At Z Car Garage we love keeping Z’s on the road. From concours-level restorations to light refurbishments, making a client’s goals reality is our passion. Richard W brought his 1971 Datsun 240Z from Eureka, Ca for a full mechanical restoration, ZCG-style. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles and Z Car Garage Heat Shield along with a new drivetrain and full suspension transformed this Series 1 S30.

 

In 2017 Richard contacted us to inquire about restoration work. He understood we were booked, and we spoke again later, but this time he visited the shop with a photo album filled with photos of his beautiful, Sunshine Yellow Z.

“I did my due diligence and researched what ZCG could do, and arranged for a meeting with Rob to discuss my car. I asked if he would be interested in restoring my 1970 240 Z.  He was pretty adamant, ‘I don’t restore those rust buckets anymore.’ A little disheartened but I persisted. Would you take a look at the album I have of my car? He flipped through he pages and you could see him light up and the enthusiasm came forth. He said, ‘Where is the rust?’. I told him there was none as the car has been indoors for the last 40 years.”

Rob and Richard agreed that since the exterior was in great shape ZCG would perform a mechanical restoration. Richard is in his 70’s and still practices dentistry in the small town of Eureka. After being parked for decades he trailered the Z down and arrived at ZCG in January 2018 . Here is VIN #12291, with 63k original miles:

He bought this Z brand new 12/70 and absolutely adores it, being an integral part of his life for half a century! We love the story behind Richard’s Z lets’ take a look before going into the mechanical work…

Life With The Z

“We all have defining moments in our lives and those moments need to be prioritized. The marriage to my wife of 50+ years is of course the most important moment. She provided the resources to live in San Francisco and was so supportive of my graduation from college. That same year she became pregnant with our first born. We moved to Eureka at the same time. I was able to start my own business in 1970 and begin an adult life. All the important hurdles were checked off. We moved to Eureka with $300 in our pocket and a mountain of debt. But wait, there was one more hurdle…”

 

“…From across a parking lot, in Eureka no less, stood a bright yellow Ferrari. Upon closer inspection I was even more baffled. What was a Datsun 240Z?  I went to the local Datsun agency, long before Nissan came along and made my inquiry. Yes, the new 240Zs are very special and very desirable. They were being shipped in but there is a waiting list. Just add my name.  Sure enough they called a few weeks later and said there was an Orange Z on the lot. They made the mistake of letting me wring that car out and I was sold. While I was in school in San Francisco, I saw Cobras and Porsches that cost $6 – $7,000. Way out of my league but I could afford the $3,600 Z. Even if it meant borrowing $1,200. In early December 1970 I took possession of my Z. It became my car and my identity. It has remained just that for the last 50 years.“

“My oldest son was born the following February. Now all the pieces for my life fell into place. Marriage, college, moving to a permanent home, birth of our son and the final piece, my sports car. Being a young family in the ‘70s was simple. We just put Jason between our two seats the Bull Dog in the back and off we drove. No thought of a car seat. Before he was six months old, we had been the 700 miles to San Diego and the 700 miles to Canada. Not a care in the world and a wonderful way to see the country.” 

“My car was a daily driver. For the next 20 + years that was my car. As my boys grew up and learned to drive, I needed to provide a car for them for high school. Well, not my car.  So, I bought them an upgraded and modified ’71 240Z. I bought the Z because I felt they would be safer in that car. I didn’t want a larger car they would put a lot of friends in. Later on, I heard they actually had put 5 guys in the Z car.” 

Of course, over time, tastes changed and Richard succumbed to buying a 1992 Corvette. You know, the ones you fall into and climb out of. Fast forward to 2015 and his 240Z is in the garage, covered with the things a guy collects in a garage. The ‘vette became useless and the family all preferred the Z. This is where ZCG becomes part of Richard’s Z car journey. Let the mechanical restoration begin on this Series 1 that has not run since 1985…

Drivetrain

We got the original L24 with SUs running after sitting for years, but Richard wanted more power and Rob suggested a Rebello 3.1L engine. Supporting parts included an MSA 6-into-1 header, ZCG exhaust system, internally regulated 280ZX alternator, 280ZX gear reduction starter, KOYO race radiator (custom upper hose) and Z Car Garage Heat Shield. Here are a few pictures of the engine build/installation with many more in the gallery:

Powdercoated and plated parts adorn the engine:

Induction is handled by triple-Mikuni PH44 carbs on a Harada intake manifold.

 

 

Beneath the triple-Mikunis is our Z Car Garage Heat Shield, serial #00250:

To handle the power from the 3.1L engine we replaced the stock transmission with a Nissan KA24 (FS5W71C) transmission. This was a common swap (before the CD009a came to market) performed by modifying a 280Z L-series bell housing. The KA24 unit is significantly stronger than early S30 transmissions.

 

Engine Bay Services

Richard’s Z received a total engine bay restoration. Please visit the gallery below for more pictures documenting the engine bay restoration work, it’s where our efforts shine!

With the engine/transmission removed we focused our efforts on restoring the engine bay.  Everything was cad plated or powdercoated.  All new fuel hoses, every cooling hose and all new hydraulic lines. Every nut/bolt is bagged and tagged before re-plating.

   

The Z’s body had been painted once before but the engine bay was left un-touched. We called upon our man William from William’s Auto Body re-spray the 919 Sunshine Yellow and it turned out fantastic. Before/After:

 

   

 

With the new engine/transmission even more detail work was performed:

Final Before/After in the engine bay:

Our ZCG Exhaust system using 2.5″ piping to a stainless resonator and Magnaflow muffler with slash-cut tip. Listen to the sound in the video below!

Dyno Tuning

Rob dyno tuned the Rebello 3.1L engine making a stout 199hp/221tq to the wheels. Enjoy the L-series music in this extended video of Richard’s Z including dyno runs, test drive with Rob and drive-bys:

Suspension

Richard’s chassis was treated to a full suspension rebuild with new parts, bushings and a full coil-over (Koni struts with our spring rates) 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.

 

New parts included the T3 adjustable T/C rods, T3 rear control arms, T3 front/rear strut tower bars, new ball joints, new front bushings, all new bearings and seals and ST sway bars. Richard wanted a fantastic driver that was worry-free. We replaced all of the hydraulics and front/rear suspension assemblies to match the new driveline.  All suspension was either zinc’d or powdercoated:

Front Suspension refresh with T/C rod, crossmember and steering rack detail:

 

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

We are proud to have several of our ZCG products on Richard’s 240z. We installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and also upgraded to Z Car Garage CV Axles! These products have been standard on numerous ZCG builds.

     

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 and got Richard dialed in with the ZCG big-brake kit for small wheels with parking brake and a new OEM Nissan master cylinder. More pics in the gallery!

  

Front brake installation:

  

At the rear, the OEM drums brakes were 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 130+ CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

 

Richard’s standard half-shafts shown on left:

     

Panasport Wheels

 

Our ZCG Big-Brakes also look great behind Panasport wheels in our offset allowing us to run 225/50/16 tires (Bridgestone S-007a). The Z was fully aligned afterwards.

 

Interior

 

One of our favorite upgrades to the interior of an S30 is our ZCG sound deadening package. Usually found in our full-blown ZCG restorations, the result is a less tinny sound and almost Germanic-like “clunk” when you shut the doors.

 

We are really proud of the HVAC system in this Z. A vintage A/C unit was modified to work with the factory heater box and OEM controls. Our client Kurt W 3D-printed us a vent part to allow the A/C to blow cold and hard…see the video! We are working on a solution for all our customers stay tuned!

 

New, high-end carpet throughout:

 

The stock seats were replaced with Recaro Specialist in black leather, we love these seats for the S30:

  

Details

 

The little things are what we excel at. Exterior items include straightening and re-chroming both f/r bumpers. We also removed the 80’s style front spoiler and replaced it with the the correct 3-piece setup from our Series 1 parts stash:

 We installed electric power steering, it is a wonderful upgrade see how effortless low-speed steering is in our video above!

 

Please check the gallery below for more detail shots, there are too many to list in this blog post!

Enjoying The Ride

 

In December 2020 Richard made the trek from Eureka down to Z Car Garage to pick up his restored Z. After he came back from his test drive it was quite emotional for the two Z car enthusiasts. Rob recalls…

“Richard got out of the Z and told me he had bought this Z 50 years ago that week, it’s been with him through alot of stuff and now his kids and grandkids will get to enjoy it. I looked him in the eye and said I’ll be here for their chapters, any time they need me. I’m attached to this Z now too.”

Richard was ecstatic. It was the reaction we live for at ZCG:

“I delivered the car to Rob and put a lot of trust in him. Nothing happens fast but what happened to my car is truly miraculous. Rob’s attention to detail is unsurpassed. It was just last December that I was able to pick up the car. It was exactly 50 years to the day that I bought the original car. It is not the Z car of yore. Rob had replaced everything. If it was bolted to the frame, all the original equipment came out. From new Recaro seats, interior upholstery replacement and sound deadening. He started up front with the radiator through new larger engine with 3 -2 barrel carburetors to tranny, exhaust system, suspension tires and wheels. It is a brand new car inside but still looks like the Ferrari I saw so many years ago.”

 

 

Richard began Enjoying the Ride in his fresh Sunshine Yellow Z back home. He sent us an e-mail of his adventures.

