We are excited to sponsor and be a part of the 2019 Japanese Classic Car Show Saturday 9/21 in Long Beach. This is the most important show for Japanese cars, and the Z Car Garage crew keeps coming back every year to soak up the sun, see old friends and drool over some spectacular vintage builds.
See Mr. K’s Datsun 240z in the Z Car Garage Booth!
Our latest project car is Mr. K’s 1972 Datsun 240z and it will be displayed in our booth! Yutaka Katayama (affectionately known as “Mr. K”) put Datsun on the map while serving as President of Nissan Motors USA.
This Z was Mr. K’s personal car, with touches like the “G-Nose”, custom mix Yellow Pearl Paint, wire wheels and automatic transmission. It was most prominently featured in Nissan’s multi-million dollar Datsun Heritage advertising campaign in the late 90’s. Check it out in this Super Bowl Ad – “The Dream Garage” lead a series of T.V. commercials featuring Mr. K (played by an actor):
In 1977 Mr. K retired and before returning to Japan he gave the Z to his long time Administrative Assistant, Johnnie Gable and her son Kenny Ueda, both will be attending JCCS.
We were honored to have this national treasure at the shop and get it back on the road. Full report soon. If you listen closely, you can almost hear it whisper the words of Mr. K’s simple philosophy, “Love cars. Love people. Love life.”
ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles on Display!
Please visit our booth to see and feel our Big-Brake kit for small wheels, and CV Axles. We will be available to answer any questions and if you are interested in purchasing a set of CVs please contact Rob at the shop. Keen eyes will notice that our latest Big-Brake offering will be displayed fitted behind a 14″ Panasport wheel! As usual we will have free ZCG swag and merchandise on hand.
ZCG Customers
We are also very proud of ZCG customer James S’ 1972 240z. He will be driving his Turbocharged L-series S30 down to JCCS and displaying it with fellow owners.
JCCS is an amazing show that gets better with each year. We are thankful to organizers for having us again in 2019. The show takes place from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm in Marina Green Park. Catch a glimpse of what JCCS is all about in our report Last year’s show. Z you there!
We had the pleasure of working with Dirk to help achieve his vision of a Z car that can perform and be daily driven. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles grace this Z with a host of chassis and driveline upgrades. Here is a background on how his Datsun passion started before visiting ZCG.
Datsun 510 and Z car love
Dirk bought his first Datsun in 2014, a 1970 510, to learn how to work on cars himself. After learning more about the history of Datsun, and the significance of both the 510 and the 240Z in establishing Japanese cars in the American market, he knew he had to own a Z as well.
A year later, the right Z showed up on eBay in Texas, a 1973 silver gray one. Nice to look at, mostly stock, but not so nice that it’d feel bad to drive and streetpark. And after pouring over the photos and talking to the seller, Dirk bought the car sight unseen. The idea was to have a nice Z to enjoy and drive, while continuing to work on the (sometimes not) rolling restoration of his 510. The car was lovingly restored by a dad and his children and in mostly stock condition.
The tires were a bit old, so some sticky Bridgestone tires were acquired, which revealed the suspension as the next weak spot. T3 coilovers were installed, and the next weak spot was the open differential which Dirk broke driving the car around a hairpin on Page Mill Rd. He bought a limited slip diff from a late-model Subaru, modified it to fit and kept driving the car. The original plan had gone awry, and the Z was both driven and worked on a lot more than the poor little 510.
After many more tweaks, different induction setups, spring rate changes, rebuilt stock brakes, and 24K miles of driving including a few track days, Dirk’s Z was inching closer and closer to his vision.
“After installing a Datsun Spirit STR-3 engine with a set of Nismo Mikuni PHH44 carburetors, the biggest weak spots left were the rest of the drivetrain (especially the stock 4-speed transmission, but the Subaru diff had also developed some bearing issues), the stock brakes, and of course the loose nut behind the wheel – but sadly that last component typically takes too much money and time to modify thoroughly.”
After comparing the Z to his Subaru BRZ on the track, it was clear the Z was better at everything except for shifting gears. Since his engine made a healthy amount of torque, but not enough to warrant a CD009 (350z) transmission, Dirk kept looking for alternatives. He also wanted something with slightly closer gear ratios to better suit the engine’s power band. An S15 Silvia 6-speed seemed like the perfect fit. It had almost exactly the same weight and dimensions as the original box, nice close gears (in fact identical to those of his Subaru), and Dirk found a HybridZ member who would modify the bell housing for him to make the box fit an L-series engine.
