David Swig of MotoringJStyle teamed up with the Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) to bring us “Turn Z” during the Historic Races held at Infineon Raceway last Sunday. It was a fantastic day with incredible weather and a very impressive showing of classic Datsuns and Nissans.

ZCarGarage once again was the meeting place for the morning caravan up to Sonoma. I highly recommend joining us when we caravan to an event because it is a fun experience. Motoring up the freeways with a group of fellow car nuts is not to be missed. This group included a nice mix of old/new: two 240z cars, a ’67 roadster, a twin-turbo 370z and 350z, a twin-turbo G35 coupe, and 2 more z33s.
Here we are enjoying an on-ramp to highway 80 going to Sonoma:

Morning fog burned off and gave way to a sunny sky with light breeze when we arrived at Infineon Raceway…I love the sound of engines blaring and the smell of race fuel in the air.

As we drove through the ticket gate I was joined by 3 other Datsun roadsters and we were escorted Nascar-style by an Infineon ring taxi to Turn 7, appropriately designated “Turn Z” where the Datsun/Nissan car corral was being held. To my surprise this corral was completely paved, and had a stunning view of the track. In fact, we were so close to the Turn 7 run-off that we had to re-park a few cars for safety!
Big thanks to ZONC and David Swig for giving us a great corral, it was much better than the corral we have at Laguna Seca which leaves your freshly detailed ride covered in a nice thick layer of dust with bits of hay in the interior.

There were plenty of cool old-school Japanese rides in the corral mixed with modern ones too.  At the peak there were close to 50 cars! Some notables:

Super clean period-restored 240z cars:

Datsun 510 with a turbocharged KA24DE drivetrain:

A ZG-flared SR20DET-powered 240z with a very JDM paint color:

A Toyota S800!

More Old-School Toyotas:

Lou’s RHD FairladyZ(Yes, those badges came from the factory!) with some killer 17″ Panasports(custom offset) and 255mm wide tires:

 

This fully restored 1967.5 Datsun 2000 roadster was just plain pretty:

After looking at cars in Turn Z we toured the paddock area to check out vintage race cars from all eras. Lots of high-dollar, exotic and American muscle cars that left us all drooling and dreaming. Attention to detail, craftsmanship and cleanliness were at ever corner, in addition to some serious and frantic wrenching by race crews.
We found 1 Datsun that was actually competing in the races, this 240z complete with light beer livery and  some interesting flares:

The garage area had some impressive IMSA/Can-AM cars, below is just a sample of what the paddock had to offer:

Once the paddock area was thoroughly inspected  it was time to watch some racing! Datsun/Nissan racing legend John Morton was driving in 2 races so we had to watch our hero! John was driving a Scarab and Sunbeam Tiger. Things got more interesting when we noticed that David Swig was in the same races as Morton, piloting the Monsterati and Shelby Mustang.

After watching a few races the end of the day was capped off with a parade lap around Infineon Raceway, where participants in the Turn Z corral could take their own cars out on the track! This was 3-4 laps of pure bliss for folks, and I am still hearing good things about it. What a great way to also show off our Japanese rides to the crowd too!

I really hope that this event reaches yearly status, and with more advance notice I’m positive turnout will be even greater. Thanks again to David Swig and ZONC. Turn Z was a success, here’s to the 40th Anniversary of the Z!

Click below for more pictures!
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Who doesn’t love the BRE #46 Datsun 240z?!?!  The car is famous for putting the Z on the racing map and now is your chance to get in on the action and relive it’s past glory.  The main production run of these incredibly detailed models is 3000 pieces with a special limited production run of 146 models to be signed by Pete Brock and John Morton.  That’s right, you can get one of these signed by your Datsun heros.

Not very often are we given the chance to relive past Datsun greatness through an offer like this.  Buy one while you can.  If you are attending the Monterey Historics in a couple of weeks then you will get the chance to see these in person. (Go to ZONC.org to get your tickets and corral Passes)

The models are also available from the BRE website, HERE.

Official Info From BRE:

If you look up the word “detail” in the dictionary you’re liable to find a photo of this new 1:18 scale BRE 240Z racer by world renown model maker, Kyosho.  John Morton’s famous #46, ’70-’71 SCCA National Champ in so beautifully finished we didn’t we didn’t figure out that the shut lines for the doors, hood, and rear hatch weren’t just cast-in lines but actually opened until we’d had it in-hand for several minutes!  In fact, a special tool is provided to open the doors, as the fit is so precise your fingernails are too thick!

All these panels open to reveal wonderfully intricate, fabulous detail that only true racing enthusiasts could have persevered to replicate. Under the forward opening hood, in the engine compartment, you’ll find Stainless Aeroquip hoses, complete with red/blue anodized end-fittings, custom-spun black-alloy air horns on the triple Mikuni dual-chokes and BRE’s carefully crafted, gold-anodized heat-shield to keep those triple side drafts cool. The remote oil filter and Harrison military-spec ‘chopper oil-cooler just add to the fascination.

The weight of this model gives it a quality feel you’ll just love. Flip it over and you’ll see the headers and complete exhaust system Sperexed in bright yellow VHT paint, just like the real BRE race car….even the megaphones out the back are right to scale. You can almost hear the distinctive sound of this BRE L series engine with Morton, his foot hard-down on the back straight at Road Atlanta, on his way to winning his second straight National Championship!

The interior’s details are impressive with cloth seat belts, a quilted interior just like the cars had back then, the wooden gear shift knob. Not a detail has been missed. BRE’s custom red, white and blue race livery sets this piece off as something really special in any collection. Even the American Racing Le Mans mags with polished rims are perfect in every detail. If there’s going to be any BRE racer in your collection, THIS is the one.

Thank you Kyosho for making racing history available to all of us!

Peter Brock

The production run on this model is limited to 3000.  A special edition numbered 1-146 model is being offered with both Peter Brock and John Morton’s signature.  You can order either the regular model at $139 or the special edition at $189 through the BRE website at http://www.bre2.net/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=B&Category_Code=models .  Or if you’ll be at the Monterey Historics the weekend of Aug 14-16, be sure to stop by the BRE booth where BRE will also have the models in stock.