***This Z is up for auction on Bring a Trailer right now, link HERE***

We met Greg a few years ago at a Blackhawk Museum gathering where famed Peter Brock (BRE) was speaking. Greg told us that he found a clean, low-mileage 280z and he was really interested in ZCG going through it. After he visited the shop we discussed our previous 280z builds (Cece, Gary and the Roth’s) and got to work building a Z for Greg that would reflect his tastes while keeping the vintage vibe. This 1977 280z was treated to a ZCG-style mechanical restoration including a new drivetrain, engine bay restoration, total suspension rebuild and more.

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 Drivetrain

 
Greg’s Z received a total engine bay restoration along with upgrades to the driveline for smoother driving and improved torque.  Please visit the gallery below for more pictures documenting the engine bay restoration work, it’s where our efforts shine!

Engine

A fresh 3.1L  engine with new injectors replaced the tired L28:

 
New L31:

    

With the engine/transmission removed we focused our efforts on restoring the engine bay.  Everything was zinc plated or powdercoated.  New parts included brand new injectors, all new fuel system, hoses, fuel filter and all the drive belts.

 

All new hydraulic lines, emissions plumbing and more engine bay clean-up (full re-paint) before/after. More pics in the gallery!

  

Intake manifold cleaned up and powdercoated:

 

An MSA exhaust header was installed:

 

 

At the time we had a 280z 5-speed in our stash but Greg is so particular(we love that) and the unit was gone through by Z car transmission expert Steve Pettersen:

  New clutch/flywheel:

 

With the new engine/transmission even more detail work was performed:

 

MAF/hose/hardware detail:

 

Engine bay restoration, before/after:

Dyno Tuning

 

Rob dyno tuned the rebuilt 3.1L engine making 169hp/179tq to the wheels:

Enjoy L-series music on the dyno!

Suspension

 

Greg wanted a fantastic driver that was worry-free. We replaced all of the hydraulics and front/rear suspension assemblies to match the new driveline.  All suspension was either zinc’d or powdercoated:

  

We installed KYB strut inserts with lowering springs, Suspension Techniques sway bars, Techno Toy Tuning adjustable rear lower control arms, TC rods, and rack bushings, all new wheel bearings and new ball-joints. We do offer a full coil-over setup for track day/performance-oriented customers, and this spring/strut upgrade for those that want a better stance with improved handling without getting beat up.

Suspension refresh with T/C rod and steering rack detail:

     
Rear end with T3 lower control arms in:

 

 

We modified the floor to accommodate Recaro LXF Specialist seats (in leather) to suit Greg’s height while maintaining full seat travel/movemen:

  

New center console, MOMO competition wheel and restored the A/C ensuring it blowed cold (R134A):

  

Details

 

The little things are what we excel at. Exterior items include re-chroming both f/r bumpers and adding Hella H4s with our HID kit. Other interior items include a new tach and making a little seat belt holder clip to work with the Recaros:

 

Please check the gallery below for more detail shots, there are too many to list in this blog post!

Enjoying The Ride

 

With all the attention to detail and upgrades this 280Z can drive comfortably in style with power. Despite common opinion on the 280z, we think it has a wonderful character from that era and when you update similarly as a 240z, they are great sports cars. The majority of our 280z costumers still use their cars as daily drivers (Cece, above).  Greg is super happy with how it came out and he has a smile on his face every time he drives it.  The engine is torquey,  you can stop on a dime and it handles well without riding harshly. Thank you Greg for letting us help build your vision of the ideal 280z.

LONG LIVE THE Z!

***Greg has decided to sell his Z! It is up for auction on Bring a Trailer right now, link HERE***

 

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It really is a small world. When Jim H walked into Z Car Garage and told us about his Series 1 S30 we immediately recognized it from over 12 years ago. Our customer and fellow Datsun roadster owner Peter V. purchased this Z in the early 2000s from Les Cannaday of Classic Datsun Motorsports. We worked on the car until Peter sold it in 2006 and it eventually ended up in the hands of Jim:

“Based on old receipts, I’m at least the seventh owner. At the recent RMMR races at Laguna Seca, Rob introduced me to Les who once owned the Z in the early 2000’s, then sold it to ZCG customer, Peter V. After that, the Z had two owners in Connecticut, one in New Jersey, and one in Michigan.”

Here are pictures from a 2006 Fun Run I organized in San Jose, CA showing the Z driven by former owner Peter V:

 

Before discussing our work on Jim’s Z car we want to share the amazing story leading up to his ownership, enjoy!

