More often than not, it’s our parents who are responsible for our unrelenting passion for cars. For Geoff G, his automotive love was gifted to him by his Dad as a child. We love sharing our passion with family and friends so when Geoff and his father visited us with their 1972 Datsun 240z we happily obliged to help. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles along with tuning really made it come alive.

Z Car Beginnings

The Z was acquired from a family friend in 2015. Geoff worked on it with his Dad (Edgar) to make it a decent runner:

“When we took ownership of the car it had been sitting in a garage for several years, only being fired up occasionally. It’s originally painted 112 yellow, but a couple resale-red resprays along the way is where she sits. Drive train is all original. SU’s and 4 speed all there. And most importantly, no rust, or any signs of accidents. This is me and my dad’s first Z car. Always been a fan.”  

Fast forward, the father-son duo felt confident enough to enter the Z on a couple of rallye events in 2019. These Targa events are familiar to us, having prepared the Bring a Trailer Datsun 240z for the Targa Baja California rallye in October ’18:

“In 2014 we successfully piloted his 1973 Opel GT on the Snowball Rally event.  So when we picked up our Z, we knew we would get it out on the rally events. You can see our Z in the videos below”

Targa California 2019 Z shows up at 7:00 min mark: YouTube

Targa Baja California 2019 – Z shows up at 0:52 mark sporting rally Z inspired decals: YouTube

Pictures from the two rallye events:

 

Regarding the livery, Edgar wanted to make the car stand out a bit more in the rallye events and typical BRE-inspired themes.  They went in the direction of the Rallye Monte Carlo Z that came in 3rd place at the 1972 event:

 

“The livery is very loosely based on the Monte Carlo car: When we brought it home, it came fitted with the front brush bar style bumper. I really did not like the look at the time, so I sourced a set of nice original chrome bumpers to bring it back to original. So we had that clean look for a while. But after our first rallye in the Z, I thought, you know, some fog lights would be a great idea. Functional for the night stages in the events. So we threw the brush bar back on, and it really set the tone for a rally style/safari look Z. In the end, the bumper and the livery came together.”

 

It’Z a Small World

 

Geoff and Edgar visited Z Car Garage back in January to help with some braking system issues.

“In the beginning of the year, after running the 2 previous events, the brakes started to feel on their way out.  So after coming across ZCG on social media several years ago, and at the backing of our dear family friend, Ricky Silverio, I reached out to Rob for some stopping help.”

It is a small world indeed, as we’ve known Ricky for many years and the crew at Japanese Nostalgic Car (JNC)! It gets even better as both Ricky and Geoff’s family’s go way back to their days in the Philippines. Recently, Ricky decided to let go of his 1993 Mazda Miata with only 31k miles and Geoff picked it up. It complements Geoff’s ’94 R-package Miata (he credits Ricky for his MX-5 addiction).

 

 

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

Back to the Z…Geoff had heard about our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) so we let both him and his father take “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car out for a test drive.

They were both super-impressed with how the brakes felt and they were sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂 Read below for a brief description of these parts:

     

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 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 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:

 

We removed Geoff’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. Up front:

   

A few more shots of the front brakes:

     Our Big-Brakes utilize the OEM brake master cylinder and booster along with the factory hydraulic system. We installed NOS booster and master cylinder for Geoff:

 

At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes:

          

Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!

  

The new brakes fit nicely behind the 15×8 RS Watanabe wheels front and rear:

      

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 90 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

 

Geoff received axle set #309. Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units, more pictures in the gallery below:

  

Engine

 

Geoff’s engine needed some work. The carbs were off as was the timing. Rob performed on-the-fly tuning after setting the carbs and full timing. The distributor was also re-installed correctly. After these adjustments were made they took their Z out for a drive and came back to the shop. The look on Edgar’s face was priceless. They were impressed. Stage 1 of this build is complete and we are discussing plans for a built L-series, 5-speed transmission and fresh suspension. The new triple Mikuni’s are ready:

 

Part Two

 

We had a blast working with this father and son team and love that their passion is a family affair. Their affection for Datsuns also runs deep with Edgar enjoying 510s in the 80’s and Geoff picking up this cherry 2-door in 2016:

 

“We are very much looking forward to the next step. It’s a great car, and we’ve made so many good friends and stories in it. There will be a sequel, starring a 3.1L and triple Mikuni’s. Can’t wait for the next chapter!”

Tune in to zcarblog for updates and Long Live The Z!

More pictures in the gallery below: …[read more]

We had a tremendous week racing at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 14-16.  More commonly known as the “historics” at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, this epic vintage race is part of several events occupying the week-long Monterey car festival leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours. Every year the RMMR highlights a featured marque but for 2019 the International Motor Sports Association, better known as IMSA , was celebrated.

Typically we would be joining a large group of fellow Nissan/Datsun owners on the race track but it was a bit different this year. Despite IMSA being the featured marque many of us did not gain admission.  Fortunately, our customer Alex McDowell got his Nissan Bluebird and Datsun 280ZX accepted along with newcomer Doug and his DeKon Monza. As a service offered to our customers, we provided full trackside support in addition to race preparation/tuning for the RMMR event.

