Gary’s 1971 Datsun 240Z featuring the Datsunworks KN20 twin cam (DOHC) cylinder head is for sale. This S30 has been with Z Car Garage since 2008 where it received a full bare metal restoration with continuous performance development to its current form. Featured in numerous magazines, SEMA, and Japanese Classic Car Show. Fantastic fit/finish with chassis and running gear to keep up with its exotic engine. It is a magical experience to see, drive and hear the “Behemoth” in action. See more details below and serious inquiries only please contact rob@zcargarage.com

 

Drivetrain

 

There are ten KN20 heads in the wild with only three installed and currently running in cars. Z Car Garage has two KN20 cylinder heads. This KN20 is serial #SN10 and it has been installed into our long-time client Gary’s Datsun 240Z, affectionately named the “Behemoth”. ZCG is always exploring the boundaries of powertrains and Gary’s Z has seen a few engines including an RB30DET, OS Giken TC24 and now the Datsunworks.

   

Here are few details on the powertrain setup for this Z:

-Rebello 3.1L Engine

-KN20 Cylinder head SN10 (but the performance level goes to 11)

-Induction type: Jenvey ITB EFI with Injector Dynamics injectors

-Engine management: Haltech Elite 750

-Header: Equal-length, custom fabricated by RacecraftNW

-Transmission: Nissan CD009a and Z Car Garage CV Axles

-Rear Diff: R180 4.11 OS Giken LSD

 

Performance

 

We are still in the tuning phase so Gary’s car is on a comfortable (conservative) setting. With the Datsunworks head it made 350hp/248tq at the wheels on 91 octane:

  

Even in a testing stage it is absolutely thrilling to drive. Gary’s car is a full ZCG-style restoration so it has the chassis to harness the power. The sound it makes is a sonorous tone only the K-series derived KN20 head creates…with a gnarly exhaust note to match. The ITB induction also provides a healthy wail…it’s a sensory overload and revs seem to climb endlessly.

 

To illustrate the Datsunworks experience we captured some video of what it is like to drive around town…the 6-speed and EFI really allow this car to be docile, especially when cruising on the freeway and at part throttle. Drop a gear and its becomes a wild animal. Not going to lie…it gave me goosebumps both as a passenger and spectator.

Watch the video complete with multiple dyno passes, street acceleration and fly-bys. VOLUME UP!

 

Body/Interior/Chassis

 

The “Behemoth” wears one of the best paint finishes we’ve done with fit/finish we feel would be hard to replicate. We collected parts for years to build. Glass was polished, unobtanium parts sourced. The interior features a fully restored dashboard with Recaro Specialist seats, power windows and a fully integrated roll cage. You can see the body restoration and chassis development here  HERE.

 

The Z has early versions of our Z Car Garage offerings like 17″ Panasport C8 wheels (NLA), full coil-overs/adjustable suspension throughout and ZCG Stoptech ST42 (328mm) Big-Brakes:

 

Enjoy The Ride

 

Beyond the show-quality features and impressive drivetrain, this Z car loves to be driven and has attended many car shows, gatherings and road rallies like the 300-mile Tokyo Calling event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally

You can see it in action on the rally in the video below:

 

Gary’s Datsun 240Z will always be the pinnacle of Z car builds for us. It is ready to be enjoyed by the next owner and all we ask is that you give it the same love and respect we have given over the last 15 years. All sale inquiries can be made through Rob: rob@zcargarage.com. See below for all of our documentation of the this Z including every video, magazine feature and blog post:

Publications

See the Behemoth in these magazine/media features:
Road & Track Datsunworks Feature

OPTION (JDM) Magazine

Marqued Feature

The Drive feature

Grassroots Mtorsports feature

Video

See the Behemoth in action in these YouTube videos:

Blog posts

See the Behemoth’s build history, events attended and more:

EVENT REPORT: Tokyo Calling 2

TUNING: Datsunworks and Turbocharged Datsun 240Z Cars making L-Series Music!

