Shop Talk for
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Happy Birthday to Joel Anderson who passed away last year. Joel would have been 80 years old today and we miss him dearly. See Joel’s racing career and learn how he helped us enter the world of vintage racing in our tribute HERE
We are really happy to see our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles installed on this Datsun 240Z from Supermachine in Yokohama, Japan.
Supermachine purchased and installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), complete with parking brake. They added a custom touch to the Stoptech calipers too:
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:
Supermachine installed a set of our ZCG CV Axles, including a photo of the factory half shafts for comparison:
Over 150 sets of our ZCG CV Axles are installed in client’s cars all over the world. For more information please visit our detailed post our HERE. Below are just a few examples of race cars running out CV Axles:
Race car driver, restorer and Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou is running our ZCG CV Axles in this IMSA GTU 260z race car!
Racer Brad H is running ZCG CV Axles in his IMSA GTU race car:
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 – installed on Adam Carolla’s “Greg Sorrentino #90” Datsun 510.
Thank you for your support Supermachine! We are proud to be a part of your build with solid parts choices like the Jenvey ITB EFI-fed L28 with Kameari header, Haltech ECU, Sachs coil-overs and Techno Toy Tuning suspension.
Can’t wait for the finished product. You can see more of this build on Instagram. Long Live The Z!
Z cars may remain with their loving owners for years, change ownership or even get spotlighted in the media at some point. Our “where are they now” series features past Z Car Garage vehicles with updates on their status. Kicking it off with our very first foray into the world of online auctions is this 1972 Datsun 240Z known as “Melo Z”.
In 2012 our client and friend Gary S acquired this Z from its original owner, a very enthusiastic lady named Melody. She purchased it brand new from Berkeley Datsun in September ’72 and enjoyed driving, even using it to complete the Bob Bondurant driving school – check out the plaque on the dash. Melody unfortunately had back problems and underwent surgery in 1988 so the Z was put up on jackstands in her garage where it remained until 2012.
Originally Persimmon Red, Melody had it repainted metallic brown in 1975. Despite the color change this Z was remarkably original down factory-stamped chassis bolts, engine bay decals, interior and more. When we got it back to the shop it was clear how well-preserved the car was with 30k miles. Melody provided all records including the Datsun warranty card:
Z Car Garage got the Melo Z running in top form. Gary enjoyed it for a few years but felt it was too nice and unmolested to modify. Around 2015, Bring a Trailer’s online auctions were gaining popularity so we considered listing it. You can view the April 2015 BaT auction for Melo Z here.
We are also proud of our listing virtually starting the trend and setting the bar for future, high-dollar z listings. This comment said it all:
“Every auction listing should come with a video like that. Awesome.”
Indeed, I included multiple high-res pictures in all lighting conditions. Underbody/chassis/rust-prones areas. A driving video both in-car and from outside and cold-starting. I also went to great lengths to answer specific questions about the Z, like showing the lighter and clock functioing:
The 96 auction comments ranged from praise to laughable…look how far the Z audience has come 7 years later on BaT with skyrocketing auction results. Melo Z has come a long way too, now with a well-deserved (and pampered) lifestyle….
Though it dd not sell on BaT, there was a silver lining. A day later Rob got a phone call from founder of Griot’s Garage, Richard Griot. He reached out to Z Car Garage to express how impressed he was with the Z. Rob and Richard made a deal and it went to the right home as Richard sent it to his own Griot’s Motors restoration shop for the next chapter in Melo Z’s journey:
“The car was so original to begin with it was a perfect candidate to put back in its original state…. (Though we did change the interior from white to black, but saved everything in case someone want the white again…”
The team at Griot’s Motors performed a “sympathetic” restoration at their facility. Melo Z’s metallic Brown paint was restored to its original 110 Red Persimmon, and put aside the original white interior for black:
They even maintained Melody’s personalized plaques and stickers earned at Bob Bondurant’s School of High Performance Driving.
Melo Z is truly in good company now. Really glad that Richard Griot is the current owner:
Tune in for another “where are they now” client Z car we are happy to see again!
On Saturday, March 19 the Breakfast Club Rally is hosting another fantastic vintage car rallye in Sonoma, Ca. This time it is only for Japanese cars!
