More often than not, it’s our parents who are responsible for our unrelenting passion for cars. For Geoff G, his automotive love was gifted to him by his Dad as a child. We love sharing our passion with family and friends so when Geoff and his father visited us with their 1972 Datsun 240z we happily obliged to help. Our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles along with tuning really made it come alive.

Z Car Beginnings

The Z was acquired from a family friend in 2015. Geoff worked on it with his Dad (Edgar) to make it a decent runner:

“When we took ownership of the car it had been sitting in a garage for several years, only being fired up occasionally. It’s originally painted 112 yellow, but a couple resale-red resprays along the way is where she sits. Drive train is all original. SU’s and 4 speed all there. And most importantly, no rust, or any signs of accidents. This is me and my dad’s first Z car. Always been a fan.”  

Fast forward, the father-son duo felt confident enough to enter the Z on a couple of rallye events in 2019. These Targa events are familiar to us, having prepared the Bring a Trailer Datsun 240z for the Targa Baja California rallye in October ’18:

“In 2014 we successfully piloted his 1973 Opel GT on the Snowball Rally event.  So when we picked up our Z, we knew we would get it out on the rally events. You can see our Z in the videos below”

Targa California 2019 Z shows up at 7:00 min mark: YouTube

Targa Baja California 2019 – Z shows up at 0:52 mark sporting rally Z inspired decals: YouTube

Pictures from the two rallye events:

 

Regarding the livery, Edgar wanted to make the car stand out a bit more in the rallye events and typical BRE-inspired themes.  They went in the direction of the Rallye Monte Carlo Z that came in 3rd place at the 1972 event:

 

“The livery is very loosely based on the Monte Carlo car: When we brought it home, it came fitted with the front brush bar style bumper. I really did not like the look at the time, so I sourced a set of nice original chrome bumpers to bring it back to original. So we had that clean look for a while. But after our first rallye in the Z, I thought, you know, some fog lights would be a great idea. Functional for the night stages in the events. So we threw the brush bar back on, and it really set the tone for a rally style/safari look Z. In the end, the bumper and the livery came together.”

 

It’Z a Small World

 

Geoff and Edgar visited Z Car Garage back in January to help with some braking system issues.

“In the beginning of the year, after running the 2 previous events, the brakes started to feel on their way out.  So after coming across ZCG on social media several years ago, and at the backing of our dear family friend, Ricky Silverio, I reached out to Rob for some stopping help.”

It is a small world indeed, as we’ve known Ricky for many years and the crew at Japanese Nostalgic Car (JNC)! It gets even better as both Ricky and Geoff’s family’s go way back to their days in the Philippines. Recently, Ricky decided to let go of his 1993 Mazda Miata with only 31k miles and Geoff picked it up. It complements Geoff’s ’94 R-package Miata (he credits Ricky for his MX-5 addiction).

 

 

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

Back to the Z…Geoff had heard about our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) so we let both him and his father take “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car out for a test drive.

They were both super-impressed with how the brakes felt and they were sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes and Z Car Garage CV Axles! Butters has a way of doing this to our customers 🙂 Read below for a brief description of these parts:

     

As fellow S30 owner/racer Glenn C mentioned in his review, on top of braking performance, pedal feel is extremely important and our Big-Brakes deliver. This is a direct result of working with engineers at Stoptech to create a totally bolt-in solution requiring no M/C change or additional proportioning valve/adjustments. All fitting behind a 15″ Watanabe or Panasport wheel (and some 14″ wheels) and retaining factory emergency brake lever! A few details below:

Calipers: Stoptech ST42 4-piston front & rear race calipers (Alum 6061 mil-spec Type III anodized)

Rotors: 280mm x 20.6 with Alum 7075 hats

Pads: Stoptech 309 sport street pads

Blog posts documenting all of our customers running the ZCG Big-Brakes can be found HERE.

A few closer detail shots of the calipers, rotors and hardware:

 

We removed Geoff’s stock brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. Up front:

   

A few more shots of the front brakes:

     Our Big-Brakes utilize the OEM brake master cylinder and booster along with the factory hydraulic system. We installed NOS booster and master cylinder for Geoff:

 

At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes:

          

Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!

  

The new brakes fit nicely behind the 15×8 RS Watanabe wheels front and rear:

      

Our Z Car Garage CV Axles help transmit power to the ground and ensure smoother operation compared to your standard half shafts. We have over 90 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

 

Geoff received axle set #309. Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units, more pictures in the gallery below:

  

Engine

 

Geoff’s engine needed some work. The carbs were off as was the timing. Rob performed on-the-fly tuning after setting the carbs and full timing. The distributor was also re-installed correctly. After these adjustments were made they took their Z out for a drive and came back to the shop. The look on Edgar’s face was priceless. They were impressed. Stage 1 of this build is complete and we are discussing plans for a built L-series, 5-speed transmission and fresh suspension. The new triple Mikuni’s are ready:

 

Part Two

 

We had a blast working with this father and son team and love that their passion is a family affair. Their affection for Datsuns also runs deep with Edgar enjoying 510s in the 80’s and Geoff picking up this cherry 2-door in 2016:

 

“We are very much looking forward to the next step. It’s a great car, and we’ve made so many good friends and stories in it. There will be a sequel, starring a 3.1L and triple Mikuni’s. Can’t wait for the next chapter!”

Tune in to zcarblog for updates and Long Live The Z!

More pictures in the gallery below: …[read more]

Ever wonder about the history behind this famous IMSA-GTU Championship-winning 240z? Check out www.my240z.com. Our friend Glenn Chiou created this new website to document the racing provenance for current owner David Martin, who we have shared racing at Laguna Seca with at several events:

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 Friselle, Jack Scoville and John Morton. We are even given new insight on the R&D effort that went into the Friselle 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!

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

Photo: Gary Savage

The fifth annual HSR Classic 24hr race at Daytona International Speedway was held November 13-17. Racing legend John Morton and co-driver Rob Fuller piloted the #46 BRE Datsun 240z owned by team manager Randy Jaffe.
.

Enjoy our report from the event with pictures, video and commentary from Rob and Randy!

Hallowed Ground: #46 Debuts at Daytona Speedway

When the BRE 240z was not accepted into the 2019 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion team owner Randy Jaffe was anxious to find a Fall event. Thanks to Michael Eberhardt of Vintage Racing Co. we were able to run the Classic 24 and share a garage with him at Daytona. It was an amazing feeling sharing the same hallowed grounds where all the pros raced for years.

Rob: “This is a relatively new event and HSR’s efforts to make it larger were clear: the Classic 24 had people from all over the world (1/3 from Europe), and famous drivers and cars everywhere: Gunnar Jeannette, Derek/Justin bell, Jochen Maas, Daytona prototypes, LMP cars, vintage IMSA cars, 935s and big-boy hardware.”

Paddock pictures from top left to bottom right: AC/DC lead singer Brian Johnson with Rob Fuller, Gunnar Racing Team, VM columnist Jochen Maas and a 1955 300SL, 1985 Porsche 962 HR1 piloted by team of Derek Bell, Justin Bell, Rodrigo Sales, and Gunnar Jeannette.

Enjoy this video of the sights and sounds at Daytona:

Racing at Daytona

    

The Classic 24 race features six race groups with 4 (1hr) sessions and cumulative time deciding the winner. Each session has a 3-minute pitstop with mandatory driver exit during fueling. There were many challenges facing the ZCG team as we prepped the BRE 240Z for big banking of Daytona:

Rob: “Josh Corwin prepped gear ratios for the diff and we went there armed for any scenario. At 3.56 miles, Daytona is much longer than our West Coast tracks so we built a 3.54 and 3.36. After one practice session we realized the 3.36 was needed.”

It was an incredible sight to see the #46Z out on the high banking with serious race cars like the Smith Motorworks 1980 Porsche 935 K3:

To aid driving during night sessions the Z was fitted with LED lamps:

Despite heavy rain the team carried on, making changes to the car and improving with each session.

Rob:  “There were 12 cars in our group with a bunch of 911s and 914s. The Z worked flawlessly.  We made a last minute carb change, sent pics of the spark plugs to Dave Rebello, and we were pumped for it. The sheer size of the stands and banking was overwhelming but we welcomed the challenge!”

Randy:  “As you drive into the infield at Daytona and look at that 31% banking it’s super intimidating and as Rob stated you cannot look straight out of the car as it’s always bending left and he has never experienced that before. Rob did an amazing job of adapting to not only the car but to the track within 2 to 3 laps as he had cut down six seconds plus. John Morton has not run Daytona in over 20 years and he got right in the car and turned a great time which is what professional race drivers do! At 77 years old it’s just amazing how he is so calm and so smooth around these tracks!”

Remember those those mandatory pitstops? Thanks to the ZCG team (Josh/Keith) all stops were nailed and we actually had to wait because we were under time.  We also had help from Randy’s friend Barney to help with fueling, and Chris Karl from SCCA. A rally of people excited to see the Z at Daytona all pitched in.

The bad weather and lack of track experience didn’t hold John or Rob back. We started 10th in class in the 1st session and by the end of the 1st leg we were in 3rd place.

From 10th to 3rd in one session is impressive with John and Rob turning near-identical lap times. Rob was ecstatic not only about the Z’s performance, but also being able to co-drive with his hero:

Rob: “Ben from Retrosport with Alan Terpins’ 1979 Porsche 935 MOMO car kicked ass and won their class.  They were clocked on the front straight under braking at 188mph. The BRE Z did 156mph top speed and our lap times (Morton and Fuller) were within a .1 of each other. I can’t describe the feeling of going from total fanboy to being a co-driver with John Morton. All of this comes from Randy Jaffe’s generosity, drive/passion to celebrate this car and era. These heroes that were making history and didn’t even know it 50years later. All while a new crop of people that love and appreciate this car. Watching people from all over the world come over to find John Morton to have him sign something, shake his hand, tell him a Datsun story. It’s surreal.”

Unfortunately our hopes of a first or second place finish in class were cut short at the second session. John Morton got an epic start and as they all went into turn 1 on the first lap (at night) a Lola T 70 lost its grip, then a Chevron panicked and cut hard right in front of John. There was nothing he could do and the car was so low that it flipped us up in the air and onto the roof:

John Morton was able to exit the Z safely, without any injuries. The Z was towed in, covered and our race ended. We all had hashbrowns and coffee late night at Waffle House. The next morning Josh and Rob set the tow on the front of the car, took plugs out and turned it over. We actually got to drive it around paddock Sunday morning, knowing we would be back again to take a run at the high banks of Daytona.

Randy: “Most historic race cars have been wrecked so many times and put back together and we will do the same after this Daytona accident. Just a slight bump in the road but we will come back stronger as we have learned and we will continue to write more current history with John at the wheel. We can’t wait until Daytona next year where Rob and John can finish the 24 hour that we started this year.”

Here is a video with in-car footage of both John Morton and Rob Fuller. Enjoy the triple-Mikuni carb’d music and wild banking of Daytona!  At the end is multiple-angle footage of the crash:

The BRE 240Z will be rebuilt at Z Car Garage

 

We welcomed back the #46Z to ZCG for a rebuild after damages from the Daytona crash. Stay tuned for progress updates:

Randy: “The car is being shipped to Z car garage on December 13th for repairs and to prep the car for the Walter Mitty races in Atlanta in April. The most amazing part of the fun we’ve had with this car over the past three years is the excitement that Peter Brock and John Morton have shared with all of us to turn back the Hands of time! I think because of social media John Morton may actually be more famous now than he was back in the day and he often thanks me for the efforts to make his accomplishments recognized over and over which he certainly deserves! What 77-year-old race car driver do you know still flies airplanes and rides dirt bikes, jeeps and works out!! Of course none of this would happen without Rob Fuller and Josh Corwin they have been the glue behind us entire program and I would’ve never done any of this without them. Rob takes control of many situations that could be stressful and makes things easier for me!”

At 77 years of age John Morton is still formidable behind the wheel!

 

Randy was and continues to be supremely enthusiastic about the Z, John Morton and BRE. His words from Daytona:

“Per usual our pit area always had fans coming up and wanted to know where John was to talk to him and get an autograph as he had raced with many of these legends for the past five decades! I really love the story about Peter Brock and the BRE team and what John accomplished in a short period of time and still lives in high racing lore! Every piece of history from this time s fun for me to gather and collect as all of it is a part of the story!”

Randy and the BRE 240Z Build

While many have seen the BRE 240z at racing events and shows, there is a great story behind this car as told by owner Randy Jaffe:

“I met John somewhere around 2012 and told him I was going to build a tribute to his championship 240 Z car and I’m sure he’s heard that hundreds of times and he was kind of bored with the conversation. Then I started sending him and Peter Brock emails to build it correctly then after I spent several years at an attempt to do a tribute I was with both of them one night and asked about the real story on the remains of the original car. Both of them looked at each other and back at me and I was like – what was that look for? They went on to tell me that the story I had heard for years about the car being totally destroyed and no longer around was not true. Dan Parkinson who lived about a hour and a half north of Los Angeles had the remains of the car that he had re-bodied after a 1977 ball joint failure at phoenix motor Speedway. Casey Mollett – another Datsun racer back in the day was a few hundred yards behind Dan Parkinson when he hit that wall and he was part of the teardown and reassembly to the 1977 to 80 Z that Nissan gave Dan to rebuild a car. They were going to repair the original 46Z which now wore the number five livery of Dan Parkinson but the painter said it would take a month and a half to two months and they had to race in a few weeks so they use the 1977 280 Z that Nissan gave Dan.”

“The long and short of it is that they raced the 1977 shell for a few years and retired the car and racing in 1979 and all of those parts just sat there until 2016. Dan and I have had conversations for over a year and many many people were trying to buy these parts because they knew what they were but for some reason he felt comfortable and asked me one day do I really want all the stuff and of course I said yes. John Morton actually said since he owned the original chassis plate which he had taken off the car when he installed the remote Traco oil filter back in 1970 he kept that Vin plate in his toolbox until he gave it to me at the Petersen Museum in 2016. I had already completed my car as a tribute to the BRE team and John Morton when Dan sold me all of the surviving pieces. I then ripped the entire car apart and installing every little piece I could that had integrity and that’s when Rob Fuller stepped in to finish the car build like it was back in the day.”

