Glenn is an avid Datsun enthusiast having owned and raced several cars. You might remember his VIPS 240z vintage race car from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year where he ran it alongside our hero John Morton:
We also dyno-tuned the Z in preparation for race week. Look for #39 at this year’s RMMR!
Glenn loves his vintage race cars and he recently added this B-sedan Datsun 510 to his stable. He plans to race it this year with SVRA, and it also got accepted to the 2018 RMMR event!
In preparation for the upcoming RMMR, Glenn visited Z Car Garage to have the B-sedan dialed-in with chassis dyno tuning.
Chassis dyno tuning is extremely beneficial for race cars. You simply can’t run your race car up and down a city street to emulate race conditions and “guess” how your engine settings are performing. In most cases our customers have their engines built and tested on an engine dyno, so it is prudent to confirm performance on the chassis dyno before heading out to the track.
We run a series of dyno tests for the customer, including fully heat soaking the engine to ensure it can perform throughout the rev range. Glenn’s 510 was optimized for drivability in his desired powerband and like all race cars that get dyno’d at ZCG, his 510 left with more hp/tq! Enjoy the video of a few dyno pulls and listen to that L-series sing:
We can’t share numbers as racers like to keep them close to their heart, but you can count on the 510 being ready to rock in the B-sedan group at big race. Thanks for letting us tune your Datsun, Glenn!
Scott visited Z Car Garage for dyno tuning of his Datsun 510. He had the engine installed by our friend Troy Ermish and wanted Rob to perform the final tune/sorting.
When you have a shop perform an engine install it is critical to have it tuned and confirm power/drivability.
On the dyno baseline numbers were 129hp/129tq at the wheels. With tuning we picked up 11 hp and 9lb-ft of torque for a total of 140hp/138tq to the wheels:
Scott is coming back to ZCG next month to get a larger exhaust installed as the stock exhaust is definitely limiting output.
Steve M lives in the North Bay and has a really sweet collection of cars. His favorite car has always been this one-owner 1972 Datsun 240z with 50k original miles. Before we describe how Z Car Garage brought it back to life, let’s hear the history from Steve:
Back in mid-70s I was a car-crazy teenager already working on cars, buying and selling them, and always dreaming of my next sports car. With all the money I had saved from my paper routes I purchased my first car for $500, a red 1965 Ford Mustang and later a 1964 Triumph Spitfire. Shortly after I acquired these two cars, my parents moved. Our new next-door neighbor, Bob, had an amazing 1972 240Z that was white with a red interior. Other than an early E-Type Jaguar, I thought that the 240Z was the most beautiful car I had ever seen. Bob had bought it new, driving it mostly on weekends. I wanted a Z of my own.
Eventually I bought a midnight blue 1971 240z and Bob and I started to figure out ways to make our cars faster. We did everything ourselves from headers to suspension work. We even took a trip down the peninsula to FAR Performanceto see if they might sell me a race engine for my Z. Bob was an avid sailor and he had the “240Z” of sailboats: A 505. These dinghies were really fast but they needed a two-man crew and he asked me if I wanted to learn to sail. I said yes, and it wasn’t long before Bob and I had become the best of friends. I went through high school and college. Racing sail boats with Bob on the weekends, cars on the street and vintage cars on the track. I kept buying, fixing up, and selling cars. But in the early 1980s I sold them all, including the Z, an old vintage race car, and even an old E-Type Jaguar, to move to Europe for a few years.
When I returned, I started my own business and it went well enough that I was able to start another with Bob. Unfortunately, soon after it was evident that our first venture was going to be a home run, Bob was diagnosed with a very rare neurological disease. Within a year he had passed away, leaving his widow and two young sons. In his will, he asked that I take his sons out on my sailboat, to the spot in the San Francisco Bay where he taught me how to sail, so they could spread his ashes there.
Then one afternoon I received a call from Bob’s wife, Susan. She called my office to ask if I would be there that day and I looked out of my office window to the street below, as a flatbed truck was hauling Bob’s 1972 240 Z to my home. Bob and Susan’s boys had grown, married, and had kids of their own, but they all graciously decided that Bob would have wanted his Z to go to me. Over the next few of years, I managed to get it up and running, but don’t have the time I once did to tinker with cars, so never got it running as well as it deserved because it had been sitting for decades.
Making Steve’s Z a well-sorted driver
Steve brought his S30 into Z Car Garage in December 2015 and we essentially went through the entire car top to bottom to make it a good driver. He expressed his goal for the restoration and we worked with him to achieve it:
Rob seemed to be able to do miracles with my limited budget. Our plan was something akin to my plan in the 70s. Suspension and exhaust came first, then carburation, tranny, wheels/tires, then a bigger better engine, and a replacement of the Webers with Mikunis. Suddenly, the monster is back… only this time, it is under the skin of a totally stock 1972 Datsun 240Z.
