Matt A bought his first Datsun 510 at the age of 14 and he’s been hooked ever since. Having owned around ten 510s in various stages since he was a teenager it’s safe to say Matt is a die-hard Datsun enthusiast. We’ve known him from the days of the famous All-Datsun Meet at Mt. Shasta (over a decade ago) and now he’s got this beautiful 510 that we are really impressed with.

 

Matt visited Z Car Garage earlier this week to dyno his KA24-powered Dime. Before we show you the results let’s take a brief look at the car’s interesting history. In 2010 Matt purchased the 510 from Marty Smith (of 510garage.com fame) and it was a nice shade of teal. Matt loved the car but couldn’t get the Rebello 2150cc and Mikuni’s to run at their best.

 

Wanting all the benefits of a modern driveline Matt decided to swap in a KA24DE and go through the entire car from paint/body to chassis/interior. The car was completely re-wired with a new fuse block and the KA was rebuilt before installation. Matt finished the interior himself and he is now going through the suspension and brakes to freshen things up. Car has a few goodies like coil-overs on all four corners, full cage,  4:11 LSD with CV axles, and Wilwood brakes.

 
Here is the Dime on our dyno followed by a short video:

 

 

The stock KA with intake/exhaust/header made great power! 156hp/162tq to the wheels with over 140tq from 2500 to 6000rpm:

 

We wonder how much power could be gained from a tune as the KA runs a bone stock ECU. Matt is on the fence about leaving it NA or going turbo. Either way but we look forward to seeing his 510 again soon. Enjoy The Ride Matt and thanks for making our day!

Marc H found Z Car Garage online and wanted to see what we were all about. After visiting the shop he dropped off his ultra-clean, low mileage 2008 350z for power and suspension goodies:

 

We love the HR engine found in the latest Z33s because they respond extremely well to simple bolt-ons and UPREV tuning. We started with a with Bassani cat-back exhaust followed by JWT dual POP charger intakes :

 

On the dyno, Marc’s 350z baselined at 271hp/245tq to the wheels.  The Bassani exhaust netted a peak gain of 7hp and significant midrange gains in torque:

The JWT intakes added an additional 4hp:

 

This graph illustrates the benefit of UPREV tuning when adding bolt-ons. More power everywhere, all the way up to 7500rpm for peak gains of 19hp/8tq for a total of 290hp/253tq to the wheels:

 

Marc wanted to improve handling and braking so we installed Eibach springs, Hotchkis sway bars, and Whiteline T/C rod bushings followed by a full alignment. Factory Brembo brakes were upgraded with Stoptech Sport Kits all around:

 

Sway bars:

 

Marc was very pleased with the results and has been enjoying his Z.  He told us he would be coming back to ZCG and we will happily oblige!

 

Kevin B has been a long-time customer of Z Car Garage and we have had the pleasure of maintaining and modifying his gorgeous Cherry Red Pearl 300zx Twin Turbo and supercharged Fox-Body Mustang GT.

 

Kevin recently picked up this sweet 2013 Mustang GT (Track-Pack) and immediately began taking it to open track days throughout Northern California. We are fans of the 5.0 Coyote drivetrain with big power from the factory and a capable chassis.

Here is an initial baseline dyno followed by a run after a K&N air filter. The air filter alone gave us solid gains of 9hp/10tq for a total of 379hp/367tq to the wheels. Very impressive numbers!

 

After tracking the car with much success Kevin noticed excessive front tire wear. The front suspension has no provision for camber adjustment so we installed Maximum Motorsports caster/camber plates to dial in more negative camber.  Further suspension upgrades included Koni yellows followed by a full alignment. We also installed some Forgestar wheels for track days:

 

Kevin came back for more track-related items like brake ducts, a front splitter, tow hooks and differential breather. During hard racing the fluid in the rear end heats up and expands. Combine that with extreme cornering and the fluid can spit out of the factory breather vent and all over the track. With this expansion take, the fluid flows up into the tank and then back down when it cools.

