We have several exciting projects at the shop that will get full reports on zcarblog.com but today we want to highlight a few cars that we prepared for next week’s ZCON event. Please tune into our Instagram story for more sights and sounds as we have Z32, R35, S30, 370z, 350z, S130 and yes, even some Z31 updates heading your way!

 

ZCON Here We Come!

 

Z Car Garage is proud to be a sponsor for the 34th Annual Z Car Convention (ZCON) hosted by ZCCA in Colorado Springs 8/16-20. This is the largest Z-car event in the US and we are stoked to participate. Here are three client cars destined for ZCON, enjoy!

The OMS Pace Car

 

This is a 1972 Official OMS Pace Car Duplicate. It is at present one of only two known survivors . Fifty were originally produced by Nissan Motors to commemorate the DATSUN 240Z being selected by the Ontario Motor Speedway to Pace the 1972 “U.S.A.C. California 500 Championship”.  It really is a small Datsun world, as the official OMS pace car is none other than our very own Joel Anderson #49 IMSA GTU 240Z .

 

This OMS duplicate belongs to our long time customer and friend Linda. She acquired it from a family in SoCal and tasked ZCG with making it a nice driver. Full report soon but it got loaded up today for its journey to Colorado!

 

Jack’s LS3-Powered Z32

 

Jack and Yolanda have been a part of our lives since the beginning of ZCG. Being long time members of The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) and supporting our shop along the way, we are grateful to them. ZCG will be restoring the Primadonna Z back to its former glory this year! We are also helping the couple finish their LS3 V8 engine swap into their “Primadonna” Z32 Convertible. Yes, Jack had to get back in the game after building those 240z cars so he built a Z32 body kit from scratch. Like the S30’s he built, this widebody Z32 has evolved over time:

   

ZCG finished the LS3 swap and dialed it in with road-testing and dyno tuning.

 

It even sports full A/C and OEM shifter for the automatic transmission. The Z was loaded up with the OMS pace car today and heading to ZCON, full report soon!

 

 

Mike’s Datsun 240Z #193

 

Mike’s vin # 193 Series-1 S30 was ZCON bound but needed further work to be truly show-worthy. We love that he’s on board with us to finish the car correctly. It’s a beauty and it will be sensational.

 

Z You There!

This will be an eventful week for us. ZCG will be attending the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion this weekend, then it’s on to New York for the Global Reveal of the New Z and finally we will be in Colorado on Friday for ZCON! We are stoked to see the cars, faces and meet new people. Watch our IG/FB and twitter for updates!

 

More Projects

 

Jas D’s red 300ZX (above) and one of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s (below) will get a full report soon as well as the Stillen SMZ:

 

Randy’s 1970 Safari Tribute Z returned from its trip to Los Angeles to be filmed for Nissan’s commercials! We installed a new engine and made some suspension changes, full report soon!

   Watch for Randy’s Z running through the desert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kigk38DCFs

David’s 240Z

Long-time friend and client David attended a track day at Laguna Seca. This Z was built over 15 years ago and sill running strong. We prepped his Z for the track, full report soon!

 

Dyno Tuning your 350z/370z/Q/G

We have been dyno tuning your late model Nissan/Infiniti sports car daily. Bolt-ons, UPREV tuning. Our customers leave happy with more performance. Call us to schedule an appointment! Here are just a few cars:

 

Aaron’s Q50:

   

LONG LIVE THE Z! Check out our Instagram story for more updates!

…[read more]

 

The next-generation Nissan Z sports car will be unveiled Tuesday, August 17 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Nissan is making this a global reveal so Z car fans worldwide can watch via livestream. You can sign up for reminders at Nissan’s American website.

 

Z Car Garage was fortunate to check out the Z Proto at Nissan Headquarters back in May. We were impressed and can’t wait to see how close the production Z will be…with great styling, twin-turbos and a Six-speed manual transmission sign us up!

 

The global press event for unveiling the new Nissan Z will be at a private event in New York City. ZCG will be attending the event so stay tuned for live updates!

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

 

 

Z Car Garage is excited to collaborate with Datsunworks and develop their brilliant KN20 dual-overhead cam (DOHC) cylinder head designed for the Nissan inline-6 L-Series engine.

 

Datsunworks founder Derek Minetti is the pioneer behind the KN20 DOHC cylinder head. This is a custom (very limited production), 6-cylinder head derived from Honda’s venerable K-series 4-cylinder engine. The KN20 offers superior head flow rates combined with modern valvetrain components to effectively transform your L-series single-overhead cam into a high-revving, dual-overhead cam engine. The power potential is impressive.

