We met Vince M in 2019 when he was looking for a shop to take care of his 1972 Datsun 240Z. Vince’s goal for this Persimmon Red (#110) S30 was to have a reliable weekend driver and replace the cracked dashboard he grew tired of looking at. We installed a new dash from Vintage Dashes, sorted all ducting and installed new Z Therapy SU carbs.

 

Z Car Garage specializes in restoring and maintaining the S30 Z car. We love stock examples like Vince’s just as much as modified cars. Vince contacted us and patiently waited in the queue to get his Z at the shop:

“Searching online for someone that I could trust to repair my Z, I came upon rave reviews from other owners of Rob at Z Car Garage and reached out to him. Rob asked that I email him pictures of my car, particularly the engine compartment, to determine if he could help me, and within 5 minutes, Rob called me back. I immediately recognized that I found someone who not only supremely understands Datsuns, but also shared my enthusiasm and passion for keeping my Z on the road.”

 

Z History

Vince’s Z Journey began when he first started driving in 1974:

“Our High School P.E. teacher doubled as our driving instructor, and while we were learning to drive Dodge Monaco Sedans, his daily driver was a 112 Yellow (Lime) ‘73 240z. I asked him what he thought of his car, and he responded: “It’s the best car I have ever owned.” That’s all I needed to hear, and soon found myself at the local Datsun dealership in Millbrae California. There on the lot was a ‘72 240z, 4-speed, white on red, with only 33,000 miles on the clock. The dealer reluctantly took me out for a test drive and this 15-year-old was forever hooked. Great styling, smooth power delivery, a flawless gearbox and only two seats, which thankfully guaranteed that my car would NOT be chosen to endlessly cruise with my buddies on Friday’s and Saturday’s, usually ending with an interior filled with spilled drinks and food.”

 

Vince has since owned 300 different cars, but there has always been a Z in his life. His current Z is a ‘72 240z, 4-speed, 110 Persimmon Red, white interior, acquired 5 years ago, with a California only history. The car had a cracked dash with a glued-on cover, a clock that did not work  and original carburetors that badly bogged down while accelerating. It was time to get Vince back on the road.

New Dashboard

 

We removed the old dash assembly and performed clean-up work in preparation for the new Vintage Dashes unit. More pictures of the process in the photo gallery!

   

The heater box was refurbished with new heat/defrost vents, gaskets and all HVAC cable controls were lubed:

 

Ducting and completed heater going back in:

 

Since the dash was out we had access to the heater core which got pressure tested and serviced. All coolant hoses under the dash and in engine bay were replaced:

 

 

Every single bolt was replaced in the dash and the gauges refreshed. The clock was replaced and functions perfectly.

 

The completed Vintage Dashes dashboard and assembly ready to go back into Vince’s Z:

Dash install complete:

Vince is really happy with the new dash installation:

“As for my dash, I had several options but settled on a newly manufactured replacement dash from Vintage Dashes, minimizing downtime, and allowing me to keep my old dash in case I wanted to restore it. I trusted ZCG to take apart my entire dash and EVERYTHING connected to it. The result is a dash that looks like new (because it is) and everything connected to it working properly, including the clock, which by the way keeps excellent time.”

 

Engine Bay

 

A new set of SU carbs from Z-Therapy were installed along with all new fuel hoses and fuel filter:

 

Enjoy the Ride!

Vince is a great guy and a great Z car owner. He made this video showing his Z after the work ZCG performed, enjoy!

We love making our clients happy:

“My goal for this car was quite simple, I wanted a 1970’s time machine that I can use as a weekend driver, with the operative word being “use”, because in my humble opinion, Z’s are meant to be driven. Except for the carbs, the car was mechanically sound, but I wanted it to run like it should. I was also tired of looking at the dash cap, and wanted to have everything in working order, like it did in the 70’s, including the clock…”

“…In fact, everything works and runs so flawlessly, my car with 92,000 miles runs better than the 3-year- old Z I drove off the dealer lot back in 1974, a testament to Rob and ZCG. It feels good to be back in the 70’s, even if only on weekends. Thanks Rob, and long live the Z.”

Thank you for your support Vince, and yes, LONG LIVE THE Z!

…[read more]

 

 

It really makes our day to see a client still enjoying their Z years later after visiting Z Car Garage. Last weekend we saw Michael D’s 1972 Datsun 240Z at the 34th Annual Z Car Convention (ZCON) in Colorado Springs, and it reminded us how we’ve worked with him since 2007. Let’s take a closer look at this Nissan RB25DET-powered S30 featuring our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, full suspension and Panasport C8 wheels.

Photo: Bryan Delohery

 

Go Green Inspiration

 

In 2005, Rob Fuller performed an RB25DET engine swap into his 1970 240Z, affectionately named Go Georgia Z (GO GA Z = Go Green Georgia Z). The RB is a turbocharged inline-6 engine from the Nissan Skyline (R33) GTS-T in Japan, requiring new drivetrain mounts and supporting modifications to work in the S30 chassis. Once completed, Rob drove his Z all over California, attending several long distance car shows like Motorsport Auto in SoCal and the All-Datsun Meet at Mt. Shasta.

