Vintage cars may remain with their loving owners for years, change ownership or even get spotlighted in the media at some point. Our “where are they now” series features past Z Car Garage vehicles with updates on their status. In this fourth installment we catch up with Joe’s 1973 Kenmeri Skyline, now residing in Los Angeles, Ca.

 

Let’s go back in time to 2017…our client Alex McDowell decided to part with his 2000 GT-X so we listed it on our FOR SALE page. Joe F from SoCal contacted us immediately and jumped on a plane to visit Z Car Garage. Rob picked Joe up from the airport in the Kenmeri, tossed him the keys to enjoy it for a day…and he was sold.

 

We had great times with this KGC110 Skyline driving to many local events in the Bay Area. JDM Legends did a great job.

  

Enjoy this video of the Kenmeri driving and on the dyno at ZCG:

 

 

Just 4 days after we listed this 1973 Nissan Kenmeri Skyline it found a new owner with Joe in Southern California:

“Just want to say thank to Rob and the guys at Z Car Garage.  Had a great experience purchasing my 73 Skyline Kenmeri from them. Class act all around and I would recommend them to anyone looking for a quality top notch classic JDM car!”

Here is the Kenmeri arriving:

 

Joe immediately started Enjoying The Ride in his Skyline and making appearances at local events!

 

JDM Makeover

Joe added his own touches to make the Kenmeri his own with 15×10/12 Work Spirit 33 wheels built by Love20Bee, custom suspension and a full repaint in BMW Alpine White:

 

All the factory chrome parts blacked out along with Mizuno Works rear wing and front spoiler. Joe’s build was showcased Super Street Magazine with photos by Marvin Recinos:

 

Inside, Joe added Recaro seats. He left the engine alone as it was properly strong making all the right noises when it left Z Car Garage! Ps…we love that Joe also kept the Z Car Garage license plate frame on!

 

We are happy for you Joe, thanks for visiting us and making the next chapter of the Kenmeri awesome. Always check our FOR SALE listings here on zcarblog.com, FB and IG. Stay tuned as we have a very cool group of cars coming up for sale from the collection of Randy Jaffe!

 

This 1971 Nissan Skyline has been in the Z Car Garage family for several years and currently resides in Georgia with owner Randy Jaffe. Randy has built a few notable cars with ZCG including the Rocketbunny Series1 240Z and #46 BRE Datsun 240Z driven by John Morton:

How did he end up with this JDM beauty? Randy has always loved the stance and looks of these early, “Hakosuka” Skylines and wanted to experience right-hand drive (RHD). Timing was perfect as our customer Alex McDowell was willing to part with his 2000 GT-X:

 

Under Alex’s ownership ZCG maintained the car for many years. It did not need much to prepare for delivery to Randy. We performed a full tune-up, sync’d the triple carbs, changed the fluids, handled minor cosmetics (like straightening the bumper) and it was shipped off to Georgia:

 

Randy’s Way

 

If there is one thing about Randy we admire, it’s his attention to detail. Ok, we like his sense of style too 🙂 Upon arrival he mounted fresh set of chunky Toyo tires on those iconic Watanabe wheels. Inside, he removed the carpet and replaced it with original style GT-R vinyl covering. The tan seats were reupholstered to red.

 

The car was originally a white GT-X and when I asked Randy of any future mods he replied:

“I am thinking about dropping one of the Parkinson race motors in it to give the car more power – the original 2.0 is sluggish compared to what I enjoy driving. If I do that I will pull all of the A/C parts off of it and clean up the engine bay. To be continued!”

Randy applied the Hakosuka racecar-inspired livery:

 

Here is a walk-around of the Hako, with more pictures in the gallery below.

 

We are happy to report that Randy is Enjoying The Ride and even won an award at the local Caffeine and Octane show:

 

More to Come

 

You may have noticed some really cool cars in the background. Randy has several Nissans/Datsuns in his collection that we are excited to share with you in upcoming blog posts! For now, LONG LIVE THE HAKOSUKA!

 

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We recently put Gary’s C10 Skyline up for sale. After a long, memorable journey Z Car Garage thanks Gary for importing this hakosuka and sharing his build. Though it is tough to part with this iconic 2-door we are excited for the new owner, Alex M.

Alex was looking for a street-prepped C10 Skyline for several years. After consulting with Skyline expert Eric B. over at JDM Legends he was referred to our black Hako at ZCG. Thanks Eric!

