Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Z Car Garage! We hope you can find time to Enjoy The Ride over the holidays. Please note our hours of operation below:
We will be closed today and Friday for Thanksgiving, re-opening Tuesday December 1. Thank you!
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 with two open positions available. This is not an average automotive job. We work 4-10hr days and offer competitive pay/benefits.
Requirements: Automotive experience, your own set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.
Nissan/Datsun experience is NOT a requirement, you just need to have passion.
Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Share this, spread the word and please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.
At Z Car Garage we enjoy working with late-model Nissans as much as earlier Datsuns. Our customer Eric R brought his Infiniti G35 Coupe to us back in 2009 and ten years later we helped him find a 2008 Infiniti FX35. The FX got many upgrades to make it exactly the way Eric envisioned and he’s been enjoying it with his family as well as backroads.
The first generation (S50) FX-series models have aged rather well and we dig their combination of styling, power and versatility. Eric recalls how he became an FX owner:
“I’ve always been a car enthusiast. My mom owned a 72 240Z back in the day and in 2007 my wife and I purchased a G35 Coupe 6MT and after a disappointing experience with the local Infiniti dealer, took the car to Rob and ZCG. Needless to say, the knowledge base and Rob’s unique brand of engagement with his customers was refreshing. It was one of the best customer service experiences I’ve had and ZCG took exceptional care of our G35. After a couple years of ownership, we had to give up the G Coupe with the onset of…kids.
Fast forward nearly a dozen years and the kids a bit older, I started my search for a new car. It needed to be sporty but still functional as a daily driver. It needed to haul mail and still haul the kids and the bikes and the gear. The FX covered nearly every one of my criteria in one package, but fell a little short in visual cues and base line performance.
“As I searched for potential candidates, I was thrilled to reconnect with Rob and ZCG. He helped me focus my search efforts and game plan what I envisioned for the car. After a year of searching my FX came up for sale. As luck would have it, it was a car already under the care of ZCG and a number of mods on my want list performed. Rob confirmed the quality and condition of the FX as well as the character of the seller. It was, as they say, meant to be.”
Eric’s first visit with his FX focused on power and chassis upgrades. The VQ35 was treated to a Motordyne plenum spacer, JWT POP Charger and Uprev street tune providing more power throughout the rev range.
Keeping the FX glued to the tarmac are BC Racing coilovers and Stillen strut tower brace paired with a set of Nissan/Rays Eng GT-R R35 (CBA) rear wheels:
The wheels were refinished and we mount/balanced Michelin Pilot AS/3+ tires (295/45zr20) with new TPMS. We love the finish on these and they look right at home on the FX:
The stock brakes were upgraded to Akebono units from the G37/370z with a Stoptech sport brake kit (pads, slotted rotors, braided steel lines). This required changing the rear knuckle to a FX50 part.
Eric is all smiles with the upgrades and he’s been driving the FX everywhere:
“Rob and the ZCG Team worked incredibly hard to get everything on the car set in place so that I could immediately enjoy this family battle wagon and that’s just what I’ve been doing. Couldn’t be happier.”
We even spotted the FX at a local DrivingWhileAwesome (DWA) Cars & Coffee event in Santa Cruz, CA:
Eric recently came back for a Nismo exhaust.
You can hear it in this driving video with Rob:
Thank you Eric for letting us improve your FX we look forward to seeing you at more events and keep Enjoying The Ride! More pictures in the gallery below.
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. We work 4-10hr days and offer competitive pay/benefits.
Requirements: Automotive experience, your own set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.
Nissan/Datsun experience is NOT a requirement, you just need to have passion.
Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Share this, spread the word and please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.
Take a shop tour of Z Car Garage with Larry Chen on another episode of Hoonigan Autofocus!
In this video Larry shares what our shop is about and samples a few cars including Mrs. Butters: our 1971 demo S30 with a 3.2L, Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, CV axles and KW suspension. Don’t miss Rob indulging us in his passion for vintage racing and Datsuns. Enjoy!
And if you missed it please view the first episode featuring our customer James’ turbocharged 1972 Datsun 240z: