It is always great to see friends over the holidays. Gary Savage stopped by Z Car Garage from Florida and shared these photos from his visit, enjoy!
(above) Randy Jaffe’s BRE Datsun 240Z.
One of the real joys this holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you and wish you the very best for the new year. From all of us at Z Car Garage we thank our friends, family and customers again for another exciting and productive year! Enjoy our 2021 recap and upcoming projects. Please note our holiday closure below:
ZCG will be closed from 12/24/21 and we will re-open for business on 1/3/22.
We had a busy year and though the shop will be closed, we won’t leave you hanging for the holidays. Many zcarblog features have yet to be published like our belated race report from the 2021 Velocity Invitational in addition to client stories.
Before we take a look back at highlights from 2021, here are several exciting projects coming along at the shop:
Jeff and Ryan B’s LS3-powered Z came to us for mechanical sorting. It’s now sporting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles. Ryan successfully ran the Targa California Rallye in blistering summer heat. He recently got a new set of VOLK TE37V wheels full report soon!
The OMS Pace Car
This is a 1972 Official OMS Pace Car Duplicate. It is at present one of only two known survivors . Fifty were originally produced by Nissan Motors to commemorate the DATSUN 240Z being selected by the Ontario Motor Speedway to Pace the 1972 “U.S.A.C. California 500 Championship”. It really is a small Datsun world, as the official OMS pace car is none other than our very own Joel Anderson #49 IMSA GTU 240Z .
This OMS duplicate belongs to our long time customer and friend Linda. She acquired it from a family in SoCal and tasked ZCG with making it a nice driver. Full report soon but it got loaded up today for its journey to Colorado!
Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240z returned for a Rebello 3.2L with triple-Mikuni carbs on a Harada intake and CD009a 6-speed transmission:
David’s 240Z
Long-time friend and client David attended a track day at Laguna Seca. This Z was built over 15 years ago and sill running strong. We prepped his Z for the track, full report soon!
Dyno Tuning your 350z/370z/Q/G
We have been dyno tuning your late model Nissan/Infiniti sports car daily. Bolt-ons, UPREV tuning. Our customers leave happy with more performance. Call us to schedule an appointment! Here are just a few cars:
Aaron’s Q50:
Randy’s 1970 Safari Tribute Z lived an eventful life this year. It was in Los Angeles to be filmed for Nissan’s commercials and also served as Randy’s ride for cruising around Monterey Car Week. We installed a new engine and made some suspension changes. Though it’s back at home in Georgia it will get a full ZCG-style feature.
One of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s will get a full report soon:
Highlights from 2021
Even though 2021 was crazy year for all of us we still managed to have fun on and off the track. The shop made some really great progress as well.
Enjoy these highlights from the year and Z you in 2022!
Datsunworks
Z Car Garage is excited to collaborate with Datsunworks and develop their brilliant KN20 dual-overhead cam (DOHC) cylinder head designed for the Nissan inline-6 L-Series engine. You can read all about it HERE
2021 was a development year for this drivetrain setup. We continue to extract more power and run longevity testing with owner Gary who has the pleasure of living daily with this beast. More updates to come, but for now enjoy the music this KN20 head provides in the video below!
At Z Car Garage we enjoy both modifying Z cars and restoring them back to factory spec. Mike’s 1970 Datsun 240Z came to us from North Carolina and we are just crossing the T’s and dotting the I’s on it. When complete, this ’69 production VIN#193 will be a beautiful driving example of how wonderful these cars were from the factory. Enjoy these pictures with a full report coming soon to zcarblog.com.
Filed under: Events
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on November 22, 2021
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, November 30. Thank you!
SEMA was a blur this year—but that’s really no different than any other year for the most intense sensory overload of all things automotive on the planet. This trade-only event features the latest and greatest builds, technology, and creativity in our industry. While the show has historically been populated by American marques and their aftermarket support, in recent years the influx of Japanese metal (Nissan included) is undeniable.
Nissan’s Return to SEMA
Nissan announced its SEMA return with a display of six vehicles:
The new Nissan Project Overland Pathfinder and Project Overland Frontier – special upfit versions of Nissan’s SUV and midsize pickup.
Famed Actor and Car Enthusiast Sung Kang’s “DocZ,” a safari-rally-inspired 1971 Datsun 240Z.
The 2021 Nissan Frontier featuring NISMO Off Road parts, recently campaigned at the Rebelle Rally by Team Wild Grace.
Formula Drift Champion Chris Forsberg’s “Altimaniac,” a four-seat, 2000-horsepower drift sedan.
The all-new 2023 Nissan Z Proto Spec.
Although we did not plan on attending the SEMA show, Sung Kang and Nissan extended an invitation to Z Car Garage, so we happily obliged! Rob and I attended the show on Tuesday 11/2 and we were super impressed with the Nissan booth, staged in the new 1.4 million square foot West wing of the Las Vegas Convention Center. At the very center of the booth was the New Z, in “Proto Spec” trim:
I had to be reminded that this was not the “Z Proto” we saw at Nissan Headquarters in Tennessee back in May. Indeed this was the limited edition “Z Proto Spec” model with glossy bronze RAYS wheels and yellow-accented interior. Thank you Jonathan for letting us sit inside! We still can’t wait to get one at the shop.
Doc Z
The world was introduced to Sung Kang’s latest build at last week’s Japanese Classic Car Show. The “DocZ” was built as a tribute to the Datsun 240Z that dominated the 1971 East-African Safari. The car has parts from all over the world and Sung even had his own multi-piece wheels made as an homage to that history-making Z.
Earlier this year Sung Kang visited Z Car Garage, driving “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car. After driving Butters, Sung wanted the exact same Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), Z Car Garage CV Axles and KW suspension on his very own FuguZ! He also wanted a set on the “DocZ”. We shipped the kit to the Erick of Erick’s Racing, the master builder behind DocZ. Erick was very pleased with the kit and ease of installation:
The ZCG Big-Brakes can be seen through those iconic slots:
Sung is very passionate about the DocZ and loved sharing it with fans that visited the Nissan booth.
The Altimaniac
Chris Forsberg’s 2,000hp drift “taxi” was built to perform while carrying 4-people on board!
Around back were Nissan’s off-road parts and vehicles including a Pathfinder, Frontier and Rebelle Rally truck in race livery.
It was a wonderful display and the vibe here was energetic…at one point it felt like a well-choreographed show but it was truly organic. At 3pm a media event was held at the booth and a Nissan rep introduced the New Z. Hiroshi Tamura then gave the audience a passionate talk about how the New Z moves him…then the mic was passed on to Sung Kang to show off the DocZ, ending with Chris Forsberg with the Altimaniac. Kudos to Jonathan Buhler (Sr. Specialist Corporate Communications at Nissan) and Dan Passe (Director, Corporate Communications), the display was a hit!
See the video below to get the vibe of Nissan’s booth:
Another Good Year For Nissans and Datsuns!
Our Datsun-hunting at SEMA started with an epic showing of the Nissan Skyline Nismo 400R in the Central Hall. Our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers managed to be the first JDM car ever to displayed in this vaunted area of SEMA. This R33 is very rare, but it was truly surreal to see it there…great press for Nissan, and Japanese cars in general!
SEMA’s Battle of the Builders program had TWO Datsun 240Z cars and an R32 Skyline. We are very proud of Bay Area local Samantha Frazier and her V8-powered 1973 Z making it to the Top 3 of the competition!
Brandon Henness and his LS-powered 1972 S30:
Cole Marten’s R32 with the world’s first Toyota 2JZ engine with AWD and a LHD conversion!
Z31 Perfection
Over in the Toyo Tires Treadpass we found several Nissans and Datsuns.
Brandon Miller’s 1986 Nissan 300ZX was a serious showstopper. So much attention to detail in the engine bay housing that gnarly, high-revving RB engine. From the paint to the wheel choice this Z31 was just stunning.
Kouki front end with original Zenki rear…sitting on perfectly-sized Watanabe wheels! Look for a Hoonigan Autofocus episode with Larry Chen soon!
Next to the Z31 was the Garage Active full carbon-bodied R32 Skyline:
Also nearby was Jimmy’s SR20-powered Datsun 510
Capping the row was Ricko’s 1972 Datsun 240Z, a wild tribute to the IMSA-GTU racers of the past. Dreamt up by Ricko and built by Marcus Fry Racing:
Leen Custom’s showed off their short-nose 4-door Hakosuka Skyline with an SR20DET and Bride Histrix seats!
We finally met Carlos in person and see his 2JZ-powered Z32. Carlos has been building it for any years and we loved his passion:
Our friends at UPREV showed their VR30DDT-powered 370Z:
Throughout the show’s jam-packed halls we spotted more J-Tin gems like Daniel Song’s 240Z built by JDM Legends:
Sitting low and packing a KA24E powerplant, this 1963 Datsun NL320 pickup had a very American Hot-Rod vibe:
Outside of the Central Hall was Oscar’s (of Zociety fame) Libertywalk 240z with an L28ET:
We end our Datsun-spotting with this wild “2000 Roadster that was running the Optima Batteries Challenge. It is a C6 Corvette with Datsun Roadster body parts:
Silvia/240SX
Plenty of S14 and even S15 versions:
FD RX-7s
At least 4 FD RX-7s were spotted. My favorite was the R Magic in FortuneAuto’s booth:
Our Favorite American Cars
While we are Nissan-focused we do love American Muscle cars. SEMA is a feast for Pro-touring, street machine, custom and even stock style Detroit steel. Tri-5s, Pony cars, lead sleds…even Chip Foose had an entire hall dedicated some of his most iconic creations:
Crazy Lifted Trucks
Yup. Every year these huge trucks swarm the outside displays of the convention center. This year was no exception:
We hope you enjoyed our coverage of the 2021 SEMA Show. There are many more cars to see and you can view them in our mega-picture galley below. Thanks to Nissan and Sung Kang for hosting us and to everyone that took the time to say hello. We enjoyed chatting with you. This was a great event for Nissan fans!
