Working with owners that have a long history with their Z gets us excited. This early Series 1 240z (vin# 2144, March 1970) was Bill R’s very first sports car, owned since 1976. The car had been sitting in storage for over 20 years and Bill contacted us for mechanical sorting.

Beginning in 2019 we had the pleasure of working with Bill to help get his Z back on the road. Our Z Car Garage CV Axles along with refurbished brakes, suspension, interior and engine tuning all transform this Z back into the sports car Bill remembered enjoying. Before we dive in to the restoration let’s take a look at his Z car story.

Love at First Sight

“On December 30th 1976 I purchased my Datsun 204z from Niello Volkswagen in Sacramento, I happened to drive by this dealership and noticed a small two door blue sports car. After driving into the lot to check it out I kinda fell in love with it. The asking price was $3,676 and it had 072260 miles on it. At this time I was only 21 years old and wanted a 2-door sports car…

…The next day I returned to the dealership to put a downpayment on this car. I signed the purchase agreement and I was on my way home. Finally my first sports car! From this date in 1976 I always took great pride and joy in this car. Always kept in a garage. At one time I had purchased another 1971 Z for my wife and we had matching 240z’s”

Over the past 44 years of owning his 240z, Bill began to drive it less as his family grew and mechanical issues arose. After being in and out of different repair shops he was not satisfied with the work completed to get the Z running properly. It sat for many years. After finding ZCG, Bill decided to drive from Elk Grove to San Jose to check out the shop and meet Rob.

Bill towed his “AWWSUM Z” to our shop in January 2019 and we performed a full inspection. The plan to get Bill’s Z back on the road included a full suspension/brake refresh, engine tuning, interior refurbishment with weatherstripping and restoration of those groovy True Spoke wire wheels.

Chassis

 

With the Z happily in our shop the chassis was treated to a full suspension rebuild. We installed all new ball joints, bushings, tie rods, wheel bearings and had all parts powder coated. Before removal:

 

Below: New KYB front/rear struts with Eibach springs and ST f/r sway bars. We also installed new adjustable T/C rods and lower control arms (see below) from Techno Toy Tuning. T3 finishes the suspension in our signature color and we really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.

  

New suspension parts installed up front:

 

Rear suspension, before and after:

 

The underside was steam-cleaned and undercoated:

Brakes

We restored the OEM brakes with all new lines, new brake master cylinder and remanufactured calipers with Stoptech slotted rotors and 309 pads:

       At the rear, brand new factory rear wheel cylinders, rear shoes and turned aluminum drums:

    

 

Z Car Garage CV Axles

Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. We have over 100 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

 

Bill has CV Axle set #281. Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units:

 

More pictures of the ZCG axles installed, also visible are the T3 control arms:

        

The differential was resealed with new front/side seals:

 

We gave Bill regular updates on his Z:

“Throughout the 2019 year I was in contact with Rob,  he sent me pictures of the work in progress  performed on my 240z.  In October of 2019 I took a drive to the shop to take a look at what was completed. I was able to take my 240z out for a drive around the neighborhood, I was surprised and shocked to drive my z for the first time in years, just the look at all of the work performed on my Z was unbelievable!

 

Engine

 

The engine bay was next. We steam cleaned the entire underside of the car to reveal any drivetrain leaks. The radiator was removed and boiled out. All cooling system hoses were replaced.  A new 280zx starter, new fan clutch, upgraded alternator and new battery with cables were installed:

 

With 148,876 miles on the odometer we performed a compression/leakdown test and the stock L24 passed. A full service tune was performed including new plugs, plug wire set, cap/rotor, fuel filter, valve cover gasket, MSD Blaster2 (black) coil, new drive belts, water pump, oil change and a valve adjustment. Before/after:

 

New Z-therapy carbs and cleanup of the intake manifold/air injection. The valve cover was also powder coated. More pictures in the gallery below:

 

We replaced intake and exhaust manifold gaskets with factory Nissan parts and the exhaust manifold was replaced with an MSA 6-1 coated header:

 

The old twice-pipe exhaust was replaced with our full ZCG exhaust system with a stainless Magnaflow resonator and slash-cut tip:

 

With the new SU carbs, exhaust/header and engine service Rob dyno tuned the Z making 133hp/133tq at the wheels:

 

Enjoy the L24 music in this dyno video:

 

The seats were re-done in blue vinyl:

 

We removed the steering wheel cover revealing a nicely patina’d Series 1 unit in need of light restoration:

 

What a difference!

 

A new shift knob complements the refreshed steering wheel:

 

New pedal covers, many more pictures of the interior refresh in the gallery below:

 

Extensive weatherstripping replacement was performed. Our ZCG door seals to eliminate the “tinniness” when you shut the door. We removed the door panels to restore inner parts, made sure that windows roll up/down smoothly and installed new window felt and runners for the channels:

 

New weatherstripping including hatch seals, doors and window frames:

 

No more leaks or fumes!

 

The vintage True Spoke wheels were re-finished and new 185/70/14 tires with tubes sourced. These wheels were added by Bill in the 70’s and he loves them!