 

 

Rob’s RB-swapped Go Green Z gained notoriety and around 2007 is where our relationship with Michael began. He wanted ZCG to do an RB25DET swap similar to Rob’s in to his super clean ’72 240Z:

Photo: Bryan Delohery

 

As we know it’s always been tough to keep up with demand at ZCG. Mike is a great guy and kept offering us his business but Rob wasn’t ready to take on the project. Instead, we focused on preparing his car to handle the RB swap. Driveline upgrades included a ZCG-prepped 4.38 R180 LSD (since replaced with R200 3.55 Quaife LSD), restored hydraulic/brake lines and our ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles.

 

After the RB swap was completed in 2013 at another shop, Michael returned to Z Car Garage to sort a few more items. We did not like how the fuel system wasso it was redone by us. We also sold him our custom ZCG (Z31) motor mounts and tunnel bracket reposition for the OEM RB25 OEM transmission.

 

A few specs on Michael’s current setup: RB25DET rebuilt with RB26/Neo/N1 parts, BorgWarner EFR 7670 turbo, GTR coil set, Bocsh 1000cc injectors, TIAL 50mm BOV, McKinney Pan and Radiator, Wiring Specialites Harness and a LINK Ngtr+ EMS. With 525whp/480ft-lbs, the suspension and brakes were upgraded. We installed a full Ground Control coil-over suspension (remember this was in 2008) and Michael reports great performance still:

“In regards to the performance of the suspension upgrades, coil-overs, Tokico struts/shocks I was considering T3 and Arizona Z control arm suspension replacements. My suspension performs so well with the stock A-frames etc that it didn’t make any sense to change them. I would add, without spoilers my 240z stays very grounded at 130 mph and I know what I am talking about after having owned a ’14 R35 GTR for 7 years.”

 

Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and CV Axles

 

To cope with the power of the RB25DET, Michael has our ZCG Big-Brake kit. Not to be confused with our current Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), this Big-Brake kit was our initial setup from over a decade ago. This 328mm sized kit requires 17″ diameter wheels and the massive ST-42 calipers are finished in bright red. We actually did all the R&D in-house for this setup…using a 280ZX master cylinder and our own mounting brackets.

 

Since it was in its infancy we did not market or sell this BBK to the public, installing it only our clients vehicles. There are about 20 sets of these early, 328mm BBKs on client Z cars like James’ Turbocharged L-Series 240Z, Scott’s 260z, Gary’s Datsunworks-Powered 240Z and Lou’s RHD FairladyZ:

 

Panasport Wheels

 

Michael also got a set of our custom Panasport Racing C8 wheels. These 3 piece, 17×9 wheels allowed fitment of a 255/40/17 tire under stock fender flares.

 

When ZCG was starting to build a series of RB-powered S30s, Rob brought in a pallet of C8 wheels destined for the builds. Michael wanted a set so we hooked him up with a silver spoke finish. They look great on his Z:

 

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

  

We built Michael a set of CV Axles, shown below:

 

Interior

 

Michael is proud of the interior on the Z, keeping it aesthetically close to stock with updated materials and comfort in mind. A Restomod A/C unit keeps things cool. A very special thanks to Luis at Vargas Auto Upholstery:

“Sewed in centers of original seats, Auto Meter digital speedo and tach to modified to look original in original housings, the dash which is impossible was done with requirement to minimize stitches and never cross a stitch, stereo housing was built to match the faceplate of original, has remote electric windows and locks, power steering, hands free phone, android auto for maps, and seats that hold you in while providing comfort for 8+ hour drives.”

  

Enjoying the Ride

 

Michael contacted Rob in 2003, just after he purchased his 60k-orignal mile 1972 Z to get the upgrades started. He’s driven it since 2004. Here is what it looked like when he picked it up, and a current photo:

Michael’s goal for the build, aptly named “TRBUTEZ”…

“It is called TRBUTEZ.: A tribute (act, statement, or gift that is intended to show gratitude, respect, or admiration) to the many under $3k  starving student Z’s I owned that carried me through life with unconditional loyalty, performance, and dependable reliability. This one is for you. Thank you!  My goal is to upgrade the build of the car for an even better personal experience while maintaining the respect this car deserves through preservation of every original detail possible.”

 

We were stoked to see Michael and his Z at the ZCON event on Colorado Springs. After all these years he’s still Enjoying The Ride!

 

When you think it couldn’t get better…he won (4) awards!

Thank you to ZCON organizer Christopher Karl and Meghan Fuller for the show photos! More in the gallery below.

 

 

…[read more]

 

Road & Track magazine just published an article about the Datsunworks KN20 cylinder head! You can view it HERE. It is a great read with interviews from founder Datsunworks founder Derek Minetti and Z Car Garage owner Rob Fuller:

 

The article provides origins of KN20 as we as technical information. Z Car Garage is excited to collaborate with Datsunworks as we build and test more KN20-powered Z cars. To see and hear the KN20 in action visit our previous post HERE

 

  

 

The ZONC Annual Car Show will be held Sunday September 12 in Brisbane, CA. This a fun event in a great location so bring out your Z, G, Datsun or GT-R! Pictures from previous shows can be seen HERE with more details below. Z you at the show!