 “It has been a whirlwind 4 days in my life. Friday was my drive to San Jose hauling a trailer and all the while the anticipation of seeing the Z after the restoration. Saturday morning was nothing short of exhilarating. There was my little beauty, long in tooth but brought back to its original radiance. Not just radiance but purposeful modifications. What you have done with the car is truly remarkable. It is not the same car beneath that unmistakable glow.

Our visit and talk was also a highlight for me. Your exuberance is contagious. I do so love out of association. You have given me a link to my past and the wonderful times I have spent with Cheryl and my boys. So ends an odyssey that began a few years ago. I could not be happier for two reason. My car has been brought back for me to enjoy and I have made friends with an amazing man. Thank you Rob for all you have done for me.”

 

 

Richard, thank you for letting us be part of your Z car journey. We love your passion and connection to your Z. Enjoy the photo gallery and…

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

.

 

…[read more]

Tony K’s 1972 Datsun 240Z has a long history with Z Car Garage having received upgrades like a 3L with triple-Mikuni ph44s, 280Zx 5-speed transmission, suspension refresh, our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles and Z Car Garage Heat Sheild.

Tony’s Z has a great history that begins with our friend and fellow enthusiast Rob Julien. Let’s take a closer look.

Keeping it in the Z Family

 

Very shortly after purchasing the car, Tony took it on the best road trip of his life:

“I drove with my wife from San Francisco to Vancouver where I lived and worked at the time, taking Rt 101 along the coast as far as I could up into Oregon before heading inland.  The car was so great – planted and confidence inspiring on the twisty back roads, plenty of power, and a great soundtrack.  While I lived in Vancouver, I met a group of Italians who loved cars, and we often took spectacular mountain drives during the spring and summer months and then garaged our cars in the winter.”

  

During its time in the Great White North we helped Tony out remotely:

“One of the best parts of my experience with the car has been the professional service, unparalleled expertise, and honest work from Rob and his great team at ZCG.  I had spoken to Rob several times while I lived in Vancouver to ask him various questions, and he treated me like a valued customer; he spent quite a bit of time listening and explaining things to me even though I wasn’t a customer, and he didn’t know me from Adam.  It was very clear to me how much he loved the Z and simply wanted to help me enjoy the car as much as possible.  It was great to finally meet him and his team (and of course the shop dog) when I moved back to California and witness his infectious enthusiasm in person.”

Welcome Back to Cali

 

Tony serendipitously moved from Vancouver back to the Bay Area and immediately visited ZCG so we could handle everything on his wishlist. Let’s review the work we performed just before Tony left for Canada.

Engine Bay Services

The engine bay was painted black so we took this opportunity to paint it body color and perform general tidying. As usual William worked his magic to match the Iris Blue Metallic body color. Before/after:

  

New hydraulic lines/plumbing and wiring harness cleanup made this engine bay pop

 

We treated the engine to several upgrades including an MSA 6-into-1 exhaust header, new intake manifold with rebuilt Mikuni pH44 carbs, JWT HD clutch/flywheel, Koyo aluminum radiator:

 

We also installed what every triple-carbed L-series needs: a Z Car Garage Heat Sheild!

 

From dirty and grimy to fresh and clean. You an also see the freshened front suspension with new T/C rods and lower front control arms from Techno Toy Tuning

 

Tony’s Z also got the ZCG HID kit. We performed this mod on Gary R’s 280z restoration with great results: stock appearance during the day with HID brilliance at night. These were adjusted at his recent visit.

 

The Z Car Garage Touch

 

After driving the Z all the way down from Vancouver, Tony reported the rear brake drums had failed so he had the Z towed to us from Sacramento. It was time to take care of the little things that he wanted sorted as well as some exciting upgrades, ZCG-style.

 

The interior got some love with repaired tachometer, fabricated fire extinguisher bracket, new shift boot, shifter/bushings, NRG quick-release to work with his MOMO steering wheel, new front/rear window seals, rear hatch seal and MSA glove box insert.

Recaro Specialist Seats

 
We installed on of our favorite seats for the S30: the Recaro LXF. These are Specialist seats in leather that have proper brackets to make them fit, feel and look fantastic.

Dyno Tuning

 

The 3.0L stroker L-Series received a full Mikuni carb tune, sync, idle speed set and velocity stacks with filters. We also cleaned up the engine bay/tranny areas.

