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 this pretty 1973 Datsun 240Z in Brown Metallic (code 114) for many years and had a list of small things that he always wanted to address. Before we cover the cosmetic and mechanical work we performed let’s hear how Bill got into Z cars…

Bill’s Z Story

 

“When I was about 10, my sister and her husband bought a 1979 280ZX. (They still have it but it currently doesn’t run.) I loved it. I always wanted a Jaguar E type and the Z has a similar shape. As soon as I could afford one, I got a used 1977 280Z and drove it to almost 400,000 miles when I finally wrecked it. I went a couple of months without a Z when a friend told me about a 240 he saw for sale. The owner was a teacher and so am I so of the 3 bidders I got it.”

 

“Then a few years later I went into administration and with the 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. I have had two Zs ever since. The 350 is definitely more capable and is very fun to drive, but I still think the 240 looks better. A really fun part of owning the 240 is taking it to car shows. I get a lot of people saying things like, “I owned a car just like this.” It seems to bring back a lot of memories for many people. Everybody loves the Z!”

Keeping Bill On The Road

 

When Bill came to Z Car Garage in 2019 we re-chromed his rear bumper, zinc plated various hardware, removed smog equipment and cleaned up the engine bay. A failing oil spray bar was replaced and we added ZCG exhaust, header and Z Therapy carb set.

Re-chromed rear bumper:

 
Zinc’d hardware:

 

New exhaust header and SU carb set from Therapy:

 

In 2022 we did more work to Bill’s awesome ’73. We replaced the radiator with a Koyo race unit, installed a Rebello street cam, adjustable T/C rods from T3 followed by alignment services in-house. We also replaced the speedometer seal rings and oil pan gasket. More detailed photos in the gallery below!
New camshaft installation:

  

Adjustable T/C rod before/after:

 

Koyo Race radiator before/after:

 

Dyno Tuning

On the dyno the L24 made 137hp/138tq to the wheels:

 

Enjoy the dyno video!

 

Details

We took care of a few more items like weatherstripping and added a set of Holley retro headlights:

 

Enjoy The Ride

 

We have been taking care of Bill’s 240Z and enjoy working with him:

“ZCG does the highest quality work. They are very knowledgeable, honest and you can tell they really love Zs. It’s like they are working on their own car when they look at a customer’s car! It really feels like a new car. It needed a camshaft and some other parts and they did it perfectly. I love driving that car!”

We also take care of Bill’s 2008 Nissan 350Z convertible, to be featured on zcarblog.com soon!

 

What’s in store Bill’s 240Z? He’s always wanted a rally clock since seeing one at a car show 10+ years ago.  Also in the near future he wants to do a drum brakes to disc brakes conversion. Keep Enjoying the Ride Bill, thanks for your support and Long Live The Z!

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Tony K sent us a few photos of his 1972 Datsun 240Z on a gorgeous Sacramento evening. This Z has a long history with Z Car Garage having received upgrades like a 3L with triple-Mikuni ph44s, 280Zx 5-speed transmission, suspension refresh, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles and Z Car Garage Heat Shield. You can read all about it HERE.

 

Here is another great Datsun family story that Z Car Garage is proud to be a part of.  John B’s mother actually bought this 240z brand new! The Z has been in their family ever since and eventually John became the owner. Unfortunately it had been sitting for a long time as the family changed residences and needed lots of work. ZCG to the rescue! We restored the brakes and suspension which were badly corroded/seized:

The front end was treated to new rotors and turned drums, new calipers and T/C rods from Techno Toy Tuning (3T). 3T is a company that helps keep vintage Japanese cars on the road by creating sweet suspension/chassis pieces. We love their products and continue to use them as seen on Grant’s 240z. Here are the old vs new calipers finished in black:

The hard, brittle tires and groovy slotted mags were replaced with fresh Bridgestone rubber and 16×7 Panasports. These are the “new” style Panasport castings with a brilliant anodized lip:

It is amazing what a little cleaning and some Panasports can do 🙂

Underhood, the engine had a severe exhaust leak. Actually, the entire exhaust system was badly rusted…

A full ZCG exhaust system from the MSA 6-2-1 header back to our trademark slash cut tip:

More engine bay work…the gnarly carbs were fully refurbished and dialed-in. We de-smogged the engine, restored the radiator, replaced the water pump and coolant by pass hoses:

Water pump:

More deteriorated rubber found in the fuel system:

A final touch we are proud of is the refinished cowl piece. ZCG  powdercoats it a matte-black finish that looks fantastic:

Dyno tuning produced a robust 140hp/152tq to the wheels:

With the engine bay in tip top shape John is ready to hit the road in this family heirloom Z!

 

Grant S is a longtime customer and Datsun enthusiast owning both a Datsun 510 and this superb 240z. We love that he comes from a Nissan family where his Dad even rocks a 350z! The 240z had a failed half-shaft so instead of replacing the old u-jointed parts we turned to Troy of Ermish Racing for a complete CV axle kit upgrade:

Here is a before/after of the old half shafts compared to the new CV axles from Troy:

 

Grant’s Z also experienced a sway bar failure where the end link pulled itself thru the rear lower control arm. The solution: new fully adjustable rear lower controls arms from Techno Toy Tuning (3T). 3T is a company that helps keep vintage Japanese cars on the road by creating a myriad of sweet suspension/chassis pieces. Here are the beautiful control arms and end link detail:

 

The S30 rear suspension is not adjustable and that’s what makes these 3T parts so attractive. Besides being over-engineered, these control arms allow for full camber/toe adjustment!

It is great to see companies that continue to support our Datsuns to keep them running so thanks Troy and Techno Toy Tuning. The combination of new control arms and CV axles equals a new level of smoothness you can feel!

 

Z-car owners will go to extraordinary lengths to ensure their cars stay on the road and not in the driveway. Scott W bought this blue (below) 240z from Terry H, and Z Car Garage made extensive upgrades to it. At the heart of this Z was a 3.0L stroker with triple Mikunis and a host of supporting goodies.

Unfortunately for Scott his Z got wrecked. With all of the work put into the engine the best solution was to find the proper donor Z chassis.  Stars aligned and Scott found the perfect donor to host his drivetrain: Rob J’s beautiful S30 (Rob’s story later). Let the heart transplant begin!

From L to R:  Scott’s old Z with the 3.0L in place, wrecked chassis and 3.0L extracted:

The engine bay on the donor car had been painted black so we took this opportunity to paint it body color and perform general tidying. As usual William’s worked his magic to match the dark metallic blue body color.

 

New hydraulic lines/plumbing and wiring harness cleanup make this engine bay pop

 

We treated the engine to several upgrades including an MSA 6-into-1 exhaust header, new intake manifold with rebuilt Mikunis, JWT HD clutch/flywheel, Koyo aluminum radiator and of course what every triple-carbed L-series needs: a ZCG heat sheild!

 

 

The stroker motor produced good power with 235hp/217tq to the wheels!

 

The new body is definitely worthy of this drivetrain. Bye-bye dirt and grime…

 

Scott’s Z also got the ZCG HID kit. We performed this mod on Gary R’s 280z restoration with great results: stock appearance during the day with HID brilliance at night:

 

Scott is now Enjoying The Ride with a familiar heart behind the steering wheel of one very pretty S30!

Check out more pictures in the gallery!
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