Sure enough, the race car Alex was referring to was the C10 Skyline prepared and raced by Jim Froula of
Racecraft! You can see the race-prepped Hako and our #49 IMSA Z below at the Rolex Monterey Historics last year:

  

The car was also raced at the 2014 Historics and several tracks on the Pacific Coast. It is a sweet Hako:

   

Alex flew across the country to check out our Skyline at ZCG:

“When I arrived at Z Car Garage, I saw the Hako outside, and took a moment to admire her, before walking into the shop. Rob greeted me at the door. We walked around the car, and then took it for a drive. I was sold, if it wasn’t from the moment I heard about it on the phone, hearing the car, and driving it sealed its fate. It felt like it was meant to be.”

 

 

Rob gave Alex a tour of the shop and took him for a spin in a few of the shop cars.

“My favorite other than the Hako was Ms Butter Z. A wolf in sheeps clothing, the entire look and feel of the car was magic.”

 

Alex is the proud new owner of the black C10 Skyline. You might be wondering where the car now resides…it is still at our shop!

 

  

Alex has big plans for the car and wants ZCG to carry out his vision.  We won’t divulge too many details but Alex wants to make the Hako “very special”.  Stay tuned 🙂  We are really excited to see the car going to a Skyline fanatic. In addition to the race and street Hakos, Alex also has a Kenmeri Skyline from JDM Legends.

“The one thing I love about Z Car Garage, and is apparent from the moment you speak with Rob, even more so when you see the shop, is the energy over there is great. They love these cars, and their passion is so infectious. I love it over there, and I’m very lucky to work with them.”

Thanks for the kind words Alex and we look forward to working with you. Enjoy The Ride!

 

The Concours event was an amazing experience. Big thanks to David Swig for the invitation and giving Japanese classic cars a presence at the show and in people’s hearts!

We left ZCarGarage at 7am with three 240z cars, a ‘67.5 roadster and one sinister-looking s/c’d 350z.

This was my first time at a Concours event, and I was really impressed with how the venue was organized. As we drove  past the registration and onto the lawn area each car received a bottle of wine!  Flag wavers at every turn directed us to our staging area, where I immediately saw a sea of Ferrari’s and other exotics. I kept wondering, “A bunch of Datsuns get their own display in this show? ” Yes indeed. Not only Datsuns, but Hondas and Toyotas deserve their moment in the spotlight as well 🙂

The Japanese classic car display included a Toyota ’67 2000GT,  Toyota Sports 800, ’68 Honda S800, ’71 Skyline GT-R.   3 Datsun 240zs,  Datsun roadster, and a 1973 Toyota Corolla.   9 lovely Japanese cars in between gangster-era Cadillac’s and bright red Ferrari’s.
 
 

 

 
People were smitten with the display. I could hear memories being conjured, stories being swapped. It was great exposure for our cars, and quite endearing to see this happen amongst all of the high dollar iron surrounding us 🙂

                    
Rob told me that the Skyline was real, with the S20 drivetrain. My jaw dropped and I got very giddy as I have never seen a real Skyline GT-R in person. When the owner opened the hood the mighty S20 gleamed in all its twin-cam glory. Check out the pictures below for more detailed shots…from the underbody to the interior, it was a treat.
                  

The arrival of summer came late to the Bay Area but it was definitely felt with 95 degree + temps. Multiple tents and water stations were available to the attendees. Our invitation included snacks, drinks and lunch in a pavillion with a perfect view of the car display ramp. We were fortunate to have a chat with David Swig about seeing more folks getting into vintage racing and increasing Japanese car representation.
    

Here is a sight that was new to me: Concours judges scrutinizing cars. Maybe one day these gentlemen will be judging your Nissan/Datsun at a Concours event! Why not?

After lunch it was time to check out more of the cars, and I can’t describe or include all of the wonderful machines so I will  list a few favorites. Make sure to click after the “read more” to see all of the pictures!

Mercedes Benz 300SLs, and Gullwings galore! The new SLS was there too.

This Alfa Romeo Guiletta Sprint had just the right proportions:

Chrome everywhere, huge grilles, hood ornaments, and interiors that are so huge and luxurious that they belong on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous

           

The event was truly an incredible experience and hopefully we can have an even greater display of Japanese cars for the collector car world to appreciate. Enjoy the pictures!

Click on the “continue reading” link below for the full picture album (315 pics)
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