Gary’s Datsun 240Z

 

There are ten KN20 heads in the wild with only three installed and currently running in cars. Z Car Garage has two KN20 cylinder heads. This KN20 is serial #SN10 and it has been installed into our long-time client Gary’s Datsun 240Z, affectionately named the “Behemoth”. ZCG is always exploring the boundaries of powertrains and Gary’s Z has seen a few engines including an RB30DET, OS Giken TC24 and now the Datsunworks.

 

Here are few details on the powertrain setup for this Z:

-Rebello 3.1L Engine

-KN20 Cylinder head SN10 (but the performance level goes to 11)

-Induction type: Jenvey ITB EFI with Injector Dynamics injectors

-Engine management: Haltech Elite 750

-Header: Equal-length, custom fabricated by RacecraftNW

-Transmission: Nissan CD009a

-Rear Diff: R180 4.11 OS Giken LSD

 

Pictures of the initial engine installation, with more in the gallery:

 

For further information on the KN20 cylinder head we urge you to visit the Datsunworks blog:
Datsunworks Blog

Performance

 

We are still in the tuning phase so Gary’s car is on a comfortable (conservative) setting. With the Datsunworks head it made 350hp/248tq at the wheels on 91 octane:

 

Even in a testing stage it is absolutely thrilling to drive. Gary’s car is a full ZCG-style restoration so it has the chassis to harness the power. The sound it makes is a sonorous tone only the K-series derived KN20 head creates…with a gnarly exhaust note to match. The ITB induction also provides a healthy wail…it’s a sensory overload and revs seem to climb endlessly.

 

To illustrate the Datsunworks experience we captured some video of what it is like to drive around town…the 6-speed and EFI really allow this car to be docile, especially when cruising on the freeway and at part throttle. Drop a gear and its becomes a wild animal. Not going to lie…it gave me goosebumps both as a passenger and spectator.

Watch the video complete with multiple dyno passes, street acceleration and fly-bys. VOLUME UP!

 

 

Potential

 

Z Car Garage is stoked to be a part of the Datsunworks KN20 development. It is a clever design that pushes the envelope for L-Series engines. Sharing this experience is also part of the fun so we anticipate having a KN20 setup in a dedicated shop 240Z for clients to test drive and further evaluate. Although each application is different, we envision offering a bolt-in setup for your six-cylinder L-Series engine. The power potential is tremendous with the KN20…both NA and forced induction. We thank Derek at Datsunworks for giving us the opportunity to work with this innovative product.

 

Stay tune for more updates and LONG LIVE THE (TWIN CAM) Z!

 

…[read more]

 

The iconic, 1976 IMSA GTU Championship-winning Transcendental Racing Z is at Z Car Garage! This early 1970 production 240Z has an exciting history battling against factory-backed teams with names like Jack Scoville, Brad Frisselle and John Morton behind the wheel.

 

The chassis was also highly-developed by a team of All-Stars including Joe Cavaglieri (Crew Chief), John Knepp (engine), Trevor Harris, Mac Tilton (suspension) and Yoshi Suzuka (chassis, roll cage and body). Current owner Randy Jaffe has commissioned Z Car Garage to bring this Z back to period livery, refresh the chassis and drivetrain components, and re-assemble the interior before traveling to its new home in Atlanta.

 

The Z came with many spares, period photos and even original molds for the bodywork!

 

Getting the livery sorted has begun, with a proper “Frisselle” windshield banner (left) based on period photographs (right)

 

Here is a short video of the Z as it arrived to the shop early this week. Dyno testing with video coming soon!

 

Always Meet Your Heroes

 

The “Frisselle” car captivated us for many years. We watched it race locally and and eventually shared track time with previous owner David Martin (RIP) at major historic events. (Below, Left) David Martin and Rob Fuller (#49 Joel Anderson car) in the Corkscrew and (Right) Rob with David and Brad Frisselle at the RMMR 2018.

 

You can imagine how excited we are to have this iconic race car at Z Car Garage. Big thanks to Randy for always believing in us. More photos from my brief visit:

 

 

Enjoy these videos we’ve captured over the years racing with David Martin piloting the Transcendental Racing 240z:

 

In a moment of sheer happiness, Rob Fuller can be seen driving the #47 Brad Frisselle Z through the paddock back in 2015!

 

A David Vs. Goliath History

Ever wonder about the history behind this famous 1976 IMSA-GTU Championship-winning 240z? Check out www.my240z.com. Our friend Glenn Chiou created this website to document the racing provenance for previous owner David Martin (RIP):

 

Glenn’s impressive knowledge of historic Nissan/Datsun racing is bolstered by hundreds of scanned photos, some never seen before along with stories from ex-drivers Brad Frisselle, Jack Scoville and John Morton. We are even given new insight on the R&D effort that went into the Frisselle car making it by far, “the best race engineered 240z in its period”.

