Sam C lives in San Francisco and heard of ZCG last summer while at a local bowling alley near our shop in San Jose. His 1973 Datsun 240z had been sitting for several years and after reading zcarblog he wanted to bring it back to life.
We performed an inspection and found that the car needed attention in several areas. Starting with the cooling system, all hoses were replaced and a Koyo race radiator installed.
The problematic ’73 model SU carbs were replaced with earlier Z-Therapy units. All smog equipment was deleted. An MSA header was installed and the older igntion system was upgraded to Pertronix:
In short, we performed a mechanical resotorationthat this car could perform as it should after years of being idle, including a new battery and recharged the vintage air conditioning system. Here are a few pictures of engine bay completed and detailed:
With the engine bay sorted we turned to the chassis. The entire suspension was removed, dis-assembled and media blasted before sending off to be zinc’d and powdercoated. New parts consisted of 5-way Tociko struts with Eibach springs, MacPherson strut bumpstops, T3 adjustable rear control arms, and adjustable T/C rods and new wheel bearings. ALL bushings were replaced including the rack bushings, ball joints and front control arm bushings.
A set of gorgeous 16×7 11mm offset Panasports with 225/50/16 Yokohama S-Drive tires was mounted rounds out the chassis upgrades:
The ZCG Big Brake Kit
The pièce de résistance of Sam’s restoration is the Z Car Garage Big-Brake Kit for small wheels. With our pre-production testing finalized, we are happy to install the first batch on several customer cars like Sam’s, Glenn’s and others.
Following our successful, larger ZCG BBK, this smaller BBK was designed with Tyler from Stoptech 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, we even came up with the slogan “Stoptech or don’t stop at all”!
Specifics
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
As installed on Sam’s S30, the brake kit is beautiful and functional. Track tested under hard racing conditions and rigorous street testing as well. Factory parking brake functionality is retained by operating a dedicated caliper:
This big brake kit will fit under 15″ wheels and some 14″ wheels. Once the BBK is available in our online store there will be a complete wheel fitment guide with printable caliper tool. Datsun 510 and Roadster brake kits coming soon!
Sam’s Z was detailed by our friend at JB Mobile and the paint looks great. Thank you Sam for letting us get your Z back on the road. Enjoy The Ride!
Jose B is from Antioch, CA and knows our customer Richard M (ZCG-modified 370z). After getting into an accident with his 370z, Jose went to several shops to identify a peculiar squeak coming from the front end. Unfortunately the squeak was not resolved so Jose visited ZCG to sort it out. We spent time going over the suspension and other areas to identify the source of the squeak and found that one of the motor mounts was completely broken:
In addition to replacing the driver’s side motor mount, Jose wanted us to install some parts he had purchased online. Here is a full Motordyne exhaust system including their Long Tube XYZ stepped headers with Helmholtz module:
A few shots of the exhaust installation:
We also installed Stillen Gen 3 intakes:
With the motor mount sorted and new parts installed Jose wanted to have the Z UPREV tuned. This was a wise decision, especially with the new bolt-ons. Historically we have made good power with simple bolt-ons to the VQ37 and we were surprised by Jose’s Z34. The Z baselined at 295hp/245tq to the wheels and with UPREV tuning put down 344hp/266tq to the wheels!
Peak gains of almost 50hp and 21tq at the wheels is impressive! Enjoy The Ride Jose!
For classic car enthusiasts across the globe, visiting the site BringaTrailer.com is part of our daily routine. Z Car Garage has been a big fan of BaT since its inception in 2007, having referred our customers and serviced several BaT auction vehicles. We happily obliged when they reached out to us for help in finding a Z-car to drive cross-country for a historic racing event.
Roadtrip to The Mitty
ZCG recently announced our participation at The Mitty April 27-29 at Road Atlanta in Georgia. Nissan is the featured marque at this historic vintage racing event, so naturally a Datsun would be the ideal driving partner, right? For BaT founder Randy Nonnenberg, taking a roadtrip to the Mitty in a Datsun goes further than just arriving in style:
“The Mitty has been an event I’ve personally been interested in attending for a long time. I love seeing new racing venues and meeting BaT community members in different parts of the world. I have never been to Road Atlanta so this seemed like a great opportunity to host a BaT Alumni Gathering at the track. The teams from HSR and Classic Motorsports run some very fun events, so we are thrilled to join.
As for the car, I have wanted a Datsun for a long time and even though I like the roadsters and 510s, the 240z has always spoken to me the most. Once we found out that both the Mitty and Monterey would be featuring Nissan/Datsun, it was clear that we needed to have one to help celebrate. It also seems like a very useable classic for a road trip and driving events, so we are excited to put it on the road and document its travels on BaT.”
Finding the right Z
A few weeks ago Michael Emery from BaT reached out to ZCG looking for a car to make the journey to The Mitty. Rob immediately had the perfect car in mind, our customer Kevin F’s 1973 240z finished in 112 Yellow and affectionately known as the “Gimlet”. This is a Z we have serviced, maintained and modified over several years.
