The Datsun 510 is very close to our heart and today, the actual Brock Racing Enterprises (BRE) Datsun 510 #46 race car arrived at Z Car Garage. Despite being against all odds, our hero John Morton drove this 510 to SCCA Trans-Am series championship victories in 1971 and 1972, putting Nissan on the map and fueling every Datsun enthusiast’s passion for hot-rodding the humble economy car.
Huge thanks to Nissan and Randy Jaffe for giving us the opportunity to prepare the car for next weekend’s Velocity Invitational at Laguna Seca. This is the actual car driven by Morton to the championship; it remains unaltered and in its original racing livery:
Peter Brock and BRE built and raced the #46 Datsun 510 with John Morton as its driver. The team won the 1971 and 1972 SCCA Trans Am Under 2.5 Liter Championship. Few race fans thought the little Datsun from Japan could match the pace of the Alfas and BMWs, so its success earned it the reputation as “giant killer” among American racing fans. To this day it remains one of the most recognizable and honored racing cars of all time, and it established Nissan/Datsun as an accomplished performance brand.
We were completely awestruck to be in the presence of the BRE 510 and spent a few hours admiring it, fantasizing about its racing history and taking in all the BRE engineered details:
Enjoy this walk-around video of the BRE Datsun 510 at Z Car Garage today:
We also realized that the shop was filled with Trans Am brethren; the BRE 510, Ex-Ted Gruner 510, Corky Bell 510, Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510 and Rob’s Bay Area Datsun Dealers (tribute) 510 all ran in the fabled 1970’s racing series!
Living Legends at the Velocity Invitational
Z Car Garage is really proud to announce special guests (and our heroes) John Morton and Pete Brock will be at the Velocity Invitational on Friday and Saturday. This is a rare opportunity to get an autograph and chat with these iconic gentlemen.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Trans Am (under 2.5) racing series, Z Car Garage coordinated with Nissan Corporate to have the original BRE Datsun 510 displayed with the Horst Kwech Alfa Romeo at the Velocity Invitational. See the actual race cars in person, only at the Velocity event!
Filed under: 240z,510,Events,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on September 27, 2022
Z Car Garage is excited to participate in the Velocity Invitational at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca October 14-16. This is a must attend historic racing event for any Nissan/Datsun fan with IMSA GTU Z cars, B-Sedan Datsun 510s and special guest appearances from John Morton and Pete Brock. Tickets are still available, to purchase simply on click on the flyer link below:
Z Car Garage Racers
Z Car Garage will be racing and providing support for several client cars. We are excited to be running in Group 5 (1972 – 1977 IMSA GT Cars) and Group 8 (1966 – 1979 Under 2-liter Trans-Am, SCCA B-Sedan, C-Sedan cars). Here is a preview:
Historic B and C Sedan cars will get their own run group at the Velocity Invitational! Z Car Garage will be supporting the following Datsun 510s in this super exciting race:
The Corky Bell Trans Am 510
Famed engineer and race car driver Corky Bell ran this Datsun 510 in the early 70’s Trans Am series. Z Car Garage will restore it back to its former glory and Trans Am livery (to be documented in a dedicated blog post) and Corky will be driving it at the Velocity Invitational. Yes that’s Corky Bell at our shop, re-united with his race car at 82 years young!
Gordon McCall’s Datsun 510
Gordon McCall joins Z Car Garage for the first time at the Velocity Invitational with his vintage Datsun 510. He is the co-founder of The Quail- A Motorsports Gathering and “McCall’s Motorworks Revival” at the Monterey Jet Center, the “Kick-Off” party (which we attended) for the iconic August automotive week in Monterey, California. This 1972 Datsun 510 was first ordered from the Nissan Motor Corporation by Garrison Datsun of Florida and subsequently converted into a race car, and it was sponsored by the dealer and raced in SCCA competition through 1977. After 20 years it was returned to its original livery.
#72 Tom Dockery
Tom Dockery is driving the Ex-Norm Balzer 510. This car is making a triumphant return to racing after an incident at Sonoma Raceway. Stoked to see Tom back on the track!
Kelvin’s Ex-Ted Gruner TransAm 510
Kelvin Tse is a repeat ZCG trackside support client and he will be running the Ex-Ted Gruner Trans Am 510.
Glenn’s Ex-Finn/Harris Datsun 510
Glenn Chiou is running his Ex-Finn/Harris U2.5L Trans-Am ’68 510. He restored this 510 himself and ZCG will be dyno tuning it this week. Glenn builds some beautiful Datsun race cars and we will highlight this 510 soon.
Living Legends at the Velocity Invitational
Z Car Garage is really proud to announce special guests (and our heroes) John Morton and Pete Brock will be at the Velocity Invitational on Friday and Saturday. This is a rare opportunity to get an autograph and chat with these iconic gentlemen.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Trans Am (under 2.5) racing series, Z Car Garage coordinated with Nissan Corporate to have the original BRE Datsun 510 displayed with the Horst Kwech Alfa Romeo at the Velocity Invitational. See the actual race cars in person, only at the Velocity event!
