We love to hear about Father-Son project cars! Liam O’s father has owned this ’72 S30 for many years and he wanted to restore it with him. They had the engine built by Rebello and a body shop perform final assembly of the the car. Liam was experiencing a heavy exhaust smell inside the cabin and it simply wasn’t enjoyable driving this beautiful Z. He contacted Z Car Garage and upon inspection we found several items needing attention.
First, we corrected some cooling issues and installed a Koyo race radiator:
Before we troubleshooted the exhaust/fuel smell in the cabin we fixed the exhaust system. This L-series cylinder head had square exhaust ports and the header that was installed on the engine had round ports:
We installed the correct, matching square port exhaust header (6 into 1) from MSA:
We replaced the exhaust system:
Next we tackled the cabin to seal out unwanted exhaust. The door seals were replaced:
The venting for gas tank and associated vapor hoses were all replaced. If they’re old and sweating fuel vapor you will smell fuel inside the cabin. If the car is not sealed up, you will smell exhaust. Sometimes it can be overbearing:
William painted hatch area to get a nice seal on the weatherstripping/seals:
We ended up going through the entire car, adding some nice ZCG touches along the way. The engine was treated to a major tuning session on our dyno:
The Rebello 2.8L street engine with SUs made 168hp/171tq to the wheels:
Engine bay all buttoned up:
More little things like painting the brake booster. We also went through the entire braking system:
It’s no mystery with the Z’s hatch design and aerodynamics that having no seal (or a compromised one) in that area will result in exhaust smell in the cabin. After we worked on Liam’s car we had reduced the smell, but it wasn’t totally gone. We have our own apparatus to run a smoke test inside the car to visualize leaks. We sealed it up and took it one step further by adding a high flow cat in the back of the exhaust system. Now Liam is driving this Z all over the Bay Area and he is tickled pink about it. So are we.
It’s official! ZCG is going to the 2018 Classic Motorsports Mitty April 27-29 at Road Atlanta in Georgia. This year, Nissan is the featured marque!
Road Atlanta has been home to The Mitty event for over 30 years where Datsuns dominated the racing scene. Names like Bob Sharp, Walter Maas, Jim Fitzgerald, Kirk Allegro, Don Devandorf and of course our hero John Morton have all won at this historic race track. RA was also the location of this epic Datsun commercial with John:
The BRE Datsun 240z driven by John Morton at The Mitty
We are extremely thankful and stoked that owner Randy Jaffe invited us to The Mitty. John Morton will be piloting the #46 BRE 240z once again! The entire ZCG crew will be running pit crew beginning 4/23 for testing through the race weekend ending 4/29. Somebody pinch us, we are running pit crew again for #46 with John Morton…our last race event with the legendary driver was the 2017 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion at Laguna Seca. Following the Historics, we performed post-race maintenance to prepare #46 for its trip back home to Randy in Georgia.
He showed the Z at several shows including ZCon 2017 and Atlanta Festival of Speedand now it’s time for it to be on the track again with Morton at the reigns!
Our tent will be in the paddock alongside Nissan and their fleet of historic race cars! Please stop by and say hello, we will have refreshments and love chatting about Datsuns.
Datsun Racers Making the Trip
Sweet historic Datsuns/Nissans will be racing at The Mitty. We will be transporting the Jim Fitzgerald “Designated Hitter” car (full story in a future post) and Bluebird Coupe with help from the good folks at RacecraftNW:
We are very happy for our friend and fellow racer Glenn Chiou. He is making the trek to Road Atlanta to race his VIP’s Z:
We also hear that a large contingent of West Coast Datsun Roadsters will be attending: Bob Studdard ’67 2000 (owned by Phil Mendelovitz), Ron Carter’s ’67 2000 and Michael Anderson’s recently acquired Rock Vest 2000:
Bring Out Your Nissan/Datsun!
This year the Classic Motorsports Mitty is showcasing Nissan as the featured marque. That means the track and infield will be bustling with historic examples. Bring yours out and enjoy the weekend at Road Atlanta. We were impressed with the showing of Datsuns back in 2010:
Speaking of history at Road Atlanta, when we spotted this blue KA24E-powered Datsun 510, Rob recalled an inspiring story about its creator, the late Tom Wyatt III (Turbo Tom).
