Jay H has been our customer since the beginning. He has a Datsun 240z, Mazda (FD) RX-7 and this 1990 Aztec Red 300ZX Twin Turbo that he’s owned for many years.  Living in a rural, wooded area the Z’s wiring got chewed on by rodents. We fixed the wiring and got the car running again but more issues surfaced. Jay loves this Z so much and it had 122k miles so he decided it was time give it some serious attention.

 

Z Car Garage was happy to oblige as we think the Z32 is one of the best Japanese sports car of the 90’s.

Engine Bay and Drivetrain

 

The engine bay was in need of major cleaning and restoration. First, we performed a compression/leakdown test and the Z passed. With the engine out now we could focus on cleanup:

 

We installed a new engine room wiring harness. Every coolant hose, bypass hose, vacuum hose was replaced. A new underhood insulator with clips replaced the torn oem piece.

 

All p/s hoses were replaced and we modified the p/s steering pump to reduce clutter and eliminate the HICAS completely:

 

The engine was treated to full reseal and timing belt services, more pictures of the engine build in the gallery!

 

With a clean bill of health we installed several performance upgrades including JWT sport 500 turbos, BDE billet half moons/motor mounts, Ashpsec inlet piping, Selin dual-MAF with HR  low-profiles filters/two Z32 MAFs and Nismo 740cc injectors:

 

No turbo upgrade is complete without the Mike Smith turbo manifolds with EGR ( to pass emissions). Unfortunately we will install the last set of these on Felix C’s 300, and that’s it!

 

BDE motor mounts:

 

Nismo 740cc injectors:

 

Ashspec inlet piping:

  

Selin dual-MAF with HR low-profile filters:

 

Before the engine went back in we installed a new JWT HD clutch and aluminum flywheel:

 

The drivetrain was re-installed with numerous items like a new fan and engine cover:

  

Exhaust upgrades included a full SpecialtyZ 3″ exhaust with 3″midpipes:

 

Finally, a GReddy Profec boost controller was installed in the super tidy interior:

 

Rob dyno tuned the Z, making 384hp/348tq to the wheels:

 

Exterior

 

With the engine bay and drivetrain sorted we turned to the body and and exterior trim. Jay wanted to do a full repaint on the car so we had it had it towed engine-out to our man William. Some before shots showing the faded paint and cracked/peeling tail light panel:

 

At William’s the body got some choice parts to make it look like 1990 again: Wings West Pre-’94 rear wing, JDM front fascia (with shaved license plate mount) and Jspec tail lights. With the freshly painted Z back at the shop we tackled re-assembly of new cowl panels, mouldings and various trim. All of these parts really make this Z pop:

 

Extensive moulding/trim replacement: T-top trim before/after shown below

 

Door and window trim:

   

Jspec rear and front looking sharp!

 

Icing on the cake are Jay’s super cool set of old WORK Equip 05 wheels.  We re-finished and polished/painted them running Bridgestone S-04 tires.

 

Wheels make the car and this Z looks incredible standing still and on the road:

Suspension

The chassis received a few upgrades including Stillen sways and SPL titanium HICAS delete We also replaced ABS module the clutch and brake master cylinders

 

One Z Car…Coming Up!

 

Jay didn’t have a car for the duration of the revival and he was on foot running errands near his home.  We handled all of the DMV fees foe him and Rob and Alvin delivered the Z to Jay at his residence.

 

It was a great experience to pull up in the 510 and Z to present it to Jay, he was all smiles:

  

Thank you Jay for bringing your 300zx to Z Car Garage. We admire your love for the Z and passion to keep it on the road in top form! Z32s ROCK! Enjoy the extensive photo gallery below:

LONG LIVE THE Z!

…[read more]

We had a great time at the 2019 Norcal Skyline Matsuri held on Saturday in San Francisco. Over 25 Nissan Skylines gathered for a fun drive through Lombard St., Japantown and capped it off with scenic Fort Baker. I am not a Skyline owner but I was lucky to attend this meet behind the wheel of Z Car Garage customer Alex McDowell’s 1992 R32 GT-R. If this Skyline looks (and sounds) familiar, it was the same car driven by Jason Cammisa in the this episode of Motor Trend’s “Ignition” TV series. Alex has continued to enjoy this Skyline at many track days.

   

On Saturday morning I joined our friend Glenn in his Nismo R32 GT-R to meet with the other Norcal Skylines near the first photo op: Lombard St.

 

GT-Rs after GT-Rs from R32 to R34 came pouring in to the crowded neighborhood. Amazingly, the SFPD was on site to help guide traffic so we could all drive down Lombard together.

   

The goal was to have all of the Skylines driving down the famous curvy street. For such a chaotic task it was accomplished so well. Thanks to drone photographer Eddie this epic moment was captured beautifully. Stay tuned for video and high-res pics!

  

From Lombard we met in Japantown for lunch. The underground parking garage turned into a Skyline car show:

 

I was happy to see and meet several R32 owners that have visited Z Car Garage!

 

We had plenty of time to admire each others cars and chat. After lunch we drove to our final photo spot, Fort Baker. It was a gorgeous day with the SF Skyline clearly visible and the Golden Gate making the perfect backdrop. Each car got it’s own photo professionally taken!

 

So. Many. Skylines.

Matt’s TH1 R32!

  

Chad’s R33 and an R32 on Blitz 03 wheels:

 

Congratulations to Todd Lappin and the organizers from Norcal Skylines on a successful Matsuri. Enjoy this video from the day and many more pictures in the gallery below.

…[read more]

Paolo M came to ZCG for a differential build on his 370z. The G35/350z and G37/370z cars all share the same diff bushing failure due to aggressive driving or simple wear and tear. From Nissan, the OEM diff bushing is filled with silicone, and will burst/leak this fluid resulting in a noticeable clunk when shifting.  Paulo’s Z34 had the tell-tale sign of the diff bushing failure, with visible leakage on the cover:

 

Nissan will not replace the bushing alone. By design, Nissan wants you to replace the entire rear subframe at a substantial cost.  Fortunately, Whiteline makes a really nice bushing that can be installed and it is a mandatory solution whenever we perform a diff job at ZCG. In addition to replacing the diff bushings, we replaced the bearings, changed the final drive and installed an OS Giken limited-slip unit:

 

The diff is removed from the Z and OS Giken LSD prepped:

  

We check the pinion depth by testing the wear pattern on the ring gear with paint:

   

For an added piece of security for the differential we installed a NISMO diff cover. Its extra oil capacity and finned design aid in cooling for hard driving. The unit was filled with OS Giken gear oil:

 
We finished with an engine oil change and Paolo was back on the road. He’s visited ZCG several times and we like working on his Z34. Enjoy The Ride Paolo!

 

 

We are fortunate to work with fantastic clients and as a result they are the best form of advertising. Carlos H and Scott C met at the same gym. We supercharged Scott C’s G35 several years ago, and he was kind enough to refer ZCG to Carlos for work on his 2016 Nismo 370Z.  When we first met Carlos he came in for some bolt-ons: Stillen G3 intakes, Fast Intentions cat-back exhaust, and a UPREV flash:

FI cat-back exhaust:

 

We also installed FI long tube headers:

 

On the dyno immediate gains of +12hp/16tq to the wheels were seen with the intake and exhaust:

 

The best way to maximize gains from bolt-ons is perform an ECU tune. UPREV tuning yielded further gains for a total of 323hp/266tq to the wheels:

 

Carlos came back for suspension upgrades and we all know Rob loves the KW V3 coilovers:

 

Front/Rear:

   

Next, we installed our favorite sway bars from Hotchkis:

 

Front/Rear OEM vs Hotchkis:

  

Carlos is Enjoying The Ride…and we have to say the 2015+ Nismo Z34s look so good!

 

Our friend and fellow Datsun enthusiast/racer Glenn Chiou recently acquired this R32 GT-R. Before we describe what brings this Skyline to Z Car Garage let’s hear how Glenn found the dream car of his youth:

“As a teenager growing up during the Fast and Furious days it was not hard to get caught up in the import car craze. Amongst the boy racer fantasies of owning RX7’s, Supra’s and R34 Skyline GTR’s, I developed a strong interest in the R32 GTR. The simple design, yet brute power intrigued me. It was always a car that was unobtanium to me. After hearing that I would be able to federal legalize one after 25-years I had to pursue one. Although the car was technically legal in the United States, the wonderful state of California hindered ownership. It was then I learned about International Vehicle Importers run by Skyline aficionado Sean Morris. On a whim, I headed down to IVI in Long Beach, California to take a peek at what they had to offer…”

“As with all my cars, I always look for a unique factory offering during the selection process. After further research I learned that there was a version homologated for racing – the NISMO edition. Nissan built a total of 560 NISMO BNR32 models for homologation purposes to compete in the FIA’s Group A racing class. A total of 60 of the 560 cars were destined for Group A racing in Japan and Australia. NISMO models included twin steel fan turbos (opposed to ceramic), an additional lip spoiler, front brake cooling ducts, side skirt aero splats, removed ABS, and a rear wiper delete. Being a racing junkie, I knew this was the car for me. I took delivery of the car #459 in November 2016 and could not have been more excited. The car provided a unique experience like none other. As an owner of both vintage and modern cars, I was amazed at the fact that this car was designed and built in the late 80’s!”

 

After a year of ownership Glenn was yearning for an even more enjoyable driving experience. He decided to take a period-correct approach of modification using high quality parts from the era when possible. Shown below are a full Trust Titanium exhaust, authentic NISMO steering wheel and the crown jewel of period-mods: 400R-spec NISMO LM-GT1 wheels! Sized 18×10 with stickier tires all around paired with Ohlin DFV’s coilovers:

 

 

Fast forward to November 2017. Glenn was prepping the Skyline for the R’s Day track event at Laguna Seca. With the 12/9 date fast approaching we discussed his GT-R and switching over to the Haltech Platinum Pro Plug-in for engine management. Glenn was excited and Godzilla visited Z Car Garage:

 

  

Whenever we install the Haltech Platunum Pro on a GT-R we switch from a mass air flow (MAF) to a manifold absolute pressure (MAP) based setup. The dyno graph shows how we were able to make more power and area under the curve while keeping the car safely tuned on 91 octane:

“To put the cherry on top, we had Z Car Garage work their magic with a Haltech ECU and tune. In short, the car WOKE up. The superb handling coupled with the drivable power made for a perfect track day car and canyon carver.”

 

Where better to test the R32’s newly found limits than on the race track? We had a blast driving with Glenn and friends at R’s Day in December. He was stoked:

“The car performed beautifully and stuck like it was on train tracks! The car was incredibly predictable and just all-around very enjoyable to drive fast. I look forward to more improvements to the car in the near future, as it will serve as my fun toy between vintage race days!”

Thanks for letting us tune your special R32 Glenn! If you haven’t experienced R’s Day here’s a neat video and coverage from Speedhunters.

UPDATE: Glenn’s Datsuns

 

 

Glenn is an avid Datsun enthusiast having owned and raced several cars. You might remember his VIPS 240z vintage race car from the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion last year where he ran the Z alongside our hero John Morton. We also dyno-tuned the Z in preparation for race week. Look for #39 at various events this year!

  

Next up for restoration, Glenn has located IMSA GTU/Trans Am 260Z, chassis # 000024, formerly driven by Greg Sorrentino of Different Drummer Racing. We know Glenn will do it justice by the amazing work he performed bringing back the Loren St. Lawrence Z:

  

Glenn loves his vintage race cars and he recently added this B-sedan Datsun 510 to his stable! We should be dyno-tuning it soon. Look for it on the track at this year’s B-sedan races with SVRA:

Let’s not forget Glenn’s street car, his RHD 240z-L is well known in the Datsun community and the subject of a nice feature film on Petrolicious.

 

The Z has a powerful Rebello stroker motor with triple-mikuni’s and runs perfectly sized Watanabe wheels. On that wheel-related note, we are really excited to report that Glenn will be running our ZCG Big Brakes for small wheels behind those magnificent 15″ Wats! Look for a full report soon. You can catch Glenn putting it through its paces on the 2018 Coastal Range Rally hosted by the good folks at DrivingWhileAwesome.

 

 

Good luck at the races this year Glenn!