Z Car Garage is proud to be a sponsor of the 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show 9/15 in Long Beach, CA. We look forward to displaying a shop car at our booth, to be highlighted in a separate post. With JCCS only a month away let’s take a look back at our favorites from last year’s event at the Queen Mary; this year the show will be held across the water in downtown!

 

We apologize for the late coverage, enjoy the pictures and video!

The 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show was held on September 23, in Long Beach, CA. This is the original vintage Japanese-car event in SoCal and in its thirteenth year, JCCS has grown incredibly–some 320+ cars covered the lawn next to the Queen Mary. The vehicles themselves remained a fantastic blend of stock and modified, as well as original and restored. This is the most important show for Japanese cars, and the Z Car Garage crew keeps coming back every year to soak up the sun, see old friends and drool over some spectacular vintage builds.

  

This year, Z Car Garage was invited to display the OS Giken TC24B1Z powered Datsun 240z, in our own booth!

The OS Giken Datsun 240z Goes to JCCS

Before road-tripping down to Socal the fun started with a shop visit from our Oregon pals Diamond Dave, Eric Straw and Michael Spreadbury. They were also heading down to JCCS to show Eric’s freshly restored 1984 “Tekkamen” DR30 Skyline and Diamond’s SR20-powered Miata. Eric kindly donated his enclosed trailer to transport the S30 while he drove the DR30 all the way down to JCCS from San Jose. Before leaving, we dyno’d the Miata and Rob found 30whp+ from the Autech SR20. Diamond was stoked.

    

TC24B1Z Development

You may have seen the TC24B1Z-powered Datsun 240z (The Behemoth) from its debut at SEMA 2015, and Speedhunters coverage:

   

The TC24 in action:

 

Since 2015 we have been updating the drivetrain and fitment of the TC in Gary’s LHD S30. Several key upgrades included a 6-speed transmission, revised exhaust header, Jenvey ITB with EFI and a OS Giken aluminum oil pan.

  

Using a custom adapter from Hoke Performance we installed a new CD009a 6-speed transmission from the 2003 -2008 Z33:

  

On the Rebello engine dyno this setup made 476hp.  Final dyno numbers will be posted shortly as we are still in the tuning phase.  Meanwhile, enjoy the sounds from the new Jenvey induction:

 

Showtime!

We arrived Friday evening to unload the Behemoth and set up our booth, a first-time experience for ZCG at JCCS:

   

The ZCG booth was a success. We met many great Datsun fans and enjoyed talking cars. Big thanks to our buddy Herbert Pang!

 

The TC24 of course was the star, garnering positive feedback and some nice media exposure:

  

We had free ZCG swag for show goers and on display was our new ZCG Big-Brakes for small wheels. Here’s Glenn Chiou checking them out; after a test drive they would be installed on Glenn’s Fairlady 240Z-L.

   

Our friends from JDM Legends approached us with a film crew to discuss the TC24:

 

Little did we know that this informal chat would be part of a segment on the wildly successful JDM Legends TV show! We are so happy for Eric, Josh, Mauricio and the JDML crew. You can see their JCCS visit in Season 1 Episode 5 HERE.

 

Highlights from JCCS

Enjoy this video I made highlighting the sights and sounds of JCCS 2017:

 

Nissan’s return to JCCS

 

The OEMs participated in record numbers this year. That’s right, in addition to Mazda, Toyota and Honda our beloved Nissan participated again since debuting in 2016 with a great showing of rare and unique vehicles from their vault.

Skylines

Here are few of my favorite Nissans and Datsuns, starting with that not-so forbidden fruit commonly known as the hakosuka Skyline. There was no shortage of C10 chassis Skylines this year and my favorite was Rick Ishitani’s restored 1971 2000 GT-X.  A mint interior, correct spec badging, spot-on stance with re-barreled gunmetal Watanabe wheels stuffed under flares set this one off from the rest.

 

In the JDM Legends display, Ginash(from JDM Chicago) showed his RB-swapped 2000 GT-X. We dig the retro-treatment on the valve cover:

    

More C10s:

  

Kenmeri Skylines too!  This ’73 KGC110 owned by Patrick Soliman has an RB26DETT engine with a Precision 6262 turbocharger. This year he was running rare Riverside Super River wheels:

  

DR30 Skylines!