 

So if you want to know “what’s it all mean?” check out www.my240z.com!

 

LONG LIVE THE Z!

 

On June 5-6, the Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted the Vintage Races at Laguna Seca. Z Car Garage was fortunate to participate and support several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group 9. It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our report with photos from photographers Raj Narayan, Nick Dockery and Jim Rose plus exclusive in-car footage!

Z Car Garage Supports Two Datsun 510s!

 

It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno. Below is a video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom) on the dyno prior to the Speedfest weekend. Enjoy the sweet L-series music!

 

 

510s Galore!

 

Plenty of Datsun 510s in Group 9, it was a Dime-lover’s dream to be in the paddock and watch the races. Although the event did not officially allow spectators, we’ve got you covered! Let’s take a look at the Datsun 510s that we supported, beginning with our clients. Both cars ran flawlessly:

#72 Tom Dockery

Tom Dockery drove his Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510. This car made its debut in May 2019 and we are excited to share its full story and profile Tom’s journey into racing.

Tom had a blast here are his thoughts on the race weekend

“Overall, the weekend was great.  Smaller field but the top half of the field was equally fast. I had some good exchanges with Jon Normal, whom I never expected to be able to keep up with, so that was fun. Some dicey moments with Daniel Cagginao, thought his lines were a bit off (Sun race 2). I managed to set a new personal best lap time of 1:46:09 which was great.

My other comment would this ….Every time I watch these in car vids ….and I watch them all the time just to hear the noise/sound, I see places I gave time away and I just want to go back out again. It’s intoxicating. My car was perfect, no issues and ran in top form all weekend long thanks to Josh and Rob.”

 Enjoy this in-car video from Tom’s 510:

 

#7 Rob Fuller

With the assistance of ZCG crew Josh and Keith we also supported ZCG owner Rob Fuller in the Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car:

  

Rob performed admirably with a fastest time of 1:41.837, here is his experience:

“CSRG is one of the oldest race groups that we run with. It’s been 20 years since they had a Laguna Seca event so we were excited to participate. They had 9 different run groups and I have been pushing to make Spec Miata part of vintage racing. We tried to get a big group out, but only two Miatas raced with Group 8 (Tim Wright and myself). Despite this, it was fun to start at the back and move through the cars”

   

“The big excitement of course was B-Sedan group. Tom Dockery was quicker than ever, and I was getting closer to Troy Ermish. We really had fun, dramatic racing. First race out (qualifying) I was close to Troy. He and I were a good 3-4 seconds ahead of the field with a nice battle. Race 2 I had a good start and took off, then about lap 4 my car’s transmission got stuck in 3rd gear. We  were so far in front that even with 5-6 laps left in race I was able to adjust my driving style and finished in 2nd place. Pretty proud of that.”

 

 

Race 3 on Sunday was dramatic. Troy and Rob were just .033s apart at the finish!

“In the 3rd and final race (afternoon feature) Troy and I battled again. He started to gap me but car issues slowed his pace. I started to reel him in. The last lap was the closest I’ve ever been to Troy (see video below), and it’s no secret that he’s a phenomenal driver. I definitely want to catch cup to him and race with him when our cars are both 100%.”

 

You can see in-car footage of Rob below:

 

 

Catch more of Rob’s sessions on his Youtube Channel. Race Results from the Group 9:

 

Datsun Car Corral!

 

CSRG is awesome. Since the general public was not allowed to spectate, they hosted a vintage Datsun Car Corral! Participants were spoiled with FREE parking in the paddock area and full access to the race for the weekend.

 

 

Willie Gutierrez brought his Datsun 510 along with a few friends. My roadster friend Raj Narayan (photo contributor) also attended in his 2000.  They got to enjoy the beautiful weather and day of racing without crowds…amazing!

 

Cool Cars

The paddock was filled with wicked metal. This special Datsun Roadster is a factory “lightweight” model, piloted by Michael Sweeney. More pictures in the gallery!

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

We hope you have enjoyed our report from the 2021 CSRG Vintage Race event! CSRG did an amazing job with the event. Rob’s parting words:

“It was fun to catch up with friends like the crew from Racecraft.  Ex-driver of Tom Dockery’s 510 John Koobation was there. I enjoyed racing Miatas and hangin out with Tim Wright, a famous musician from 3rd Eye-Blind and Primus. We hope October’s event with CSRG will be open to spectators!  Our client Kelvin missed this event but assures us he’ll be racing at Sonoma. None of this would be possible without the help of our ZCG crew Josh and Keith Corwin. If you haven’t experienced a Historic racing event I encourage you to come out, it’s a blast!”

 

*See you in October for the CSRG Charity Challenge in Sonoma!*

…[read more]