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? Please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.
We have been working with Mike M and his 2006 Z33 since last year. With every visit to ZCG this 350z gets upgraded in both power and chassis areas. In November 2017, with 111k miles on the VQ a Vortech supercharger was installed with supporting mods:
Chassis improvements: KW V3 coil overs, SPC front/rear control arms, Hotchkis sway bars and a full alignment. We also installed ART pipes to replace the factory cats:
Hotchkis front and rear sway bars:
ART Pipes:
Mike’s latest visit to ZCG included fueling, gauges and more power upgrades. The fuel system was converted to support E85/ethanol starting with a Walbro 485 in-tank fuel pump:
Next, a CJ Motorsports Stage 2 fuel return system help keep up with the Walbro pump:
Increased fuel demands of E85 require larger fuel injectors so we installed IDX 1050CC units. A Zeitronix ethanol sensor is critical for monitoring E85 content:
The brains to managing the E85 content is a Haltech Platinum Pro plug-in. A PLX Devices dm6 AFR/gen4 gauge pod also accommodates the Zeitronix ethanol sensor readout:
Final power adder was a 2.87 pulley for the supercharger and our ZCG air bypass for the race gate:
From the dyno charts below, having the ability to change the ethanol content of fuel allows for more hp/torque. More smiles per gallon as well with E85 currently at $1.99/gallon
(left) Baseline before Haltech tuning: 331hp/286tq and (right) baseline to 91 octane tune with Haltech: 346hp/303tq to the wheels
Final 91 octane tune with the Haltech: 364hp/306tq at the wheels:
75% Ethanol tune: 421hp/345tq to the wheels:
To balance an extra 126hp power from the Vortech we installed a Stoptech Big-Brake Kit. Up front are 332mm ST40 calipers in red, with slotted rotors:
Stock vs Stoptech:
The new brake also look great behind the Enkei RPF1 wheels:
The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) hosted their Annual Car Show in Brisbane, CA on July 28, 2018. Attendance was down from last year’s show, but didn’t stop Nissan/Datsun fans from bringing out their rides on a warm Saturday.
This was a relaxed, relatively small gathering of enthusiasts that I joined with my Datsun Roadster. I left San Jose and drove ~40minutes just past SFO to the Brisbane Marina. I stopped for a quick photo op near my office before rolling into the show after 10am:
Highlights from the show
Still to this day, 240Zs are the most represented model in the club. Expansion over time currently includes all recent Z models and the GT-R, but also reaches back in time to include the Datsun Roadsters and 510s. 37 cars were displayed this year, each one of them special and showing pride of ownership. The only models missing from the show was the S130 280zx and GT-R.
From showroom stock to wildly-modified the S30 selection was diverse. This was a wild one: an IMSA-bodied Z!
Two showrooom-stock examples:
Check out the period EMPI split-rim wheels on this Safari Gold S30:
Modified Z’s with trick suspensions, triple side-draft Mikuni’s/Weber’s and modern paint schemes. This Sunshine Yellow Z was the only car sporting fender flares:
A solo 1970 Series1 Z:
260z and 280z
ZCG customer Joe A showed his pretty 260z (full report on the blog soon):
Linda W’s 1978 280z
Winning Best 280z and Best of Show was this ultra-clean fully restored example:
People
We like this show because of the laid-back atmosphere and good folks that organize it. There was a great raffle, awards presentation and having banners for each model was a touch of genius. The banners will be displayed that will be carried on at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion next month!
Z32
4 Z32 300zx cars were displayed, all in different colors. Joe K and Kevin N’s Z32 Twin Turbos are both top-level examples of highly modified yet tasteful machines.
Old-school Racing Hart wheels house massive Brembo calipers on Kevin’s silver beauty:
Z31
The lone Z31 300zx was a 1984 Anniversary Turbo model!
Z33
Five 350z and 1 Z Roadster were in attendance. It was a pleasure seeing ZCG customer Dan Fulton and his track-prepped 350z:
Z34
6 370z cars including 1 wild NISMO Z:
510s
Three Datsuns 510s showed up, each sporting different powerplants and body styles. The crowd favorite (and winner) was Matt’s 510. This boosted KA24DE Dime also won Best Paint:
Jose’s SR-pwoered 4-door with an S13 SR20DET (note S13.5 valve cover!) 18″ SSR SP3 wheels and Brembo brakes from MArio of TSR:
The last time I saw Jose we both attended the Spocom Show in 2015. Since then he has added many titanium parts to the engine bay from ChasingJ’s and had the SR tuned by our friend Sebastian at SpecialtyZ. It’s now making 410whp!
