Every year, one of my favorite events to attend in Southern California is the annual Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach.  JCCS is like a big reunion of old school friends, surrounded by the finest vintage metal made in Japan. The iconic Queen Mary cruise ship and the Long Beach skyline is a perfect backdrop for Zs, 510s, Skylines, Rx-7s, Rx-3s, Celicas, Corollas, Land Cruisers and other interesting Japanese old school cars!

 

Founded by Koji and Terry Yamaguchi, JCCS has been running for 11 years strong now and the bar is set higher ever year. I remember the first year of JCCS, and it’s hard to believe the inaugural event was over a decade ago!  I love this show 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.

  

Attendance was impressive but surprisingly not over-whelming like previous years and this made photographing cars a breeze!  Sure, a bulk of the cars are the same annually but the small percentage of new cars tend to be amazing.  At JCCS we love that every pass up and down an aisle of cars reveals a new detail, emblem, decal, or set of wheels.  Also, this is a more adult car show (no loud Drake/EDM, no booth babes, no car parents towing around scraping cambered-out red Power Wheels with kids in them) and a breath of fresh air compared to the “party” vibe of the larger California shows.

Nissan’s Debut at JCCS

The OEMs participated in record numbers this year. That’s right, in addition to Mazda, Toyota and Honda our beloved Nissan stepped up for the first time with a great showing of rare and unique vehicles from their vault. My favorite was the 1997 R390 GT1 Le Mans race car, sent over from Japan just for this event! Nissan’s collection also included included a 1975 Bluebird-U 2000 GTX, 1972 Datsun 510 and 1967 411. Our friends at JNC were lucky to drive the Dime and Bluebird over the Monterey Car Week.

Completing the “heritage” lineup was this little/big truck combo – a 1960 Datsun 1200 “surfer” Van towed by a 2016 Nissan TITAN XD pickup. Fingers crossed this new diesel rig “passes” emissions. Ha!

 

Here are few of my favorite Nissans and Datsuns, starting with that not-so forbidden fruit commonly known as the hakosuka.

 

There was no shortage of Skylines this year and my favorite was Eric Khamchan’s KGC10. It’s racing livery removed from previous shows revealed a stunning shade of metallic blue. The killer stance with wide, gun-metal Watanabe wheels stuffed under the flares set this one off from the rest:

 

We first saw this short-nosed Skyline at the Solvang Datsun Roadster Show and were surprised by its intact “surf line” rear fenders,  G-series 4-cylinder power and super rare Hayashi Racing Techno Phantom wheels:

 

Eric Bauer’s  Hako sported period-spec goodies throughout like these Dunlop CR65 tires and C-pillar vent:

 

The only 4-door with molded rear flares sitting pretty on deep step-lipped SSR MKII wheels:

Another red Hako with gold Watanabe’s and a striking peanut butter interior:

 

Finally, this Kaido themed racer replete with external oil cooler, livery and side-exit exhaust:

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. This S30 had subtle body-colored flares, deep Simmons wheels and a neatly executed RB25DET engine swap:

 

By contrast Richard Madlangbayan’s RB25DET-powered S30 is wildly flared with retina-searing paint and extensive aero.  To-die-for NISMO LM GT2 wheels were re-barreled and stepped up to 18″ by FiveOneWheels. Check out the rear diffuser, side skirts and spolier too:

 

 

This was my first time seeing Kevin Yeung’s “White DevilZ” in person. It had some ludicrously sized fenders, WORK Equip 03 wheels with a huge wing and more aero. My favorite part? The L-series powerplant force-fed by an HKS turbo kit. I think I overheard Kevin telling a fan that “he had plans to track it”…

 

The guys from JDM Legends displayed this immaculate, super sano S30. From the iconic Watanabe wheels to the triple-carb’d L-series this car was a real treat to view.

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I love driving my Datsun Roadster every weekend but last Saturday I had the opportunity to drive Rob Fuller’s 1971 Datsun 510 for my birthday.  This is Rob’s first 510 from his youthful days in Georgia (see vanity plate). Without giving too many details, he restored the car and performed an S13 SR20DET drivetrain swap in 2002.  We will give this Dime a proper feature on the blog soon, but for now, let’s drive!

 

I called up a few of my roadster friends to do a quick blast up Skyline to Alice’s restaurant. Both Mike (silver) and Raul’s (white) roadsters are 1967.5 year cars with SPL and SRL drivetrains, respectively. With HWY 9 construction finished the twisty roads we once enjoyed were now even smoother.

 

We headed South on 84,  looped back up to Skyline via Old La Honda Rd and eventually took a break at the vista point off 9 towards Big Basin.  Driving the Go Green 510 was buckets of fun. Seating/steering wheel position, suspension and visibility all make for a totally different experience coming from a roadster owner. I was impressed how well the car has held up over a decade after it was reborn.

 

After our fun run my brother and I did some lead-follow videos with my roadster and the 510. Two SR-powered vintage Datsuns Enjoying The Ride! Turn those speakers up:

 

Cruising around town and experiencing the rush of 400hp being transferred through 205mm-width rear tires was absolutely addicting.  Thank you Rob for making my birthday especially enjoyable!

 

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:

A little stoplight action against Turbo Box Flare

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!

 

Remember Todd Green and his VQ-powered Datsun Roadster race car? Here are a few pictures from him running Solo2 at Grattan Raceway in Michigan earlier this week. Shown above, Todd is crossed-up going sideways at the top of 4th gear (8,000rpm) preparing for a 90 degree right hander!

 
We love this beast of a roadster and how Todd runs it hard. “I was at the top of 6th gear going across the finish line. I could hardly see as my head was getting beat around violently by the turbulence”
Keep at it Todzilla! Datsuns Are Driven!

Here is another great Datsun family story that Z Car Garage is proud to be a part of.  John B’s mother actually bought this 240z brand new! The Z has been in their family ever since and eventually John became the owner. Unfortunately it had been sitting for a long time as the family changed residences and needed lots of work. ZCG to the rescue! We restored the brakes and suspension which were badly corroded/seized:

The front end was treated to new rotors and turned drums, new calipers and T/C rods from Techno Toy Tuning (3T). 3T is a company that helps keep vintage Japanese cars on the road by creating sweet suspension/chassis pieces. We love their products and continue to use them as seen on Grant’s 240z. Here are the old vs new calipers finished in black:

The hard, brittle tires and groovy slotted mags were replaced with fresh Bridgestone rubber and 16×7 Panasports. These are the “new” style Panasport castings with a brilliant anodized lip:

It is amazing what a little cleaning and some Panasports can do 🙂

Underhood, the engine had a severe exhaust leak. Actually, the entire exhaust system was badly rusted…

A full ZCG exhaust system from the MSA 6-2-1 header back to our trademark slash cut tip:

More engine bay work…the gnarly carbs were fully refurbished and dialed-in. We de-smogged the engine, restored the radiator, replaced the water pump and coolant by pass hoses:

Water pump:

More deteriorated rubber found in the fuel system:

A final touch we are proud of is the refinished cowl piece. ZCG  powdercoats it a matte-black finish that looks fantastic:

Dyno tuning produced a robust 140hp/152tq to the wheels:

With the engine bay in tip top shape John is ready to hit the road in this family heirloom Z!