Serious recognition for Japanese Classics

The Reunion is a highlight for race fans, but it is also part of Monterey Car Week which is filled with classy events like auctions and the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’ Elegance.  The Japanese Automotive Invitational hosted by Infiniti returned since its inaugural event last year. While I did not have a chance to visit the JAI, our friends at Japanese Nostalgic Car did. We are proud of several Datsuns displayed:  Steve Tetreault’s  stunning ’64 Datsun 1500 (from Florida!), John Baker’s 1969 Datsun 2000,  Brian Kippen’s 1972 Datsun 240z and Nissan Patrol and the Jim Froula-restored Ex-Greg Sorrentino 510 B-sedan:

Epic racing

The IMSA GT group (5A) was a fantastic mix of our favorite cars like the Z car, Porsche 911, BMW CSL and American muscle like the DeKon Monza and Corvette.  Z Car Garage supported Alex McDowell in the 1979 Datsun 280zx and Doug Stevens’ in the 1976 DeKon Monza.

Alex McDowell in the Jim Fitzgerald Datsun 280zx

Alex did really well this year, having run the RMMR a few times now. The Fitzy 280zx received a fresh engine with more power and performed flawlessly.

It was unfortunate that our familiar Datsun buddies were not on track with us:  only Alex and David Martin in the Friselle 240Z were out there repping Datsun.  The two had a great battle with Alex eventually pulling away from David, enjoy the in-car footage from the 280zx below.

The DeKon Monza

Z Car Garage supported three race cars at the 2019 RMMR and the biggest challenge was a new kid in town…Doug Stevens and his DeKon Monza. He hails out of Bakersfield, CA and came to ZCG for a dyno session on referral from Chad Raynall of Impeccable Inc..  Doug wanted to get the DeKon dialed in after it been mothballed for years. It’s always been a goal of his to run the RMMR, so we fully prepared this car, having to change many parts.

Our first race was at the Sonoma Historics where Doug lost a wheel causing him to go off track. The left rear flare and bumper/taillight were damaged. So there we were in late June with the Rolex approaching in August. Doug sourced a fender flare and we called upon our man William to fuse it into the existing bodywork…the damage was undetectable and patina retained!

At RMMR, more problems arose. Rob recounts the events at the Pre-Historics (a “practice” weekend proceeding RMMR):

“The way the rear suspension is designed it loads rear wheel bearings heavily. The combination of a wide 15″ tire, high power and grip allows the seal to wallow out. A few hot-rod fixes were not applied to this car b/c it has a real vintage setup, yet to be updated. We fought that over the weekend, sorted it out and Doug was able to finish the session.”

Then, in the last practice session of Pre-Historics weekend we lost a brake line and caliper which resulted in a fire in both front wheels.

 

We were stranded without a wheel or replacement front brake setup. Missing the big show was becoming a possibility. We towed car back to the shop Sunday afternoon. Josh and the ZCG team helped sort the front braking system with new brackets fabricated and last minute work from Brian Kippen.  By 9pm the car was back together and now the backup wheels won’t fit over the new brakes. We looked all over for a replacement wheel including racers and the BBS factory with no luck. Success: Chad Raynall called us with old wheel centers and Larry Oka had the old hardware.

Doug finished the final Group 5A race at the RMMR, Rob:

“After sorting issues the Monza ran wonderfully at RMMR. Doug’s family and parents came out and it reminded me of when Joel Anderson first went out. We are lucky to help someone realize their goal, a shared dream that we also have. It was rewarding to be with his family with hugs all around, so gracious. Doug will return this winter for a full teardown/inspections.”

We will have a zcarblog full feature on the Monza, for now here is a nice one from Stanceworks

Alex McDowell in the Bluebird

The Group 4B (GT cars under 2.5L) had some heated battles between Alex in the Bluebird and John Wilkins in the Ex-Bob Studdard Datsun 2000. Watch them mix it up with Porsche 911s and an Alfa GTZ piloted by Gunnar Jeaneatte in the video below:

 

Notes from Rob:

 “Alex and Bluebird really work well together. That car finished 5th in the race. We had a few issues with a hit and the right front strut got damaged. With help from Jim Froula we were able to weld it in their bay and get Alex back on the track. Adding to the drama was more car contact as got bumped a little.”

Watch this extended in-car video below of Alex piloting the 280zx with extra footage of the Bluebird and DeKon Monza:

You can see more IMSA race coverage on Speedhunters.

Paddock Highlights

The best part of the RMMR has to be the paddock. Home to all the race cars and their teams, massive car transporters and an all-around pure sensory overload. At every corner there is wicked metal with history begging to be told.

Rob displayed his 1967 Datsun 2000. Everyone loved it:

Bring a Trailer

Our friends from Bring a Trailer hosted a really cool car corral near turn 3. Filled with cars won through BaT, this was so much fun to walk through. We hope they do it yearly!

A few S30s including our customer Jim H’s 1971 240z

Paddock finds

From massive transporters, to exotics and downright crazy vehicles the paddock never disappoints. Here’s a few of my favorites, more in the gallery!

  

Sights and Sounds!

Enjoy this video from the paddock and starting grid

People

Contributing to the fun were family and friends. Our customer Jim H got acquainted with the previous owner of his Z, Les Cannaday:

We were humbled by the number of people that stopped by including fellow Datsun owners and Randy Jaffe, Kurt Hafer and Jan Trondsen:

 

Thank you!

We hope you have enjoyed our recap of the 2019 Monterey Historics! Please browse our mega-gallery of pictures from race weekend below. Big thanks to our friends and family members that helped us make this possible including Larry Oka, Chad Raynall, Brian Kippen, Jim Froula and the ZCG Crew: Josh, Nick, Keith, Cory and Meghan Fuller. We certainly enjoyed the company of friends and visitors in our paddock, here’s to another year of vintage racing in Monterey, California.

Long Live The Z!

Z CARS RULE ONCE AGAIN at Laguna Seca at the next RMMR! That’s right we have submitted our race car applications for RMMR 2020, featured marque announced soon! …[read more]