We met Bill in 2019 when he came to Z Car Garage on referral from our local Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) club. He’s owned a pretty 1973 Datsun 240Z in Metallic Brown for many years and this 2008 Nissan 350Z Convertible that we also take care of. Let’s hear how Bill got into Z cars…

BILL: “I had a 1977 280Z that I loved and drove to almost 400,000 miles then I wrecked it. After maybe four months without a Z I bought my 240. I was a teacher on the low end of the pay scale so whatever I could afford I put into the 240. Then I was offered a spot in administration and with the new position, a raise. I thought it would be fun to have a new Z to go with the 240 so I ended up buying a 2008 350Z.”

 

Bill had a few criteria for his newest sports car purchase:

“I had never bought a car from a dealership and never anything this new. I had four criteria: (1) It had to be a Z, so I looked at nothing else (2) I wanted a standard (stick) transmission, and this was hard to find (3) I wanted a convertible (4) I wanted the good stereo option for whatever year I bought. Funny thing was it wasn’t the convertible part that was the problem. The main problem was that there were very few stick shifts. I found one… but it was (is) red – bright red. I wanted grey or black, but there were zero available in California at that time. So, I bought a red Nissan 350Z convertible. It is an amazing car. I just wish it were black.”

Keeping Bill on the road

 

BILL: “I was taking the 350 to the dealer since it is 5 minutes away from where I live and ZCG is kind of far. I trusted the 240 with only ZCG but I thought the 350 was newer so the dealer could maintain it until…I ran into a problem with the convertible top that the dealer had no idea how to fix. The top was stuck down – as in it couldn’t close. I called a couple of convertible places in S.F. and they wouldn’t touch it because of the “kind of system” that Nissan used. ZCG not only was the only place willing to even look at it. They fixed it and it has worked ever since.”

 

ROB:  “Bill brought his Z to us back in 2022. The convertible top had an issue where it wouldn’t lock. We were able to replace the lock assembly and get it operational without the costly dealership replacement of entire thing. We also replaced the T/C Rod bushings, LCA bushings, installed Whiteline diff bushings ( a common failure on Z33s)”

     

Full 60k mile services performed with a new radiator replacement:

 

Bill was pleased with the work done by Z Car Garage:

“The 350 is SO MUCH FUN to drive! ZCG fixed the top but they also did bushings that changed the handling. They have also done general maintenance. At this point I only trust ZCG to look at it.”

 

Thanks for your support Bill, Long Live YOUR Z’s!

 

More 370z reports on the way! Greg J is a new customer at ZCG and visited ZCG for Stillen Gen 3 intakes, Bassani exhaust and an UPREV tune on his Z34 Roadster.

 

Stock vs Bassani exhaust:

 

Stillen Gen 3 intakes:

   

The VQ responded well to the bolt-on mods with gains of 24hp/11tq to for a total of 307hp/248tq to the wheels:

 

Next up for Greg is suspension, wheels and brakes so stay tuned!

 

Alfredo D is a new customer that met us on the ZONC Canepa Design fun run in 2013. After visiting Z Car Garage he wanted to improve the fun factor on his Z33 roadster with bolt-ons. We gave him the ZCG essentials: Bassani exhaust, JWT POP charger, Eibach springs and control arms.

We know the OEM exhaust system on a 350z is mellifluous…few can mistake that undeniable VQ-burble. Why not accentuate that sound and gain a few hp in the process? The Bassani cat-back exhaust system is one of the best no-compromise setups available!

  

The JWT intake helps with breathing and gives a nice growl under throttle:

 

Firming up the Z’s handling are Eibach springs and SPC adjustable control arms. Full alignment follows.

 

 

Enjoy the new sound as you carve through the twisties Alfredo!

Gary M came to ZCG to have Stillen intakes installed and an UPREV tune to maximize the benefits of the new breathing mods. His G37 Convertible already had a custom exhaust installed so here is the baseline with mild gains from the Stillen Gen3 intakes alone for a total of 294hp/244tq to the wheels:

Rob’s UPREV tuning yielded +8hp/9tq to the wheels for a total of 304hp/253tq. On the dyno note the improvements from low rpm all the way to redline:

Just another example of how UPREV tuning can optimize your bolt-on power mods!

A long time ago in a city close to the bay a guy named John loved this Z.
Back then John was a 16 year-old teenager and he had a dream of merging the sexiness of a Z body with the feeling of wind in his hair. After finishing high school and college the Z had become a constant in John’s life. Sometime in the late 80’s he met Darrell from Darrell’s Datsuns where the transformation from hardtop coupe to droptop convertible was made. Darrell Riley built Zs for a living until he was in his 70s! That’s die-hard Datsun.

When Darrell’s closed down in 2004 ZCG bought some of his equipment and with it lots of cool Datsun memories.
Meet John’s topless Z…After having the Z cherried out he put it away to preserve its condition. Now in his mid forties…It was time to relive memories and that feeling you get when you bring one of your favorite things back to life.

After some online searching…John was directed by Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) to ZCG. We looked over the Z and made a plan of attack including a full Rebello engine build using the existing L24. It was very important to John that the original block be used and not look over the top. Besides triple carbs and a few more performance items under the hood it will look like the trusty L24…with 2.8L of Nissan L-series power!

It is interesting to see how the body is modified to achieve drop-top status…all of the trim pieces and interior bits are removed in preparation for paint:

Off to Williams for sand blasting and then paint!

You can see more photos of the take down in the gallery:
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