S15 6-speed transmission
Through mutual friend Brian K, Dirk got connected with Rob at Z Car Garage and they immediately hit it off:
“After I bought and installed a set of their amazingly well-built CV axles, it was clear to me that ZCG’s reputation for high-quality work was very well-deserved. If I didn’t get the chance to work through the project myself, this is who he wanted to do it for me. I was excited to work with ZCG to take a few ideas over the finish line.”
We fabbed a transmission mount installed the 6-speed unit:
When we got to the clutch of the Datsun Spirit 3L we noticed that the rear wick seals were leaking from at the back of the last main cap. The wick seals were removed and replaced properly:
“The S15 transmission fit surprisingly well. ZCG built a custom crossmember to locate it, and the shifter lined up almost perfectly. No transmission tunnel mods were necessary. The modern shifter did stick out like a sore thumb in the otherwise period interior, so ZCG went to town on it and built Dirk a custom shifter that would look stock, and that works with the Datsun competition shift knob. A small 6-speed shift pattern sticker modeled after the one used in the Silvia is the only clue there’s something different going on under this car. And of course the driving experience.”
Making the S15 shifter look factory, we are happy with the result and Dirk’s subtle shift pattern sticker:
The Datsun Comp shift knob complements the steering wheel:
Engine Bay and Sorting
After a good long chat, a baseline dyno run, a drive, and going over the various odds and ends in the car that were on Dirk’s wishlist besides the 6-speed project, Rob become a great collaborator in further refining Dirk’s vision for the car.
“We actively talked about my goals, and Rob shared his opinion on how to best achieve it, and really talked through the pros and cons of various options. Along the way, Rob was able to source some really choice parts to take the car to the next level.”
Before
A beautiful competition oil pan was installed to maximize ground clearance, and a new custom-built PCV system helped mitigate oil fumes. ZCG also deleted Dirk’s aftermarket A/C system that never worked correctly, renewed all fuel lines, tested the fuel tank, and recreated the expansion tank setup that was deleted by a previous owner.
Rob and Dirk were not crazy about the Arizona Z Car oil pan. It was removed and replaced with DP Nismo comp pan from Rob’s parts stash:
Chassis and Driveline Upgrades
Together we found a balance between taking the car a major leap forward, while also leaving a few major areas untouched for a future revision, to keep the budget under control and get the car ready to enjoy for the summer.
“We landed on a ZCG-built 4.11 OS Giken limited slip differential, a custom aluminum driveshaft, a Fidanza Aluminum flywheel and a Jim Wolf Technologies clutch to round out the drivetrain project, and the entire drivetrain works together beautifully as a perfect package. The car is quick out of the corners, there’s no longer a need to go down to first gear on Page Mill Road, and it still has long enough legs to be quiet and comfortable on the freeway.”
We changed the final drive, installing a R180 4.11 OSG LSD built in in-house:
The clutch hydraulics were replaced to work with new alumimum flywheel/JWT HD clutch combo:
Dirk had a GPS speedometer setup from SpeedHut that we helped setup and read accurately:
Dyno Tuning
Rob massaged the Nismo Mikuni carbs, and after a dyno tuning session, unlocked an additional 30 whp from the car over the baseline run and the car is now putting down a healthy 200hp/200tq at the wheels.
Enjoy the dyno video and L-series music!
“To make sure the car was ready for the track with almost twice the power at the wheels over a stock 240Z, ZCG also installed their big brake kit, which has improved front to rear braking balance significantly over the stock setup, where the rear drums feel great for a week after adjusting, and then become mostly ornamental. The brakes feel a lot more reassuring, while remaining easy to modulate, and thankfully without being overly grabby, the car is still incredibly easy to heel and toe. As an added bonus, it’s really nice to have a handbrake that will hold hills with ease.”
ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles
Dirk visited ZCG and drove “Mrs. Butters”, our 1970 Series 1 240z shop demo car and he was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂 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:
At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality retained!
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 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
Also visible on Dirk’s Z are the excellent adjustable lower control arms from Techno Toy Tuning.
The Z got a full alignment, though tackling the suspension setup is on future list of projects:
Enjoying the Ride
Dirk continues to enjoy his Z which is now equally at home on the street and track. We enjoyed working you Dirk and it was rewarding to help you improve your Z.
Enjoy these pictures of Dirk Enjoying The Ride and of course more photo documentation of our work in the gallery below. LONG LIVE THE Z!
It really is a small world. When Jim H walked into Z Car Garage and told us about his Series 1 S30 we immediately recognized it from over 12 years ago. Our customer and fellow Datsun roadster owner Peter V. purchased this Z in the early 2000s from Les Cannaday of Classic Datsun Motorsports. We worked on the car until Peter sold it in 2006 and it eventually ended up in the hands of Jim:
“Based on old receipts, I’m at least the seventh owner. At the recent RMMR races at Laguna Seca, Rob introduced me to Les who once owned the Z in the early 2000’s, then sold it to ZCG customer, Peter V. After that, the Z had two owners in Connecticut, one in New Jersey, and one in Michigan.”
Here are pictures from a 2006 Fun Run I organized in San Jose, CA showing the Z driven by former owner Peter V:
Before discussing our work on Jim’s Z car we want to share the amazing story leading up to his ownership, enjoy!
Z Car Passion
Jim’s passion for the Z began in 1971 when he was stationed at Fort Carson, CO:
“My roommates both owned early 911’s so I decided to replace my aging and problematic ’68 Firebird. Came across a low-mileage, green ’70 240 sitting in a used-car lot(pictured below). At $4,800 I thought this could be a mistake (remember, back then dealer price was fixed at $3,600). Enjoyed the Z for another 150,000 miles then regrettably sold it in the late 80’s to a local guy. On a side note, Bruce L (the local guy), restored the Z and found a willing buyer. This bit of history was unknown to me until recently when I looked him up. Bruce currently owns an early Z that has had performance upgrades done by Rob and crew. Small world, as they say.” Thanks Jim for the wonderful photos below!
The Best Birthday SurpriZe
With the sale of his 1970 Z, here is how Jim became the owner of the ’71:
“Soon after our daughter Paige was born and before son Grant arrived, I sold the Z to Bruce L. Through the years while the kids were still home, my nostalgic interest in Datsuns remained, but never to the point of owning another one. Son Grant, who just left the US Army (1st Special Forces Group) to pursue his education, spent several years looking for a Z that closely matched the year and color of my original one. He found one in Michigan through Bring-A-Trailer and out-bid the crowd of interested parties. His last minute jump by $2k, effectively ended the auction.”
“He says “last minute” because he was set to board a flight; to stay in the auction wouldn’t have been possible once he was airborne. Grant had it shipped to Tacoma, WA and kept it hidden in a storage locker for six months. This past January, my wife Shary and I flew to Tacoma to celebrate a belated Christmas with the kids. The next morning we agreed to meet the kids for breakfast at a favorite local café. In the parking lot sat a green Z. I motioned to my kids (already seated in the café) to join me curbside so that I could point out the similarities to the one I owned 30 plus years ago. After some obsessive minutes of my poring over the car, son Grant declared it was time to eat. Through breakfast, I kept glancing over my shoulder hoping to see who would get into the car. Even the wait staff claimed no knowledge of the owner. Once the table was cleared, Grant placed a single key in front of me. Not thinking anything other than, “oh, you got me a Datsun memento for my keyring,” I took a few moments before declaring….”oh, s__t, you’re kidding me.” He says…. ”Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Dad.” It was only when I placed the key in the ignition and it growled to life, did I realize the enormity and love represented by this gift.”
The Journey Begins
We are in the initial stage of an epic build for Jim and his Z with more work scheduled for Fall. Here is what we have performed recently and a taste of what’s to come.
Our first order of business…get the Z ready to drive for the summer. We went through the cooling system and fixed several leaks, hoses and replaced the fan clutch.
The failed radiator was replaced with a Koyo unit:
Outside, the body was treated to our favorite side mirrors, the Nissan OEM #E4600. These units replaced the “bullet” style single driver’s mirror:
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:
At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality retained!