 

Eric’s 1984 “Tekkamen” or “Iron Mask” Skyline is a rotisserrie-restored, RB26DETT- powered, Brembo-braked masterpiece. Eric met up with the Speedhunters crew and SuperStreet for a photoshoot in Long Beach, you can see both articles below:

Congrats Eric!
Speedhunters
Super Street

  

Z Car Extravaganza

 

Z cars from all generations were in full force with cars spanning the tarmac near the Queen Mary to the bayside lawn.  I’m a big fan of subtle modified Z’s but I can also appreciate pristine, bone-stock examples and the occasional shakotan build.

Stock is good: Series 1 S30 and a fully restored RHD FairladyZ:

  

My favorite modified Z car was from JDM Legends:

   

Matt Kochaon’s 240Z on classic SSR meshies and Rick Ishitani’s Hakosuka Skyline GT-X

  

 

Familiar faces: Glenn’s Fairlady 240Z-L, Chris Forsberg’s 280z and the Bring A Trailer Series 1 240z:

Wild Z Cars

 

Saul Valencia’s 1972 Datsun 240Z was loud and brash with its boosted LS1!

 

Z31s were plentiful too! In both stock and modified examples:

  

The Wild Cards Classic Car Show (WCCCS)

The Wild Cards crew had the coolest rides at the show. You can see them all burning rubber at the Hoonigans shop HERE

 

The Nissan S12 chassis has been growing in popularity. Known as the “200sx” stateside there were some cool examples of both hatchback/coupe bodystyles. S130s were also represented:

Datsun Fairlady Roadsters

The Datsun Roadsters were down in numbers from previous years but the selection still wowed the public.

 

Kevin Desirello of KRD Roadsters built this SR20DE powered ’69:

 

   

Bart Desirello’s SR20DET-powered beast:

 
Ray Lim’s ’70 SPL was fully restored to stock spec, with perfectly fitted SSR meshies:

 

Datsun 510s

 

Matt and Maryanne G drove all the way down from San Mateo, CA in their  Turbo 510. Looking awesome now sporting 16″ Panasports! Matt won 1st place best 510, Congrats!

 

I’ve drooled over of Wild Cards member John Ross Huckins’ 1972 Datsun 510 wagon since we first saw it at JCCS many years ago. It has a 4-link rear end, built SR20DET and tons of neat touches. You can see more on Speedhunters HERE

 

EQUIP 40 wheels and Tartan fabric Recaro seats:

 

This year felt like an incredible number of Dimes were displayed!

      

And finally, Todd Kaneko’s 13B turbo powered Dime with Brembos and VOLK RE30s:

 

More Dime goodness, JDM-L’s Bluebird Coupe:

   

Not a Dime

But extremely rare, cool and placed next to the 510s was this Nissan Laurel. Only at JCCS, people!

 

 

Dogs Love Trucks!

Datsun trucks were kind of scattered about the park area. Jose Tarin’s 521 sported a Toyota BEAMS engine while Jason Taylor’s had an S14 SR20DE:

   

 

Mazda

Mazda commemorated the 50th anniversary of the rotary-engine vehicles. Racing Beat of Signal Hill, California  joined in by several of their memorable rotary powered vehicles.

 

   

Toyota

Toyota always has a huge corporate involvement and brought an assortment of race cars.  This year felt like the AE86s and Celicas were not as numerous but Celica-Supras and Cressidas were sweet!

  

Great showing of RA29 (Liftback) Celicas! The red car had perfect, meaty fitment on Epsilons meshies. Actually, all 3/4 of these Liftbacks sported some variation of mesh wheel…I dig it:

  

My favorite Celica though was his Pro-Street’d beast:

   

This AE86 Corolla had an OEM+ feel:

 

 

Honda

The Neo Classics Hondas were my favorite:

 

Wheels For Fantasy

I personally love going to JCCS because I get to see very rare Japanese/tuner wheels and parts. Preservation of authentic wheels and appreciation of the time and effort spent to find certain specimens that most folks have never heard of in this generation is what I admire most.   My favorite wheel at JCCS: SSR Casablanca 8 on Tommy D’s Starlet:

 

Variations on the mesh wheel from BBS, Epsilon, SSR, Volk, Bahn and more. You can’t go wrong! SSR EX-C below:

 

More Mesh goodness:

     

Many more pictures from JCCS in the gallery!