 

The Z was fully detailed inside and out:

Driving is Believing

“On May 15th 2020 I returned to the Z Car Garage to bring my 240z home! Before we put my Z on the trailer Rob took me for a test ride in my Z around the neighborhood and on the freeway to check out the performance and the handling of my newly restored 240z. I didn’t know my car had that much power and cornering capability with stopping power! I thought I was on a race track riding with Rob. After we returned to the shop Rob asked me to take my z out for a test drive by myself, man it never felt so good after many years of not being able to drive my Z without any problems.”

  

Bill owned a Barbecue and Deli business several years ago (Reedsribs and More) and still caters. He thought it was a nice way to thank the shop with a BBQ lunch, an amazing gesture we are thankful for.

“I would like to personally thank each employee that worked on the restoration of my 240z. Rob I would like to thank you personally for the professional way you communicated with me every step of the way with the restoration of my 240z. Since my z has been back home home I showed several friends and previous Z owners the work that was performed in your garage. Everyone was speechless!

Thanks for the restoration and putting me back on the road in my AAWSUM Z”

Bill Reed

 

  

We are so fortunate to work with owners that appreciate the Z and believe in our ability to make them better! Bill we thank you for supporting Z Car Gar Garage, and LONG LIVE THE Z!

More pictures in the gallery below:

 

Z Car Garage is expanding to support our vintage, late model and motorsport work. We are seeking an experienced and skilled automotive technician to join our team. This is not an average automotive job. We work 4-10hr days and offer competitive pay/benefits.

Requirements: Automotive experience, your own set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.

Nissan/Datsun experience is NOT a requirement, you just need to have passion.

Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Share this, spread the word and please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.

 

  

 

 We enjoy helping Z cars owners get their cars in top shape to Enjoy The Ride. David P purchased this 1975 Datsun 280z on the East Coast and the exotic shop it was at had difficulty with it. David moves between San Francisco and Massachusetts and wanted us to sort his Z out before hitting the roads here. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles along with tuning and aesthetic upgrades transform this Z.

 

Affectionately called “Triple Six”, the Z arrived at our shop from the East Coast via Masney Auto Transport (Thanks David). David had not seen the Z in person yet since purchasing and it needed some attention, Z Car Garage style.

 

The car was not running upon arrival and Rob had many suggestions after the initial assessment. From David:

“When Rob called to tell me that my car had made it there I said ‘Ok great. Can I tell you what I want done?’ to which Rob replied ‘Nope’. He said ‘I want you to come down here, drive my car and then say to me, OK I want you to do to my car whatever it was that you did to yours’, and after driving his car I did say those exact words.”

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

 

Indeed, we had David test drive “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car with full suspension and our ZCG Big-Brakes:

“I drove Rob’s unassuming, Safari Gold 240Z, that he appropriately named Butters, and God damn was it fun! I was surprised when he told me it had 275 horsepower, not a small number for a car that’s so small and light, its just that it felt much more powerful than I ever thought a sub 300 hp car could feel.”

 
After the test drive he was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂 Read below for a brief description of these parts:

     

As fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C mentioned in his review, on top of braking performance, pedal feel is extremely important and our Big-Brakes deliver. This is a direct result of working with engineers at Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. All fitting behind a 15″ Watanabe or Panasport wheel (and some 14″ wheels) and retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few details below:

Calipers: Stoptech ST42 4-piston front & rear race calipers (Alum 6061 mil-spec Type III anodized)

Rotors: 280mm x 20.6 with Alum 7075 hats

Pads: Stoptech 309 sport street pads

Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.

A few closer detail shots of the calipers, rotors and hardware:

 

We removed David’s brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. Up front:

    

 

The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) is one of the oldest Z car clubs in the nation. We are proud to be a part of this group and support its members, like former ZONC president Ken C. Ken brought his 1970 S30 to Z Car Garage for a dyno tune and minor sorting. In true do-it-yourself fashion Ken performs most of the work himself, even installing a set of our Z Car Garage CV Axles in his garage.

 

“When I was 19 and in the Air Force I saved up for a Pinto, saved more for a Maverick…then I saw a 240z. I always wanted a 1970 and got this one in 1985. I drove it everywhere including Maine. I do 99% of the work myself with lots of details/upgrades like a huge cooling system (custom shroud) to support the A/C, rebuilt steering rack and all lightning.”

We recall seeing Ken’s Series 1 240z at the ZONC Annual Car Show in Brisbane, CA where he picked up an award for his efforts:

 

You can imagine how honored we were to have Ken let us work on his Z that only he’s allowed to work on. He had built a Rebello 3L with 5-speed/stock clutch and wanted us to do final sorting:

“Rob has always supported ZONC, done good work for its members so I trusted him to help get my Z in shape.  It was running too rich, stumbling and it would die when A/C  was turned on.”