 

Front brakes can also benefit from extra cooling so we installed a brake ducting kit from Ford Racing.  This helps to reduce front brake temperatures by ducting air to the brake rotors and even uses the factory fog light openings! Fresh rotors were also installed and brake fluid flushed/replaced with Castrol SRF. OEM Brembos squeeze Stoptech 309 pads:

 

The installation is seamless!

 

A Boss-302 style front splitter was installed:

 

It was great to see Kevin at a SpeedSF track day at Laguna Seca. We hear the Z Car Garage license plate frame is good for another 10hp! Thanks for letting us make your track days more enjoyable!

 

Scott C has been with Z Car Garage since our opening in 2004.  Over the years we have worked with Scott to build his G35 coupe into a formidable sportscar while maintaing its stock-ish looks. With 49k miles on his G35 he visited us in 2010 to discuss Forced Induction options.  We did a full Vortech supercharger installation with supporting mods including a Bassani cat-back exhaust system, JWT cams, headers, ZCG oil cooler and DEFI gauges.

 

Scott throughly enjoyed his boosted G for a year and in 2011 came back to us for a KarumaZ front fascia to allow more airflow to the intercooler. In 2014 Scott wanted more power so we built a low-compression VQ with forged internals and a host of speed parts. Here is the engine coming out and a few shots of the new internals:

 

We added 1000cc injectors, GT MAF, Aeromotive 340 fuel pump and a SI blower wheel upgrade:

 

An even larger front mount intercooler:

Berk Hi-Flow cats:

 

With the built engine and supporting mods in place we UPREV tuned the G35 making 429hp/361tq to the wheels. Significant improvements over the stock-block based setup at 375hp/311tq for this automatic-equipped VQ:

 

With the added power upgrading the stock braking system naturally was a prudent idea.   Scott’s G was treated to a full Stoptech Big-Brake Kit up front using their 332mm rotors and ST-40 calipers in red. Rear brakes were upgraded with a Stoptech Sport Kit and OEM calipers were color matched. We love the 309 pads as they are a sweet compound for aggressive driving. 

 

OEM vs Stoptech up front:

 

Thick, vented rotors and huge calipers help shed heat for repeated fade-free braking:

 

Rear calipers were color-matched and grab Stoptech rotors:

 

The new calipers look great behind the OEM wheels:

 

Finally, GT-spec braces add some rigidity to the chassis:

We are happy to see Scott’s G35 evolve into a well-rounded 400hp+ street sleeper, Enjoy The Ride!

 

Kevin M visited Z Car Garage last year for a new clutch/flywheel, JWT POP charger air filter, routine maintenance items and new WORK wheels on his beautiful Slicktop 300zx. Although the XD9 wheels were a definite upgrade aesthetically, a slight drop in ride height would do wonders for its stock suspension “off-road” stance.  We were happy to see Kevin return in October to upgrade the suspension and install a bunch of other goodies!

 

To dial in a lower ride-height and firm up the ride we installed Stance coil-overs. While coil-overs were being installed we also replaced several suspension parts that were either worn or could be upgraded like Z1 front control arms and SPL T/C rods:

 

New steering rack bushings:

 

Shown below is the modest ride-height drop that looks great but remains functional especially for those treacherous San Francisco roads.

Before/After:

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Stillen sway bars round out the suspension upgrades:

 

Peeking behind the lovely spokes of those WORK wheels is a Stoptech 332mm Big-Brake Kit with black calipers.

 

The rear calipers were color-matched, and treated to Stoptech rotors with our favorite 309 pads:

 

Here’s a few details that we admire Kevin for addressing: Window moldings and front cowl pieces! These are items often overlooked or neglected. With age/weathering window trim can eventually peel back and reveal bare metal underneath. The cowl can fade and crack. Fortunately ConceptZ makes a full replacement kit. We also replaced the A/C compressor and drier with new Nissan units:

 

Here are before/after shots of the molding and cowl:

Kevin’s slicktop Z is well-preserved with just the right amount of personal touches to make driving and owning one fun!