Shop Talk for
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For Sale: This Hakosuka Skyline was originally imported for our customer in 2011 and it has been modified and maintained exclusively by Z Car Garage. The drivetrain was updated with a 3.1L L-series with triple Mikuni induction, and 5-speed transmission. It is ready to be enjoyed. For more information please see our For Sale Ad HERE
Every weekend there are Cars and Coffee events held throughout the Bay Area. Yesterday we attended a special gathering: The inaugural Cars and Coffee at Fuel Supply Co in Fremont, CA. Founders Courtney Mae and Dustin Frisk are auto-enthusiasts and hardcore Datsun owners, so naturally we came to show our support! We had a great time.
Our group left Z Car Garage Saturday morning with 5 cars:
Rob 1970 Datsun 240z (3.2L with triple Mikuni’s), James 1972 Datsun 240z (3.2L turbocharged), Mark’s 510, Eric’s FX35, Alex’s 1971 Skyline (piloted by me). Here is a short video of us Enjoying the Ride and making sweet L-Series music, volume up!
Good variety at event and as usual we were on the hunt for Japanese classics. Rounding out the Nissan/Datsun showing was Glenn in his RHD FairladyZ and a customer’s R32 Skyline:
Toyotas! Cressida, N2-kitted Ae86, Celica and Land Cruiser:
Great mix of European cars and supercars too. Some of our favorites:
Rad Ferrari 348ts paired with a 993 C4S, S54-powered E30 and E30 M3. Killer vanity plates too!
Two (!) E30 Tourings, one was RHD!
Gorgeous M20-powered 2002:
The Fuel Supply shop was open for all to peruse with a really cool vibe. Free donuts and coffee too. Congrats to Courtney and Dustin!
Something for everyone, including dog lovers! And the usual supercars…
We had a great time looking forward to the next event! More pictures in the gallery below
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 latest ZCG Heat Shield in his vintage 260z race car!
A few close-ups of the ZCG Heat Shield, this piece is serial #0025:
A short background on this 1973 Datsun 260Z from Jim:
“This car was built in the winter of ’77-’78 and its first event was the Portland Rose Cup in June 1978. The Portland Rose Festival’s queen, Tina Klassy, was photographed with the car and featured in local advertising for the event. The car competed in SCCA CP class mainly in events on the west coast and ran in the SCCA National Runoffs twice with sponsorship help from Carlos Vercelli, owner of well known Datsun specialty service shop “Carlos Garage” in Fullerton, CA . It was campaigned successfully at a national level, including a 3rd place finish at the SCCA runoff’s. Survived in its original production class specification and bodywork throughout the entire time. It received a cosmetic restoration in 2015 and was put back into its original Carlos’s Garage livery and currently runs vintage events across the country today.”
At the 2018 RMMR we were happy to see Carlos Vercelli (red hat) supporting the Z with driver John Murray:
The ZCG Heat Shield is available for purchase at $169.00 with product information below. View this product and other ZCG parts on the new “products” page of our website HERE
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:
Jim Froula also runs our Z Car Garage CV axles on several of his vintage race cars, check it out!
Over 85 sets of ZCG CV Axles sold!
Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft is running ZCG axles in several of his cars:
Set #246 – installed May 2018 on the “Harry Stewart #52” Datsun 510:
Set #247 – installed April 2018 on the 260z
Set #248 – installed on Adam Carolla’s “Greg Sorrentino #90” Datsun 510.
We are pleased to report that Jim will also be installing a set on his “George Alderman #32” 300ZX! The ZCG CV axles are also perfect for high hp street cars which can be seen in the link above.
Our ZCG Big-Brake kit is the last stop in braking performance for your S30.
ZCG Big-brakes and T3 coil-overs replacing stock setup on Brian’s 1973 240z:
View these products on the new “products” page of our website HERE, stay tuned for more innovative parts from Z Car Garage!
Richard M has been our customer since he moved to California years ago and together we built his 2009 370z into a balanced sports car with power and style. We are really proud to see him enjoy his Z and be an active member of the community. Let’s take a look at the journey with a few highlights along the way…
“My experience with ZCG has been nothing but exceptional. Rob Fuller has taken care of me since day one and currently we are so close I call ’em family.”
“I had just moved to California from Philadelphia and was searching for a reputable tuner in the Norcal region. That’s when I found ZCG and brought the car to see Rob to determine if this motor was worth investing in. We put it on the dyno and made over 313whp & 268wtq with just Uprev Osiris management and a Top Speed Pro 1 Track edition catback exhaust.”
“Then 2 months later we reached out to Stillen to bless the Z with the full Stillen Supercharger kit and oil cooler. The kit was installed and dyno’d making 433whp and 340wtq. We transformed the Z into a new car. The new driving characteristics were improved drastically and the kit, compared to the naturally aspirated setup was day and night.”
We added a Stillen 25-row oil cooler and GTR plugs:
The installation was seamlessly, before/after:
With a CAN tune out of the box we saw 376hp/284tq to the wheels. This wasn’t terribly impressive considering baseline NA numbers were 305hp/251tq, netting gains of 69hp/33tq:
Richard was happier now with over 400whp 🙂
“The performance of my Amuse 370Z from the beginning has met both my expectations and Rob’s expectations. Rob and I always talk about how this car has been a stand out in regards to reliability with added power enhancers.”
“Working with Rob was the best decision I could’ve made in allowing someone to tune my car and keep me grounded as it’s easy to get sucked into the battle of “who has the most horsepower”? Although it can always be done, I am proud to daily drive and make repeated trips between Norcal/Socal without any issues.”
We thank Rich for the kind words, and the Z certainly has been a workhorse. Here are some of Rich’s memorable moments with his 370z.
Rich added his own touch to the Z, including a full Powerhouse Amuse kit and custom paint job with Silver with Gold flakes:
“The PowerHouse Amuse body kit is a kit that is also functional for cooling purposes but is also one of those kits that I actually fell in love with. The sharp body lines that I think enhances the Z. I imported the kit from Japan after becoming friends with Hitoshi Matsui and becoming more confident in Amuse now known as R1 Titan.”
We love the Work Emotion CR KAI wheels (F: 19×9.5 +15 R: 19×11 +18) with Muteki 12×1.25 Neo Chrome Extended open lug nuts and Toyo Proxes T1 Tires 285/35/19R -255/35/19F:
The Z was then fitted with ISC Suspension 32 way fully adjustable coilover kit with custom spring rates. We also included SPC front and rear camber + SPC bolts to dial in the alignment. The brakes were upgraded to Stoptech slotted Rotors and performance pads with the addition of Stainless steel brake lines and Motul fluid. Rich continues to daily drive his Z and visits us for routine maintenance. Next up will be an OS Giken rear end
Rich would like to thank his sponsors: Toyo Tires, Stillen, ISC Suspension, Socal Z, and ZCG.
LONG LIVE THE Z!
The 2020 Solvang Datsun Roadster Classic will be held on April 24-25 in Solvang, CA. Now in its 33rd year, this event continues a tradition of uniting owners from all parts of the world in a little town just outside of Santa Barbara. There is something for everyone here: shopping, food, wine-tasting, outdoor activities, and in the last weekend of April an epic gathering of Datsuns! We are only two months away from the big show so prep your cars and book those hotels!
Come check out roadsters and other vintage Datsuns April 24-25. Reminder: ALL DATSUNS are welcome! There are even award categories for non-roadsters. For registration and show info please go HERE.
To catch a glimpse of the show check out Last Year’s Show Report and movie( By Michael Anderson) below. Admission is free to the general public, see you in Solvang!