I was lucky to ride in Eric’s DR30 from Long Beach to San Jose with Michael Spreadbury at the wheel. It was a blast!

 

Thank You JCCS!

It is difficult to run a car show and keep up the quality and interest levels but the folks at JCCS have managed to do exactly that for 13 years! No other show gives you the chance to see obscure, pristine, modified Japanese classics…and we look forward to next year’s entrants. We hope you have enjoyed our coverage and please visit our mega-gallery for more pictures. Special thanks to the ZCG crew, Diamond Dave, Eric Straw and Michael Spreadbury for an amazing weekend. See you September 15 for the 14th Annual JCCS!

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There are vintage races every month of the year, but few draw such amazing metal as the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion. Now in its 44th year and commonly known as the Monterey Historics, the Reunion is a highlight of the famous Pebble Beach “car week” in August. This event features the best of every decade of racing history, all condensed into four days of qualifying and competition at Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway.

 

  

The action on the track is only part of the story at the Reunion. The real fun is in the paddocks, where hundreds of cars stand ready to race, attended by their anxious owners, drivers and prep teams (sometimes all the same person).

 

We had a blast at the RMMR and I was once again fortunate to be on the pit crew for a significant Datsun race car. Read further for our report, illustrated by a 200+ shot gallery with videos. Enjoy!

The BRE Datsun 240z driven by John Morton

 

For this year’s Reunion, Z Car Garage prepared and supported the #46 BRE Datsun 240z piloted by our hero John Morton. Owner Randy Jaffe restored this Z over several years with fanatic attention to detail. Briefly, the original 1970 car was wrecked in 1977 and sat idle until Randy located it in 2016. The car was rebodied and reconstructed using all of the original surviving parts with help from Peter Brock, John Morton, John Knepp, and Jon Caldwell from the storied BRE team. Stay tuned for an in-depth look at the build.

  

A sampling of the original parts is shown below including the exhaust header with megaphones, SW gauges, and BRE remote oil filter/cooler. Original BRE heat shield and fuel block pictured above.  All assembled by the crew at ZCG prior to testing:

   

Randy approached us at the 2015 RMMR and expressed his vision to complete the car and have John Morton drive it at the Historics.  Randy made a fantastic, highly (the most accurate to date) correct BRE tribute Z, but it would need full race preparation to compete at the Historics. After taking the Z to several shops Randy shipped it to us from his hometown in Georgia and we began prepping the car. Here is the Z the day it arrived at the shop and in-progress:

   

On the dyno making some beautiful, triple-Mikuni carb’d, straight piped, L-series music. We were now ready to run the Historics:

 

 

The paddock life

 

 

It’s one thing to be at Laguna Seca’s famous Corkscrew to watch the cars wind down that 5-story twisting drop, but it can be just as much fun to walk through the paddock, getting a close look at the race cars and talking with their owners who are happy to answer questions. Before we look at #46 on the race track, let’s first take a trip through the paddock and visit our fellow racers:

 

Upon my arrival Thursday morning I was pleasantly surprised to see #46 pitted with several fellow Datsun Z racers from Group 4A: 1973-1981 FIA, IMSA GT,GTX,AAGT Cars.  All of these Z’s were tuned by Rob at ZCG! The camaraderie and good times spent with these folks was memorable. We shared pit space with our friends and fellow vintage racers Glenn Chiou, Dave Stone and Larry Oka. Dave Stone returned to the Historics in his ’73 260z built by Troy Ermish.  Lots of neat details of this one in the photo gallery:

 

Glenn Chiou’s RMMR debut in the Loren St. Lawrence 1971 240z:

 

David Martin’s crowd-favorite Frisselle 1972 240z:

 

The S30s looked awesome together out on the track!

 

A rare sight indeed, four Datsun roadsters were racing at ‘Seca! Michael Sweeney’s ’65 1500, our friend Ron Carter running his 2nd Reunion in his ’67 2000, Phil Mendelovitz’s ’67 2000 and Michael Chandler’s ’66 1600.

 

Rounding out the Datsun contingent were Jonathan Ornstein’s 1979 Datsun 280ZX, prepared by Les Cannaday and the Leitzinger IMSA GTU 240sx owned by Phil Mendelovitz:

  

We’ll visit more paddock candy later, now let’s take a look at these cars on that 2.238-mile, 11-corner wonder officially known as Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca!

Race Day: Keeping Up With John Morton

 

The RMMR was preceded by a “shakedown” event a week earlier called the “Pre-Reunion”.  We had a successful Pre-Reunion race week where John Morton finished 6th and 8th place in a sea of high-powered Porsche RSRs and 934/935s! The#46 BRE 240z ran flawlessly and John was turning faster lap times with each session clicking off 1:41s down to 1:40s:

 

With the Pre-Reunion completed and the Z dialed in it was time for our big race at the RMMR on Saturday in Group 4A.  John put on another stellar performance running consistent 1:40’s with a best of 1:39.6 during the practice/qualifying sessions.  Although the routine of running pit crew was familiar to me it never gets old. From fuel filling, engine warm-up to tire pressures and checklists I love sharing the sights and sounds from each session.

  

John was happy with the Z’s performance. Sylvia Wilkinson, John’s lifelong partner also told us good things by giving us a breakdown between sessions complete with lap times and feedback from John. After qualifying 16th place Saturday morning the only change we made was a fresh set of spark plugs.:

  

After the Z was ready for the big race, John got strapped in and he motored away to the starting grid. John Morton was driving #46 again.

    

We anxiously followed John on foot to the starting grid. A wave of colors from vibrant livery was displayed as the cars staged. I was in heaven because all of the rad machinery in one place…with #46 in the middle of it:

  
The signal was announced and group 4A rolled out to the starting grid.

  

This video coverage of the group 4A race from Motor Trend and Travis Baraki gives you a sense of the staging, rolling start and a few turns, watch for #46!

 

Want to know what it’s like behind the wheel of the BRE Datsun 240z? Take a few laps with John Morton in #46 in this video we compiled from in-car GoPro footage. Lots of multi-camera angle action highlighted here from dicing it up with Porsches to passing BMW M1s 🙂  Turn up the volume and enjoy!

 

Great on-track shots of #46:

 

     

John’s fastest lap (1:39.6) with telemetry from Harry’s Lap Timer:

 

The race was exhilarating and both nerve-wracking to watch. John was driving insanely well yet again, even battling an M1 and 934 for several laps! With only 4-laps to go and in 12th position the halfshaft failed exiting turn 3 and John (thankfully safe) waited to be towed back into the pits. It was heartbreaking but that is racing. We will be back! With help from our friend Glenn a new halfshaft was installed Sunday so we could load up the Z. Thanks Glenn!

 

  

We were thoroughly impressed by John’s skills (at 75 years old!) and how the Z battled big-dog cars running full aero with massive rubber.

 

John said on several occasions, “This is the best prepped race car I’ve driven”. We couldn’t have been happier to hear this. Worth toasting to!

  

Of course none of this would be possible without a great team so we give a huge thank you to family, friends and the crew at Z Car Garage.

 

The Z was a success off-track as well. Randy drove the BRE car along with other racers via police escort to the Carmel-by-the-Sea Concours on the Avenue Show. Icing on the cake: he even won an award with John Morton riding along:

 

Enjoy this video from the event including the police escort, nice revving amongst expensive show cars and some good times with Pete Brock and John Morton:

Paddock Highlights

 

 

This year’s RMMR was the most enjoyable because of the wonderful people that we pitted with and folks that stopped by to visit. Randy Jaffe really put in a tremendous effort creating a Datsun-lover-friendly atmosphere. In addition to commemorative stickers he placed posters up for friends to sign in memory of John Knepp:

 

John Morton spent time signing memorabilia and taking photos, a true class-act.

  

Another aspect of the fun is family. Randy invited his sisters to be part of the race weekends and Josh’s father Keith Corwin was an integral part of our team:

 

We were humbled by the number of people that stopped by including Pete and Gayle Brock and Mike Joy. I caught Pete Brock taking iphone pics of our engine bay!

