Dan F is long time customer of Z Car Garage and we started working with him shortly after he acquired his Nissan 350z. Dan comes from a family of motorsports enthusiasts with his Dad (C6 Corvette) and brothers all enjoying track time together:

 

In 2012 we installed a Vortech Supercharger and for the next five years Dan regularly tracked this Z33. We fought with oil/water temperature and anything you can think of battling while at the track. Where there was an issue, a solution was devised so he could beat on this Z for 20-30minute sessions easily.

Better, Stronger and Faster

In 2017 with 53k miles on the odometer the factory engine failed in Turn 1 at Laguna Seca. We were at a crossroads: with all the developments we made so Dan’s Z could handle routine track duty should we push the envelope by adding even more power?

 

The answer, invariably was YES. At the heart of the new build was a Rebello VQ with HR top end and internals including forged pistons and rods, HR head gaskets and headbolts, race bearings, factory compression ratio, JWT C8 cams and JWT HD valve springs:

 

The major power added was a new Vortech Si wheel offering more hp per pound of boost. Supporting mods included DC sports carb legal headers, EV14 1000c injectors, GT MAF and upgraded fuel pump. Keeping things cool are new oil coolers and a revised ZCG cold-air intake:

   

The front-mount intercooler was upgraded to an ATP Garrett 900hp unit:

 

To monitor intercooler efficiency a gauge was installed in the factory cubicle displaying temperature before and after the IC:

 

A few more pics of Dan’s interior:

  

Dyno Tuning

 

With the engine bay all buttoned up Rob dyno tuned the Z using UPREV. The Z is now making 480hp/390tq at the wheels on a conservative track tune to keep heat low. The dyno plots show the previous 91 octane tune (368hp/333tq) and newest 91 octane tune (455hp/365tq):

 

More Track Mods

 

An off at Thunderhill gave Dan an opportunity re-engineered his aero pieces. He rebuilt the front splitter, added side blades, rear diffuser and front fender slats:

 “For the brake ducts I repurposed old Roush Nascar ducts in dry carbon with standard ducting. The front splitter with spats I made to attach to the Stillen piece. The spats are tied in up the fender to prevent turbulence with the tire as it’s running a 295 front with -3.6 degrees camber.”

 

“Rob has been part of the heart and soul of this car as he has helped me build it over the last 10 years. It has been a guinea pig at times to try new methods but he has been a great partner and sponsor through all of it. It’s very fast and very fun being quite easy to handle at the limit. It is maintained for track duty at ZCG.”

 

Here is a video of Dan autocrossing and running the Z at Laguna Seca, there is even a snip from Larry Chen’s Hoonigan Autofocus :):

 

Our shared excitement is seeing Dan making personal bests at the track.  Dan is fast and here are a few notable times and achivements at his favorite tracks, we are proud of him!

“I’m still looking for time to break 1:40 at Laguna Seca, currently at….140.7 and 123.7 at Thunder Hill West. I’ve consistently run in the top 10 of 100 with Santa Clara Corvette Club AX’s”

 

  

We have even seen Dan on the street at the local 2018 ZONC Annual Car Show and cruising twisty Bay Area roads near Alice’s restaurant:

 

Thanks for supporting Z Car Garage and letting us build your track car Dan. We look forward to seeing you enjoy track events. Long Live The Z!

More pictures in the gallery below!

 

 

 

 Dear Zcarblog readers, this is our belated race report from the 2019 Rolex event. Long overdue but a good reminder of the 2020 Rolex coming this August! Enjoy the picture gallery, paddock finds and our video footage with in-car action…

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:

 

   Ace photographers Naveed and Courtney:

 

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]

 

***HAPPY HOLIDAYS From Z Car Garage***

 

One of the real joys this holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you and wish you the very best for the new year. From all of us at Z Car Garage we thank our friends, family and customers again for another exciting and productive year! Enjoy our 2019 recap and upcoming projects below. Please note our holiday closure below:

 

ZCG will be closed from 12/20/19 to New Year’s Day. We will re-open for business on  1/2/20

 

 

Before we take a look back at highlights from 2019, check out a few of the many customer projects coming along at the shop:

 

Lou’s 1973 Fairlady Z .  You might recognize this RHD Z from local Bay Area fun runs and car shows over the years. What started out as a fairly stock car evolved into a canyon-carving street machine as we began modifications in 2011:

 

The Z featured a 250whp Rebello 3.2L engine, 240sx KA24 5-speed, Recaro seats, LSD, full-suspension, our ZCG Big-Brake Kit and Panasport C8 wheels.

   

Enjoy this short video showing the mellifluous sounds coming from the 3.2 engine:

 

 

Radical Changes

Lou enjoyed his Fairlady Z for many years and after ZCG’s 2nd SEMA build in 2016, Lou was inspired to take his car to the next level.  The 3.2L drivetrain was sold to our customer Tim Ng to be used in his ’72 S30 build. We are currently building an IMSA-flared body Fairlady Z featuring widenened Panasport C8 wheels and a stroker RB28 engine backed by a 6-speed.