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 60 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
Stock half shafts and control arms (L):
Panasport Wheels
We replaced the old-school Panasports with our favorite, new 16×7 Panasports and Bridgestone’s killer new S-007a tire in 225/50/16:
Enjoying the Ride
With summer driving in the air we prepped Jim’s Z and his son even got to cruise with him. Jim enjoyed driving along the beautiful coast:
“Resto/mod of my ‘71Z began this past June with initial emphasis on mechanical upgrades. Rob Fuller’s suggestion was: ”let’s do this so that the Z remains a work-in-progress but still be available to the owner.” To that end, I’ve been regularly driving the Z after upgrades to the brakes (ZCG BBK 280mm), radiator and fan, suspect hoses and fuel lines, and rear axles (ZCG CV axle set). 16×7 Panasports with 225-50-R16 Bridgestones and OEM mirrors rounded out this first step. This past July, I drove south to Bixby Bridge as sort of a “Big Sur check ride” but then impulsively decided to continue south to Cambria -> Hwy 46 -> Paso Robles -> Hwy 101 -> home. Total trip came to 250 miles with nary an issue, unless you count the 105+ degree temperatures between Paso Robles and Soledad.”
We were pleased to see Jim bring his Z to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. He participated in the highly successful Bring-A-Trailer Alumni Gathering held at Turn 3 at Laguna Seca:
A little video of Jim’s Z:
Stay Tuned!
“So Rob and crew at Z Car Garage will help me realize a dream that really wasn’t one until Grant decided to surprise me for my 70th birthday. What an incredible present — a highly-desirable Series One Z-car!”
ZCG looks forward to making Jim’s dream a reality. After driving Butters, Jim wants more power and Rob has an old Rebello 3.1L from his stash that will be installed. A set of triple phh44 Mikuni carbs, Harada intake manifold, Fujitsbo header/exhaust system and much more will follow. Thanks to Jim and his family for believing in Z Car Garage and the power of the Z!
Our ZCG Big Brakes have been winning Z-car enthusiasts locally and across the US. In April we were stoked to hear from our friends at JDM Legends installing the brake kit on their customer’s 280z project:
Big-Brake Kits Available For DIY Install!
Z Car Garage is proud to offer the Big-Brake Kit to Z-Car owners that want to perform the installation themselves. We can ship worldwide and each kit contains everything needed with a comprehensive installation guide. Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE. Our first customer to receive and install the BBK was Duffy M, owner of this 1971 Series 1 S30 in Safari Gold.
Duffy expressed interest in our BBK and helped us validate its installation for future customers. He was impressed with the kit from the beginning:
“I am blown away by the quality and engineering that went into this Z Car Garage BBK (big brake kit). The kit was designed by Stoptech engineers and ZCG from the ground up for the Z. I am sort of a guinea pig to see if consumers can install this kit. They have an amazing detailed 40 page instructions, which in the car world is rare. I’m stoked to get them installed. Kit comes with everything needed to install and retains stock parking brake and MC. Fits 15×8 wheels as well! So light!”
If you follow Duffy on his Instagram page or epic build-thread on Classic Z Car Forum its clear that his attention to detail is impressive. He got the BBK installed on his Z, complete with functioning parking brake:
Front and rear:
Easy fitment behind his 15×8 Watanabe wheels:
Beyond ease of installation and quality components, our Big-Brakes perform by offering superb pedal feel…everyone that drives our demo Z confirms! Duffy was very happy as well with great feedback:
“They work amazing. Hands down the best mod I have done in a while. Modern/race feel. So the BBK kit by Z Car Garage is literally amazing. Honestly it’s the best stopping power of any car I have ever driven. Pedal feel is great. Clears everything nicely. Wants to throw me through the window. I’m not an expert, but I think the bias feels amazing.”
Remember how we said Duffy has an impressive attention to detail? Check out his Z, from engine bay…
…to chassis/suspension:
Duffy is also running a V2 Fujitsubo exhaust system, OS Giken LSD and many other goodies!
We also hooked Duffy up with an OS Giken clutch that he installed with a breeze, backed by a KA24 transmission:
We enjoyed working with you Duffy and we are very proud to have our Big-Brakes on your Z!
