a reputable L-Series builder, I came across a renowned Datsun engine builder by the name of Jeff Winter at Rallye Sport in Westminster, CO.
For my mostly street driving application, we decided on an L-28 bored .080 over, forged rods and flat top pistons, and one of his special cam grinds on my car’s original E88 head with a mild street port, all resulting in just under a 3.0L. Induction is handled by triple 44 PHH Mikuni carbs rebuilt by Taka from Kyusha House.
The exhaust is scavenged via a custom-made header from a small shop in Japan, fabricated bu Humble Engineering with a 2.5” straight pipe terminating into a 3-chamber Flowmaster. Below, also visible are T3 coil-overs, LCAs, diff brace and Z Car Garage CV Axles:
Z Car Garage Big-Brakes
ELMO:Although my new engine makes more power than the original L-24, and the stock brake system and half- shafts likely within their operating limits to support the increased power, I felt now was the time to make those upgrades to mitigate any future performance or drivability issues. Enter Z Car Garage. I had been following ZCG for a few years and knew that Rob was very well respected in the Datsun community, and offered many products to enhance the performance of the S30. I wanted to upgrade to rear disks, not just for better overall braking, but also for aesthetic reasons.
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 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 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
ELMO:In other words, the look of drum brakes sitting behind my new wheels just wasn’t cutting it, at least not in 2023. There is no shortage of aftermarket (AM) brake kits for the S30; however, after speaking with many owners who installed AM kits, they all shared one thing in common: No one seemed to be fully pleased with their performance. Most kits are sort of a “Frankenstein” collection of parts which often required different brake boosters, proportioning valves and other mods just to make them work somewhat effectively. In addition, most AM brake kits either did not come with a parking brake, and if they did, functioned poorly.
Big-Brake Kits Available For DIY Install!
Z Car Garage is proud to offer our Big-Brake Kit to Z-Car owners that want to perform the installation themselves. We can ship worldwide and each kit contains everything needed with a comprehensive (40-page) installation guide. Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE. Elmo’s beautiful S30 and his ZCG Big-Brake installation:
Our ZCG Big-Brake kit ships with everything needed to install and retains the factory parking brake function. Elmo successfully installed the BBK on his Z with and they look great behind the Volk TE37 wheels. Beyond ease of installation and quality components, our Big-Brakes perform by offering superb pedal feel…everyone that drives our demo Z confirms! This is a direct result of working with Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. Elmo shares his feedback after replacing his existing brakes with the ZCG BBK:
ELMO: I contacted Rob to secure a set of his brakes but he advised me they were on backorder but that they’d be worth the wait, so I committed. Due to Covid supply chain issues, the wait was almost a year long, but as the saying goes, “some things are worth the wait”. I finally received my brakes and can confirm that aside from looking great, they meet or beat my performance expectations. Braking is effective, predictable, and confidence-inspiring. However, the best part is that there are no tricky performance issues that you have to figure out as they were designed from the ground-up for the S30, while still utilizing the stock brake booster and other components. All you simply have to do is install them as directed and you’re good to go. Oh, did I mention the parking brake works great!
Z Car Garage CV Axles
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.
ELMO:Now that the brake department was taken care of, all that was left to replace is the Achilles’ heel of any S30 with a much more powerful engine, the half-shafts. I had issues with them and their U-Joints on my first 240z which had a 3.0 and I felt that my current Z would benefit from an upgrade. Again, multiple AM options to choose from but given the research and quality of the ZCG brake kit, I felt the CV axles that Rob offered were the logical choice. The axles are beautifully machined and more than robust enough to handle my new engine’s power. I installed the axles myself and have noticed less clunking and vibration, and an overall smoother drive.
Elmo’s ZCG CV Axle set, #0446 installed:
What’s in store for Elmo’s Z?
ELMO: So, what’s left? Well, there’s a few odds and ends but nothing major, at least not until Rob introduces the next upgrade. I’m a firm believer that most of us never truly finish modifying our cars because they are like an ever-evolving canvas of ourselves.
Thanks for your support Elmo we love that you are Enjoying The Ride and Long Live The Z! More photos in the gallery below
The Last Stop in Braking for your Z
Z Car Garage Big Brakes are one of the best systems available for your S30 Z Car with over 200 kits sold worldwide and unanimous positive feedback. See our ZCG Big-Brakes on client cars HERE and enjoy the photos below:
