Everything we know. Everything we love. Everything we live for. In one letter.

The New Z Car. By now many of you have seen Nissan’s Z Proto in the media or even in person as it tours the car show circuit. On May 2, Nissan invited us to their headquarters in Tennessee to get up close and personal with the Z Proto, still very much in pre-production form. After seeing, hearing and feeling this car in person we are thoroughly stoked for the new Nissan Z. Enjoy this report from our trip, complete with photos and video.

 

Nissan is Back

Z car enthusiasts worldwide have been awaiting a successor to the current Z and many were satisfied when Nissan officially unveiled the Z Proto on September 16, 2020. The live-streamed event featured Alfonso Albaisa (senior vice president of global design) and Hiroshi Tamura (chief product specialist of the Z Proto) both very enthusiastic and assuring that while the Z Proto is only a development model, we will get a new Nissan Z.

Fast forward almost six months after the unveiling…Nissan debuted this commercial that gave me chills. I immediately texted Rob that Nissan is back. This brilliantly-executed advertisement was exactly what we needed and shows a direction that we are totally on board with:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kdVkUta8TI

 

With our New Z car anticipation growing stronger we just had to see it for ourselves, in the metal. You can imagine how happy we were when Nissan Corporate reached out to Z Car Garage and invited us to their headquarters in Franklin to spend some quality time with the Z Proto. Rob and I hopped on a plane to Tennessee…

  

Arriving at Nissan HQ, our hosts were Jonathan Buhler (Sr. Specialist Corporate Communications at Nissan) and industry veteran Dan Passe (Director, Corporate Communications). Both gentlemen are hardcore automotive enthusiasts (see Jonathan’s personal Datsun 240Z) that proudly wave the flag for Nissan. The kind of minds you want at a car company, and very gracious. Rob and I were in for a treat, and and we were blown away. First order of business: see the Z Proto inside Nissan HQ…

The Nissan Z Proto:

We were given the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Z Proto. To be concise, this car has a presence that simply isn’t captured in photos. A small disclaimer: the details we admired and discovered on this car may not transfer to the production car, but based on leaked photos, and as mentioned in the unveiling by Alfonso the Z Proto’s design is extremely close to what consumers will be offered. After sitting in the car and taking in its design, both Rob and I were enthralled and eager for the new Nissan Z. Let’s take a closer look…

Exterior

 

 

Our visit with Nissan only begun with the Z Proto. Before heading to our next destination we stopped by legendary Z shop Crawford Z Car Service in downtown Nashville. Owner Doug Stewart is an accomplished  Z-car racer and you night remember the creator of the Crawford intake plenum for Nissan’s 350z VQ engine.

 

Nissan Heritage Collection

 

A visit to the Nissan Heritage collection was next on our tour. Nissan’s production plants in Smyrna and Dechard and HQ in Franklin, TN are pretty well-known but the Heritage Collection is hidden inside the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville. The museum itself is open to the general public and it’s a must see:

 

Undeground and beyond closed doors, we entered paradise. Both Jonathan and Dan have dedicated their time-on a volunteer basis to preserve, maintain and promote this vintage Nissan/Datsun collection. Without them it wouldn’t survive, and in part they rely on enthusiasts (like Randy Jaffe) to help carry the torch. These are cars that would have been scrapped by Nissan or left outside to rust. Rob and I were literally in heaven. So much history in one place with wicked metal at every turn. (Below) The actual Black Gold TV commercial 280ZX and 2021 TV commercial Z31 that actress Brie Larson was in:

 

Everywhere we looked there were”JOB #1″ vehicles, race cars, movie/commercial cars and even concept cars…we could have spent the night with the collection. What sets this collection apart from others is that all cars are accessible and drivable (or meant to be driven). No roped-off cars or locked doors. I even got to sit in the race car!

 

Forgotten concept cars. Some were old. Some were shockingly recent(See that Q50 Eau Rouge?!)

 

 

This 1200 truck needed some attention and this was recently shipped from the Heritage Collection to ZCG for some love!

 

There were way too many cool cars to mention so please check out the photo gallery and video below!

 

Here is a video of our visit to the Nissan Heritage Collection, enjoy!

 

Datsun Roadsters

 

The Datsun Sports (310/311) or affectionately known as “Datsun Roadsters” are some of our favorite models. We were both surprised and happy to find that Jonathan and Dan had recently rescued a few from a barn. All of the cars they recovered were interestingly “2000” models from 1968 to 1980. Thanks to their efforts these gems will be restored and driven!

 

 

Thank You

We thank Nissan, Dan Passe and Jonathan Buhler for the opportunity to visit. The Z Proto is a winner and we were throughly impressed with the Heritage Collection and your efforts to keep it alive. Looking forward to working with you in the future, LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

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Joel E. Anderson, beloved friend and race car driver, passed away 3/29. He was 79 years old. Joel was an immensely talented graphic artist and successful privateer Datsun racer with regional and national championships all over California. We miss him dearly and offer our deepest condolences to his family and friends. Let’s take a brief look at Joel’s automotive career and how he touched our lives, knowing fully that a single blog post offers only a glimpse into Joel’s achievements and larger-than-life personality.

Joel Anderson, Epic Datsun Racer

 

Joel Anderson’s racing career began in the late 70’s while working with another Datsun legend Frank Leary at FAR Performance in Mountain View, Ca. He was racing his Z cars as a privateer against many high-dollar teams/cars. Here is Joel re-telling these events in a interview I conducted in 2014:

“In 1974 Walt Maas had just won the National Championship in C/Production in Atlanta, GA in the FAR Performance 260Z called “The Giant Killer”. At the time Frank Leary was Walt’s crew chief and the service manager at FAR. Frank was also building a Z of his own to road race in the carport of his condo in Santa Clara. I helped Frank build his car in exchange for his secrets to make a Datsun fast. While working as Leary’s crew chief I had converted my Z to a full on road racer and ran SCCA solo events and won the C/P class. In 1977 I went through SCCA’s driver’s school and started road racing, by the end of the year I had won most of the races and regional championship and was issued my National license. In 1978 I ran SCCA’s National events and qualified for the runoffs in Atlanta. At Atlanta I had my first DNF due to running too much timing which split and exhaust valve. In ‘79 I turned the SCCA car over to my wife so she could compete in regionals and I built my IMSA GTU car.”

(L) Joel’s C-production Z, in the iconic black-arrowed hood with orange and yellow accents. (R) Frank Leary with Joel.

 

Joel was Frank Leary’s crew chief and later became a fellow competitor. As he mentioned above, Joel raced at Atlanta when Frank won the American Road Race of Champions in 1978, as seen in this cool video. Enjoy this period article about Joel and Frank’s competitiveness and friendship HERE. The two shared a shop together in Santa Clara for years. Here is Joel in the office doing graphic art work, and also wrenching on L-series drivetrains!

 

It was his talents as a graphic artist that led to the white and black CP-Z  race car being casted in the Walt Disney film Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo. Note that it was filmed at Laguna Seca Raceway!

 

Joel’s favorite track was Laguna Seca, here are a few period photos of him in the white CP-Z and his black IMSA GTU at familiar courses like Sears Point and Road Atlanta. More pics in the gallery! We highly encourage you to check out our interview with Joel back in 2014, it’s a good read!

 

Our friendship with Joel

 

Joel came into our life in 2010 when he started selling all of his race cars. Rob made an offer that Joel couldn’t refuse:

“I would love to tell your story. I’ll buy the car if you help me assemble it with all of your knowledge. You will drive it at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Renuion at Laguna Seca.” 

  

Rob had been building street cars for years, and attending Historic racing events for years, but he had little experience building one. Of many lessons Joel would teach Rob, he taught him that there is nothing street car about a race car. From 2010 to 2014 Joel, Rob and the ZCG crew worked slowly but surely to assemble his IMSU GTU Z car. Joel describes this car’s history:

“The car was originally presented by Mr. Katayama to Mr. John Cooper, President of Ontario Motor Speedway in 1972 to be used as the Official Pace Car for the Third Annual ” California 500″ held on Sept. 3, 1972. (it still has the built in flag holder) The car was later given to the Bob Bondurant Driving School at Sears Point. In 1977 I purchased the car from Datsun Comp. for one dollar and picked the car up at Sears Point. I ran the car at all the west coast IMSA races in GTU for three years. Starting in 1980 I ran the car in SCCA Super Production setting the track record at Sears Point and Laguna Seca and winning The Pacific Road Race Championship as well in S/P. When I got the car back it had been in a storage shed for 15 years or more.”

 

 

In 2014 we applied for admission to the Rolex event and got accepted, even though Joel’s Z was not completed. In the course of 8-10 weeks before the actual race, friends and family banded together. Joel taught us so much, discussed suspension setup, etc and guided us throughout the build. Josh, Alvin, Lou and others all worked nights/weekends to finish the car.

 

This magical story culminated in a successful race event with Joel and his #49 IMSA Datsun 240z at the Rolex Motorsports Reunion in August. Please see  our coverage of the event HERE

 

Watching a race car that you restored out on the track is amazing. Topping that off, the driver that originally built the car is at the helm, some 35 years later. Laguna Seca’s track layout has changed since Joel and #49 were here in ’79, but the car looks pretty similar if you ask us 🙂

 

Despite the competitiveness we finished the race without incident, actually placing midpack and on par with fellow 240z’s.  Rob recalls the feelings of many at the race:

“The first time since 2001 when the BRE 510 510 ran at Monterey and after watching Against All Odds many times… that didn’t hold a candle to watching a man who built this car 30 years ago drive on the same track, same livery…it was awesome. We all got emotional as Joel drove away onto the starting grid.”

 

If finishing this race wasn’t enough, the supreme measure of satisfaction and validation for countless hours spent on #49 came when a teary-eyed Joel gathered everyone around to thank us:

 

Being a part of this team was the highlight of my year and the dedication from all members and friends that helped really showed. We had #49 t-shirts made for the crew/spectators and Meghan even sported an original 70’s shirt with nails to match. Mike Joy from FOX Sports even interviewed Joel:

 

Telling Joel’s Story

 

In 2015 we applied again and got accepted to the RMMR. Unfortunately Joel wasn’t feeling well, and we were 3-weeks away from the event. Rob was focused on telling Joel’s story….how he raced against factory-backed teams and was competitive…the world needed to know!  With race week fast approaching Rob enlisted the help of his hero and legendary race car driver John Morton. You can see our report from the 2015 RMMR HERE.

 

It had been Rob’s dream to drive the #49 IMSA GTU car and he had one rule: he would never sit in the driver’s seat until he was driving on the track at Laguna Seca. So, since 2010 he did not sit in the car and Joel told him it was time. Joel pushed Rob to make his dream a reality. Joel wanted the people around him to succeed. Rob would gain his SCCA license (special shoutout to Larry Oka) and competition license. In 2018, after running a full SCCA season Rob had the racing bug bad. We finally got accepted to 2018 RMMR.

It was Nissan’s first time being honored at RMMR, and the first time Rob Fuller would race a historically significant Z car.

  (L)Photo: Mark Hutchinson

Adding to the experience was the support from friends and family. Having Joel Anderson close by to see his old Z racing and Rob’s excitement was endearing. Rob was on cloud 9, the student and master both together having a great time.

   We would not be doing the things we are on the track without guidance from Joel. Off track, he was guy that walked into a place and the room changed. he simply oozed cool. Rob remembers Joel and his personality:

“For his 75th birthday in 2017, we flew out to Texas to surprise him. We worked on his hot rod, reminisced, made good food, drank beers. He was just brimming with personality. Our friend Steve S would say ‘If half the s__  Joel did in his life is true, it would make for a movie’. The guy lived so many lives: he was in advertising (working for Atari), owned his own pool company, landscaping. He can fix anything. A fond memory: We were running behind on the IMSA build. He flew in to help for a weekend. Meghan asked me to put ceilings fans in our house, and Joel taught me how to install them! He was LeMons racing with us too. Such a larger-than-life personality. At the 2014 Rolex, people remembered that car.’Is this Joel Anderson’s car? Whatever happened to that guy? I would point he’s right over there!”

  We miss Joel. Even though he is gone, his spirit lives on through friends and family. We will continue to share his story with the world. ZCG will restore his C-Production Z (currently in fabrication stage) and race it just as we did with Joel’s IMSA GTU Z. From Rob:

“My condolences to his family and friends. Brace yourselves… we are slowly losing our heroes but it’s up to us to keep their spirit alive. Everyone knows the BRE Datsun 240Z, and to me Joel Anderson is right there…we loved him. 79 years on Earth is not long enough. Wherever he’s at I hope there’s a race program and he’s kicking ass.” 

 

Joel’s #49 IMSA GTU Z in the Media

Listen to Rob share his love for Joel and the Z in this Hoonigan Autofocus video:

 

Links to racing events and features on Joel’s IMSA GTU Z:

 

Speedhunters: Inside a Historic Z

Happy Birthday Joel Anderson!

Joel Anderson: Datsun Z-Car Racer

RACE REPORT: 2019 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

EVENTS: 2018 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Z Car Garage is on FOX Sports TV!

Z Car Garage goes to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion!

EVENTS: Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion!

Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion Report!

Z Car Garage is on FOX Sports TV!

 

Enjoy the photo gallery below
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Ever wonder about the history behind this famous IMSA-GTU Championship-winning 240z? Check out www.my240z.com. Our friend Glenn Chiou created this new website to document the racing provenance for current owner David Martin, who we have shared racing at Laguna Seca with at several events:

 

Glenn’s impressive knowledge of historic Nissan/Datsun racing is bolstered by hundreds of scanned photos, some never seen before along with stories from ex-drivers Brad Friselle, Jack Scoville and John Morton. We are even given new insight on the R&D effort that went into the Friselle car making it by far, “the best race engineered 240z in its period”.

 

 

So if you want to know “what’s it all mean?” check out www.my240z.com!

 

Enjoy a few videos we’ve captured over the years racing with David Martin piloting the Transcendental Racing 240z:

 

The fifth annual HSR Classic 24hr race at Daytona International Speedway was held November 13-17. Racing legend John Morton and co-driver Rob Fuller piloted the #46 BRE Datsun 240z owned by team manager Randy Jaffe.
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Enjoy our report from the event with pictures, video and commentary from Rob and Randy!

 

Hallowed Ground: #46 Debuts at Daytona Speedway

 

When the BRE 240z was not accepted into the 2019 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion team owner Randy Jaffe was anxious to find a Fall event. Thanks to Michael Eberhardt of Vintage Racing Co. we were able to run the Classic 24 and share a garage with him at Daytona. It was an amazing feeling sharing the same hallowed grounds where all the pros raced for years.

 

Rob: “This is a relatively new event and HSR’s efforts to make it larger were clear: the Classic 24 had people from all over the world (1/3 from Europe), and famous drivers and cars everywhere: Gunnar Jeannette, Derek/Justin bell, Jochen Maas, Daytona prototypes, LMP cars, vintage IMSA cars, 935s and big-boy hardware.”

Paddock pictures from top left to bottom right: AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson with Rob Fuller, Gunnar Racing Team, VM columnist Jochen Maas and a 1955 300SL, 1985 Porsche 962 HR1 piloted by team of Derek Bell, Justin Bell, Rodrigo Sales, and Gunnar Jeannette.

 

Enjoy this video of the sights and sounds at Daytona:

 

Racing at Daytona

     

The Classic 24 race features six race groups with 4 (1hr) sessions and cumulative time deciding the winner. Each session has a 3-minute pitstop with mandatory driver exit during fueling. There were many challenges facing the ZCG team as we prepped the BRE 240Z for big banking of Daytona:

Rob: “Josh Corwin prepped gear ratios for the diff and we went there armed for any scenario. At 3.56 miles, Daytona is much longer than our West Coast tracks so we built a 3.54 and 3.36. After one practice session we realized the 3.36 was needed.”

 

It was an incredible sight to see the #46Z out on the high banking with serious race cars like the Smith Motorworks 1980 Porsche 935 K3:

 

To aid driving during night sessions the Z was fitted with LED lamps:

 

Despite heavy rain the team carried on, making changes to the car and improving with each session.

Rob:  “There were 12 cars in our group with a bunch of 911s and 914s. The Z worked flawlessly.  We made a last minute carb change, sent pics of the spark plugs to Dave Rebello, and we were pumped for it. The sheer size of the stands and banking was overwhelming but we welcomed the challenge!”

Randy:  “As you drive into the infield at Daytona and look at that 31% banking it’s super intimidating and as Rob stated you cannot look straight out of the car as it’s always bending left and he has never experienced that before. Rob did an amazing job of adapting to not only the car but to the track within 2 to 3 laps as he had cut down six seconds plus. John Morton has not run Daytona in over 20 years and he got right in the car and turned a great time which is what professional race drivers do! At 77 years old it’s just amazing how he is so calm and so smooth around these tracks!”

 

Remember those those mandatory pitstops? Thanks to the ZCG team (Josh/Keith) all stops were nailed and we actually had to wait because we were under time.  We also had help from Randy’s friend Barney to help with fueling, and Chris Karl from SCCA. A rally of people excited to see the Z at Daytona all pitched in.

 

The bad weather and lack of track experience didn’t hold John or Rob back. We started 10th in class in the 1st session and by the end of the 1st leg we were in 3rd place.

 

From 10th to 3rd in one session is impressive with John and Rob turning near-identical lap times. Rob was ecstatic not only about the Z’s performance, but also being able to co-drive with his hero:

Rob: “Ben from Retrosport with Alan Terpins’ 1979 Porsche 935 MOMO car kicked ass and won their class.  They were clocked on the front straight under braking at 188mph. The BRE Z did 156mph top speed and our lap times (Morton and Fuller) were within a .1 of each other. I can’t describe the feeling of going from total fanboy to being a co-driver with John Morton. All of this comes from Randy Jaffe’s generosity, drive/passion to celebrate this car and era. These heroes that were making history and didn’t even know it 50years later. All while a new crop of people that love and appreciate this car. Watching people from all over the world come over to find John Morton to have him sign something, shake his hand, tell him a Datsun story. It’s surreal.”

 

Unfortunately our hopes of a first or second place finish in class were cut short at the second session. John Morton got an epic start and as they all went into turn 1 on the first lap (at night) a Lola T 70 lost its grip, then a Chevron panicked and cut hard right in front of John. There was nothing he could do and the car was so low that it flipped us up in the air and onto the roof:

 

John Morton was able to exit the Z safely, without any injuries. The Z was towed in, covered and our race ended. We all had hashbrowns and coffee late night at Waffle House. The next morning Josh and Rob set the tow on the front of the car, took plugs out and turned it over. We actually got to drive it around paddock Sunday morning, knowing we would be back again to take a run at the high banks of Daytona.

Randy: “Most historic race cars have been wrecked so many times and put back together and we will do the same after this Daytona accident. Just a slight bump in the road but we will come back stronger as we have learned and we will continue to write more current history with John at the wheel. We can’t wait until Daytona next year where Rob and John can finish the 24 hour that we started this year.”

Here is a video with in-car footage of both John Morton and Rob Fuller. Enjoy the triple-Mikuni carb’d music and wild banking of Daytona!  At the end is multiple-angle footage of the crash:

 

The BRE 240Z will be rebuilt at Z Car Garage

  

We welcomed back the #46Z to ZCG for a rebuild after damages from the Daytona crash. Stay tuned for progress updates:

Randy: “The car is being shipped to Z car garage on December 13th for repairs and to prep the car for the Walter Mitty races in Atlanta in April. The most amazing part of the fun we’ve had with this car over the past three years is the excitement that Peter Brock and John Morton have shared with all of us to turn back the Hands of time! I think because of social media John Morton may actually be more famous now than he was back in the day and he often thanks me for the efforts to make his accomplishments recognized over and over which he certainly deserves! What 77-year-old race car driver do you know still flies airplanes and rides dirt bikes, jeeps and works out!! Of course none of this would happen without Rob Fuller and Josh Corwin they have been the glue behind us entire program and I would’ve never done any of this without them. Rob takes control of many situations that could be stressful and makes things easier for me!”

 

At 77 years of age John Morton is still formidable behind the wheel!

  

Randy was and continues to be supremely enthusiastic about the Z, John Morton and BRE. His words from Daytona:

“Per usual our pit area always had fans coming up and wanted to know where John was to talk to him and get an autograph as he had raced with many of these legends for the past five decades! I really love the story about Peter Brock and the BRE team and what John accomplished in a short period of time and still lives in high racing lore! Every piece of history from this time s fun for me to gather and collect as all of it is a part of the story!”

Randy and the BRE 240Z Build

While many have seen the BRE 240z at racing events and shows, there is a great story behind this car as told by owner Randy Jaffe:

“I met John somewhere around 2012 and told him I was going to build a tribute to his championship 240 Z car and I’m sure he’s heard that hundreds of times and he was kind of bored with the conversation. Then I started sending him and Peter Brock emails to build it correctly then after I spent several years at an attempt to do a tribute I was with both of them one night and asked about the real story on the remains of the original car. Both of them looked at each other and back at me and I was like – what was that look for? They went on to tell me that the story I had heard for years about the car being totally destroyed and no longer around was not true. Dan Parkinson who lived about a hour and a half north of Los Angeles had the remains of the car that he had re-bodied after a 1977 ball joint failure at phoenix motor Speedway. Casey Mollett – another Datsun racer back in the day was a few hundred yards behind Dan Parkinson when he hit that wall and he was part of the teardown and reassembly to the 1977 to 80 Z that Nissan gave Dan to rebuild a car. They were going to repair the original 46Z which now wore the number five livery of Dan Parkinson but the painter said it would take a month and a half to two months and they had to race in a few weeks so they use the 1977 280 Z that Nissan gave Dan.”

 

“The long and short of it is that they raced the 1977 shell for a few years and retired the car and racing in 1979 and all of those parts just sat there until 2016. Dan and I have had conversations for over a year and many many people were trying to buy these parts because they knew what they were but for some reason he felt comfortable and asked me one day do I really want all the stuff and of course I said yes. John Morton actually said since he owned the original chassis plate which he had taken off the car when he installed the remote Traco oil filter back in 1970 he kept that Vin plate in his toolbox until he gave it to me at the Petersen Museum in 2016. I had already completed my car as a tribute to the BRE team and John Morton when Dan sold me all of the surviving pieces. I then ripped the entire car apart and installing every little piece I could that had integrity and that’s when Rob Fuller stepped in to finish the car build like it was back in the day.”

Pictures from the race prep of Randy’s Z at Z Car Garage:

  

A sampling of the original parts is shown below including the exhaust header with megaphones, SW gauges, and BRE remote oil filter/cooler. Original BRE heat shield and fuel block pictured above.  All assembled by the crew at ZCG prior to testing:

     

Randy’s fanatic attention to detail and our team’s prep culminated in John Morton enjoying the Z at several race events:

“So many of the remaining pieces along with the 1971 championship motor is on display at my shop. After going to a few shows with John Morton in the car I told him I wanted to race it and he kind of smirked and said it’s a show car not a race car and my reply was we’re gonna race it will you drive it and he Sylvia was nonchalant and said yeah maybe… when we signed up and got into the first Rolex reunion in 2017 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.”

 

“John wasn’t really excited about racing the car Rob and I could see that even when he got belted in the car. When he came back after 6 to 8 laps a different man had returned he immediately walked over to Sylvia and said what are my times – He knew he was turning really fast laps and was getting really fired up! He told Brock down at the Carmel car show that the show car was truly a fast racecar! That weekend he terrorized all kinds of Porsches including 935s and was running up front in the top 10 out of a group of 40 to 50 cars. This became really fun so we’ve done it now at Road Atlanta Laguna Seca and now Daytona!”

 

Big thanks to Randy Jaffe, Sylvia and John Morton, the ZCG team Josh and Keith Corwin, Meghan Fuller, Michael Eberhardt and Vintage Racing Company and HSR this was a memorable event we can’t wait to come back to next year. More pictures in the gallery below:

LONG LIVE THE Z!

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Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Z Car Garage! We hope you can find time to Enjoy The Ride over the holidays. Please note our hours of operation below:

We will be closed this Thursday and Friday for Thanksgiving, re-opening Tuesday December 3.

ZCG will close on the 20^th of December 2019,  reopening on the 2^nd of January 2020

Thank you!