We performed a full engine tune-up and got the car running after many years of sitting idle. The Z received a suspension refresh with 5-way Tokico struts, Eibach springs and a sway bar set from MSA. All bushings were replaced including T3 lower control arm bushings and new ball joints. The exterior was treated to Paintless Dent Removal and a new PPG windshield was installed.
Completing the vintage look are a set of 16×7 Panasports with 225/50/16 Yokohama S-drive tires. At Steve’s request we also installed a BRE spook.
That lovely red interior was revived with new seats and a carpet kit:
The engine bay and drivetrain needed some attention as well. Cooling system issues were addressed by correcting several leaks, installing new hoses and a Koyo race radiator. The L24 was mated to a 280Z 5-speed transmission and clutch. New triple-Weber carbs were installed and fed by our ZCG fuel line. A ZCG heat shield protects the carbs from a new MSA exhaust header that was finished with our custom exhaust system:
Despite the new Weber carbs we did not make power we were hoping for since the L24 was tired. All the work that was performed on the entire car made Steve happy, and he enjoyed the Z for a few years knowing a more powerful engine upgrade was in the works:
Everything about the form and function of this car is beautiful, and you have made it even better than originally intended. The smells, the sound, the feel, are all just right. The throttle response, the smooth shifts, the braking, and especially the handling are awe inspiring.
Time for more power
Fast forward to early 2018 and Steve had been enjoying this wonderful Z car since we worked on it. Over the last year Rob had been collecting parts and found a nice L28 engine that would be perfect for Steve. We removed the L24 engine:
Steve’s old L24 (left) and the refreshed L28 (right):
We gave the L28 a little refresh with a small cam and nice bottom end parts. The engine block was cleaned and painted Nissan Blue. A Mallory Unilite distributor and 280zx starter were installed:
A key change was switching from the new Weber carbs to triple phh44 Mikuni’s. This set was sourced from customer Tim N’s 240z as he is getting EFI.
With the new Mikuni’s and everything reinstalled the engine bay still looks great:
The Z ran extremely well with the Mikuni’s and combined with Rob’s tuning this Z had a dramatic boost in power. On the dyno the old L24 with Webers made 141hp/147tq to the wheels. The new L28 with triple Mikuni’s carbs put down 205p/200tq to the wheels:
I had a chance to take Steve’s Z out for a spin and it blew my mind. This is the kind of Z that makes me (a hardcore Datsun Roadster fan) want one for myself. It is the embodiment of just enough power, solidness, and vintage feel. Listen to this Z:
What more can I say? I really love my Z, and consider myself to be one of the luckiest guys on earth, to have found artists like Rob that help me keep my own dreams alive, running; well; and still ripping up the roads.
Thank you Steve, for sharing your story and letting us bring your Z back on the road. Tune in for the next chapter as Steve gets ZCG big brakes for small wheels!
Long Live The Z
This is the moment we have all been waiting for as Nissan/Datsun enthusiasts! For the first time ever, Nissan will be the featured marque at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 23-26. Now in its 45th year and commonly known as the Monterey Historics, the Reunion is a highlight of the famous Pebble Beach “car week” in August. This event features the best of every decade of racing history, all condensed into four days of qualifying and competition at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway.
Even if you are a seasoned race car fan or hardcore Datsun nut this is the event you don’t want to miss. To make it even sweeter the good folks at ZONC are proudly sponsoring the Nissan Car Corral AND a Parade Lap around the world famous Laguna Seca Raceway!
Datsun & Nissan Exclusive Car Corral Parking
At past RMMR events our Nissan car corral has been mixed with the other marques. Not this year. We have the incredible spotlight and desirable PAVED parking between Turn 2 and 5. It will be our time to shine, let’s make a strong showing by bringing our beloved cars out! Have a Nissan Skyline GT-R from the 90’s? Bring it. Got a Datsun 510 Wagon? Bring it. Nismo R35 GT-R? We want that too. Remember, this is THE best place to park your car, enjoy the races AND proudly represent!
To participate in the Car Corral and Parade Lap you must buy tickets through ZONC, details can be found by clicking HERE. Take advantage of discounted general admission through ZONC and let’s make this a superb showing of our Nissans and Datsuns! Please spread the word to fellow owners 🙂
In case you missed it, here is our coverage of last year’s RMMR: RMMR 2017
We plan on bringing the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA 240zto participate in the race! We are really excited for our fellow racers this is going to be an EPIC event. Enjoy a few photos from past RMMR events. LONG LIVE THE Z!
Happy 3/11 Day to our fellow Datsun Roadster owners! We hope you were able to Enjoy The Ride this weekend as the weather was fantastic. Our friend Kurt recently took delivery of his freshly restored 1967 Datsun 2000 (#520) and took it for nice ride around town.
The car is finished in my favorite color, Sora Blue and Steve Pettersen performed a stunning, frame-off restoration:
Expect a full feature on Kurt’s SRL and dyno tuning to make those twin Mikuni-Solexes sing! For now, please enjoy this video of us driving our roadsters around on 3/11:
ps…we may have driven a few other Z Car Garage project cars in this video as well 🙂