 

Rob dyno tuned the L-series with SUs gaining more hp/tq and eliminating the hesitation Ken reported. The dyno plot shows his old L24 from a ZONC dyno day at the shop vs the current Rebello 3L now making a stout 183hp/191tq at the wheels. Enjoy this dyno video with sweet L-series music:

 

ZCG CV Axles

Z Car Garage is proud to offer a CV axle conversion kit for your Datsun S30 and 510. We have sold over 100 sets of axles, with customers installing and enjoying them on everything from street cars to full-blown IMSA racers. These CV axles will help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. Full details can be found HERE

 

Ken had purchased a set of our ZCG CV Axles and installed them himself.We love to hear from customers that are using our products and he reports that the axles were easy to install and well-engineered. Thanks Ken, and nice work:

“The ZCG CV axles—much smoother happy with less vibrations, best CV axles I’ve ever seen. It took me about 90 minutes to install. Super simple and easy and Rob is of course always supporting his own products with great service.”

 

Please contact the shop or visit our website to order your CV Axles!

 

Time To Enjoy The Ride

 

Ken continues to enjoy driving his Z, to shows or cruises and around town:

 

More inspiration for the Do-it-yourself’er…Ken is also restoring this ’72 S30 back to its stock blue/white in his garage (and kitchen)!

 

Thank you Ken for entrusting your Z to us. Ken is an avid baker and makes his own jerky, we also thank him for the cookies (which he’s known for) and snacks he provided to the ZCG crew. LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

More pictures in the gallery below: …[read more]

 

Yoni has been our customer since 2014 and after having a taste of vintage Z cars at the shop he finally found one to call his own. This green S30 has had a long history with ZCG and before Yoni picked it up he requested intallation of our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles to make it perfect.

 

This Z was previously owned by our customer Alan L who purchased it in Idaho in 1995. We worked on this car since the late 90’s and it has many neat parts suiting his taste like a nasty 3L mated to a 4-speed transmission, stock brakes with race pads, Panasports and roll bar. He drove the wheels off this thing not only on the street but at the track too. In 2013 Alan retired to Palm springs and decided it was time to sell, sending it to us to find the Z a new home.

 

We got it here and installed a Rebello 2.9 with SUs, early 5-speed trans and some cleanup work.

 

Timing worked out wonderfully as Yoni was jonesing for an S30:

“I got my G37 in 2013 as a gift to myself for graduating college and landing my first “big boy” job. I researched the best garages in the Bay Area and only one stood out: Z Car Garage. I sent my first email to Rob in 2014, and my journey with ZCG has continued since then. Over the years I’ve only brought my G to Rob and his amazing team. They’ve performed all my routine maintenance and a couple major repairs and realized I appreciated the car as it is. It fulfilled it’s purpose for me – a fun, fast, reliable daily driver…

 

… Around 2019 I considered selling my G. There was nothing wrong with it, but I felt like something was missing for me. At this point I had spent the majority of my career developing electric vehicle technology (and even an electric flying taxi!). Spending so much time thinking about what was coming next made me, ironically, want to drive something more physical. I wanted to be able to experience driving something with personality, something that required actual skill and gave real feedback. I wanted something more rewarding…”

  

The Butters Effect

 

After a routine visit to ZCG and seeing all the vintage Z cars, Yoni took our shop demo car “Mrs. Butters” for a spin. It solidified his need for a Z:

“Rob eventually he let me drive one of his personal cars, Butters. The thing about driving Butters for the first time, especially if you’ve never driven a Z car, is that it’s totally unfair. Butters is kind of like the best version of what a Z car should be. It’s not another LS swap, not a restored garage queen, just a solid Z with a big engine and killer brakes. Butters is like the gateway drug of Z cars – you leave expecting all Z cars to be like that.”

Fast forward a few months and Yoni was ready to purchase the green Z. The 3.1L was already transplanted into customer Jason’s ProjectZ and the freshly built 2.9L with SUs and early 5-speed took its place:

 

Rob dyno tuned the L-series, now making 175hp/190tq at the wheels:

 

Enjoy the video with sweet L-series music!

 

 

The Z was good, but not “ZCG-good”, so we fixed that. Before it went home he had us install our ZCG Big-Brakes,  ZCG CV Axles, new Bridgestone S007a tires and more:

“When Rob showed me the car for the first time, I was mostly sold. The car was great, but the stock brakes needed to go (thanks to Butters). The car had a huge binder of records and history that went along with it. The price was right and we agreed that Rob would install ZCG big brakes, CV axles, and some sticky tires before I took delivery. He also took care of a few small items I wanted.”

“I’m really happy with the car. It’s the perfect compliment to my G, which I am definitely keeping now. It’s also really the best mix of things I wanted in a first Z. A good engine, moderate suspension upgrades, awesome brakes, and nice but not perfect paint. It’s something I can really enjoy driving and sharing with people without being paranoid about keeping it perfect. At some point I’ll be back to have Rob work on the interior with me. Who knows, maybe there’s a set of triple Mikuni carbs in my future. For now though, I’m enjoying the ride.”

 

Thank you for your continued support an we love working with you Yoni. We are glad that you are now a 240z owner,  welcome to the family and LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

More pictures in the gallery below: …[read more]