***HAPPY HOLIDAYS From Z Car Garage***

 

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! Please note our holiday closure below:

 

*ZCG will be closed from 12/22 to New Year’s Day. We will re-open for business on  1/2/18*

 

Before we take a look back at highlights from 2017, check out our exciting plans for 2018 including motorsports events and several customer projects.

Catch us at Road Atlanta in Georgia for the 2018 Classic Motorsports Mitty April 27-29. We will be running pit crew again for John Morton piloting the #46 BRE 240z owned by Randy Jaffe. Nissan is the featured marque!

 

Just a few of the many customer projects coming along at the shop including full restorations:

Scott W’s 260z is slated for completion in Spring. This Z has a complete color change, ZCG Big-Brakes and a sweet 3.2L with Jenvey ITB fuel injection:

  

Tim N’s 1973 240z will also be getting new paint, a 3.2L with Jenvey ITBs and our ZCG Big Brake Kit:

  

Richard Y’s series 1 240z is fresh from paint:

 

Tuning of the OS Giken TC24B1Z, turn up your speakers and enjoy!

 

Several Z32 projects will be completed as well, look for full reports next year!

 

We are excited about our new Big-Brake kit for small (14″) wheels. Debuting at JCCS earlier this year (report soon) we have performed a few local installations into Z cars and 510s. Look for an official offering early next year for S30s, 510s and other Datsuns.

  

Changes at Z Car Garage

Stay tuned for announcements in 2018 including a new website and business changes!

 

Highlights from 2017

Enjoy these highlights from 2017 and  Z you in the New Year!

Davids 240z Restoration

OS Giken TC24 Hakosuka

Erics DR30 RB26DETT Skyline

Alvins Datsun Roadster on Petrolicious

Richard Ms 370z on Smoking Tire

Solvang Datsun Roadster Show

Hakosuka Runs Spring Classic at Seca

R32 Skyline featured on Ignition Series

Visiting Spriso Motorsports

Rolex Motorsports Reunion

SEMA Show

ZONC Annual Car Show

 

 

SEMA was a blur this year—but that’s really no different than any other year for the most intense sensory overload in car show form on the planet. This trade-only show features all of 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.

  

We only attended the show for one day and while the crowds were as appalling as ever in the Las Vegas Convention Center, the quality of cars made it all worth it. It wasn’t just “cars” that got us excited, it was the astonishing number of vintage Datsuns/Nissans! The variety was astounding. We counted 16 cars from a 1972 Datsun 510 to 1983 Skyline and everything in between.

 

Year of the Datsun!

Our Datsun-hunting at SEMA started with Datsun 510s. Pro-drifter Chris Forsberg built this hot-rod 510 wagon for his wife. The Mazworx-built SR20DET is backed by an automatic transmission and even sports air-conditioning. Deep-lipped SSR MKIII wheels fill out the box-flares that are part of the “Hakobird” kit from Carbonsignal. This might be the closest thing to Hakosuka Skyline wagon!

 

Our friend and fellow 510 racer Troy Ermish built this ultra-clean 510 2-door for actor Daniel Wu. We dig the bronze Watanabe wheels and subtle paint color. A built L-series breathing through dual-Mikuni’s and stock-ish interior also makes us happy. You can learn more about the build from our friends over at JNC.

 

Our final 510 sighting was the legendary Pete Brock’s personal car in Braille battery booth. Affectionately known as “Datzilla”, we remember first seeing this 450hp small-block V8 beast back in 2008 at the MotoringJ Style show.

  

Z Car Fever

A total of NINE S30 Z cars were at SEMA this year. That may not seem like many, but consider just 3 years ago only two Z cars were present. It was hard to pick a favorite but we were impressed with the Gas Monkey Garage 280z and the ChasingJs 240z built by Big Mike and Dominic Le, respectively.

The Gas Monkey Garage 280z

 

Big Mike was commissioned to design/build this 280Z 2+2 for the TV show Gas Monkey Garage. We loved how he took a often un-loved chassis and created a unique car that Datsun fans and American-iron alike can appreciate. Some quick details that caught our eye: the huge void found in front of the 4-cylinder SR20DET was filled with an OEM-like air filer box. The stock interior features vintage buckets with matching rears. The body color choice was perfect against bronze Volk TE37V wheels. Watch for two episodes covering the build airing on Fast n Loud TV on the Discovery channel!
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John Morton and the BRE Z return to track for the Monterey Pre-Reunion races at Laguna Seca! Z Car Garage will be there this weekend in Row D, Group 6 so please stop by and say hello.

 z 

LONG LIVE THE Z

 

We are proud to be a sponsor of the 13th Annual 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show September 23! The JCCS is a J-Tin lover’s paradise and it keeps getting better every year. Take a look at the poster above and you might notice a familiar black Z car. This year our OS Giken TC24 powered 1971 Datsun 240z will be displayed as one of the featured show cars, from the press release:

 

“America’s Most Exotic 240z” does have a nice ring to it!  You can see the original article by Mike Garrett over at Speedhunters HERE.