TUNING: Two L-Series powered Datsun 240Z cars on the dyno

DATSUNWORKS: Twin-Cam Power For Your L-Series Engine!

America’s Most Exotic 240z

OS Giken TC24-B1Z in Action!

Past Behemoth Updates

 

 

 

Z Car Garage is excited to collaborate with Datsunworks and develop their brilliant KN20 dual-overhead cam (DOHC) cylinder head designed for the Nissan inline-6 L-Series engine.

 

Datsunworks founder Derek Minetti is the pioneer behind the KN20 DOHC cylinder head. This is a custom (very limited production), 6-cylinder head derived from Honda’s venerable K-series 4-cylinder engine. The KN20 offers superior head flow rates combined with modern valvetrain components to effectively transform your L-series single-overhead cam into a high-revving, dual-overhead cam engine. The power potential is impressive.

Gary’s Datsun 240Z

 

There are ten KN20 heads in the wild with only three installed and currently running in cars. Z Car Garage has two KN20 cylinder heads. This KN20 is serial #SN10 and it has been installed into our long-time client Gary’s Datsun 240Z, affectionately named the “Behemoth”. ZCG is always exploring the boundaries of powertrains and Gary’s Z has seen a few engines including an RB30DET, OS Giken TC24 and now the Datsunworks.

 

Here are few details on the powertrain setup for this Z:

-Rebello 3.1L Engine

-KN20 Cylinder head SN10 (but the performance level goes to 11)

-Induction type: Jenvey ITB EFI with Injector Dynamics injectors

-Engine management: Haltech Elite 750

-Header: Equal-length, custom fabricated by RacecraftNW

-Transmission: Nissan CD009a

-Rear Diff: R180 4.11 OS Giken LSD

 

Pictures of the initial engine installation, with more in the gallery:

 

For further information on the KN20 cylinder head we urge you to visit the Datsunworks blog:
Datsunworks Blog

Performance

 

We are still in the tuning phase so Gary’s car is on a comfortable (conservative) setting. With the Datsunworks head it made 350hp/248tq at the wheels on 91 octane:

 

Even in a testing stage it is absolutely thrilling to drive. Gary’s car is a full ZCG-style restoration so it has the chassis to harness the power. The sound it makes is a sonorous tone only the K-series derived KN20 head creates…with a gnarly exhaust note to match. The ITB induction also provides a healthy wail…it’s a sensory overload and revs seem to climb endlessly.

 

To illustrate the Datsunworks experience we captured some video of what it is like to drive around town…the 6-speed and EFI really allow this car to be docile, especially when cruising on the freeway and at part throttle. Drop a gear and its becomes a wild animal. Not going to lie…it gave me goosebumps both as a passenger and spectator.

Watch the video complete with multiple dyno passes, street acceleration and fly-bys. VOLUME UP!

 

 

Potential

 

Z Car Garage is stoked to be a part of the Datsunworks KN20 development. It is a clever design that pushes the envelope for L-Series engines. Sharing this experience is also part of the fun so we anticipate having a KN20 setup in a dedicated shop 240Z for clients to test drive and further evaluate. Although each application is different, we envision offering a bolt-in setup for your six-cylinder L-Series engine. The power potential is tremendous with the KN20…both NA and forced induction. We thank Derek at Datsunworks for giving us the opportunity to work with this innovative product.

 

Stay tune for more updates and LONG LIVE THE (TWIN CAM) Z!

 

…[read more]

 

It takes teamwork to make the Dream work. We want to thank Love20bee for sourcing and re-finishing these SSR Watanabe RS8 wheels for James’ 1972 Datsun 240z.

 

It has been said that “wheels make the car”. Matt and his team nailed it with these RS8s sized 10.5 (F) and 12.5 (R) on massive 275/315 width Nitto NT-01 tires.