 

Here is Mike’s interview with John for Motor Trend’s race coverage:

 

 

Our pit-buddy Glenn Chiou was great to be with. The vintage Datsun race world had better keep an eye out for this rising star!

  

Rob and crew always willing to lend a hand, even if it’s for the competition!

  

It was great to see our friends from Bring A Trailer who had a tent with several cars on display including a Lancia Delta Integrale:

 

Epic Racers

 

At every corner there is wicked metal with history begging to be told. Please visit our photo gallery for more! Here is a Shelby Cobra factory team car CSX2136:

 

One of several gorgeous Porsche 934s. This one mixed it up with John for many sessions:

Mazda’s incredible collection of racer cars from the 767B to MX-6:

 

From highly collectible and expensive to downright zany you never know what to find in the paddock. Check out this Deathmobile from the movie Animal House:

 

Extravagant and impressive rigs:

 

We are huge fans of Canepa and this 935 and 959 were a treat to see:

 

Street Standouts

Throughout the weekend, open areas around Laguna Seca are filled with a selection of vintage and exotic cars that would put most stand-alone car shows to shame. This year we held another Datsun/Nissan Corral but attendance was relatively low. We did spot a few gems like three S30s, a Datsun 510 and ’69 Datsun 2000:

 

 

Lovely E34 M5 and 356:

 

The Vintage Wheels of RMMR

I am a wheel addict and I love vintage wheels. Once again the paddock did not dissappoint. BBS, Volk, Minilite, American Racing…all shod with meaty slicks of sometimes incredible proportions:

        

Thank you!

We hope you have enjoyed our recap of the 2017 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 the Keith Corwin, Dave Stone, Tim Arnett, Ron Carter, Michael Anderson, Josh Corwin, Andy Vargas, Larry Oka and Meghan Fuller.  We certainly enjoyed the company of friends and visitors in our paddock, here’s to another 60 years of vintage racing in Monterey, California.

 

Special thanks to the following contributors to our photo gallery:

Ricky Silverio, Josh Corwin, Naveed Abed, Mark Hutchinson, Matt Dockery, Kurt Hafer, Chris Brewer, Alex McDowell

Huge thanks to Randy Jaffe,  John Morton and Sylvia Wilkinson!
Long Live The Z!

 

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

We are lucky to be part of a great Datsun community that extends into the Pacific Northwest. About five years ago our friends from Oregon and Spriso Motorsports visited Z Car Garage, and I had always wanted to visit them. Last week my family rented an RV and drove up the Oregon coast from San Jose, CA. Part of the two-week trip in Oregon included a visit with Michael Spreadbury (Spriso Motorsports), Eric Straw and Anthony Schwisow.

 

Spriso Motorsports

When we arrived at Michael’s I was pleasantly surprised to see a car show in his front yard along with some local friends! He even arranged a BBQ. The evening was filled with cool cars, food and good times.

The Cars

Keri’s 1964 SPL310
Michael built this 3-seater 1500 for his wife! This was the first time I got to see it in person and it is amazing from the SR20 engine swap to the OEM interior and custom built steelies.

 

Michael’s 1966 SPL
His personal roadster with S15 NA SR20DE, 16″ Watanabe RS-8 wheels and brilliant beige grey paint.

 

Dave Joliff’s 1966 SPL
I remember Dave from Shasta 2004. His Daytona Blue S13-powered roadster has been driven hard over the last 13 years! Still looks fantastic.

 

Diamond Dave’s SR20-powered Miata
That’s right! With Michael and Eric’s help they installed an Autech SR20DE/6-speed drivetrain into his NA Miata. It’s a perfect match and I got brisk ride in it (thanks Diamond!). In the video, you’ll see Michael zooming past us in the opposite direction!

Eric Straw’s 1984 DR30 Skyline
Eric drove down from Salem with his RB26DETT-powered R30 Skyline. If you haven’t already read about this incredibly built rarity, check out my write-up on it HERE

  

More cars showed up throughout the evening, including Neil’s pristine 1988 Mazda RX-7. 30k miles and original paint!

  

The 80’s were alive!

Dave Lum, a long-time 510 owner (Z32TT engine swap!) brought his son’s 410 wagon:

 

The Shop

Home of Spriso Motorsports and where those magical SR-powered roadsters are built!

Michael’s Bluebird project!

