What sparked your interest in Z Cars? For Scott W it began when he was about 15 years old, and eventually led him to Z Car Garage:

“My best friend’s brother’s friend had a silver 240z. He would take us to lunch and we had to lay down in the back. From that time on I wanted a Z! I started reviewing zcarblog.com and found a very nice 260z for sale that was owned by an older retired couple. Based on all the work performed by ZCG I met with Rob and I purchased it. The 260z was originally gold with the 5mph bumpers.”

 

Indeed the gold 1974 260z was our very own customer Geri R’s. When she retired and moved to San Diego she told Rob, “If you are not in SD my Z car can’t come with me…please find it a new home.” Scott W visited ZCG in 2013 and purchased the Z, well before the S30’s garnered high prices! He had a very clear vision of building the ultimate Z Car:

“I told Rob my plan was a car that was great to look at but I’m going to drive it! And drive it hard. My goal was to keep it looking 1974-ish on the outside but modern under the skin.”

So we began the process of upgrading an already solid, clean chassis that Geri lovingly maintained.

Drivetrain

The first item we discussed was the engine. Scott wanted more power and Rob suggested a Rebello 3.2L Stroker engine. Supporting parts included an MSA 6-into-1 header,  ZCG exhaust system, KOYO race radiator (custom upper hose) and ZCG heat shield. A few pictures of the engine build/installation with many more in the gallery:

 

Induction is handled by Jenvey individual throttle-body fuel injection, managed by a Haltech Elite 750 standalone system.

 

A NISMO Competition oil pan was installed to cope with high cornering loads from road course driving. Also shown is the Nissan 240sx 5-speed transmission. This “KA24” unit is significantly stronger than early S30 transmissions. It handles the 3.2L’s extra power, and we offer this conversion to customers.

 

When we upgrade the transmission we also install a JWT HD clutch with aluminum flywheel. Helping put the power down efficiently is an OS Giken LSD. The R180 houses a 4.11 R&P and the assembly is setup in-house (by Joshua Corwin). Rounding out the drivetrain upgrades are a set of ZCG CV Axles(shown below)

 

The ZCG Exhaust system using 2.5″ piping to a stainless resonator and Magnaflow muffler with slash-cut tip. Listen to the sound in the video below!

   

The completed engine bay. All hoses, hydraulic lines, fittings etc were removed and restored/replaced with new parts. Zinc plating hardware throughout:

 

On the dyno, Rob tuned the Z with the Haltech making 257hp/229tq to the wheels. An improvement from the stock 121hp/130tq:

Chassis

 

Suspension upgrades were next, focusing on the ideal setup for open track days while remaining comfortable on the street. Scott outgrew the Tokico 5-ways and now has Koni Yellows with our Ground Control coil-over setup from back in the day. Techno Toy Tuning control arms, T/C rods and more complement the total suspension restoration. All parts were powdercoated and hardware plated.  We really appreciate Gabriel at T3 and his staff. They make some of the best suspension parts out there for Z cars.

 

Panasport Wheels

 

Custom sized 17×9 Panasport C8 wheels allow us to run a wide 255/40/17 tire at all four corners, without flaring the fenders:

 

Bridgestone RE-71R tires are shown below. The 17″ diameter wheels also give clearance for our ZCG Big Brakes!

  

ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles

After driving our customer Lou’s Fairlady, Scott was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes.

  

Not to be confused with our familiar Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) that we currently offer, this Big-Brake kit was our initial setup from many years ago. Our first collaboration with Stoptech, this 328mm sized kit requires 17″ diameter wheels and the massive ST-42 calipers are finished in bright red. This kit was installed on our OS Giken TC24-powered 240z and a few other customer cars.

 

 

The ZCG Big-Brakes framed nicely behind the black-spoked C8s. We are currently re-vamping this kit using Stoptech’s latest ST-43 caliper.

    

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 70 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.

   

Scott’s 260z received ZCG CV Axles set #250

  

More pictures of the ZCG axles installed, also visible are the T3 control arms and ZCG exhaust system:

  

Comfort

 

Scott’s 260z had an interior in fair shape. We gave it the full ZCG treatment with a refurbished dash, new carpet and creature comforts like Bluetooth, radar detection and functioning HVAC. In-progress shots below with more in the gallery:

 

New carpet throughout, integrated speaker box in hatch:

 

The stock seats were in bad shape Scott was sliding around on them so we upgraded to leather Recaros. Perfect for keeping him locked in place during track days.