Tom entered his turbocharged L-series Datsun 510 at The Mitty where he consistently outpaced much more powerful sports cars. By the end of the day he was racing with the Corvettes and Cobras. He beat a Porsche 930 on a lap by nine seconds, and a race prepped 427 Cobra by 3 seconds. The race staff didn’t know what to do, so they gave him a custom made trophy and told him not to come back next year! That is how you DO IT IN A DATSUN!
Our friend and fellow Datsun enthusiast/racer Glenn Chiou recently acquired this R32 GT-R. Before we describe what brings this Skyline to Z Car Garage let’s hear how Glenn found the dream car of his youth:
“As a teenager growing up during the Fast and Furious days it was not hard to get caught up in the import car craze. Amongst the boy racer fantasies of owning RX7’s, Supra’s and R34 Skyline GTR’s, I developed a strong interest in the R32 GTR. The simple design, yet brute power intrigued me. It was always a car that was unobtanium to me. After hearing that I would be able to federal legalize one after 25-years I had to pursue one. Although the car was technically legal in the United States, the wonderful state of California hindered ownership. It was then I learned about International Vehicle Importers run by Skyline aficionado Sean Morris. On a whim, I headed down to IVI in Long Beach, California to take a peek at what they had to offer…”
“As with all my cars, I always look for a unique factory offering during the selection process. After further research I learned that there was a version homologated for racing – the NISMO edition. Nissan built a total of 560 NISMO BNR32 models for homologation purposes to compete in the FIA’s Group A racing class. A total of 60 of the 560 cars were destined for Group A racing in Japan and Australia. NISMO models included twin steel fan turbos (opposed to ceramic), an additional lip spoiler, front brake cooling ducts, side skirt aero splats, removed ABS, and a rear wiper delete. Being a racing junkie, I knew this was the car for me. I took delivery of the car #459 in November 2016 and could not have been more excited. The car provided a unique experience like none other. As an owner of both vintage and modern cars, I was amazed at the fact that this car was designed and built in the late 80’s!”
After a year of ownership Glenn was yearning for an even more enjoyable driving experience. He decided to take a period-correct approach of modification using high quality parts from the era when possible. Shown below are a full Trust Titanium exhaust, authentic NISMO steering wheel and the crown jewel of period-mods: 400R-spec NISMO LM-GT1 wheels! Sized 18×10 with stickier tires all around paired with Ohlin DFV’s coilovers:
Fast forward to November 2017. Glenn was prepping the Skyline for the R’s Day track event at Laguna Seca. With the 12/9 date fast approaching we discussed his GT-R and switching over to the Haltech Platinum Pro Plug-in for engine management. Glenn was excited and Godzilla visited Z Car Garage:
Whenever we install the Haltech Platunum Pro on a GT-R we switch from a mass air flow (MAF) to a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) based setup. The dyno graph shows how we were able to make more power and area under the curve while keeping the car safely tuned on 91 octane:
“To put the cherry on top, we had Z Car Garage work their magic with a Haltech ECU and tune. In short, the car WOKE up. The superb handling coupled with the drivable power made for a perfect track day car and canyon carver.”
Where better to test the R32’s newly found limits than on the race track? We had a blast driving with Glenn and friends at R’s Day in December. He was stoked:
“The car performed beautifully and stuck like it was on train tracks! The car was incredibly predictable and just all-around very enjoyable to drive fast. I look forward to more improvements to the car in the near future, as it will serve as my fun toy between vintage race days!”
Thanks for letting us tune your special R32 Glenn! If you haven’t experienced R’s Day here’s a neat video and coverage from Speedhunters.
UPDATE: Glenn’s Datsuns
Glenn is an avid Datsun enthusiast having owned and raced several cars. You might remember his VIPS 240z vintage race car from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year where he ran the Z alongside our hero John Morton. We also dyno-tuned the Z in preparation for race week. Look for #39 at various events this year!
Next up for restoration, Glenn has located IMSA GTU/Trans Am 260Z, chassis # 000024, formerly driven by Greg Sorrentino of Different Drummer Racing. We know Glenn will do it justice by the amazing work he performed bringing back the Loren St. Lawrence Z:
Glenn loves his vintage race cars and he recently added this B-sedan Datsun 510 to his stable! We should be dyno-tuning it soon. Look for it on the track at this year’s B-sedan races with SVRA:
Let’s not forget Glenn’s street car, his RHD 240z-L is well known in the Datsun community and the subject of a nice feature film on Petrolicious.
