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.
We had the pleasure of working with Jeff to help get his Z back on the road after sitting for many years. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles grace this Z along with upgraded suspension and drivetrain parts.
Long Term Project
Jeff visited Z Car Garage early this year with his 1971 S30 for revival from a stalled restoration. Before we delve into our efforts to bring it back to life here is Jeff’s brief history:
“I purchased the car in 2006 and it was white and worn out with a blown engine. I purchased it with the intention of tearing it down to bare metal and restoring it. This is my third 1971 240z and by far the best finished product of the three. It took thirteen years from the time I purchased the car in Clovis until I picked it up from the Z Car Garage in March of 2019. I have had six different cars that were restored over the years and this Z was one of the harder restorations which seemed to fight me at every turn along the way.”
As with any restoration project Jeff experienced his share of setbacks. A new dashboard had fitment issues and the rebuilt engine failed requiring more machine shop time. Unfortunately with all of time/effort invested, Jeff’s friend passed away and the project halted:
“I had a friend that owned a body shop that I had paint it. Well my buddy decided that the color chip I picked out was not dark enough so he took it upon himself to change it to a darker color blue. The end result is what I call blurple or blue and purple. My buddy was diagnosed with cancer right after he did the blurple paint job and passed away shortly thereafter. It’s not my favorite color but I am living with it.”
Fast forward to 2019, Jeff made an appointment to bring his Z in to us:
“I did my research and Rob and the Z Car Garage had the best reviews. I called Rob and made an appointment for the blurple Z which was three months out due to their big customer base and quality of their work. Like the old saying goes ” good things come to those who wait” and I loaded the blurple Z onto my car hauler and drove to San Jose.
Engine Bay and Sorting
After sitting for over a decade, we began the process of making Jeff’s Z roadworthy. We went through the car top to bottom, starting with the drivetrain. It came to us with a previously rebuilt (though never operated) engine requiring a freshened fuel system, re-worked carb linkage and general sorting.
With new clutch hydraulics and a repaired speedometer we got the rebuilt engine up and running quite well, until carb issues:
“I had purchased triple 40 mm Webers but the car sat for so long the gas went bad and there was build-up in the fuel system which kept fouling the Webers so I had Rob purchase and install 45 mm Webers and dial them in on his dyno.”
We replaced the 40s with new Weber 45 DCOE carbs and velocity stacks, an MSD box and ZCG heat shield. Pictures of the old 40’s and more in the gallery below:
MSD ignition and wiring:
New induction setup compete:
Dyno Tuning
Rob dyno tuned the rebuilt engine with triple Weber 40s and after the addition of triple Weber 45s. We saw gains of 19hp/17tq and improved power throughout the rev range:
Listen to the L-series sing on this video showing the dyno runs, in-car driving and comments from Rob. You can also see a very happy Jeff enjoying his Z:
Backing the L-series was a tired 4-speed transmission:
“I originally took it so Rob could get the triple Webers dialed in on his dyno and a couple other little items. I was so impressed by the operation that I had them swap out a four speed that had been gone through with a five speed transmission.”
This is an early 5-speed from a ’77-78 280z (0.86 overdrive) rebuilt by expert Steve Pettersen of Pettersen Motorworks in Chico, CA. We also installed a new clutch/flywheel and slave. The trans tunnel was slightly trimmed along with the console to accept the shifter.
Chassis
The chassis was treated to a full suspension refresh with new parts, bushings and Koni Reds with Eibach springs. We installed lower adjustable control arms and T/C rods from Techno Toy Tuning. T3 finishes the suspension in our signature color and we really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.
ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles
Since Jeff’s Z had been sitting for a long time, he had seen some of the cool stuff we’ve been doing and stopped by to sample “Mrs. Butters”, our 1970 Series 1 240z shop demo car. After handing him the keys he was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂
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 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 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 went ahead got him dialed in with the ZCG big-brake kit for small wheels, parking brake, and ZCG full exhaust system. We removed Jeff’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit:
At the rear, the existing old-school disc setup was replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!
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 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback. Jeff has set #00271
Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units:
More pictures of the ZCG axles installed, also visible are the T3 control arms and ZCG exhaust system using 2.5″ piping to a stainless resonator and Magnaflow muffler with slash-cut tip.
The interior receive attention as well with our ZCG upgraded door seal and door treatment. A nice touch that makes solid “thud” sound that we are known for. We dialed Jef in with new tires and he was off Enjoying The Ride:
“The car was done when he said it would be and it runs great. I had my first 71 Z when my wife and I started dating and she has loved Zs ever since. The wife loves to drive it too. I would recommend Rob and the Z Car Garage crew for any repair or a full restoration. Had I known about the Z Car Garage prior to starting the restoration I would have had them do it. If Rob tells you something he does everything in his power to make it happen.”
Jeff was really stoked. He’s still excited, with plans for a more powerful engine. Thanks for letting us revive your Z, Jeff! More pictures in the gallery below and Long Live The Z!
Brian P hails from Canada and lives in the Bay Area with his family. We met him in 2014 when he visited ZCG for minor sorting and upgrades on his pretty 1973 S30.
Attention to the engine bay included changing all fluids, new motor mounts, upgraded alternator and a fresh Koyo racing radiator:
Rob dyno tuned the stock, SU-carb’d L24 before and after the addition of our ZCG exhaust using 2.5″ piping to a stainless resonator and Magnaflow muffler with slash-cut tip. We saw gains of 13hp/5tq and improved power throughout the mid-range:
Brian returned in 2016 for suspension upgrades. We installed 5-way Tokicos, Suspension Techniques sway bars, Techno Toy Tuning adjustable rear lower control arms, TC rods, and rack bushings.
Everything was powdercoated black and we zinc’d all hardware. With fresh bearings and a few more new suspension parts he was out and enjoying the Z.
Panasport Wheels
Complementing the new springs and shocks on Brian’s Z are Panasport wheels! We replaced the old-school Western Turbine wheels with 16×7 Panasports and Hankook R-S3 tires in 225/50/16.
Bottom left picture from Brian:
“This was taken on the day I picked up the car from the PO, a retired writer in Oakland, who only sold me the car after a 3 hour interview/visit 2 weekends prior, before the car was officially ‘for sale’ (I felt like I was being vetted as the car’s next custodian).”
After a few years of driving, Brian came back early this summer for more upgrades. We handed him the keys to “Mrs. Butters”, our 1970 Series 1 240z shop demo car and he was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂
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 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 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 Brian’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. We also took his Tokico 5-ways in trade for a full coil-over (Koni) suspension from Techno Toy Tuning. T3 finishes the suspension in our signature color and we really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.
ZCG Big-brakes and T3 coil-overs replacing stock setup:
At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained! T3 coil-covers also installed:
Brian really wanted the look and feel of Mrs. Butters Z so we obsessed over ride height until we got it exactly where he wanted it. The Z looks fabulous from any angle:
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 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units:
More pictures of the ZCG axles installed, also visible are the T3 control arms and ZCG exhaust system:
Driving is Believing
Brian was impressed with the ZCG Big-Brakes and how well they work: like having late model brakes on a vintage car!
“The brakes are amazing. I push the car hard on weekend drives on the Peninsula, normally taking different routes out to Alice’s, now without any fade or fear (except from passengers).”
With suspension and drivetrain sorted, Brian had a few remaining things on his mind. He reported a heavy fuel smell in the cabin so we replaced all of the vapor hoses to the fuel tank and installed a new hatch seal:
Finally, his hood had little specks on it so we had our man William repaint and blend it. Icing on the cake: Rob installed a NOS “Datsun” emblem on it after adjusting the hood.
Enjoy this short video of Brian’s Z:
We enjoyed working with Brian:
“Rob and team are the best, and the only shop that will ever touch my car. I have supreme confidence that my expectations will be always be exceeded, and Rob’s enthusiasm is infectious. On a lighter note and as a Canadian transplant down here in the Bay Area, it’s a pleasant surprise to find someone who doesn’t feel the need to insert ‘ice’ before saying ‘hockey’.”
Thank you for entrusting us with your S30, Brian. We are so fortunate to work with owners that appreciate the Z and believe in our ability to make them better! LONG LIVE THE Z!