Z Car Passion

Jim’s passion for the Z began in 1971 when he was stationed at Fort Carson, CO:

“My roommates both owned early 911’s so I decided to replace my aging and problematic ’68 Firebird. Came across a low-mileage, green ’70 240 sitting in a used-car lot(pictured below). At $4,800 I thought this could be a mistake (remember, back then dealer price was fixed at $3,600). Enjoyed the Z for another 150,000 miles then regrettably sold it in the late 80’s to a local guy. On a side note, Bruce L (the local guy), restored the Z and found a willing buyer. This bit of history was unknown to me until recently when I looked him up. Bruce currently owns an early Z that has had performance upgrades done by Rob and crew. Small world, as they say.”  Thanks Jim for the wonderful photos below!

 

The Best Birthday SurpriZe

With the sale of his 1970 Z, here is how Jim became the owner of the ’71:

“Soon after our daughter Paige was born and before son Grant arrived, I sold the Z to Bruce L. Through the years while the kids were still home, my nostalgic interest in Datsuns remained, but never to the point of owning another one. Son Grant, who just left the US Army (1st Special Forces Group) to pursue his education, spent several years looking for a Z that closely matched the year and color of my original one. He found one in Michigan through Bring-A-Trailer and out-bid the crowd of interested parties. His last minute jump by $2k, effectively ended the auction.”

 

“He says “last minute” because he was set to board a flight; to stay in the auction wouldn’t have been possible once he was airborne. Grant had it shipped to Tacoma, WA and kept it hidden in a storage locker for six months. This past January, my wife Shary and I flew to Tacoma to celebrate a belated Christmas with the kids. The next morning we agreed to meet the kids for breakfast at a favorite local café. In the parking lot sat a green Z. I motioned to my kids (already seated in the café) to join me curbside so that I could point out the similarities to the one I owned 30 plus years ago. After some obsessive minutes of my poring over the car, son Grant declared it was time to eat. Through breakfast, I kept glancing over my shoulder hoping to see who would get into the car. Even the wait staff claimed no knowledge of the owner. Once the table was cleared, Grant placed a single key in front of me. Not thinking anything other than, “oh, you got me a Datsun memento for my keyring,” I took a few moments before declaring….”oh, s__t, you’re kidding me.” He says…. ”Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Dad.” It was only when I placed the key in the ignition and it growled to life, did I realize the enormity and love represented by this gift.”

 

The Journey Begins

We are in the initial stage of an epic build for Jim and his Z with more work scheduled for Fall. Here is what we have performed recently and a taste of what’s to come.

 

Our first order of business…get the Z ready to drive for the summer. We went through the cooling system and fixed several leaks, hoses and replaced the fan clutch.

 

The failed radiator was replaced with a Koyo unit:

 

Outside, the body was treated to our favorite side mirrors, the Nissan OEM #E4600. These units replaced the “bullet” style single driver’s mirror:

 

Jim visited ZCG and drove “Mrs. Butters”,  our 1970 Series 1 240z shop demo car and he was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂

 

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

     

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 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 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 Jim’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit.

 

ZCG Big-brakes replacing stock setup up front:

 

 

At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality retained!

  

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 60 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

 

Stock half shafts and control arms (L):

   

Panasport Wheels

We replaced the old-school Panasports with our favorite, new 16×7 Panasports and Bridgestone’s killer new S-007a tire in 225/50/16:

Enjoying the Ride

With summer driving in the air we prepped Jim’s Z and his son even got to cruise with him. Jim enjoyed driving along the beautiful coast:

“Resto/mod of my ‘71Z began this past June with initial emphasis on mechanical upgrades. Rob Fuller’s suggestion was: ”let’s do this so that the Z remains a work-in-progress but still be available to the owner.” To that end, I’ve been regularly driving the Z after upgrades to the brakes (ZCG BBK 280mm), radiator and fan, suspect hoses and fuel lines, and rear axles (ZCG CV axle set). 16×7 Panasports with 225-50-R16 Bridgestones and OEM mirrors rounded out this first step. This past July, I drove south to Bixby Bridge as sort of a “Big Sur check ride” but then impulsively decided to continue south to Cambria -> Hwy 46 -> Paso Robles -> Hwy 101 -> home. Total trip came to 250 miles with nary an issue, unless you count the 105+ degree temperatures between Paso Robles and Soledad.”

 

We were pleased to see Jim bring his Z to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. He participated in the highly successful Bring-A-Trailer Alumni Gathering held at Turn 3 at Laguna Seca:

 

    

A little video of Jim’s Z:

 

 

Stay Tuned!