Pictures from the race prep of Randy’s Z at Z Car Garage:

 

A sampling of the original parts is shown below including the exhaust header with megaphones, SW gauges, and BRE remote oil filter/cooler. Original BRE heat shield and fuel block pictured above.  All assembled by the crew at ZCG prior to testing:

   

 

Randy’s fanatic attention to detail and our team’s prep culminated in John Morton enjoying the Z at several race events:

“So many of the remaining pieces along with the 1971 championship motor is on display at my shop. After going to a few shows with John Morton in the car I told him I wanted to race it and he kind of smirked and said it’s a show car not a race car and my reply was we’re gonna race it will you drive it and he Sylvia was nonchalant and said yeah maybe… when we signed up and got into the first Rolex reunion in 2017 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.”

 

“John wasn’t really excited about racing the car Rob and I could see that even when he got belted in the car. When he came back after 6 to 8 laps a different man had returned he immediately walked over to Sylvia and said what are my times – He knew he was turning really fast laps and was getting really fired up! He told Brock down at the Carmel car show that the show car was truly a fast racecar! That weekend he terrorized all kinds of Porsches including 935s and was running up front in the top 10 out of a group of 40 to 50 cars. This became really fun so we’ve done it now at Road Atlanta Laguna Seca and now Daytona!”

Big thanks to Randy Jaffe, Sylvia and John Morton, the ZCG team Josh and Keith Corwin, Meghan Fuller, Michael Eberhardt and Vintage Racing Company and HSR this was a memorable event we can’t wait to come back to next year. More pictures in the gallery below:

LONG LIVE THE Z!

…[read more]

This weekend at Sonoma Raceway (October 4-6) CSRG is hosting the Charity Challenge featuring the John Morton Cup. The race is for Historic B-& C Sedans and includes our hero and legendary driver John Morton.  Don’t miss this event it promises to be an epic gathering of vintage Datsun racers! Check out the schedule below, Group 9 is the one to watch for B-Sedan action:

The Historic B & C Sedan Challenge will be joining The John Morton Cup (through CSRG), and it was created by our friends and fellow racers Glenn Chiou and Dave Stone. Check out their site for more info on the series HERE

Z Car Garage Supports Five Datsun 510 Race Cars!

We will be providing race support for the following five Datsun 510s this weekend, enjoy this video preview of them below:

There will be a field of 38 B-sedans with 12 Datsun 510s mixing it up at Sonoma Raceway. John Morton is Grand Marshall and will also be racing a Datsun 510!

 

#7 Rob Fuller

ZCG owner Rob Fuller will be piloting the #7 Bay Area Datsun Dealers car

#51 John Morton

John Morton will be driving the #51 car owned by Taz Harvey.  You might find this 510 familiar as it was built by our friend Troy Ermish and the previous owner was Wayne McAttee! Car is currently being prepped at ZCG!

#80 Howard Swig

Howard Swig is driving the #80 Red Farmer car (also owned by Taz). Swig is an Auction Manager at Bring a Trailer and this 510 was purchased via a BaT  back in 2014 (link). Car is currently being prepped at ZCG!

#72 Tom Dockery

Tom Dockery is driving the Ex-Norm Balzer 510. This car made its debut in May and we are excited to share its full story and profile Tom’s journey into racing soon.

 

#52 Alex McDowell

Alex will be driving the 1967 Bluebird Coupe.

510 Friends!

Many notable Datsun 510 racers will be in the group, gunning for the trophy. We look forward to the challenge!

#33 Glenn Chiou

Glenn will be driving the Ex-Finn/Harris U2.5L Trans-Am ’68 510. This car made its debut in May at the SVRA event at Laguna Seca. Glenn did an admirable job (as always) getting this historically significant 510 back on the racetrack!

 

#93 Dave Stone

Dave Stone will be driving the #93 Ex-Frellsen 1973 National Champion 510. Dave is fast!

#52 Jim Froula

Race car driver and restoration specialist Jim Froula of Racecraft is running the Ex- Harry Stewart Datsun 510. Can Jim’s large shoe size give him the advantage this time?

 

Join us at Sonoma Raceway this weekend for the John Morton Trophy race and enjoy some B-sedan action!

#DATSUNDOMINATION

     

Z Car Garage is expanding to support our vintage, late model and motorsport work. We are seeking an experienced and skilled automotive technician to join our team. This is not an average automotive job. We work 4-10hr days and offer competitive pay/benefits.

Requirements: Automotive experience, your own set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.

Nissan/Datsun experience is NOT a requirement, you just need to have passion.

Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Share this, spread the word and please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.