During the shop tour I noticed this door with signatures on it. Michael asked me to sign it but a requirement was that you list what vehicle you drove. I need to replace the “RV” with “roadster” soon.

 Around this time I was surprised when Michael told me that Brian from Berkeley, CA was coming in his freshly restored 1967 Datsun 2000 #427!  A little context…Brian and I are both from the Bay Area with only ~40miles separating us. We have corresponded by social media and tried to meet up locally but never met in person out side of one Solvang Show. And here we were, some 600+ miles from home! We will dyno his roadster soon as it has a hopped up Hasslegren-built U20!

  

Sadly our good friend Anthony broke down in his 510 coming from Portland. Good news is that he mended his radiator, made it home safely and completed a track day at PIR with zero issues! His 2JZ-powered Datsun 510 wagon:

 

And eventually we hooked up for after-work cocktails in the RV in Lake Oswego 😀

Thank you Michael for organizing the get together, it was memorable!

 
The next morning we visited Silver Falls and headed to Salem where Eric’s family welcomed us to stay for the night.

Eric’s Shop

Eric is an extremely talented fabricator. His 510, roadster and Skyline showcase his skills, style and ingenuity but I was really impressed by the kitchen table he fabricated for his home. Sunset Magazine stuff. His shop is actually next to the house with enormous roll-up doors. This is where the magic happens:

  

That epic DR30 Skyline.
So. Much. Goodness.

  

I could easily spend hours in his shop, but it was getting late. We enjoyed a nice sunset picking blackberries with the kids and the next morning we headed north to Multnomah Falls.

 

Thank you Eric for your graciousness and it was nice to meet your family!
More pictures in the gallery, enjoy!

*Special Note to all magazine feature writers/photographers*

There is an absolute treasure trove of cars that deserve features in the Oregon area. Broaden your scope and check these guys out. The talent is impressive and the owners are humble.
…[read more]

 

We are proud to be a sponsor of the 13th Annual 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show September 23! The JCCS is a J-Tin lover’s paradise and it keeps getting better every year. Take a look at the poster above and you might notice a familiar black Z car. This year our OS Giken TC24 powered 1971 Datsun 240z will be displayed as one of the featured show cars, from the press release:

 

“America’s Most Exotic 240z” does have a nice ring to it!  You can see the original article by Mike Garrett over at Speedhunters HERE.

 

 

Z Car Garage will have its own booth at the show, so please stop by, check out the Z and say hello!

                    ***JCCS registration opens Saturday, July 1.***

 

Registration open tomorrow, July 1, so get those applications in and Z you at the show!

In case you missed it, our coverage of last year’s JCCS show is HERE and you can see a brief history of the TC24B1Z powered 240z below:

 

Over 30 years ago OS Giken created the first dual overhead cam (DOHC) 24-valve cylinder head for the Nissan L-series engine: The TC24-B1Z.

 

Z Car Garage in partnership with OS Giken debuted the first North American (LHD) Datsun 240z to run the TC24-B1Z at the SEMA show in Las Vegas, CA:
ZCG at SEMA 2015

We want to share how this mythical cylinder head sounds, looks and drives.
Turn up your speakers and enjoy!

 

 

 

What Happens in SEMA . . .

2016 marks the 50th Anniversary of the Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show.  Every year, people from around the world arrive in Las Vegas to look at the astonishing display of automotive tuning and customization.

 

Within the 1 million+ square foot, 4-building Las Vegas Convention center there are hundreds of lowered imports, resto-modded muscle cars and those crazy lifted trucks.  There’s far more to the show than that including celebrities, extreme demos, parties and general excess.  Unfortunately, SEMA isn’t open to the public, but that doesn’t mean you can’t experience what it’s like to attend the craziest show on the automotive calendar. Enjoy the following highlights from our visit to SEMA in Novemeber. We will start with our display car, the OEMs, Datsuns and move on to the wild stuff!

 

The OS Giken TC24B1Z Skyline

 

Last year at SEMA we debuted the legendary OS Giken TC24B1Z engine inside our ZCG-restored Datsun 240z:

 

The Z was well-received but very subtle (by SEMA standards) so this year we stepped out of our comfort zone and helped build a “flashier” vehicle for display…a 1971 Nissan “Hakosuka” Skyline!