  

Several cars delivered will get full reports soon: Cece’s 1977 Datsun 280z, Patrick’sZ32TT and Jay’s Z32TT

  

 

Highlights from 2019

Enjoy these highlights from 2019 and  Z you in the New Year! Stay tuned for our coverage of the 2019 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion and Classic 24hr race at Daytona with John Morton and Rob Fuller co-driving the #46 BRE 240z.

 

Great Drives

Norm Balzer Racing 510

Richards’s Series 1 240z

Ben’s 1974 260z

Coastal Range Rally

Skyline Matsuri

Japanese Classic Car Show

John Morton Cup

Solvang Datsun Roadster Show

Golden Week Kyusha Festival

Scott’s Datsun 260z

Enjoy The Ride!

 

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

 

Z Car Garage prepared and supported many race cars for last year’s Rolex Reunion and this year we are excited to attend once again August 15-18! The crew has been working diligently to prepare and tune three vintage race cars: Alex McDowell’s 1967 Datsun Bluebird and 1979 Jim Fitzgerald 280zx, and Doug Steven’s 1975 DeKon Monza. The team will be at the Pre-Historics this weekend so stop by and say hello! Read on to see and hear the three racers being dyno-tuned…

 

1975 DeKon Monza

This is a formidable vintage race car that we will be spotlighting in its own blog post. It is the second of its kind (Chassis #1002) with a unique history that is perfect for the IMSA feature at the upcoming Historics. For more information on DeKon, go here.

 

 

Listen to the Chevy-powered Monza on the dyno in the video below. Also shown is the Bluebird making L-Series music and the 280zx:

 

 

1967 Datsun Bluebird

Alex McDowell will be racing his 1967 Datsun Bluebird Coupe and 1979 Jim Fitzgerald Datsun 280zx at the RMMR.

 

Re-cap of these two in action from the 2018 event below:

 

Alex raced with notable 510 drivers Troy Ermish (#9), Jim Froula(#52), Dave Stone(#93), Glenn Chiou(#21), Taz Harvey (#51) and Datsun Roadsters Mike Anderson (#38) and Steve Link (#23). Watch this extended in-car video below of Alex piloting the Bluebird. Alex finished the race 12th/50 cars with a best lap of 1:48.1. Lots of action in this one!

 

 

 

Alex’s Datsun 280zx

 

Alex ran the Jim Fitzgerald 280zx in Group 7B: IMSA GTO, GTU with some wild rotary and Trans Am cars. He was having too much fun in the Bluebird so did run the car in the final race. The Z ran well throughout the Pre-Reunion and qualifying where Alex was running 1:44s. Here is a short video of the Z in action:

 

 

Get your tickets and parking!

You can get discounted tickets AND preferred parking through The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC). They are hosting a Nissan-only parking corral at Weathertech Laguna Seca Raceway and it’s the best way to park and enjoy the event. For more details please see the ZONC press release below.

Datsun and Nissan Revisit IMSA at 2019 RMMR
By Ann Devor

Following on the heels of last year’s fantastic Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, twelve Datsuns and Nissans have been chosen to compete in three races in 2019’s RMMR at WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway. The 2019 RMMR is celebrating IMSA and will feature three classes of IMSA racecars over the four-day weekend from August 15 through August 18. David Martin’s 240Z, Alex McDowell’s 280ZX and Rob Morgan’s 280ZX will be racing on Saturday August 17 in Race 5A (1973-1981 IMSA, GT, GTX class). Almost equally exciting will be the IMSA prototype Race 7A on Saturday where you will see advanced racing performance and styling not seen in the production-based cars.

On Sunday in Race 6B (1981-1991 IMSA GTO/GTU racecars), Craig Bennett will drive a 1991 300ZX competing against John Murray in a 1989 Nissan 240SX, Philip Mendelovitz in a 1989 240SX and Michael Parsons in his 1990 300ZX. We’ll also see Datsun roadsters on Sunday in non-IMSA Race 5B featuring 1961-1966 GT cars under 2500cc including Alex McDowell’s 1967 Bluebird, Phillip Mendelovitz’ 1967 311 Roadster, Ross Merrill in his 1966 Fairlady Roadster and Steve Smargiasso in a 1966 Datsun 311 Roadster.

Here’s what we have planned so far exclusively for Datsun and Nissan fans:

• We have a private corral with 20 reserved paved parking spaces. Datsun-Nissan race fans who wish to park in our Datsun-Nissan special parking area must purchase their corral passes and admission tickets only from ZONC. If we sell out our 20 corral spaces we will try to get more, but there is no guarantee. Corral passes ($45) are good for the entire 4-day weekend.
• ZONC is again offering a discount on admission tickets.

Individual Ticket Pricing	Regular Price	ZONC Discounted Price
4-Day (Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun)	$170	$145
3-Day (Fri/Sat/Sun)	$150	$130
2-Day (Sat/Sun)	$120	$105
Thursday only	$ 40	$ 35
Friday only	$ 70	$ 60
Saturday only	$100	$ 85
Sunday only	$ 70	$ 60

 

For more information or to be added to our special mailing list for updated information, please contact me at anndevor@gmail.com. Don’t hesitate, don’t be late, and get ready to have a great time at the 2019 RMMR!