Z you there!
Photo by Larry Chen
To all automotive enthusiasts, Nissan/Datsun fans this an event you don’t want to miss. We encourage you to caravan to the Velocity Invitational and show your support for Datsun racing history. Together we can ensure that the Historic B and C sedan groups thrive and see more racing groups accepting Z cars and 510s. This is also a wonderful event for the whole family, check out our report from last year’s Velocity Invitational.
Enjoy this video we made showcasing the sights and sounds of the Velocity Invitational. Rob Fuller gets interviewed by the Goodwood Livestream just before the evening race, and I included the lineup from my favorite vintage race group (other than IMSA), the Trans Am cars!
Mark those calendars for October 14-16 and purchase tickets HERE. A full event schedule can be viewed HERE.
Thank you Velocity Invitational for an incredible event. We look forward to running with you again! LONG LIVE THE Z!
Filed under: 240z,510,Events,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on September 22, 2022
Dear Zcarblog readers, it’s been a busy year and we are catching up on blog posts, so please enjoy our belated race report from May.
WE LOVE RACING! Z Car Garage went vintage racing two weekends in a row. On April 21-24, Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) hosted the Trans Am SpeedFest at Laguna Seca. On April 28 to May 1, SVRA hosted the Sonoma Speed Tour at Sonoma Raceway. Enjoy our race report with exciting B-Sedan Trans Am race action!
Z Car Garage Race Preparation
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno. Here is a video of the race cars we prepared this week with dyno passes and a walk around the shop. Enjoy!
Z Car Garage Racers
Z Car Garage supported the following race cars for the SVRA double-header, more photos in the gallery below.
Rob Fuller in the Bay Area Datsun Dealers Datsun 510
The Laguna Seca Race 4/21
SVRA is an East-coast based group coming out once a year to host back-to-back race weekends in the Bay Area. It’s really fun and allows us roll with East-coast guys we don’t normally run with. Fantastic operation: they do live-streaming of the races, awards with podiums. ZCG was out in full force this year at Laguna with Ed’s 911, Kelvin’s Pacific Datsun 510. New to the gang was Kelvin’s historic 510 (Dragonetti Racing, ex-Ted Gruner) 510, driven by his brother Kenny.
This was our first weekend with both Tse brothers and it was absolutely fantastic.
As with any race event we had some car issues. On the day it rained heavily we had a transmission problem and ZCG Crew member Nick saved the day, changing a transmission on the wet ground. ZCG even made a guest appearance working on Larry Oka’s 510 (The Mike Bell car) with Greg Hoff driving (of SCCA Miata fame). Greg did really well and he wants a vintage 510 now:)
Historic B and C Sedan had a great race where Troy and Steve Link put on a show mixing it up with Mini’s.
Rob enjoyed racing, especially chasing Troy. Track photos by Kurt Boden:
“The 4-days at Laguna I was able to finish 2nd in all three feature races right behind Troy Ermish. I was able to out qualify him in one race. It’s really cool to battle back and forth with Troy as he is a phenomenal driver. People came over to say it’s so great to see someone rocking it out with him.”
Enjoy this in-car video from Rob’s Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute 510 as he battles with Troy Ermish:
You can also catch the SVRA Livestream morning session on YouTube and the afternoon race also on YouTube.
The Laguna Seca event with SVRA was a success. We towed the cars back to the shop and made sure everything was good to go for the following weekend’s Sonoma race. We miss you Tom Dockery. He had an incident last year but rest assured his 510 will be back in fighting form soon. Super cool that despite is race car not ready he still came out to cheer us on.
Special shoutout to Glenn Chiou. He raced his 1973 IMSA GTU 260Z and we are really stoked for Glenn as he cracked off his best lap time of 1:40. He’s one of the youngest “privateer” competitors out there, building beautiful cars. Whenever he needs the assist from the pros at ZCG we are always there to help him.
The Sonoma Race
We have never attended both SVRA weekends. At Sonoma we had an incredible pit location across from Garage 10 with RacecraftNW and Jim Froula’s band of clients. With Nick and Keith not able to crew were down to Josh, Rob and RN Meghan Fuller:
“Meghan has been my partner in crime for 16 years and this was her first time stepping in…she did all the fueling for cars, learned how to install and torque wheels, work the checklists, vacuum out the cars and confirm GoPros…the feedback from us was awesome.”
On Saturday Kelvin broke his transmission so we swapped in one of Rob’s backup gearboxes in at their shop (F7) at Sears Point. He was able to race the rest of the weekend, and he was in the middl of the field. On Sunday am Troy and Rob battled yet again:
“I was able to beat Troy finally, with quicker lap times. After all the podiums these last weekends it was cool to get that gold trophy from SVRA. Lots of hugs and emotions. Guys in the Ermish camp like Rick Sheldon were congratulatory…nice to be competitors but also share the same love of vintage racing. Two weekends of absolute magic.”
Rob Fuller taking P1 at the Sonoma Speed Tour hosted by SVRA.
