At Z Car Garage we are fortunate to be a part of many Nissan/Datsun enthusiasts lives. Here is a great story of how we helped re-kindle one couple’s love for their Z. Ruth and Larry bought their 1978 280z brand new and immediately enjoyed it with Ruth daily driving for several years. Unfortunately, life gets in the way and Ruth put the car in storage for a long period.

  

We met the couple in 2008 when Ruth came in to ZCG to get the Z up and running which resulted in a full mechanical refresh.  All hydraulics (brakes/clutch) were restored. The suspension was treated to urethane bushings and Tokico 5-way struts with Eibach springs and a set of beautiful set of Panasports. Finally, we cut and buffed the paint and Ruth’s Z took on a new look…it was almost like 1978 again!

 

  

The next step for them to drive and enjoy the car happened a few years later when we restored the entire interior of the car: a full dashboard restoration, Recaro LXF seats (Leather!), custom carpet kit, sound deadening, all weatherstripping, seals, etc.  These are all the details that ZCG performs to take a 280z from an awesome car from the 70’s to a timeless classic that can be driven anywhere.

The Little Things:  sill lock trim!

 

Dashboard: gauges and knobs:

    

The result of the interior restoration:

 

It had been years since we had seen the Roth’s other than routine maintenance. It was time to dive back into the project with a full external restoration.  The cut/buff from a few years back wasn’t sufficient and it showed in areas like the hood. Those amazing pinstripes and lower rocker trim were looking a bit tired as well:

 

We called upon our man William from William’s Auto Body and both Ruth and Larry had two requests: 1) The Z car must be as awesome inside as outside and 2) we absolutely must keep the pinstriping that had been on the car since new. William was more than up to to the task. This time we went ahead and installed electric power steering for ease/use, our upgraded rearview mirror (as featured on Gary Roser’s car, report later) which includes a backup camera, GPS, temp:

 

 

Re-chromed bumpers and restored guards:

    

Full glass/chrome trim/weatherstrip R&R. All NOS Nissan!

 

Inner fender liners:

 

NOS emblems replace pitted/fading orignal pieces:

 

Rear tail light panel:

 

Restored side moulding:

  

William applied the factory paint color and the Z looks fantastic. We cleaned up the louvers too.

 

The best part, of course, is that Ruth and Larry are still in love with their 280z! Enjoy The Ride and thank you for letting us be a part of your journey. Your dedication and passion for the Z is contagious and we love it!

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

You might remember this stunning S30 we featured a few years ago on our For Sale page that later made its way to our friends at Bring A Trailer. The metallic green color, tan interior and Appliance mesh wheels really give the car an irresistible 70’s vibe.

Several years ago we worked on the Z with previous owner Zack L prior to its sale. You can imagine how happy we were when new owner David J brought “THE 73 Z”  back to ZCG recently. It was running rough and David also wanted to tidy up the engine bay as well as a few other items. While sorting the driveability issues we found the crank pulley dampener was slipping making it hard to set timing. A new factory piece was installed:

  

The carbs were gone through and dialed in. A full tune-up was performed including NOS OEM spark plug cables and intake/exhaust manifold gaskets. This Z is so gorgeous on the outside that we wanted to make it just as nice once the hood is opened. The engine bay was treated to full powdercoating and zinc plating services, new clutch hydraulics and a refreshed radiator.

 

Here is a look before and after…an engine bay worthy of its shiny exterior!

 

We replaced the factory exhaust manifold with an MSA ceramic-coated header followed by our ZCG custom 2.5″ exhaust system with stainless resonator and slash tip:

 

Old twice-pipe setup:

 

Our ZCG upgraded door seals were installed and door fitment sorted to eliminate that “tinny” sound S30 owners commonly experience:

 

The fuel recovery system needed attention so hoses were replaced and tidied up:

 

Wheels undoubtedly make or break a car’s aesthetics. The dealer-optioned Appliance wheels originally fitted definitely look just right and maintain that vintage feel. David chose a set of Rota RB wheels to add a little modern flair and more rubber to the road:

 

With a freshened engine bay and new shoes David showed the ’73 Z at the Brisbane car show:

We loved working on your Z so thank you David for coming back to ZCG!

Check the gallery for more pictures!
…[read more]

It is always great to hear stories from original Z-car owners. Joe A came to ZCarGarage to restore his 1974 260z after 36 years of ownership! He had become familiar with ZCG through our local club, ZONC.  After carefully inspecting the car, Rob and Joe sat down and discussed several procedures that would update and improve the car. They decided on a complete engine rebuild with tuned exhaust, and removing all smog devices since the car was over 35 years old.
Here are a few pictures of the engine bay after removing the drivetrain:

The engine was rebuilt with a mild cam and dyno results showed  nice gains of 23 rwhp and 13tq!

The engine bay and underhood had to look just as beautiful as the body so William painted everything back to the original exterior color. ZCG provided zinc plating and powdercoating services under the hood and all wiring harnesses were redone:

Here is Joe with a few words on how the Z became part of his life:

“It was January of 1969 and I had just been discharged from the Air Force. …[read more]

A long time ago in a city close to the bay a guy named John loved this Z.
Back then John was a 16 year-old teenager and he had a dream of merging the sexiness of a Z body with the feeling of wind in his hair. After finishing high school and college the Z had become a constant in John’s life. Sometime in the late 80’s he met Darrell from Darrell’s Datsuns where the transformation from hardtop coupe to droptop convertible was made. Darrell Riley built Zs for a living until he was in his 70s! That’s die-hard Datsun.

When Darrell’s closed down in 2004 ZCG bought some of his equipment and with it lots of cool Datsun memories.
Meet John’s topless Z…After having the Z cherried out he put it away to preserve its condition. Now in his mid forties…It was time to relive memories and that feeling you get when you bring one of your favorite things back to life.

After some online searching…John was directed by Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) to ZCG. We looked over the Z and made a plan of attack including a full Rebello engine build using the existing L24. It was very important to John that the original block be used and not look over the top. Besides triple carbs and a few more performance items under the hood it will look like the trusty L24…with 2.8L of Nissan L-series power!

It is interesting to see how the body is modified to achieve drop-top status…all of the trim pieces and interior bits are removed in preparation for paint:

Off to Williams for sand blasting and then paint!

You can see more photos of the take down in the gallery:
…[read more]

The slick black paint on Gary R’s 280z makes me drool. Then my eyes widen when I see the gigantic ZCG BigBrakeKit AND new Panasport wheels.  This is just a mock-up, but I can’t help but feel excited! The restoration moves forward with all of the newly plated parts and suspension being installed by Josh C. Hydraulic/fuel lines were beautifully plated in gold(brake) and silver(fuel):

The engine bay is glossy and the firewall is gleaming!

In our last update the interior and entire underbody was stripped and treated with POR-15, seen HERE. After drying, the front and rear suspension is in place with struts/coil overs mocked up. Note additional plated hardware:

Here are some shots of the coilovers and ZCG Big Brake Kit in all its all glory. Wheels/tires are 17″ Panasport C8s with black spokes and 255/40/17 tires under stock flares:

Stay tuned for our next update as Gary’s 280z gets a drivetrain!