Sunday was a beautiful sunny day in the Bay Area, perfect for a quick drive in our Datsun Roadsters. Our destination was Uvas Reservoir and I joined Rob and his family in Sora while I drove my ‘67.5 SPL. Leaving our meeting point of 76 on Foxworthy/Almaden:
Z Car Garage shop dog Kane loves riding in the roadster!
Despite being only 25 miles from the heart of Silicon Valley, the landscape near Uvas Reservoir is entirely different with farmlands, rolling hills and idyllic bridge crossings:
At the reservoir we flagged down this Datsun enthusiast, also out Enjoying The Ride! It was none other than David Carroll in his beastly 1975 280z:
You might recognize David’s Z as a contestant in the Optima Batteries Ultimate Street Car Competition and numerous road course/autocross events. Dubbed “570Z” when he initially ran a LS1, the Z now sports an LS3 with over 500whp. Those are 315/30/18 tires at four corners! He gave us a nice fly-by check out the video below:
We snapped a few more pics of the cars and headed back home, it was fun to “exercise” the roadsters:
More pictures in the gallery below and remember, Datsuns Are Driven!
Datsun Roadsters hold a special place in our heart and we had the opportunity to tune a very beautiful example. Brian K is the owner of this rare 1967 Datsun 2000 #427. Although he hails from the East Bay, we first saw his roadster when we visted Spriso Motorsports in Oregon. Brian had just completed a full, frame-off restoration on the roadster and embarked on a long roadtrip/shakedown: Datsuns Are Driven!
After breaking in the Hasselgren-built U20 engine, Brian wanted to have the roadster dyno-tuned and test different air filter setups. Here is the U20 below, sporting dual Mikuni-Solex 44 carbs, C cam and .040 over pistons.
We supplied Brian with the correct main jets for the Mikiuni’s and tuning commenced! It was interesting to see (and hear) significant gains just from the open (early) vs closed (late) OEM filter housings. Brian’s roadster baselined at 121hp/122tq and left with 142hp/134tq to the wheels:
The dyno plot reveals nice gains throughout the entire rev range in addition to higher peak numbers. Well over 100tq is available from 3000rpm to 6600rpm! Keep in mind this is on 91 octane running 9:5:1 compression. A good tune is priceless. Brian was stoked on the tuning session.
When he’s not enjoying his many Datsuns, Brian owns/operates a machine shop called KaD Models and you can catch him on Instagram under “kadmodels”. Enjoy The Ride Brian!
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 last week: ZCG at SEMA 2015
Today, as promised, we want to share how this mythical cylinder head sounds, looks and drives.
Turn up your speakers and enjoy!
We love the Datsun 510. We also want to see these cars driven and road-worthy instead of sitting. Earlier this year Rob got in touch with a friend from Georgia to help keep this yellow 4-door Dime from a rusty, idle future. Almost two decades ago Rob and Steve met for the first time under true, Datsun-geek circumstances…Steve was driving the 510 in traffic when Rob spotted him while moving in the opposite direction. Rob stepped out of his car and ran all they way back to catch Steve and introduce himself as a fellow Datsun fan, thus beginning their friendship.
When Steve purchased this car in the early 90’s it had already been setup for autocross duty with Carrera coil-overs and a roll-cage. Steve even muscled a rear seat in between the roll bar so his kids could enjoy the ride with him. At one point in time Steve scored a set of Mikuni carbs from Rob which are still on the car to this day! This Datsun has got character.
Steve enjoyed the 510 for many years and it was a big part of his life. Unfortunately it had been sitting for awhile and he decided to pass the car on his brother-in-law Jonathan who then sold it to Rob as its next steward. I joined Rob the day the 510 arrived to ZCG from Georgia via transport. The little Dime fired right up though it was smoking heavily. The head was pulled:
The stock bottom end was left alone but it was time to send the head to Rebello to work their magic!
Before/after:
Port/polish with fresh valvetrain:
With the Rebello head, dual Mikunis and 91 octane the L20b made an impressive 147hp/130tq to the wheels. Over 100tq from 3k to 7krpm. Great, NA L-series power:
I drove the 510 with it’s freshened motor and I was amazed at the power delivery. It rips, listen to this video clip:
The car is an absolute blast to drive. It can be chucked into corners and there is plenty of power to leave a grin on your face. The suspension is really the highlight of the car but now has an engine to match it!
Since the foundation and history of the car is so great we didn’t do anything radical. Rob’s plans are to make the car comfortable enough for daily driving yet capable and fun at open track events. The extensive roll cage wrapped in hot pink nerf padding had to go as it was intrusive. Nissan 350z seats on factory rails are a welcome addition to the interior with the cage removed:
Crystal-clear outward visibility courtesy of a new windshield. She is now sporting 14 x 6 Panasports (+15mm) from the ZCG Datsun 2000. We like the look compared to the Italian 15s:
What’s next? A factory tach install, minor cosmetic restoration and some wiring cleanup. The car is sweet. Yellow 510 just got a new exhaust system and Porterfield R4S pads to do a track day at Laguna Seca. Thank you Steve for keeping the 510 in the family!
Filed under: Performance
by Forbes @ 5:29 pm on April 20, 2009
240Zs rule. They are lightweight, handle amazingly well, and are easy to work on; but what do you do when the reliable L-series engine runs out of breath? Simple, bring it to Z Car Garage and install a set of 44mm Mikuni carburetors, new header, and a slightly larger exhaust system…. and hold on!!
The amazing change in the dyno numbers only tell half the story. The fun factor of this car is now light years ahead of where is was when the car first came to us. The torque now stays strong through the entire rev-range and the increased breathing capacity now allows the engine to spin freely to six grand if you so desire. There is an increase of FORTY horsepower and the same in torque through the last 1,500rpm. This is a life changing difference.
One of the reasons this looks so drastic is the inefficiency of the semi-odd dual carb setup that this car came to us with, but the results prove that that this is one huge step in the right direction to making this car about as much fun that the owner can handle. The car is now using three individual ITG filters to make sure that the newly found airflow is clean enough for government work so please don’t think that we sent this car on it’s way with no filtration. Sorry that I don’t have any pictures.
On the horizon for this car is a possible camshaft change to get the last bit of power out of this engine so expect a post in the future if this comes to fruition. The smile on the owner’s face hasn’t left since we gave the car back and it seems we have lit the fire under another early Z enthusiast, we are happy to help. ZCG
There are a few more photos after the ‘read more.’
