We had a tremendous week racing at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion August 14-17. More commonly known as the “historics” at Mazda 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. Our friends over at JNC were lucky to experience the Pebble Beach scene in all its opulence and excitement. From the multi-million dollar auctions and surprising Japanese classic entrants check out their coverage HERE.
If it’s the smell of 110 octane, straight-piped exhausts and wheel-to-wheel action you desire than look no further than the historics. Typically I would cover this event from a spectator’s point of view. This year, I was fortunate to be part of the Z Car Garage race crew and bring you, dear readers, a perspective from the pits as a first time participant.
Joel Anderson and Restoration of the #49 IMSA Z
Z Car Garage was thrilled to team up with original owner, builder and driver Joel Anderson to bring the IMSA Z back to life after being stored for 25 years. Restored to late-70’s spec as it was raced, this IMSA GTU-prepped Z does not have new “trick” parts. Parts from Joel’s collection were re-used and common wear items were refreshed. Below: Original race seat and MOMO Prototipo steering wheel. Original suspension parts were plated.
Our man William applied Joel’s bespoke striping:
More detailed restoration photos and our full interview with Joel can be found HERE. We were very pleased with the engine bay…plenty of Joel’s engineering remains intact:
We applied the vinyl livery, took a step back and pinched ourselves…are we still dreaming?
With all of the vitals checked, #49 rests before heading to Laguna Seca on the original trailer Joel used decades ago at Road Atlanta:
Racing at Laguna Seca
For the Friday practice session we drove the ZCG Datsun 2000 to Laguna Seca and parked alongside some fellow roadsters owners in the paddock. Arriving at ‘Seca early morning with the track enshrouded in fog is surreal. Despite the moisture and most high-dollar machinery still under car covers, a few brave souls were on course for their practice sessions.
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