 

The heater system from core to blower was completely restored:

 

Full A/C setup using a smaller Toyota compressor with existing A/C parts:

 

Performance

 

Balance. This Z has power and the chassis upgrades to transform it into a well-rounded sports car. Remember Scott’s goal of building the Z to drive really hard? He has been taking his S30 to Buttonwillow Raceway every month, putting our ZCG products to the test on the track.

 

Enjoy the sounds of Scott’s Z in this short video below:

 

 

Exterior

 

You didn’t think we would forget to mention the total paint color change, did you?  About six months into his build Scott called to request a color change from gold to a Mercedes-Benz shade of Gun Metal. Our man William painted the body, retaining all side-markers to maintain a stock look:

 

Scott however was adamant about changing the stock impact bumpers. Rob located Euro-style 240z bumpers and had them sectioned/re-chromed:

 

Thank you Scott for letting us build your Ultimate Z Car! We are proud to see you enjoy it on the track and street.

LONG LIVE THE Z!

More pictures in the gallery below!
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Eric Straw is a long time friend of the shop and hails from Oregon. Last year he visited Z Car Garage on the way down to the JCCS show where he debuted his latest masterpiece, this 1984 Nissan Skyline RS-X. Most Americans are familiar with the classic 70’s Skylines and later GT-R series, but this 6th generation (R30) chassis remains unknown unless you are a JDM-nerd. In Japan the R30 sold well and had a great following with Nissan enlisting the famous actor/racer Paul Newman to appear in ad campaigns. The R30 also formed the basis for the insanely cool SuperSilhouette race car:

   

The details of Eric’s R30 are endless. I don’t want to reveal too much as it deserves a major media feature first. It would be easy to write thousands, if not ten thousand words about the character, the touches, and the simple uniqueness that make the “Straw30” one of a kind. Where I fall short of storytelling, I hope photos suffice.

To get an appreciation of Eric’s talent as a fabricator and his build aesthetic take a quick look at his other Datsuns, a 1969 Datsun Roadster and 1971 Datsun 510:

 

  

Both deserve their own feature but can you see a theme starting to build here? Eric has a penchant for white paint and red valve covers…and turbocharged Nissan powerplants!

 

Finding A Skyline

It all started with an ad spotted on our good friend’s site, Bring A Trailer for a 1984 Skyline without an engine. This appeared to be the perfect specimen with the distinctive Tekkamen or “Iron Mask” front end compared to pre-facelift models with a conventional grille. Fellow Datsun enthusiast/restorer Michael Spreadbury of Spriso Motorsports joined Eric on the trek to Washington to pick up the R30.

 

As with most of these vintage Japanese cars, rust was a hidden issue as Eric discovered:

“When I first saw the car I wanted to make a really fun driver with lots of power and for sure RB powered. I didn’t plan on restoring the body when I bought it. After digging in, it was obvious I had to do a complete restoration as there was a lot of rust.”

Chassis restoration

What begun as an engine swap turned into a full blown bare metal restoration. Eric’s work simply goes beyond an OEM restoration. There are so many areas of custom fabrication throughout the chassis. We simply have not seen this level of care and love executed on an R30.  Here is Eric putting in work:
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Lou S is the owner of this right-hand drive 240z that got the full ZCarGarage performance suspension treatment last year shown HERE. With the handling and footwork sorted the Fairlady has received several improvements that add to both the driving experience and aesthetics.

The Z’s vinyl seats had seen better days with a few rips and tears so new Recaro LXF seats were installed. These are some of the best seats for your Z and a huge improvement over the stock pieces in terms of comfort and grip…letting Lou take advantage of that grippy new suspension!

Another upgrade to the interior was the steering wheel. The tuner-ish “D” shaped wheel was replaced by one of the best period-looking units on the market today: The MOMO Prototipo. I love this steering wheel:

The Fairlady’s tired chrome bumpers got replaced with brand new show-quality pieces and for a cleaner look the over-riders were not installed.:
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When we think about driving do we consciously understand that we are actually sitting down the entire time?  Well now you do.  That is why it is so important to have good seats in a car.  Most modern cars have adequate seats for moderately sporty driving but the older Z seats are downright unsafe in any sort of corner.

When the time came for the old worn out seats in this 280z to come out, we went to our old friends at Recaro for an upgrade.  The new seats feature more pronounced side bolsters as well as more comfortable padding than the old seats offered even when new, or with a sheepskin cover.  Now they look better too!!

Happy sitting driving.  ZCG