The Z has a powerful Rebello stroker motor with triple-mikuni’s and runs perfectly sized Watanabe wheels. On that wheel-related note, we are really excited to report that Glenn will be running our ZCG Big Brakes for small wheels behind those magnificent 15″ Wats! Look for a full report soon. You can catch Glenn putting it through its paces on the 2018 Coastal Range Rally hosted by the good folks at DrivingWhileAwesome.
We couldn’t wait to share this with you! Owner Richard W. trailered his 1971 Datsun 240z all the way from Eureka, CA to Z Car Garage. He is the original owner of this 60k-mile Series 1 S30 and it hasn’t run since 1985. We fired it up for the first time yesterday. Full report on the blog soon. Long Live The Z!
At Z Car Garage we are fortunate to be a part of many Nissan/Datsun enthusiasts lives. Here is another amazing story of how we helped a passionate couple reunite with their Z just in time for their wedding.
Sharing The Datsun Love
Over 20 years ago Rob Fuller migrated to the Bay Area to surround himself with Datsuns and he recalled being driven by one thing: Passion. What helped him build his 510 in his early 20’s and build cars period was the passion of older folks eagerly sharing their love and knowledge. It has been our code and a great source of motivation to share ZCG’s passion and cool customer cars with others. Courtney and Dustin came to ZCG for a shop tour in 2016 and we had a great time hanging out and telling Datsun stories from back in the day. It made us proud to see two young enthusiasts totally into vintage cars.
Courtney is a well-known photographer and her then-boyfriend Dustin is a fellow Datsun 510 owner. We gave the couple rides in several customer cars including Gary’s OS Giken TC24-powered 240z. Smiles were abound! Fast forward to 2017 when Courtney reached out to us about getting her Z back on the road in time for her wedding. This was right up Rob’s alley (remember how we surprised Ken on his 50th Birthday with a restoration of his 240z?), so we happily obliged. Courtney and Dustin arranged to have the Z towed to ZCG. Now, let’s hear Courtney’s story…
Courtney’s Z Story
Growing up, I was very sheltered when it came to cars. Once I was old enough to drive, I was only allowed to pilot vehicles that my family considered “big” and “safe” enough. This lineup throughout the years consisted of a ’92 Cadillac Sedan de Ville, a 2000 Toyota Camry, and a 2001 Acura TL. My one time suggestion of a MK4 GTI was met with reluctancy due to the fact that it was “a little too small.” While my family had good intentions, they never really allowed me to branch out and get something a little more… exciting. By the time I was 21, I was ready for change.
I had my eye on the 240z for a long time, obsessed with its iconic silhouette and timeless style. While it took some searching with the help of my then-boyfriend/now-husband and another friend, I finally bought my 1973 240z in 2014. I found it on Craigslist in Medford, Oregon with only two photos in the listing. The photos were extremely poor quality and the description sounded too good to be real. Less than 100k original miles, very little rust, straight body, and mostly original. After connecting with the owner and coming to a deal, we set a date to drive up to Oregon from the Bay Area. A long story short, the trip was nightmarish and almost anything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The previous owner wasn’t entirely honest with me about the mechanical condition of the car. We found that overheating on a steep mountain pass and getting stuck in the semi lane isn’t our idea of a fun Sunday night. Ultimately though, we made it home with the car after an exhausting weekend.
Once the car was home, we tinkered on a few small things that needed to be addressed. The car just had a few too many hiccups, with a set of finicky Webers installed, and life happened as it usually does. So, the car ended up sitting in my parents’ driveway for just about two years. There were plans to do a rather unorthodox engine swap with some other bold mods, but we all know that sometimes things don’t work out as planned. The longer I stared at this orange machine, sitting dormant, the more I longed to enjoy the car the way it came from the factory. It was at that point that we decided it was time to start thinking of reviving it.