 

While they look killer standing still, they are even sweeter in motion as seen in the video below:

 

Rob and owner James are proudly wearing Love20bee hoodies. We highly recommend Love20bee for your wheel needs. Check them out on Instagram and Hoonigan Autofocus.

 

You can see more of James Stephens’ turbocharged 1972 Datsun 240z on Hoonigan Autofocus and Speedhunters.

 

This Z also packs parts and support from numerous folks we are happy to work with including KAD Models, Stoptech, Haltech,Rebello, Os Giken, Skillard, TechnoToyTuning, Hoke Performance and Retro-Spec Carbon.

Stay tuned for a full report on zcarblog.com. More pics in the gallery below!

 
…[read more]

 

Photographer Larry Chen visited Z Car Garage back in February to bring his very own S30 in for our ZCG Big-Brakes. While he was at the shop he featured our customer James Stephens’ turbocharged 1972 Datsun 240z for an episode of Hoonigan Autofocus. In this video Larry chats with Rob Fuller about the build and also gets to dyno/test drive it. We had a blast hanging out with Larry and his crew. More Hoonigan Autofocus spotlights from our shop and high-res pics are coming soon. Enjoy the video!

 

Frank B has been a Z Car Garage customer for many years. His stable includes an ultra low-vin Series 1 S30 (report soon) and this 1972 Datsun 240z that he acquired in 2005:

 

Affectionately named “Fuelie Z” this hot rod sports a fuel-injected Rebello 3L running Borla TWM induction.  The old-school setup utilized RC injectors, a composite intake plenum and Electromotive Tec3 engine management.

 

With powerful L-series motivation Frank wanted to improve braking and we installed one of our very first sets of Z Car Garage Big Brakes roughly 8 years ago. These large, 328mm units at all 4-corners performed admirably and fit nicely behind his vintage 17″ Chevlon Racing Mesh wheels:

 

  

Frank has enjoyed the Z for several years, attending local ZONC events and fun runs. Below left: The ZONC Blackhawk Museum Show in 2008!

 

After a recent meeting with Frank we agreed it was time to update this Z car and make it as smooth as we could. He was our first customer to run the new Z Car Garage CV axles. This upgrade really inspired him to continue improving the car:

  

Next on the update list, we were really excited to install a Nissan 350z 6-speed manual transmission behind the L-series in Frank’s Z. You read that right! S30 owners can now bolt-in this robust, 6-speed manual behind their L-series engine!  You might remember our first application of Austin Hoke’s custom 6-speed adapter kit on the OS Giken TC24B1Z-powered 240z:

  

Using the 6-speed conversion kit from Hoke Performance we installed a new CD009a transmission from the 2003 -2008 Z33 in Frank’s Z:

 

The kit necessitated exhaust header changes and after testing a variety of headers we found the Pacesetter 6-2-1 unit provided enough clearance:

 

We changed the exhaust and updated the driveshaft to an aluminum one. The old Spec clutch mated to the L-series transmission was removed and a JWT aluminum flywheel and HD clutch installed for work with the 350z transmission:

  

The 6-speed bolted in, more pictures of the install in gallery below:

 

The ZCG CV axles and 6-speed transmission transformed Frank’s Z. You can see the shifter location/operation in this video below. Enjoy!

 

Frank also asked why not update the engine management system and Rob said, “I’m in!”. Replacing the Tec3 unit we installed an Elite 750 from Haltech.  This is a wonderful stand alone ECU company with very user-friendly products we love to use on our S30 builds.

  

With dyno tuning we improved the drivability of Z in addition to significant power gains. Final numbers were 231hp/210tq to the wheels:

 

We received great feedback from Frank after 100 miles of mountain roads. His wife could even notice the difference: super smooth, seamless operation with fantastic throttle response and more power.  The Fuelie Z has been thoroughly updated, mission accomplished!  We love that Frank is Enjoying The Ride in his Z stay tuned for a full report on his Series 1 240z!

 

LONG LIVE THE Z!
More pictures in the gallery below!
…[read more]