 

 

Z Car Garage will have its own booth at the show, so please stop by, check out the Z and say hello!

                    ***JCCS registration opens Saturday, July 1.***

 

Registration open tomorrow, July 1, so get those applications in and Z you at the show!

In case you missed it, our coverage of last year’s JCCS show is HERE and you can see a brief history of the TC24B1Z powered 240z below:

 

Over 30 years ago OS Giken created the first dual overhead cam (DOHC) 24-valve cylinder head for the Nissan L-series engine: The TC24-B1Z.

 

Z Car Garage in partnership with OS Giken debuted the first North American (LHD) Datsun 240z to run the TC24-B1Z at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, CA:
ZCG at SEMA 2015

We want to share how this mythical cylinder head sounds, looks and drives.
Turn up your speakers and enjoy!

 

 

 

The 2017 Solvang Datsun Roadster show took place on April 22. Now in its 30th year, this event continues a tradition of uniting owners from all parts of the world in a little town just outside of Santa Barbara. There is something for everyone here: shopping, food, wine-tasting, outdoor activities, and in the last weekend of April an epic gathering of Datsuns!

   

This year I was fortunate to bring my roadster and family to enjoy the weekend…

  

…and it was a fantastic show with perfect weather and close to 100 Datsuns on First Street in downtown Solvang:

Photo: Michael Anderson

On to the cars! Here are some highlights from the day…there were only a handful of 1967 2000 roadsters this year. Some of these cars are considered the “cream of the crop” with full restorations or OEM levels of detail like Mike Young’s SRL #266:

 

Winning best of show was this SR311 #0086, frame-off restored by Steve Pettersen:

This Right-Hand-Drive model had neat details like Enkei Compe-8 wheels, rear parcel shelf bracing and a km/h speedometer:

   

Roadsters were arranged by year and class, either stock or modified. The organizers did a phenomenal job of staging everyone!

 

Going the Distance

The Solvang Show draws roadster owners from all over the US, and world! We can always count on Jim and Susan to make the trek from Sonora, Mexico in their ’68 SRL with matching trailer.  Richard and Erika visited from the Netherlands and drove from Bellvue, Washington with their host, Ted Heaton. Catch their Roadster road-trip over on 311s.org.

    

Stock is Good

Solvang showcases everything from pristine to highly modified examples of roadsters. These two early 1600s were very sharp with requisite whitewall tires, chrome-ringed gauges and classy red interiors:

 

Sitting perfectly as a bookend to the low-windshield 1600s was Mike’s 67.5 SPL.  With a Solex carb’d R16 stroker, factory (high) roll bar, red interior and Watanabe wheels this car is very tasty:

 

 

Engine Swaps

Like the 510 and Z cars, the Datsun Roadster chassis accept many engine swaps and several caught my eye this year.  It is worth mentioning that this year’s show had the most SR20 swaps to date. I parked in a row of about 8!

 

I first saw this VG30-powered ’67 last year:

    

The S2000-powered ’69 SRL made a return appearance and it still blew my mind. Such a clean, OEM-level install:

    

Two SR20-swapped roadsters deserved some further inspection. John Daly’s ’67 sported a neatly integrated A/C unit on the NA S15 and a factory-like hardtop. What I thought were SSR MKii wheels were actually “Migu” units. Note split front bumpers:

       

Kevin Desirello’s ’69 had a simple, clean aesthetic. S14 SR20,  Z32 brakes, RS-8 wheels and clever “SR20” badging were all nice touches:

   

It is always good to see show favorites returning year after year with constant evolvement. Ted Heaton drove his Spriso Motorsports-built ’66 all the way from Washington.

 

The Plymouth Prowler Orange beauty has an S15 SR20DET with 6-speed and Ford rear end. Other nice details include wide RS-8 wheels and Mercedes G-Wagen headlights! Ted was very proud of his power-adding badges :

   

Trends?

If you think engine swaps are gaining popularity what other trends are developing? Hardtops are slowly showing up. With factory-like options from aftermarket companies you too can have a body-color (or any finish) hardtop for your roadster:
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