On Saturday I joined six other cars for a morning cruise through the Santa Cruz Mountains. The two S30 Z cars with us were running our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles!

Glenn’s 1972 Nissan Fairlady 240z-L

 

Glenn Chiou drove his RHD Fairlady Z sporting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels). He is an avid vintage race car driver/restorer and found our brake kit offers incredible brake feel and performance all fitting behind his favorite 15×8 zero offset Watanabe wheel:

“The most important aspect to me when it comes to braking on a street driven car is feel. Yes, stopping power is extremely important, but also is not that difficult to achieve on an early Z car that is naturally light to begin with. Feel, however, is something that has always managed to escape me and the ZCG brakes deliver. WOW, what a difference. The feel, modulation, power, sharpness was amazing. Hands down the best brakes I had ever driven on a Z car”

This is a direct result of working with engineers at 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 some 14″ wheels) and retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few pictures of the Big-Brakes being installed on Glenn’s Z:

 

Glenn was having fun on the twistys on our cruise (see video below). Learn more about his Z in this Petrolicious video.

 

James’ 1972 Datsun 240z

 

James is running our ZCG BBK (1st gen, 328mm) and  Z Car Garage CV Axles in his turbocharged L-Series beast:

 

 

You can learn more about this 560whp Z on Speedhunters and see it in action on Hoonigan Autofocus. James also had a blast on our Saturday cruise:

 

Saturday Cruising

 

We started our drive in Downtown Saratoga and made it to the coast via Bear Creek and Bonny Doon Rd. Here is a short video:

 

We were happy to enjoy the company of cool cars and cool folks, also joining us:

Dustin’s 510

 

We’ve known Dustin and Courtney for many years. Dustin’s 510 4-door runs a KA24DE and sweet Longchamp XR-4 wheels. The side exit exhaust is loud!

 

Tony’s Mazda RX-2

 

Tony has had this RX-2 for many years. In addition to the full restoration it now has a full (S5) 13B drivetrain with a Ford 9″ rear end! It is mint. I haven’t seen Tony in many years so it was a joy to have him along:

Lloyd’s AE86

 

Lloyd has a very cool collection of cars and this AE86 is the latest. Although it sports an F20C drivetrain (Lloyd promised me it’s not the same car as this one), it has numerous upgrades for a better drive. Gotta love TE37s:

 

Geoff’s BMW 2002

 

Geoff’s no stranger to our Bay Area cruises and also owns a Lotus 7. He was the only German this time with his BMW 2002 on rare Campagnolo wheels:

 

I drove my SR-powered ‘67.5 Datsun Roadster and it was a great way to spend the morning.

 

Yes, that’s a Ferrari 250 GT Lusso flying by on HWY 1!

 

More pictures in the gallery below!
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I finally attended DrivingWhileAwesome Cars n’ Coffee last weekend and it was a great time. This is a gathering with a wonderful and eclectic mix of cars hosted by the DWA crew in Davenport, CA. Our group of friends left San Jose just before 7am, and it was a chilly 41 degrees. We joined Glenn and Pat in their NA Miata, Rob in the SR20DET-powered Datsun 510, Lloyd brought his S2000-powered AE86, customer Rob J in his 1970 Datsun 240z and William in a (964) 911:

 

We bolted up HWY 17 to reach Davenport. I threw my hardtop back on the roadster after a topless summer of fun. Joe decided to brave the cold sans top in his 1968 Datsun 1600 roadster.

  

Arriving at the parking lot in front of Whale city Bakery cool cars were already lining up. We parked next to DWA member Lane Skelton of DrivingWhileAwesome in his Porsche 944.

 

A short video of Rob in the 510, as well as an F355 taking off:

In Search of J-Tin

Although attendance was mostly Euro/Italian, many Japanese gems showed up. I was pleasantly surprised to see Eddie Wu in his #SAKERKT, a 1966 Datsun Roadster with an S15 SR20DE:

 

Lloyd’s AE86 Corolla was a crowd favorite (mine as well) sporting a complete Honda S2000 (F22C) drivetrain and full suspension:

  

More J-Tin goodness: NSX, First gen Acura Legend, FC RX-7 and Kei Truck (Honda Acty)!

   

Not Japanese at first glance, but underhood of this Mini is B-series VTEC!

 

TWO R32 Skylines and DWA member Art C’s Toyota Celica All-trac:

 

Andrew’s Datsun 510 RHD SSS tribute looking fantastic:

 

Euro Classics

Yearning for Porsche’s? Or something a bit less “mainstream”? DWA CnC did not disappoint. Check out these Porsche 914s, from flared to bone-stock:

 

Early Porsche 911’s, including a REAL Carrera RS:

  

Ferrari F355 (manual!) and a Doka:

  

I spotted a Dino 246 on the way back, this couple was doing it right!

American Muscle was also present. Here is a C5 ZR-1, recently won from our friends at BringaTrailer.com! Pretty C3 Vette, and a GM wagon displaying some power…

  

Cool cars could be found outside the main lot as well!