After Randy and Michael visited ZCG to inspect the Z, a deal was struck. Kevin had passed the torch on to BaT for the Z’s next chapter in life. We asked Randy what brought him to Z Car Garage:
“We are lucky to have many Datsun fans in the BaT community, so we reached out to them to see who might know of a good 240Z for sale. We checked out a few cars, and the ability to buy one from a specialist clearly became the most attractive option. Rob at Z Car Garage knew of a car that was not only in great condition, but he had done much of the work on the car and knew the history and build very well. I tend to want to sort out some details to my liking on almost any car I buy, and his ability to make some key changes was a huge benefit. He had the wheels I wanted in stock, had the know-how to make some components swap quickly, and most importantly was able to ready the car for immediate use. All this plus the car was terrific in person!”
Preparing the Z for BaT
As Randy mentioned, he was particular about how he wanted the Z to be set up. We addressed his list of needs and performed a total vehicle inspection to ensure the Z was ready for the long journey from California to Georgia.
By request, the front valance was returned to stock, 16″ Panasport wheels mounted and stock steering wheel installed. Kevin had kept the original front valance parts making installation straightforward:
16×7 Panasport wheels with 225/50/16 tires:
A stock steering wheel replaced the aftermarket unit:
The car was mechanically sound needing only a new clutch M/C and slave. We flushed and replaced fluids with Stoptech 600f. The exhaust was adjusted to increase clearance near the larger R200 diff cover. A new windshield and stainless trim pieces were installed:
A few detail items like underbody coating and cleanup:
Finally, the Z’s ride height was adjusted and engine health confirmed on our dyno. Looking perfect! More pictures in the gallery:
On the dyno the 2.7L made a stout 191p/181tq to the wheels:
Listen to that triple-carb’d L-series sing in the video below! You can also see Randy driving off from the shop:
We were curious how Randy felt about his new Z car, asking him how it compares to his Euro/US cars of the same era:
“I drove the car away from the Z Car Garage shop and was instantly pleased with the purchase. The modified 2.7L in this car has great power and sound, and I like the low seating position and long hood to peer over from the driver seat. I’ve spend plenty of time in early 911s, BMWs, and muscle cars from the same era and with these modifications the S30 can run with any of them. I can’t wait to enter this car in some fast road events with my buddies who all drive European stuff. I think they will respect this car quickly.”
My last question for Randy was to see how Z fits into BaT’s very own car collection:
“Just like you can see on our website, we have very diverse (skitzophrenic?) tastes in cars, trucks, projects, and types of vehicles. We wanted to add a car that was turn-key, could run well on road events, was an iconic design, would represent BaT well, and was in impressive condition. This 240Z checked all those boxes. Plus we don’t currently have a fast 70s coupe in the stable, so our team was excited for this one to arrive.”
Follow The Z!
The BaT 240z has already begun its journey to The Mitty! Look for real-time updates along the way from Michael and Randy as they visit BaT buyers, sellers, and community members to hear their stories:
Pictures and videos will be posted on BaT’s main site, Facebook and Instagram accounts. We are looking forward to seeing BaT at Road Atlanta with fellow Datsun enthusiasts. Big thanks to Randy and Michael for letting us be a part of their trip.
LONG LIVE THE Z!
UPDATE
4/8/18: We are happy to report the BaT 240Z is now in Tempe, AZ attending the Copperstate1000 event on chase-car duty!
Z Car Garage is expanding to support our vintage, late model and motorsport work. We are seeking an experienced and skilled automotive technician to join our team.
This is not an average automotive job. The position is for a special candidate that wants to be part of a shop that is growing and always striving to set the bar a little higher. We offer competitive pay/benefits and the best working environment.
Requirements: Experienced with a good set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.
Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.
Glenn is an avid Datsun enthusiast having owned and raced several cars. You might remember his VIPS 240z vintage race car from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year where he ran it alongside our hero John Morton:
We also dyno-tuned the Z in preparation for race week. Look for #39 at this year’s RMMR!
Glenn loves his vintage race cars and he recently added this B-sedan Datsun 510 to his stable. He plans to race it this year with SVRA, and it also got accepted to the 2018 RMMR event!
In preparation for the upcoming RMMR, Glenn visited Z Car Garage to have the B-sedan dialed-in with chassis dyno tuning.
Chassis dyno tuning is extremely beneficial for race cars. You simply can’t run your race car up and down a city street to emulate race conditions and “guess” how your engine settings are performing. In most cases our customers have their engines built and tested on an engine dyno, so it is prudent to confirm performance on the chassis dyno before heading out to the track.
We run a series of dyno tests for the customer, including fully heat soaking the engine to ensure it can perform throughout the rev range. Glenn’s 510 was optimized for drivability in his desired powerband and like all race cars that get dyno’d at ZCG, his 510 left with more hp/tq! Enjoy the video of a few dyno pulls and listen to that L-series sing:
We can’t share numbers as racers like to keep them close to their heart, but you can count on the 510 being ready to rock in the B-sedan group at big race. Thanks for letting us tune your Datsun, Glenn!