Watch the epic battle between Rob and Troy in the in-car video from Rob’s Bay Area Datsun Dealers 510:
You can also catch the Livestream of B-Sedan on YouTube from Sonoma Raceway.
Big thanks to Meghan for taking photos and video around the paddock. Here is a highlight reel of what it’s like at a vintage race…you should join us next time!
There were cool cars everywhere in the paddock:
We hope you enjoyed our race report from the SVRA double-header. Join us next weekend at Sonoma Raceway for the CSRG Charity Challenge!
Racing into 2022!
Z Car Garage is amped for this year’s race season. Here is list of events we will be attending. Please join us!
Filed under: 240z,510,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on September 16, 2022
Dear Zcarblog readers, it’s been a busy year and we are catching up on blog posts, so please enjoy our belated race report from May.
WE LOVE RACING! On May 21-22, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted Laps for Laguna at Laguna Seca. Z Car Garage had a blast racing our IMSA GTU 240Z and supporting Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group 9 (John Morton Cup). It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our report with in-car footage and photos.
This is a new vintage racing event created by the Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation and California Sports Racing Group (CSRG) to raise money for charity. It is an open sound event with multiple races for each race group, charity rides and more. We hope Laps for Laguna becomes an annual affair.
Z Car Garage Supports Two Datsun 510s
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno.
#88 Todd R
Todd R has been racing his 510 privateer-style for the last few years. Prior to Laps for Laguna he had us work on his 510 and hired us for the first time doing trackside support. Todd was able to focus on his driving, achieving his highest placing (p6) and personal best lap (1:48.3) time. We will highlight his experience in separate blogpost on zcarblog.com, go Todd!
#7 Rob Fuller
Rob Fuller piloted the Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute 510. With the back-to-back SVRA events just before Laps for Laguna unfortunately Ed an Kelvin could not make this event so it was just Rob and Todd. Here is Rob’s report from the race weekend with in-car video:
“In Saturday’s first race my 510 had a mechanical and had to pull off to the side. I was not able to finish race according to CSRG rules and we had to start in the back for the remainder of weekend. Thanks to ZCG crew we got the car up and running. It was a different experience starting p23 but we finised 3rd (1:41.7). I received the “Hard Charger Award” and we were right behind Troy Ermish and Parker McKean (fast Alfa)). It was great fun mixing it up with them.”
In-Car video from Rob’s 510
The Joel Anderson #49 IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z
Rob also be raced the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z at the Laps for Laguna event. The Z got a fresh set of Hoosier slicks to replace the AVONs.
“After Joel’s passing last year we decided to get the GTU car out a little more and Laps for Laguna was great prep for the upcoming Velocity Invitational. Group 8 was filled with Porsche/c-Sedans, IMSA Corvettes, Jim Froula’s GT3 Nissan 240sx. Out of 20 fast cars we did pretty well in both races placing 3rd overall. The two leaders Mike W and Froula (full blown GT3 tube-frame car) were running 1:37s while we did 1:39s. I got a personal best lap time of 1:38.3.”
In-car video of Rob racing the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z, volume up!
A weekend of great racing and good times
The best part of weekend was hanging out with people we haven’t seen in a long time. Cool to see Todd have a great racing weekend and know he’s getting better. Really hope Laps for Laguna becomes a regular event on the CSRG program. Cant wait for the Charity Challenge 9/30 as we’ll be in the John Morton Cup and GTU car in Group 8. Special shoutout to ZCG crew including the Corwin’s and Josh C for keeping all of the cars running so we can race!
Paddock Highlights
Big thanks to Meghan for taking photos and video around the paddock. Here is a highlight reel of what it’s like at a vintage race…you should join us next time!
Thank you CSRG for hosting great event, see you 9/30-10/2 at Sonoma Raceway for the Charity Challenge!
Racing into 2022!
Z Car Garage is amped for this year’s race season. Here is list of events we will be attending. Please join us!
April
4/1-3 Sonoma with CSRG (Finished, report soon!)
4/21-24 Laguna with SVRA
4/28-5/2 Sonoma with SVRA
May
5/21-22 Laps for Laguna with CSRG
August
8/13-14 Laguna with HSR Pre Reunion ( NOT CONFIRMED)
WE LOVE RACING! Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the 19th Charity Challenge at Sonoma Raceway, September 30 to October 2. Z Car Garage is participating and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group (John Morton Cup). This vintage racing event is totally FREE to spectators so please join us! Bring the family, enjoy cool cars and even charity rides around the track.
See the 2023 Nissan Z as Pace Car!
Z Car Garage is happy to announce the 2023 Nissan Z will be on Pace Car duty at the Charity Challenge. Big thanks to Nissan for giving us the opportunity to share the new Z with enthusiasts for a good cause. Again, admission is FREE for this event and you will have access to all spectator areas on track. Parking is in Lot 2 overlooking the paddock.
Z Car Garage Supports Six Datsun 510s!
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno:
#88 Todd Rueppel
Todd had his first Z Car Garage trackside support experience with us at the SVRA event, full report soon!
