Yesterday we attended the DrivingWhileAwesome (DWA) Cars & Coffee event in Santa Cruz, CA. The event impressed us again with a fun vibe and superb variety of cars. Before the 9am meeting our group of enthusiasts enjoyed a brisk driving session en route to Santa Cruz. I was lucky to drive the ZCG shop car, a 1970 Datsun 240z. We started at the junction of HWY 92 and Skyline with a nice gathering:

 

Leading the pack was Naveed in his Hot Rod Porsche 912. You can follow the build of this 911 6-cylinder powered rocket over on Speedhunters.

 

Pall’s R32 Skyline in (AH3) Pearl Red. Pall K acquired this Pearl Red (AH3) R32 from our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers.  We love the gorgeous paint color and Volk TE37SLs. He is also a ZCG customer!

 

Jeremy’s BMW 5-series Touring with a GM LS3 E-rod crate engine:

 

Matt’s G-body 911 with 17″ Fuchs and center exit exhaust…my newest P-car crush?

 

Andrei’s E36 M3

 

One of the many perks of DWA Morning Motors is its location surrounded by the best driving roads. Leaving the 92/35 junction we headed towards Alice’s Restaurant and HWY 84. Down to Stage through Cloverdale and finally Gazos Creek carrying us to HWY1 along the coastline to our destination. We arrived at 9am on the dot, thanks Naveed!

 

Mandatory Nissan/Datsun

I was happy to see a few more Nissans and Datsuns at MorningMotors. 260z!

 

There were a three Datsun 510s! Mark’s has been at the shop so stay tuned for a full report:

 

 

Dustin Frisk’s KA24-powered 510 on Longchamp XR-4 wheels:

 

A nearly-stock appearing 4-door 510:

 

Another ZCG customer, Eric’s FX sporting suspension and R35 GT-R wheels. Full report soon!

 

Two 300zx (Z32) NAs and G37 Sedan:

 

R32 Skyline 4-door, 350z, R35 and Infiniti Q45:

 

In Search of J-Tin

Morning Motors did not disappoint if you are Japanese Classic fans. Looking splendid were these white, boosted 80’s Hero’s: a DSM Conquest and Isuzu Impulse with snazzy interiors!

 

NA Miatas!

 

 

Turbo B-series DC2 Integra and a pair of EM1 Civic Si’s!

  

Honda S600 with a Motocompo!

Mazda FC RX-7 Turbo sitting on rad Panasport G7 wheels:

 

RHD, turbo diesel Land Cruiser!

 

So much variety! Enjoy this short video:

Euro Classics

 

Gen’s 911 Turbo S2 (964)

 

Outlaw 356 and lots of BMW 2002s:

 

Retro Sporting’s Mk2 Escort with tons of fab work. They are hosting a vintage car-only track day April 10th, check it out HERE

 

 

British

 

 

American Muscle

From 60’s to 80’s

 

This G-body Monte Carlo SS was badass!

 

Vette’s:

Eclectic

 

DWA CnC is definitely my kind of cars and coffee. It’s a great venue with amazing driving roads nearby and the cars were so diverse. We highly recommend checking it out! Thanks to the DWA crew for hosting. If you haven’t already, listen to their podcast and make sure you give them a follow on Instagram.
More pictures in the gallery below!

LONG LIVE THE Z!

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We have several exciting projects at the shop that will have full reports coming soon to zcarblog.com. Enjoy!

 

Four ZCG Big-Brake Installs

Four S30s are in to get our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles!

 

Jim H has a great story behind this Series 1 S30. We know the previous owner through Datsun Roadsters from over a decade ago. Jim’s kids actually found this Z for him! Full story HERE. The Z received an upgraded cooling system, ZCG Big-Brakes an CV axles and 16″ Panasport wheels with Bridgestone S007a tires. He returned in the fall for a new 3L engine and more!

 

David L and Jason P brought their 240z cars in for ZCG Big-Brakes and  CV axles:

 

A 240z Rally Car in for ZCG Big-Brakes!

 

We love Z32s and we have several in the shop including an NA 2+2 with a Twin-Turbo swap!

  

R32 Skylines. Kurt’s KH2 is getting engine/performance upgrades:

 

R32 in for tuning (Love the R34 wheels) and a 4-door R32 with an RB26DETT!

 

Richard M’s 370z (full story soon), Anniv and Nismo 370z:

 

Triple Mikuni goodness:

 

More to come watch for updates on our Instagram and Facebook pages!

Panasports For Your Z!

We only have a few sets left before our next shipment. Contact the shop to order yours!

 

 

 

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

 

 

Jay H has been our customer since the beginning. He has a Datsun 240z, Mazda (FD) RX-7 and this 1990 Aztec Red 300ZX Twin Turbo that he’s owned for many years.  Living in a rural, wooded area the Z’s wiring got chewed on by rodents. We fixed the wiring and got the car running again but more issues surfaced. Jay loves this Z so much and it had 122k miles so he decided it was time give it some serious attention.

 

Z Car Garage was happy to oblige as we think the Z32 is one of the best Japanese sports car of the 90’s.

Engine Bay and Drivetrain

 

The engine bay was in need of major cleaning and restoration. First, we performed a compression/leakdown test and the Z passed. With the engine out now we could focus on cleanup:

 

We installed a new engine room wiring harness. Every coolant hose, bypass hose, vacuum hose was replaced. A new underhood insulator with clips replaced the torn oem piece.

 

All p/s hoses were replaced and we modified the p/s steering pump to reduce clutter and eliminate the HICAS completely:

 

The engine was treated to full reseal and timing belt services, more pictures of the engine build in the gallery!