“So Rob and crew at Z Car Garage will help me realize a dream that really wasn’t one until Grant decided to surprise me for my 70th birthday. What an incredible present — a highly-desirable Series One Z-car!”

ZCG looks forward to making Jim’s dream a reality. After driving Butters, Jim wants more power and Rob has an old Rebello 3.1L from his stash that will be installed.  A set of triple phh44 Mikuni carbs, Harada intake manifold, Fujitsbo header/exhaust system and much more will follow. Thanks to Jim and his family for believing in Z Car Garage and the power of the Z!

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

  

More pictures in the gallery below

 

Gavin J had been searching for a 240z for about a year and finally acquired this 1972 S30 from our friends at Bring a Trailer. We are big fans of this auction site and like many BaT enthusiasts, Gavin’s experience was an exciting one:

“Curse BaT. It has made hard-to-find, solid cars that much more available and I definitely have a problem (or a passion as I prefer to call it). My “virtual-garage” of must have cars, got one car smaller back in October 17 when I handed my phone to a friend in a London bar and showed them that I’d just been outbid on a 1972 Datsun 240z. 90 seconds later my phone was handed back to me and thanks to some ‘team’ orientated bidding, I was the proud winner of the auction. Lesson learned about bars and auction sites…”

 

Fast forward to March of 2019.  Gavin is based in New York and the Z he had just won sight-unseen is stuck at a shop in Southern California. He reached out to us and Rob eased his pain. ZCG had the Z shipped to us for a full inspection:

“Rob rescued me from a nightmare. I really hadn’t done enough research when I shipped my purchased car to it’s initial location. I reached out to Rob having done a more thorough search and could not have been happier with the whole process. From receipt of the car at Rob’s garage, to the initial inspection, estimates, work and final result, it all exceeded expectations.”

 

The Z right after arriving at the shop:

 

The car was really nice with great bones but many items needed sorting if Gavin was to enjoy it on the open roads here or East Coast. We performed a full inspection and ran a compression test on the engine (it passed) followed by a steam clean to expose any leaks. All of the cooling hoses in the engine bay had to be replaced. The radiator was refreshed/boiled out and pressure tested:

 

All fuel hoses were replaced in engine bay and we performed a full tune-up using the existing SUs and exhaust system to ensure it ran as best as it could. Little things like a new battery hold-down were addressed.

  

The oil pan was seeping so we replaced the gasket:

 

The fuel tank was removed for refurbishment. It was boiled out and new tank straps installed. New vapor hoses were installed as well:

  

The chassis was addressed next. We sorted the clutch hydraulics to ensure smooth operation. The braking system was overhauled with a new brake master cylinder and booster:

 

New OEM front calipers were installed with Stoptech slotted rotors and pads. The rear drums had been serviced but none of the shoes/pieces that move during the braking process were lubed, so we sorted that as well.

Old vs New:

  

We asked Gavin what he liked about the S30:

“I think the car looks good from so many angles. It’s a car that looks great regardless of whether you walk up to it from the front or the rear, the design has aged so well and even though I like perusing some of the tuner results, I am a huge fan of a stock body but maybe with some nicer wheels and a touch lower. Mostly stock then…”

With that ethos in mind we suggested our favorite visual and functional upgrade…16×7 Panasports! These are wrapped in 225/50/16 Bridgestone s007a tires.  Panasport wheels are available for purchase through Z Car Garage.

 

A few more upgrades included halogen headlights, a 280zx alternator (60amp)  with MSA adapter:

 

The ignition was changed from standard points to Pertronix using a Blaster2 coil that we paint to look stock:

Enjoying the Ride

What better way to experience a Z car than the California coastline? Gavin flew from NY to SFO to take his ZCG-prepped 240z on a coastal trip:

 

We were happy to hear that he truly loved driving his Z!

“It’s a testament to the work Rob and his team did, that I drove the car 450 miles over 3 days having picked it up from Rob’s shop and it didn’t skip a beat. The car is now on it’s way to New York State where I will be it’s custodian for a few years and if I ever decide to go to the next level of restoration or modification, it’s heading back to ZCG where I know I can rely on the advice, the experience and the quality of the work.”

 

It was a pleasure working with Gavin and also great to see a new enthusiast in the Z family. His stable includes a ’75 Ferrari 308 GT4, ’67 Porsche 912, ’70 Porsche 911T Targa and 2017 Porsche 911 Targa4. So my fellow Datsun fans, if it’s not the P-car…it’s the Z-car!

Long Live The Z!

More pictures below!