  

The stroker motor produced good power with Rob’s dyno tuning. Baseline was 191hp/187tq with final results of 208hp/201tq to the wheels:

 

Enjoy that sweet Mikuni-carb’d L-Series music on the dyno:

 

Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and CV Axles

Our readers are likely familiar with “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car with full suspension and our ZCG Big-Brakes. Following a test drive in Butters, clients are sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles! 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 Tony’s brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. Early in its life the Z also received Ground Control coil-overs and suspension parts from Techno Toy Tuning. New parts included adjustable T/C rods, sway bar set, rear control arms, new bushings, rack bushings, steering coupler, factory Nissan ball joints, new wheel bearings and more.  We really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.

 

Tony’s Toyota 4-Runner brakes removed and we installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit up front.

 

Our Big-Brakes utilize the OEM brake master cylinder and booster along with the factory hydraulic system. We replaced the M/C with a new unit, here are a few more shots of the front setup:

 

At the rear, the OEM drums brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!

  Following the suspension and brake installation we mounted fresh Bridgestone RE-71R tires and performed a full alignment. The new ZCG Big-Brakes fit nicely behind the full-polished 16″ Panasport wheels:

 

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

  

Tony received axle set #263. Stock half shafts and ZCG units shown below with more pictures in the gallery:

 

Tony was pleased with the mechanical upgrades:

“I had the car towed to ZCG from Sacramento for Rob and his great team to install the ZCG Big Brakes, ZCG CV axles, new Recaros, new tires, and get a much-needed partial re-spray.  The upgrades and modifications really transformed the car from really fun to drive to truly confidence inspiring, particularly because of the awesome brakes.”

Making it look good

 

After years  of wear and tear the clearcoat was starting to peel on the roof  (pictured below, left).  As usual William worked his magic to match the Iris Blue Metallic body color, re-spraying/blending the top of the car.

 

We are happy to report that Tony is Enjoying The Ride. Here are a few summer pictures post fresh paint/upgrades, more in the gallery below!

 

 

“I have a few more upgrades I’d like to do on the car (a tad more power and perhaps upgrade the suspension), but one thing is for sure: there’s no one I’d rather have work on my car. But more importantly, I just need to drive the stink out of it.”

Thanks Tony for trusting us with your Z.  This car has come full circle as Rob worked on it when he was 26 years old and now at 48. We are lucky to have a life filled with cool Z cars and more importantly  great relationships with their owners. ZCG is a like home to them. LONG LIVE THE Z!

…[read more]

We met Ken W last summer when he stopped by Z Car Garage to meet Rob and have his S30 inspected. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles along with upgraded suspension parts and a Rebello 3L engine transformed his 1971 240Z into a fantastic sports car.

The Right Z

Before we dive in to the upgrades let’s take a look at how Ken got into Z cars and finally found the right one…

“When I was a junior in High School, the cool kids were driving Mustangs, Camaros, and ‘Cudas. Always different, my imagination was captured by the ’71 Datsun 240z. Being a Kansas farm boy on the lower end of the economic scale, had to settle for a ’64 Ford Fairlane 500 4-door with the 269 V-8. Knew that someday I’d own a 240z. Spent 2018 researching the 240z market. In January 2019, bought a red ’72 240z with Wilwood brakes, QA1 coil-over suspension, 17” wheels. A little rough but convinced me that owning a 240z as a daily driver, was going to make me happy.”

We inspected Ken’s red ’72 240z and found many problems. Rob suggested finding a chassis in better shape to make his own. After our evaluation Ken consulted with fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C to affirm that ZCG was the right place to be. Ken was convinced that the S30 is a great rally car and began searching again, finding this green ’71 on Craigslist, near Sacramento.

“Rob gave this car his approval as a basis for the rally car that I wanted to build. ZCG is so popular that we weren’t able to get it in for the chassis upgrades before the Mother Lode 400 rally in June 2019 . The car was fine, but only fine. Yes, the brakes and suspension worked and the motor was dependable, but with the enthusiastic style of rally driving, showed they really weren’t up to the task.”

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

The upgrade process began, giving Ken the ability to brake on a dime, perform well and daily drive. We handed him the keys to “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 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 Ken’s brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. The Z also received Tokico 5-way struts with Eibach springs and suspension parts from Techno Toy Tuning. New parts included adjustable T/C rods, rear control arms, new bushings, rack bushings, steering coupler, factory Nissan ball joints, new wheel bearings and more.  We really appreciate Gabriel and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.

ZCG Big-brakes up front:

T3 T/C rods and new brake master cylinder/booster:

Suspension Techniques sway bars installed front and rear:

At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality retained! Ken was pleased with the brakes:

“I really the brakes. Having experienced stock brakes and the Wilwood’s (Stage 4 front and rear), was really interested to discover if the ZCG Big Brake kit was all that I’d heard about. I’m here to say that the Big Brake kit exceeded all expectations. Under hard braking, feels like I’ve just driven into a huge pool of thick super glue or that someone immediately behind me has just switched on a huge electromagnet. Undeniably shorter braking distances. Huge confidence when diving deep into corners.”

Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. Ken’s Z received set #298. We have over 100 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

Stock half shafts and control arms (L):

 

Before/After suspension upgrades. Not shown is the ZCG exhaust system using 2.5″ piping to a stainless resonator and Magnaflow muffler with slash-cut tip:

Great feedback again from Ken regarding the suspension upgrades:

“In August 2019 it went into ZCG shop for the upgrades. Let’s talk about the suspension first. My red ’72 had QA1 coil-overs and it wasn’t particularly balanced or optimized. Too soft in front, too harsh in back, little squirrely under brake or gas. By comparison the ZCG components showed care in selection, thought in design and clear goals in creation of a balanced package. The car is impressive under braking, squatting uniformly and smoothly. Under hard acceleration, it tracks straight. The CV axles are works of art and well suited to handle the Rebello motor to come.”

More Power

With braking and suspension sorted all Ken needed was power to match. Without going too wild we opted for a Rebello 3L, retaining SU induction. The 3L still leaves room for aggressive cam/Mikuni induction upgrades should he feel the need. A few pictures of the fresh motor, more in the gallery below:

Ken enjoys tinkering with vintage motorcycles and rallying. While running the Snowball Rally the car did really well and he had a great time but unfortunately, it was hit by a motorist (not part of the rally). We called upon our man William from William’s Auto Body to fix everything and re-spray.

While the motor was out, we cleaned up the engine bay. Everything came out, the bay was painted, new seals around all hoses going through the firewall. The engine got an MSA 6 to 1 header, all intake/exhaust gaskets, MSD6Al box with tach adapter, Koyo race radiator, zinc’d hardware and new alternator/starter. We  ensured that he would be able to rally wherever and whenever.

Backing the 3L is a 5-speed with JWT aluminum flywheel and Exedy clutch:

Rob dyno-tuned the Z with the stock L24 (109hp/128tq) and the 3L, now making 199hp/209tq to the wheels:

Enjoy the L-Series music!

Panasport Wheels

What is the perfect companion for Ken’s Z, now that it has full suspension and wicked brakes and fresh paint? Panasport wheels! We replaced the old-school slotted wheels with 16×7 Panasports and Bridgestone’s killer S-007a tire in 225/50/16.

“The Wilwood Stage 4 front brakes required a spacer to move the generic Japanese front wheels out far enough to avoid fouling the calipers. This meant running 215/45/17 tires. A drawback to the 17” wheels is that the space-saving spare can’t exceed 16” in the spare tire well.  I totally love the beautiful Panasport wheels! When I take the car to Z car meet-ups, everyone says “this car has been to ZCG, right?” The wheel and brake combo means I gained 10mm tire width and no spacers. We agreed that for rally purposes, I’d change the tires every 3 years, so Rob picked out some nice sticky ones.”

Rallye On!

Ken was smiling ear to ear and told us we built him a Z car he really enjoyed:

“The results are fabulous! My car is such a hoot to drive. Quick off the line, easy to spin the tires. Now I understand why Rob recommended the CV shafts. The car was awesome on the 2019 California Melee. Had so much fun driving the rally with my brother who flew in from Kansas. He drove it much slower than I did, so when I took my first shift, diving it deeper and deeper into the corners, accelerating harder and harder out of the corners, that I proposed establishing a safe word if he wanted me to ease off the fun.”

We have been checking in with Ken and he’s happily Enjoying The Ride. We even spotted his Z cars while cruising through the neighborhood.

“I’m so happy to have met Rob and provided him with a car that has ‘good bones’. Enjoyed working with ZCG. A key for me is that ZCG has been able to provide all the upgrades, in an integrated package. Didn’t want to use multiple shops and fight through finger pointing. Trust Rob and his crew, they’ve done these upgrades 100 times or more. They know what works and what doesn’t. Personally, I care more about the quality of work performed and the result, rather than shopping for the lowest price.”

Thank you Ken for allowing us to help you achieve your vision of the ultimate Z car. We loved working with you. Long Live The Z!

Being part of a client’s project from start to finish is just one of our favorite jobs at Z Car Garage. Jason P contacted us a few years ago to help find a 240z to call his own and what began as a visit for our ZCG Big-Brakes evolved into building his dream car. Let’s take a closer look at his “ProjectZ” that received a ZCG-style mechanical restoration including a new drivetrain, engine bay clean-up, total suspension rebuild and more.

Jason’s Z Story

We are lucky to work with long-time Z owners and first-time enthusiasts like Jason. It’s no surprise to hear how the Z struck a chord with him at a young age:

“My favorite toy growing up was an old beat-up Transformers Bluestreak I inherited from my cool older cousins. I found out years later this toy was based on a Silver Datsun 280zx and it’s been my dream to get one someday, for the past 20 years I’ve been patiently saving and loosely looking. As weird reminders I’ve done things like make a lego 240Z for my desk to stay passionate about the car.” 

 

Jason recalls how he found us:

“I was looking for a shop from the Bay Area to San Diego that specialized in Zs and who could be a long-term partner in building and maintaining my dream car. I found ZCG on multiple forums and Yelp with stellar reviews and feedback from other Datsun owners.  A couple clicks later I was reading the ZCG blogs and loving how thoroughly the builds were documented. I loved the first time talking to Rob and how he never mentioned any of the prestigious work they had done and was solely focused on what I wanted. Maybe the second time we talked I heard him sing and that sealed the deal.”

Through many discussions about budget and goals we started the search for a chassis to build on. Jason drove one of our older performance-built Z’s and instantly became hooked on triple-Mikuni’s and chassis upgrades…but he was adamant that the color must be silver. He found a local S30 that we inspected and belonged to ZONC member Robert C. It’s a small world and we actually worked on this car in the past. Jason purchased the Z and shared what he liked/disliked about it with a few revelations gained after driving a stock S30:

 

Jason was very specific in his vision for the build:

“My goal was for a resto-mod that would mainly be used to cruise but had the power to kick-ass if needed. It was important to me that some parts of the car like exterior and interior were factory and original and other parts like brakes, suspension, engine were upgraded for better comfort, performance, and safety. This was really clear to me after driving an unmodified RHD Fairlady Z and unmodified series 1 240Z. The 50 year old suspension creaked and bounced, I had to leave huge gaps driving in rush-hour traffic so I could stop on time, and I really love the L24 but it didn’t feel like I was driving a sports car by today’s standards.”

 

 

Taking the Z to the next level

 

Engine

Following Jason’s desire for more power, timing was perfect and a 3.1L that we had done for a customer a years ago became available. We took this entire driveline and installed it in Jason’s Z. Here is the tired, stock L24:

The freshened 3.1L was built by Techcraft many years ago with a P90 head,  rare Clifford 6-3-2 header, triple-Mikuni ph44s on a Harada intake manifold, serial #245 ZCG Heat Shield,  280zx internally regulated alternator and gear-reduction starter, MSD6Al with tach adapter and black coil, and 2.5″ exhaust with a Borla XR-1 muffler:

  

With the engine/transmission removed we focused our efforts on restoring the engine bay.  All hydraulic lines were removed and zinc’d with many other parts that were bagged/tagged. More pictures in the gallery below:

 

Before/after plating hydraulic lines:

 

New engine bay parts included: all new fuel system, coolant hoses, fuel filter, Koyo race radiator and all drive belts:

 We cleaned up the entire underside and undercoated the chassis. Freshly plated hardware and lines are shown.

Before/after:

   

The fuel system was replaced and gas tank removed as it was in rough shape. We replaced it with a clean unit from the ZCG parts stash. All the fuel vapor/recovery lines in the gas tank area were replaced:

    

This was a 4-speed car, so we grabbed one of the 5-speeds from Rob’s stash. This early 280z 5-speed is like a 4-speed but adds a 0.86 overdrive. The factory 3.36 R180 factory rear end will be upgraded later.

 

With the drivetrain out we installed a JWT aluminum flywheel with HD clutch for the L-series. We use this setup exclusively and it has really good feel with an organic clutch that’s also a breeze in traffic. The key to success to having a powerful vintage car is that it can also be easy to drive.

More detail work was performed:

 

Engine bay before/after:

 

Dyno Tuning

 

Rob dyno tuned the 3.1L now producing 221hp/226tq to the wheels on 91 octane. Great torque and makes all the right sounds!

 

Jason was stoked on the new drivetrain:

“Lucky to have a “purist” 3.1 stroker that looks right at home in the engine bay thanks to the original Nissan and Datsun parts combined together expertly. The triple Mikuni’s sing all through all 5 gears and I’m super impressed by the clutch Rob chose for me and how responsive the throttle is. I can’t wait for Winter now to try cold starting, I’m not going to miss the choke lever at all.”

Enjoy the video below showing the dyno run and test drive with Rob, volume up!

 

Chassis and Brakes

 

Jason originally came in to ZCG for our Big-Brake kit and it was just the beginning of his wishlist.  Now that we replaced the engine it was time to match the power level with braking and suspension upgrades.

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

We are proud to have several of our ZCG products on Jason’s 240z. We installed our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and also upgraded to Z Car Garage CV Axles! These products have been standard on numerous ZCG builds.