Stay tuned for more customer installations of our ZCG Big-Brakes! Check out our ZCG CV axles HERE
Z Car Garage prepared and supported many race cars for last year’s Rolex Reunion and this year we are excited to attend once again August 15-18! The crew has been working diligently to prepare and tune three vintage race cars: Alex McDowell’s 1967 Datsun Bluebird and 1979 Jim Fitzgerald 280zx, and Doug Steven’s 1975 DeKon Monza. The team will be at the Pre-Historics this weekend so stop by and say hello! Read on to see and hear the three racers being dyno-tuned…
1975 DeKon Monza
This is a formidable vintage race car that we will be spotlighting in its own blog post. It is the second of its kind (Chassis #1002) with a unique history that is perfect for the IMSA feature at the upcoming Historics. For more information on DeKon, go here.
Listen to the Chevy-powered Monza on the dyno in the video below. Also shown is the Bluebird making L-Series music and the 280zx:
1967 Datsun Bluebird
Alex McDowell will be racing his 1967 Datsun Bluebird Coupe and 1979 Jim Fitzgerald Datsun 280zx at the RMMR.
Re-cap of these two in action from the 2018 event below:
Alex raced with notable 510 drivers Troy Ermish (#9), Jim Froula(#52), Dave Stone(#93), Glenn Chiou(#21), Taz Harvey (#51) and Datsun Roadsters Mike Anderson (#38) and Steve Link (#23). Watch this extended in-car video below of Alex piloting the Bluebird. Alex finished the race 12th/50 cars with a best lap of 1:48.1. Lots of action in this one!
Alex’s Datsun 280zx
Alex ran the Jim Fitzgerald 280zx in Group 7B: IMSA GTO, GTU with some wild rotary and Trans Am cars. He was having too much fun in the Bluebird so did run the car in the final race. The Z ran well throughout the Pre-Reunion and qualifying where Alex was running 1:44s. Here is a short video of the Z in action:
Get your tickets and parking!
You can get discounted tickets AND preferred parking through The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC). They are hosting a Nissan-only parking corral at Weathertech Laguna Seca Raceway and it’s the best way to park and enjoy the event. For more details please see the ZONC press release below.
Datsun and Nissan Revisit IMSA at 2019 RMMR By Ann Devor
Following on the heels of last year’s fantastic Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, twelve Datsuns and Nissans have been chosen to compete in three races in 2019’s RMMR at WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway. The 2019 RMMR is celebrating IMSA and will feature three classes of IMSA racecars over the four-day weekend from August 15 through August 18. David Martin’s 240Z, Alex McDowell’s 280ZX and Rob Morgan’s 280ZX will be racing on Saturday August 17 in Race 5A (1973-1981 IMSA, GT, GTX class). Almost equally exciting will be the IMSA prototype Race 7A on Saturday where you will see advanced racing performance and styling not seen in the production-based cars.
On Sunday in Race 6B (1981-1991 IMSA GTO/GTU racecars), Craig Bennett will drive a 1991 300ZX competing against John Murray in a 1989 Nissan 240SX, Philip Mendelovitz in a 1989 240SX and Michael Parsons in his 1990 300ZX. We’ll also see Datsun roadsters on Sunday in non-IMSA Race 5B featuring 1961-1966 GT cars under 2500cc including Alex McDowell’s 1967 Bluebird, Phillip Mendelovitz’ 1967 311 Roadster, Ross Merrill in his 1966 Fairlady Roadster and Steve Smargiasso in a 1966 Datsun 311 Roadster.
Here’s what we have planned so far exclusively for Datsun and Nissan fans:
We have a private corral with 20 reserved paved parking spaces. Datsun-Nissan race fans who wish to park in our Datsun-Nissan special parking area must purchase theircorral passes and admission tickets only from ZONC. If we sell out our 20 corral spaces we will try to get more, but there is no guarantee. Corral passes ($45) are good for the entire 4-day weekend.
ZONC is again offering a discount on admission tickets.
Individual Ticket Pricing
Regular Price
ZONC Discounted Price
4-Day (Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun)
$170
$145
3-Day (Fri/Sat/Sun)
$150
$130
2-Day (Sat/Sun)
$120
$105
Thursday only
$ 40
$ 35
Friday only
$ 70
$ 60
Saturday only
$100
$ 85
Sunday only
$ 70
$ 60
For more information or to be added to our special mailing list for updated information, please contact me at anndevor@gmail.com. Don’t hesitate, don’t be late, and get ready to have a great time at the 2019 RMMR!