 

With a clean bill of health we installed several performance upgrades including JWT sport 500 turbos, BDE billet half moons/motor mounts, Ashpsec inlet piping, Selin dual-MAF with HR  low-profiles filters/two Z32 MAFs and Nismo 740cc injectors:

 

No turbo upgrade is complete without the Mike Smith turbo manifolds with EGR ( to pass emissions). Unfortunately we will install the last set of these on Felix C’s 300, and that’s it!

 

BDE motor mounts:

 

Nismo 740cc injectors:

 

Ashspec inlet piping:

  

Selin dual-MAF with HR low-profile filters:

 

Before the engine went back in we installed a new JWT HD clutch and aluminum flywheel:

 

The drivetrain was re-installed with numerous items like a new fan and engine cover:

  

Exhaust upgrades included a full SpecialtyZ 3″ exhaust with 3″midpipes:

 

Finally, a GReddy Profec boost controller was installed in the super tidy interior:

 

Rob dyno tuned the Z, making 384hp/348tq to the wheels:

 

Exterior

 

With the engine bay and drivetrain sorted we turned to the body and and exterior trim. Jay wanted to do a full repaint on the car so we had it had it towed engine-out to our man William. Some before shots showing the faded paint and cracked/peeling tail light panel:

 

At William’s the body got some choice parts to make it look like 1990 again: Wings West Pre-’94 rear wing, JDM front fascia (with shaved license plate mount) and Jspec tail lights. With the freshly painted Z back at the shop we tackled re-assembly of new cowl panels, mouldings and various trim. All of these parts really make this Z pop:

 

Extensive moulding/trim replacement: T-top trim before/after shown below

 

Door and window trim:

   

Jspec rear and front looking sharp!

 

Icing on the cake are Jay’s super cool set of old WORK Equip 05 wheels.  We re-finished and polished/painted them running Bridgestone S-04 tires.

 

Wheels make the car and this Z looks incredible standing still and on the road:

Suspension

The chassis received a few upgrades including Stillen sways and SPL titanium HICAS delete We also replaced ABS module the clutch and brake master cylinders

 

One Z Car…Coming Up!

 

Jay didn’t have a car for the duration of the revival and he was on foot running errands near his home.  We handled all of the DMV fees foe him and Rob and Alvin delivered the Z to Jay at his residence.

 

It was a great experience to pull up in the 510 and Z to present it to Jay, he was all smiles:

  

Thank you Jay for bringing your 300zx to Z Car Garage. We admire your love for the Z and passion to keep it on the road in top form! Z32s ROCK! Enjoy the extensive photo gallery below:

LONG LIVE THE Z!

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Jeremy visited Z Car Garage to dyno tune his Rebello 3.5L powered S30. This G-nosed beauty baselined at 238hp/229tq and with Rob’s tuning produced 288hp/257tq to the wheels! With gains of 50hp/28tq this is a great example of the benefits of dyno tuning. We are really excited to unlock more power with a few upgrades. Long Live The Z! Volume up!

 

We last saw Jeremy in last January at a Drive that Naveed organized. You can see more pictures of the Z on Speedhunters HERE. Looking forward to more tuning sessions and thanks for bringing your Z to us Jeremy!

 

 

 

Last Sunday we attended the DrivingWhileAwesome (DWA) Cars & Coffee event in Santa Cruz, CA. Our group of friends left from San Jose and headed up HWY 17 on a chilly morning with myself, Rob and Meghan in our Datsun Roadsters, Geoff in his BMW 2002 and Ty in the 991 Porsche:

 

We were stoked to see Rob’s Datsun 2000 on the road with refreshed Mikuni-Solex carbs and it sounded wonderful. Full report soon!

 

In Search of J-Tin

The venue has moved since we last caught the DWA gathering in Davenport.  Sunday’s event was held at the new location across from the Old Wrigley Building in Santa Cruz. By 9am the parking lot filled rapidly with a great diversity in marque and era.

 

Although attendance was mostly Euro/Italian, many Japanese gems showed up. Let’s start with the Nissan/Datsun showing. Ray’s Hakosuka Skyline was a pleasant surprise.

 

The last time we saw Ray was at the Golden Week Kyusha Festival where I learned that this Hako was from our friends at JDM Legends! We look forward to seeing Ray for some upgrades on this already stunning Skyline.

 

Happy to see Courtney and her 1973 240z.

 

VQ-powered S30, R32 Skyline, S14 240sx and Infiniti Q45:

   

More J-tin goodness! Lloyd’s Corolla was a crowd favorite (mine as well) sporting a 4AGE fed by ITBs, Levin front end and perfect Volk TE37s. This AE86 coupe complements his F20C powered AE86 Hatch.

 

Glenn’s sexy FD RX-7:

 

Two black NSXs

 

Making our Datsun Roadsters look big was this Honda TN7 “Kei” pickup:

  

Euro Classics

Yearning for Porsche’s? Or something a bit less “mainstream”? DWA CnC did not disappoint.

 

Two Panteras:

  

Geoff’s 2002 and an E28 M5:

 

 

Pretty Alfas:

 

VWs: Scirocco and a LSx-swapped Caddy!

 

Austin Healey:

 

Porsche Galore:  914s, 944s, swb 911s, 991s

 

American classics as well! Here is a Plymouth Belvedere and International Harvester Travelall:

 

DWA CnC was definitely my kind of cars and coffee. It’s a great venue with amazing driving roads nearby and the cars were so diverse. We highly recommend checking it out! Thanks to the DWA crew for hosting. If you haven’t already, listen to their podcast and make sure you give them a follow on Instagram.
More pictures in the gallery below!

 

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