The RL411 Bluebird
Our customer Kevin M brought his 1967 411 sedan, we will have a full story on this build soon!
Roadsters
This year we had three Datsun Roadsters. My 1967.5 SPL/SR20, Dave Premo’s 1967 2000 and John Baker’s 1969 2000. Dave’s SRL is car #406 finished in Turquoise sporting a full Mikuni-Solex “competition” package and 4:11 rear end. He is also Solex-tuning expert offering Mikuni parts and service:
John Baker’s 69 SRL is a concours-level example with rare parts like a day/night mirror. The diminutive 5.60 bias-ply tires look just right! This roadster was featured in Automobile Magazine with John Morton behind the wheel!
A few more of the cool details. John won Best Roadster!
I had to get some rolling shots of this roadster, it looks so good on the road!
Vanity plates
It’s no secret Z car owners have the best vanity plates! Some notables:
Parking lot finds
The beautiful venue is also a public park so plenty of folks stopped by to check out the Z’s. I spotted two S-chassis rolling through:
See you next year!
Spending the day at the ZONC Annual Car Show was a welcome experience that reminded us to, in the words of the late Mr.K, ” Love cars. Love people. Love Life.” We look forward to the next show keep an eye on our event updates and Z you soon! Don’t forget to check out our picture gallery below. Big thanks to the ZONC organizers!
Frank B has been a Z Car Garage customer for many years. His stable includes an ultra low-vin Series 1 S30 (report soon) and this 1972 Datsun 240z that he acquired in 2005:
Affectionately named “Fuelie Z” this hot rod sports a fuel-injected Rebello 3L running Borla TWM induction. The old-school setup utilized RC injectors, a composite intake plenum and Electromotive Tec3 engine management.
With powerful L-series motivation Frank wanted to improve braking and we installed one of our very first sets of Z Car Garage Big Brakes roughly 8 years ago. These large, 328mm units at all 4-corners performed admirably and fit nicely behind his vintage 17″ Chevlon Racing Mesh wheels:
Frank has enjoyed the Z for several years, attending local ZONC events and fun runs. Below left: The ZONC Blackhawk Museum Show in 2008!
After a recent meeting with Frank we agreed it was time to update this Z car and make it as smooth as we could. He was our first customer to run the new Z Car Garage CV axles. This upgrade really inspired him to continue improving the car:
Next on the update list, we were really excited to install a Nissan 350z 6-speed manual transmission behind the L-series in Frank’s Z. You read that right! S30 owners can now bolt-in this robust, 6-speed manual behind their L-series engine! You might remember our first application of Austin Hoke’s custom 6-speed adapter kit on the OS Giken TC24B1Z-powered 240z:
Using the 6-speed conversion kit from Hoke Performance we installed a new CD009a transmission from the 2003 -2008 Z33 in Frank’s Z:
The kit necessitated exhaust header changes and after testing a variety of headers we found the Pacesetter 6-2-1 unit provided enough clearance:
We changed the exhaust and updated the driveshaft to an aluminum one. The old Spec clutch mated to the L-series transmission was removed and a JWT aluminum flywheel and HD clutch installed for work with the 350z transmission:
The 6-speed bolted in, more pictures of the install in gallery below:
The ZCG CV axles and 6-speed transmission transformed Frank’s Z. You can see the shifter location/operation in this video below. Enjoy!
Frank also asked why not update the engine management system and Rob said, “I’m in!”. Replacing the Tec3 unit we installed an Elite 750 from Haltech. This is a wonderful stand alone ECU company with very user-friendly products we love to use on our S30 builds.
With dyno tuning we improved the drivability of Z in addition to significant power gains. Final numbers were 231hp/210tq to the wheels:
We received great feedback from Frank after 100 miles of mountain roads. His wife could even notice the difference: super smooth, seamless operation with fantastic throttle response and more power. The Fuelie Z has been thoroughly updated, mission accomplished! We love that Frank is Enjoying The Ride in his Z stay tuned for a full report on his Series 1 240z!
LONG LIVE THE Z!
More pictures in the gallery below! …[read more]