    

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 Jason’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. The Z also received entire full coil-over (Koni) suspension from Techno Toy Tuning. New parts included adjustable T/C rods, rear control arms, new bushings, rack bushings, steering coupler, ball joints, new f/r wheel bearings and more. 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.

 

We went ahead and got Jason dialed in with the ZCG big-brake kit for small wheels with parking brake and a new brake booster/master cylinder. More pics in the gallery!

  

Front brake installation with coil-overs and T3 suspension parts visible:

At the rear, the OEM drums brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!

Great feedback from Jason on the Big-Brakes:

“ZCG front and rear BBK dramatically improved the stopping power over stock 240Z brakes, I don’t need to worry about constant drum-brake servicing and can feel all 4 tires stopping when I pump the brakes now. I’m more confident driving it freely knowing it can stop at shorter distances and not wreck a car that took so long to find and with so much work done to it.”

 

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

 

Jason received ZCG CV Axle set #321:

 

The before/after with full chassis cleanup and new T3 suspension, bushings and ST sway bar:

    
Close-up of the T3 lower rear control arms and our ZCG CV Axles:

  

Panasport Wheels

 

Our ZCG Big-Brakes also look great behind Panasport wheels in our offset allowing us to run 225/50/16 tires.  We replaced the generic wheels with 16×7 Panasports and Bridgestone S-04 tires. We think the wheels/tires are a huge improvement:

  

Jason was pleased with the chassis upgrades:

“Car feels amazingly tight now, it doesn’t creak anymore going over bumps and feels firm entering and doesn’t bounce as much when exiting corners. I’m glad we were able to upgrade so much of it at the same time, the overall suspension package Rob recommended handles so well and really changes the character from a stock 240z.“

Interior

 

The interior got attention as well. We pulled the entire dash and cleaned up the heater controls, pressure tested the heater core, refurbished the heater box, cleaned up the gauges and replaced all light bulbs. We ensured that we never have to go into the dash again.

 

This is our second Vintage Dashes installation and we thank Ivan Jaramillo for making a cost-effective product for Z cars. More pictures in the gallery below. Expect a full report on their products soon!

 

Details

 

The little things are what we excel at. Jason didn’t like the odd, 280zx vented hood so we gave him a NOS S30 hood from Rob’s stash and had our man William paint it. He also touched up the front end:

 

Jason was not fond of the PO’s aftermarket radio/speaker boxes in back.  We removed it all and gave him a factory 240z radio. Also shown below: powdercoated rear sway bar hangers for ST parts, zinc’d pieces.

Enjoying The Ride

Jason was super stoked on his Z and immediately started driving it everywhere. Here is a message he sent Rob, it’s hard to beat enthusiastic clients:

“ZCG is an extremely popular shop and I consider myself super fortunate to be living about 25 minutes away. In my occasional visits I’ve seen everything from 510 wagons, supercharged 350zs, and 240z restorations and upgrades so I know they can do it all. The shop is very clean and organized and filled with all sorts of history and treasure for Datsun + Nissan enthusiasts to nerd out on.

Despite how busy ZCG is, Rob and crew didn’t miss a beat with my car with awesome communication and recommendations, just picked it up yesterday and loving it! The care that went into this car would be appreciated by anyone into details and craftsmanship and it’s clear the years of expertise Rob and crew bring to their work.” 

 

“As a novice car-guy I feel Rob and team really understood my needs for a clean restomod that was easy to drive and could haul if needed. The entire car is super impressive and I find myself daydreaming about driving it around now. “

 

More pictures in the gallery below and LONG LIVE THE Z!

…[read more]

It really is a small world. When Jim H walked into Z Car Garage and told us about his Series 1 S30 we immediately recognized it from over 12 years ago. Our customer and fellow Datsun roadster owner Peter V. purchased this Z in the early 2000s from Les Cannaday of Classic Datsun Motorsports. We worked on the car until Peter sold it in 2006 and it eventually ended up in the hands of Jim:

“Based on old receipts, I’m at least the seventh owner. At the recent RMMR races at Laguna Seca, Rob introduced me to Les who once owned the Z in the early 2000’s, then sold it to ZCG customer, Peter V. After that, the Z had two owners in Connecticut, one in New Jersey, and one in Michigan.”

Here are pictures from a 2006 Fun Run I organized in San Jose, CA showing the Z driven by former owner Peter V:

Before discussing our work on Jim’s Z car we want to share the amazing story leading up to his ownership, enjoy!

