The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) is one of the oldest Z car clubs in the nation. We are proud to be a part of this group and support its members, like former ZONC president Ken C. Ken brought his 1970 S30 to Z Car Garage for a dyno tune and minor sorting. In true do-it-yourself fashion Ken performs most of the work himself, even installing a set of our Z Car Garage CV Axles in his garage.

 

“When I was 19 and in the Air Force I saved up for a Pinto, saved more for a Maverick…then I saw a 240z. I always wanted a 1970 and got this one in 1985. I drove it everywhere including Maine. I do 99% of the work myself with lots of details/upgrades like a huge cooling system (custom shroud) to support the A/C, rebuilt steering rack and all lightning.”

We recall seeing Ken’s Series 1 240z at the ZONC Annual Car Show in Brisbane, CA where he picked up an award for his efforts:

 

You can imagine how honored we were to have Ken let us work on his Z that only he’s allowed to work on. He had built a Rebello 3L with 5-speed/stock clutch and wanted us to do final sorting:

“Rob has always supported ZONC, done good work for its members so I trusted him to help get my Z in shape.  It was running too rich, stumbling and it would die when A/C  was turned on.”

 

Rob dyno tuned the L-series with SUs gaining more hp/tq and eliminating the hesitation Ken reported. The dyno plot shows his old L24 from a ZONC dyno day at the shop vs the current Rebello 3L now making a stout 183hp/191tq at the wheels. Enjoy this dyno video with sweet L-series music:

 

ZCG CV Axles

Z Car Garage is proud to offer a CV axle conversion kit for your Datsun S30 and 510. We have sold over 100 sets of axles, with customers installing and enjoying them on everything from street cars to full-blown IMSA racers. These CV axles will help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. Full details can be found HERE

 

Ken had purchased a set of our ZCG CV Axles and installed them himself.We love to hear from customers that are using our products and he reports that the axles were easy to install and well-engineered. Thanks Ken, and nice work:

“The ZCG CV axles—much smoother happy with less vibrations, best CV axles I’ve ever seen. It took me about 90 minutes to install. Super simple and easy and Rob is of course always supporting his own products with great service.”

 

Please contact the shop or visit our website to order your CV Axles!

 

Time To Enjoy The Ride

 

Ken continues to enjoy driving his Z, to shows or cruises and around town:

 

More inspiration for the Do-it-yourself’er…Ken is also restoring this ’72 S30 back to its stock blue/white in his garage (and kitchen)!

 

Thank you Ken for entrusting your Z to us. Ken is an avid baker and makes his own jerky, we also thank him for the cookies (which he’s known for) and snacks he provided to the ZCG crew. LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

More pictures in the gallery below: …[read more]

 

Z Car Garage is proud to offer a CV axle conversion kit for your Datsun S30 and 510. We have sold over 100 sets of axles globally, with customers installing and enjoying them on everything from street cars to full-blown IMSA racers. These CV axles will help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. Full details below:

 

For years we have used aftermarket CV axles that utilize an aluminum adapter prone to loosening up over time. Despite efforts to keep things tight (Loctite, hardware changes) we had to keep an eye on them. We developed a better solution that eliminates the need for aluminum adapters and remains 100% bolt-in like a factory half-shaft.

  

Designed and manufactured locally with KAD Models, the ZCG CV axle kit works in both R180 and R200 configurations.

 

  

These are the beefiest CV axles on the market. They have been tested on the track by our vintage racing customers and also in high hp* street cars (powershifting, clutch dumps, etc.). Each axle has a serial # for peace of mind:

 

The CV axle kit is available now from ZCG for 1595.00 + freight and they come with everything you need to install on your car. Contact us at 408-452-0350 or send Rob an e-mail rob@zcargarage.com to purchase. Installation is just like doing a half-shaft: there is even a marking that shows you where to line up bolts and special hardware:

 

The ZCG CV Axles in action

The video below demonstrates the “looseness” associated with aftermarket CV axles that use adapters compared to the ZCG axles without adapters. Several customer race/street cars running our CV axles are also shown. Enjoy!

 

S30 and 510s running the ZCG CV axles

 

Randy Jaffe’s #46 BRE Datsun 240z received the very first set of ZCG CV axles: Serial # S30-000240!

 

The Bluebird SSS Coupe and Hakosuka Skyline are both running ZCG CV axles on the race track:

   

Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft is running ZCG axles in several of his cars:

Set #246 – installed May 2018 on the “Harry Stewart #52” Datsun 510:

  

Set #247 – installed April 2018 on the 260z

  

Set #248 – will be installed on Adam Carolla’s “Greg Sorrentino #90” Datsun 510. We are pleased to report that Jim will also be installing a set on his “George Alderman #32” 300ZX! The ZCG CV axles are also perfect for high hp street cars. The following customer cars are all running our CV axles now:

Frank B’s fuel-injected, 6-speed stroker L-series:

  

Gary’s 430whp LS3-powered 280z:

  

Scott W’s EFI stroker L-series:

  

James S’ L28ET:

  

Brian’s 1972 240z:

  

Finally, Gary’s “Behemoth”  OS Giken TC24B1Z powered S30:

Technical Information:

The Z Car Garage axles were designed to help remove much of the backlash aka clunk seen in many older vehicles. Modern technology has given us the ability to create a set of axles to exacting standards. We started with a high quality set of CV joints that were found to be the most consistent in both major and minor spline diameters. We then began to design the axle itself to share the same tight tolerances. We are holding a +/- .01mm diametric tolerance on both the inner and outer spline diameters. This gives us the feeling of direct connection between differential and wheel. The axle shaft major diameter was increased to 30MM to give owners a bit of added comfort in knowing the main shafts are stout. Once the axles are splined they are then heat treated to obtain the desired harness. After heat treat the axles are then nickel plated to add corrosion resistance. The inner and outer flanges are made from 316 stainless steel and mate to the CV joints with tapered alignment surfaces to ensure concentricity is maintained throughout the axle thus reducing vibration. The inner flange attaches to the stock R series differential utilizing the Nissan factory hardware. The outer flange attaches to the driven stub with bolts specifically designed and manufactured for the Z Car Garage axle installation kit. These bolts are manufactured to grade 12.9. All ZCG axles are manufactured locally which helps us maintain the fitment and quality we require.

Materials

Axles : Hardened AISI/SAE 4340 Alloy Steel, 4340 is a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy steel

Drive flanges: 316 stainless steel, Type 316 steel is an austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel

Outer Flange Bolts: Hardened 4140 Alloy Steel , AISI or SAE 4130 grade is a low-alloy steel containing chromium and molybdenum as strengthening agents

 

 

Z Car Garage is proud to offer a CV axle conversion kit for your Datsun S30 and 510. For years we have used aftermarket CV axles that utilize an aluminum adapter prone to loosening up over time. Despite efforts to keep things tight (Loctite, hardware changes) we had to keep an eye on them. We developed a better solution that eliminates the need for aluminum adapters and remains 100% bolt-in like a factory half-shaft.

  

Designed and manufactured locally with KAD Models, the ZCG CV axle kit works in both R180 and R200 configurations.

 

  

These are the beefiest CV axles on the market. They have been tested on the track by our vintage racing customers and also in high hp* street cars (powershifting, clutch dumps, etc.). Each axle has a serial # for peace of mind:

 

The CV axle kit is available now from ZCG for 1595.00 + freight and they come with everything you need to install on your car. Contact us at 408-452-0350 or send Rob an e-mail rob@zcargarage.com to purchase. Installation is just like doing a half-shaft: there is even a marking that shows you where to line up bolts and special hardware:

 

The ZCG CV Axles in action

The video below demonstrates the “looseness” associated with aftermarket CV axles that use adapters compared to the ZCG axles without adapters. Several customer race/street cars running our CV axles are also shown. Enjoy!

 

S30 and 510s running the ZCG CV axles

 

Randy Jaffe’s #46 BRE Datsun 240z received the very first set of ZCG CV axles: Serial # S30-000240!

 

The Bluebird SSS Coupe and Hakosuka Skyline are both running ZCG CV axles on the race track:

   

Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft is running ZCG axles in several of his cars:

Set #246 – installed May 2018 on the “Harry Stewart #52” Datsun 510:

  

Set #247 – installed April 2018 on the 260z

  

Set #248 – will be installed on Adam Carolla’s “Greg Sorrentino #90” Datsun 510. We are pleased to report that Jim will also be installing a set on his “George Alderman #32” 300ZX! The ZCG CV axles are also perfect for high hp street cars. The following customer cars are all running our CV axles now:

Frank B’s fuel-injected, 6-speed stroker L-series:

  

Gary’s 430whp LS3-powered 280z:

  

Scott W’s EFI stroker L-series:

  

James S’ L28ET:

  

Finally, Gary’s “Behemoth”  OS Giken TC24B1Z powered S30:

Technical Information:

The Z Car Garage axles were designed to help remove much of the backlash aka clunk seen in many older vehicles. Modern technology has given us the ability to create a set of axles to exacting standards. We started with a high quality set of CV joints that were found to be the most consistent in both major and minor spline diameters. We then began to design the axle itself to share the same tight tolerances. We are holding a +/- .01mm diametric tolerance on both the inner and outer spline diameters. This gives us the feeling of direct connection between differential and wheel. The axle shaft major diameter was increased to 28MM to give owners a bit of added comfort in knowing the main shafts are stout. Once the axles are splined they are then heat treated to obtain the desired harness. After heat treat the axles are then nickel plated to add corrosion resistance. The inner and outer flanges are made from 316 stainless steel and mate to the CV joints with tapered alignment surfaces to ensure concentricity is maintained throughout the axle thus reducing vibration. The inner flange attaches to the stock R series differential utilizing the Nissan factory hardware. The outer flange attaches to the driven stub with bolts specifically designed and manufactured for the Z Car Garage axle installation kit. These bolts are manufactured to grade 8. All ZCG axles are manufactured locally which helps us maintain the fitment and quality we require.

Materials

Axles : Hardened AISI/SAE 4340 Alloy Steel, 4340 is a nickel-chromium-molybdenum alloy steel

Drive flanges: 316 stainless steel, Type 316 steel is an austenitic chromium-nickel stainless steel

Outer Flange Bolts: Hardened 4140 Alloy Steel , AISI or SAE 4130 grade is a low-alloy steel containing chromium and molybdenum as strengthening agents