To register and see more details, please visit their website HERE
I have run with this group and it is a total blast, you can see my previous event reports HERE
Z you there!
Before we get into the build details dating back to 2005, let’s hear from David on his recent track day experience.
David is an avid motorsports fan and driver. The Z has seen many track days since the restoration and came out of storage so he visited Z Car Garage for a pre-inspection.
We bled the brakes and made sure everything was ready for the event. He had a great time:
“It was my first time back on the track with the 240z in several years. I went out for half a day with Hagerty Insurance and their affiliation with SCCA’s Track Night in America. The people were great and it was a very “docile” track day with mandatory point-by’s even in the advanced group. It was a great way to knock the rust off after a few years off the track.”
“Rob Fuller prepped the car a few days before and she behaved beautifully. I managed a 1:59 lap but I was lifting a bit going up to turn six because I was afraid of breaking the 90dB sound limit. Of course, Z-Car got a lot of love from the other attendees. :-)”
Enjoy this video of David’s Z in action with in-car and chase footage from Laguna Seca and more:
We met David and his newly acquired Z in 2005. Long before the days of Facebook and Instagram, our mutual friend and Datsun fanatic Tom Dockery referred David to ZCG:
“I’ve been working with Rob since February of 2005 when I purchased my 240z from a guy in Redding. It was a true barn car. He drove it down and Rob inspected it before I bought it. I didn’t know anything about the car except that I wanted something fun to drive with a manual transmission. I’d always thought the 240z was cool because my 5th and 6th grade teacher had one – and she was very cool.”
“The first weekend I had the car it rained really hard and I found out all the seals were useless. There was about a quarter inch of water in the car and mold had already started growing. I took it to Rob, and once the seats were out, and the carpet was out, and the seals were in, Rob suggested the Recaro seats, the roll bar, and harness. It was just about that time I did my first track day in someone else’s car, and I decided I wanted to track the 240z. And that’s when I started what I call the “accidental restoration.”
While we do not have in-progress photos of the restoration, there are many shots of David enjoying the finished restoration. Our man William worked his magic to apply the Nissan 112 Paint (Tennis Ball Green). David recalls his vision for the Z:
“My goal when restoring was to have a track-ready, fun to drive machine that did justice to the original car. My car was originally orange, was red when I purchased it, but I wanted something different. That’s when I went with the tennis ball green color, which was one of the original colors. It was manufactured in October of 1971, so she turned 50 just last fall.”
Full engine bay services included re-plating and powdercoating parts. The L24 was replaced with factory-spec L28 with triple-Mikuni induction. A custom cam was designed by Rob for better top-end performance. The Z put down 167hp/174tq at the wheels on the ZCG dyno:
There’s very little on the car that was left untouched – David took pride in the interior:
“I pretty much went with Rob’s suggestions (pros and cons) and learned while I went along. The gauges were all me. As much as I liked the originals, the were just too dim and difficult to read at night. I replaced them with white-backed Autometer gauges but kept the green backlighting. I also kept the original turn signals and embedded them in the new gauges. I didn’t keep the clock, and the fuel gauge is the carbon fiber reinforced glove box.”
More details like Recaro seats, Roll bar with 5-point harnesses, updated fuse box and high voltage bypass for the steering column, 260z lighted console panel and Sony bluetooth radio. Outside, Euro tail lights with LEDs:
David’s Z was the first one to receive our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes. This was our initial (2008) setup utilizing Stoptech ST-40 calipers and our own brackets. We had extensive track testing with pro-driver David Ray:
James’s also runs this 328mm kit on his turbocharged L-Series beast, Medusa. Not to be confused with our current Z Car Garage Big-Brakes!
We have Enjoyed the Ride with David at many events over the last 17 years. Most recently I got to catch up with him at our New Nissan Z event. His Z still looks amaZing!
Here are few events from years ago with David…some of you might remember attending these too!
2008 ZONC Blackhawk Museum Car Show
2010 and 2011 Palo Alto Concours d’ Elegance – the crowd loved his Z car!
2008 Motoring J Style…remember we had a superb turnout for the caravan starting at Z Car Garage!
2008 and 2011 Silicon Valley Auto Show at the San Jose Convention Center