Z Car Passion

Jim’s passion for the Z began in 1971 when he was stationed at Fort Carson, CO:

“My roommates both owned early 911’s so I decided to replace my aging and problematic ’68 Firebird. Came across a low-mileage, green ’70 240 sitting in a used-car lot(pictured below). At $4,800 I thought this could be a mistake (remember, back then dealer price was fixed at $3,600). Enjoyed the Z for another 150,000 miles then regrettably sold it in the late 80’s to a local guy. On a side note, Bruce L (the local guy), restored the Z and found a willing buyer. This bit of history was unknown to me until recently when I looked him up. Bruce currently owns an early Z that has had performance upgrades done by Rob and crew. Small world, as they say.”  Thanks Jim for the wonderful photos below!

The Best Birthday SurpriZe

With the sale of his 1970 Z, here is how Jim became the owner of the ’71:

“Soon after our daughter Paige was born and before son Grant arrived, I sold the Z to Bruce L. Through the years while the kids were still home, my nostalgic interest in Datsuns remained, but never to the point of owning another one. Son Grant, who just left the US Army (1st Special Forces Group) to pursue his education, spent several years looking for a Z that closely matched the year and color of my original one. He found one in Michigan through Bring-A-Trailer and out-bid the crowd of interested parties. His last minute jump by $2k, effectively ended the auction.”

 

“He says “last minute” because he was set to board a flight; to stay in the auction wouldn’t have been possible once he was airborne. Grant had it shipped to Tacoma, WA and kept it hidden in a storage locker for six months. This past January, my wife Shary and I flew to Tacoma to celebrate a belated Christmas with the kids. The next morning we agreed to meet the kids for breakfast at a favorite local café. In the parking lot sat a green Z. I motioned to my kids (already seated in the café) to join me curbside so that I could point out the similarities to the one I owned 30 plus years ago. After some obsessive minutes of my poring over the car, son Grant declared it was time to eat. Through breakfast, I kept glancing over my shoulder hoping to see who would get into the car. Even the wait staff claimed no knowledge of the owner. Once the table was cleared, Grant placed a single key in front of me. Not thinking anything other than, “oh, you got me a Datsun memento for my keyring,” I took a few moments before declaring….”oh, s__t, you’re kidding me.” He says…. ”Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday, Dad.” It was only when I placed the key in the ignition and it growled to life, did I realize the enormity and love represented by this gift.”

The Journey Begins

We are in the initial stage of an epic build for Jim and his Z with more work scheduled for Fall. Here is what we have performed recently and a taste of what’s to come.

Our first order of business…get the Z ready to drive for the summer. We went through the cooling system and fixed several leaks, hoses and replaced the fan clutch.

The failed radiator was replaced with a Koyo unit:

Outside, the body was treated to our favorite side mirrors, the Nissan OEM #E4600. These units replaced the “bullet” style single driver’s mirror:

Jim visited ZCG and drove “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 🙂

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

    

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 Jim’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit.

ZCG Big-brakes replacing stock setup up front:

At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality 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 60 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

Stock half shafts and control arms (L):

 

Panasport Wheels

We replaced the old-school Panasports with our favorite, new 16×7 Panasports and Bridgestone’s killer new S-007a tire in 225/50/16:

Enjoying the Ride

With summer driving in the air we prepped Jim’s Z and his son even got to cruise with him. Jim enjoyed driving along the beautiful coast:

“Resto/mod of my ‘71Z began this past June with initial emphasis on mechanical upgrades. Rob Fuller’s suggestion was: ”let’s do this so that the Z remains a work-in-progress but still be available to the owner.” To that end, I’ve been regularly driving the Z after upgrades to the brakes (ZCG BBK 280mm), radiator and fan, suspect hoses and fuel lines, and rear axles (ZCG CV axle set). 16×7 Panasports with 225-50-R16 Bridgestones and OEM mirrors rounded out this first step. This past July, I drove south to Bixby Bridge as sort of a “Big Sur check ride” but then impulsively decided to continue south to Cambria -> Hwy 46 -> Paso Robles -> Hwy 101 -> home. Total trip came to 250 miles with nary an issue, unless you count the 105+ degree temperatures between Paso Robles and Soledad.”

We were pleased to see Jim bring his Z to the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. He participated in the highly successful Bring-A-Trailer Alumni Gathering held at Turn 3 at Laguna Seca:

  

A little video of Jim’s Z:

Stay Tuned!

“So Rob and crew at Z Car Garage will help me realize a dream that really wasn’t one until Grant decided to surprise me for my 70th birthday. What an incredible present — a highly-desirable Series One Z-car!”

ZCG looks forward to making Jim’s dream a reality. After driving Butters, Jim wants more power and Rob has an old Rebello 3.1L from his stash that will be installed.  A set of triple phh44 Mikuni carbs, Harada intake manifold, Fujitsbo header/exhaust system and much more will follow. Thanks to Jim and his family for believing in Z Car Garage and the power of the Z!

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

More pictures in the gallery below