 

 

DWA CnC was definitely my kind of cars and coffee. It’s a great venue right on the coast across from a bakery/cafe and the cars were so diverse. They spark emotion and memories that new cars just can’t match. We highly recommend checking it out! Thanks to the DWA crew for hosting. If you haven’t already, listen to their podcast and make sure you give them a follow on Instagram.
More pictures in the gallery below!

 
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The 2017 Solvang Datsun Roadster show took place on April 22. Now in its 30th year, this event continues a tradition of uniting owners from all parts of the world in a little town just outside of Santa Barbara. There is something for everyone here: shopping, food, wine-tasting, outdoor activities, and in the last weekend of April an epic gathering of Datsuns!

   

This year I was fortunate to bring my roadster and family to enjoy the weekend…

  

…and it was a fantastic show with perfect weather and close to 100 Datsuns on First Street in downtown Solvang:

Photo: Michael Anderson

On to the cars! Here are some highlights from the day…there were only a handful of 1967 2000 roadsters this year. Some of these cars are considered the “cream of the crop” with full restorations or OEM levels of detail like Mike Young’s SRL #266:

 

Winning best of show was this SR311 #0086, frame-off restored by Steve Pettersen:

This Right-Hand-Drive model had neat details like Enkei Compe-8 wheels, rear parcel shelf bracing and a km/h speedometer:

   

Roadsters were arranged by year and class, either stock or modified. The organizers did a phenomenal job of staging everyone!

 

Going the Distance

The Solvang Show draws roadster owners from all over the US, and world! We can always count on Jim and Susan to make the trek from Sonora, Mexico in their ’68 SRL with matching trailer.  Richard and Erika visited from the Netherlands and drove from Bellvue, Washington with their host, Ted Heaton. Catch their Roadster road-trip over on 311s.org.

    

Stock is Good

Solvang showcases everything from pristine to highly modified examples of roadsters. These two early 1600s were very sharp with requisite whitewall tires, chrome-ringed gauges and classy red interiors:

 

Sitting perfectly as a bookend to the low-windshield 1600s was Mike’s 67.5 SPL.  With a Solex carb’d R16 stroker, factory (high) roll bar, red interior and Watanabe wheels this car is very tasty:

 

 

Engine Swaps

Like the 510 and Z cars, the Datsun Roadster chassis accept many engine swaps and several caught my eye this year.  It is worth mentioning that this year’s show had the most SR20 swaps to date. I parked in a row of about 8!

 

I first saw this VG30-powered ’67 last year:

    

The S2000-powered ’69 SRL made a return appearance and it still blew my mind. Such a clean, OEM-level install:

    

Two SR20-swapped roadsters deserved some further inspection. John Daly’s ’67 sported a neatly integrated A/C unit on the NA S15 and a factory-like hardtop. What I thought were SSR MKii wheels were actually “Migu” units. Note split front bumpers:

       

Kevin Desirello’s ’69 had a simple, clean aesthetic. S14 SR20,  Z32 brakes, RS-8 wheels and clever “SR20” badging were all nice touches:

   

It is always good to see show favorites returning year after year with constant evolvement. Ted Heaton drove his Spriso Motorsports-built ’66 all the way from Washington.

 

The Plymouth Prowler Orange beauty has an S15 SR20DET with 6-speed and Ford rear end. Other nice details include wide RS-8 wheels and Mercedes G-Wagen headlights! Ted was very proud of his power-adding badges :

   

Trends?

If you think engine swaps are gaining popularity what other trends are developing? Hardtops are slowly showing up. With factory-like options from aftermarket companies you too can have a body-color (or any finish) hardtop for your roadster:
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Dear Zcarblog readers, this is my 2016 Solvang Datsun Roadster Show report. Although long overdue, it serves as a reminder that the 30th Annual 2017 Solvang Datsun Roadster Show is just around the corner. So mark those calendars for April 22!  Enjoy.

-Alvin

 

The 2016 Solvang Datsun Roadster show took place on April 23. Now in its 29th year, this gathering continues a tradition of uniting owners from all parts of the world in a little town just outside of Santa Barbara. There is something for everyone here: shopping, food, wine-tasting, outdoor activities, and the last weekend of every April a huge gathering of Datsuns. I did not drive my roadster this year but I still enjoyed the show with my family!

 

On to the cars! Here are some highlights from the day…there were only a handful of 1967 2000 roadsters this year. Some of these cars are considered the “cream of the crop” with full restorations or OEM levels of detail like Mike Young’s SRL #266 and Rodney N’s SRL #485:

  

Winning best of show was SRL #233 completely frame-off restored by Kevin of KRD:

   

Speaking of attention to detail…fully restored factory gauges artfully assembled by Jon Frampton could be seen on multiple cars. The gauges are truly little jewels that give owners a range of options with lighting, lettering and even inner workings all without going to aftermarket gauges.

Left: Factory mechanical gauges behind Corey’s R20 stroker powered SPL

Right: Factory gauges converted to electronic behind Harlan’s SR20DE-powered SPL

 

While were on interiors, check out this cool Datsun Competion (by Kaemeri) steering wheel looking great in Corey’s SPL:

  

At the other end of the spectrum and far from stock is Shannon’s ’69 SRL. Modern gauges and A/C vents adorn the dash with a touch screen in the center console:
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