Then, I got engaged in August of 2016. A big jump, but stay with me for a minute. Because my husband and I are such admittedly insane car nuts, we knew we had to have one of our Datsuns in our wedding. I originally thought his blue four door 510 would be well suited, but then he suggested that we bring my Z back to life in time for our July 2017 wedding. By this time, it was late in 2016 and time was ticking. If you’ve ever planned a wedding all by yourselves before, you’ll understand me when I say that there was plenty to occupy myself with. Getting a classic car running again after years of sitting/not running well was a task, but it was amplified by the fact that we never truly could diagnose its problems before. But my husband was adamant that the Z’s place was in our ceremony—not just because it was special to me, but because it was a special part of our relationship as a whole. We went through a lot to bring that car home from Oregon, and since then it has always sort of felt like a child to us. (Is that weird?)
With the help of our amazing friends and their gracious donation of a garage, we got to work on Pumpkin (appropriately named, right?). We tore down the L24 and replaced everything that needed it. We also replaced the Webers with a set early SU carbs. This was all mostly in an attempt to take care of maintenance after sitting for so long. Our thought was that if we freshened up the motor and improved the carb situation, we might have a better chance of fixing what had always been wrong. After we were through, the car certainly ran better, but still had overheating issues, among other things.
Reviving Courtney’s 240z
Some time passed and before we knew it, we were a couple of months into 2017. July was fast approaching and I was feeling nervous about my husband and I finding the time to continue working on the car. It wasn’t until I met Alvin with his Roadster for a Petrolicious photo shoot that the idea of bringing the car to Z Car Garage was spoken.
From the get go, Rob and Alvin were incredibly helpful. I had known them for a while at that point through my freelance photo work, but had never done actual car business with them. Rob invited my husband and I to bring him the car to inspect, and of course, it ended up being more serious than I thought. We’d realized that the heater core was leaking, we needed to address a leaking fuel tank, the clutch was going, my transmission was leaking, alternator was overcharging… I could go on. Some of the problems we were aware of, others, not so much. By this time I had ordered a set of fresh SU carbs from ZTherapy (they’re a national treasure), so we discussed installing them and having Rob tune the car once the other issues were knocked out.
As Courtney mentioned above, what started out as routinely syncing their carbs, Rob found that the Z needed a bit of attention. The worst thing would be for it to breakdown during their wedding. We sat down with Courtney and Dustin and assessed the car, then made a budget that would work with them to get their Z car running, be safe and part of their wedding day.
We replaced the fuel systems’ recovery hoses, eliminating fuel odor from the cabin:
Cooling work included installation of a Koyo race radiator, heater control valve and replacing the heater core. A new clutch was also installed:
The carbs were sync’d and tuned on the dyno where it made 140hp/135tq to the wheels. Very healthy numbers for an essentially stock L24 with SUs:
Her Z sounds great, watch the dyno run video below:
Rob was nothing but honest during the timeline of the work. He kept me updated with emails and phone calls, explained everything they’d found each step of the way, and gave me options. He understood our budget and was just as excited for our wedding plans as we were. He truly made us feel like family, and his enthusiasm for this huge life event we were planning showed that he genuinely cared about getting this car running. He was mindful of our time and did everything in his power to provide the best experience possible.
Finally, we went through the entire car to ensure that there was absolutely no issue with the Z traveling to and from the wedding. We were super pumped to see Courtney with the Z on her special day. Icing on the cake was a nice set of 16″ Panasports and they do look fantastic on that orange paint!
I’ve never known anyone who is so passionate about these cars. You realize that Z Car Garage is a name which is more than deserved when you’re met with this caliber of enthusiast. The staff lives and breathes Datsun. In the end, Rob and his staff had my car running as if it were new again. The feeling I had when he fired it up for us and showed us everything they’d done is something near surreal. When he showed me the dyno video, I got butterflies. He had made our wedding dream come true, and for that, we are forever grateful.
I’m a firm believer in the idea that everything happens for a reason. All of my prior plans and obstacles with my Z were only guides that eventually brought me to ZCG. I couldn’t be happier with how this year has gone. From hearing my car roar to life to riding shotgun with my husband after our wedding ceremony, it has been perfect. Once again, a HUGE thank you to Rob, Alvin, and the outstanding staff at ZCG for making my Z dreams come true. Long Live the Z!
Thank you Courtney for letting us prepare your Z and it makes us happy to see you Enjoying The Ride! Good luck to both you and Dustin! ps love the license plate frame 🙂