   

This time the TC24 was treated to different induction: Jenvey individual throttle bodies and EFI. Aesthetics were livened up with a red valve cover and white coated exhaust headers. The entire car was wrapped in a metallic red replete with sponsor graphics and 17″ Volk TE37V wheels on Nitto tires. Our “show hood” mod was utilized again to highlight the glorious TC24.

We were flattered by all of the fan pictures and even received a miniature scale replica of the Hako from Shingo!

   

The Hako garnered attention from many social media outlets and drew significantly more traffic than last year’s display. Later in November it went on to be displayed at the Los Angeles Auto Show!
Speedhunters Day1 SEMA
OS Giken Hakosuka
Race Cars at SEMA
Japanese Nostalgic Car
SuperStreet

Huge thanks to the crew from OS Giken and Alex M. Stay tuned we will have a full feature on the build soon!

 

The Big Manufacturers at SEMA

As always, there’s a big presence from US manufacturers, but this year Honda and Toyota (among others) made an impact on the show floors. Here’s our round up of the big displays.

Ford

 

Ford had the largest display in the main hall with an extensive showing of their hottest cars and trucks. My favorite was the new GT supercar complete with battle-scars from a LeMans race. It even sat across from an original Ford GT40. Ken Block’s “Gymkhana 9” Focus and other tricked-out Foci below:

 

   

Honda

 

Honda announced its return to the Pirelli World Challenge series in 2017 with this NSX GT3…being towed by Acura MDX!  Below, the new NSX looks great in white, the new Civic showed as body-in-white tuning platform and the new (for the US) Civic Type R:

Toyota

 

Toyota had a neat throwback-style displaying paying tribute to its heritage vehicles. They even brought out the entire generation of Corollas in celebration of its 50th anniversary! Below: 1951 Land Cruiser, 80’s Van and the “World’s Fastest SUV”: a 2,000hp twin-turbo’d v8 Sequoia

 

  

Datsun Domination at SEMA!

We begin our coverage of all the Datsuns/Nissans at SEMA, and there were plenty! Let’s start with our OS Giken booth neighbor, ENEOS. Their display car was none other than Ginash George’s C10 Skyline. Ginash is the founder of the successful JDM Chicago and also owns a beautiful NSX.

 

Ginash enlisted the expertise of JDM Legends to build this stunning Hako. All the right choices on this one! And he’s a wheel aficionado to boot as well. Super Street gave it a SEMA award!

 

FOUR S30 Z cars were at SEMA. If we had to pick a favorite it was the ChasingJs 280z built by Dominic Le. You might be familiar with his last SEMA creation, the Hakotora that was featured on Jay Leno’s Garage.

 

 

The build was based on a rendering from talented artist Jon Sibal…and built in Dom’s garage!

  

The clever John Player Special striping was hand-applied by Dom himself. Note the rare G-Nose headlamp covers. Power comes from a single-turbo 2JZ-GTE with 1,000hp as the goal. We love it!

   

The Liberty Walk Fairlady Z turned heads with its unmistakenable bosozoku style. Sporting their fender flare kit, “notchback” rear hatch, smoothed rear panel and small-ish 15″ wheels it seemed a bit out of place in the DUB nation booth, but still cool.

 

Chris Forsberg’s 280z underwent a total makeover for SEMA.  The single turbo RB26 revieved a custom billet valve cover and the body showed off a new kit from Carbon Signal.  The kit really flows well with the G-nose and front spolier. The interior was also finished by Amir and his team in the UAE.

 

The legendary Pete Brock displayed his personal BRE Tribute 240z in the Braille booth:

 

A lone Datsun 510 slammed via AirLift suspension and 13B rotary power. The BBS wheels were mint!

 

This Datsun Bluebird L320 pickup was a pleasant sight amongs the wild bodykits. You see those chunky rear tires on widened steelies? They’re probably necessary to reign in all the instant torque from the electric motor conversion!

 

Late Model Nissans

Steve Pham’s unorthodox turbocharged BMW N54 turbo. This Rocketbunny “Boss” kitted Nissan 240sx (S14) had new BRE-inspired livery for the show. Below, a JDM model S15 Silvia with a widebody kit:

  

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