Rob and the crew realized that all six of these S30s were being worked on and a brilliant photo ensued. Great shot Josh! Expect full stories on these Z’s coming soon to the blog. From left to right we have Glenn’s 1972 RHD 240Z-L, and Art’s 1972 240z:

  

 

Ben’s 1974 260z:

 

Rob’s 1971 240z (aka Butterz)

 

Erich’s 1973 240z

 

And Steve’s 1972 240z (white)

Rob couldn’t help but add some Van Halen moves. He’s got it bad for Z cars!

Stay tuned!

Art H. has owned this 1971 S30 since it was new! He had driven and enjoyed it for years but in the 80’s left it parked indefinitely in his garage…sometimes life gets in the way. Now retired, his family discussed moving out of San Jose to the Sacramento area and the Z had to move with them as well. Art was ready to get the Z back on the road so he met with Rob and went through the car.

 

A little background on Art…turns out he has an absolutely rad motorsports history! Back in the 70’s he was an SCCA racer, Datsun lover and tinkerer and all-around car enthusiast. Art kindly sent us these photos of him racing Formula V at Sears Point Raceway. He’s the young lad in the race-suit, long hair and ‘stache:

*Eagle eyes will note the Datsun 510 and other cool vintage cars in the paddock!*

 

The plan for Art’s Z included a mechanical and chassis restoration. As shown above, the Z had to be towed to the shop because the L24 engine had seized from sitting for decades.  Teardown revealed severe corrosion:

   

Our first task was to remove the engine/transmission and prepare the engine bay to look nice again. All accessories, hoses, hydraulic lines were removed and sorted. A/C components from back in the day removed and many parts were powdercoated:

 

The engine bay was in good condition:

 

We repaired and refurbished the heater core and removed the crazy 70’s-style stereo business:

   

The transmission was resealed and a new clutch was installed:

  

The new heart for Art was a fresh Rebello 2.8L stock-style rebuild using Z-Therapy SU carbs:

  

Other items in the engine bay included a new battery, upgraded 280zx alternator, Pertronix ignition, MSA header and Koyo race radiator. The engine bay looks fantastic now:

(More pictures of the restoration in the gallery after the jump)

Chassis work included a complete braking system overhaul with new wheel cylinders and drums. New T/C rods, rack bushings, ball joints, steering couplers and stock-style KYB gas shocks return tight handling the Z is known for.

   

The rear suspension was freshened with TechnoToyTuning (T3) control arms:

  

Stock half-shafts were replaced with Ermish Racing CV axles.  FYI ZCG will be making CV axles for high horsepower Z cars soon!

  

Full fuel tank refurbishment. Corrosion and disintegrated fuel hoses were replaced:

 

Our ZCG 2.5″ exhaust with Magnaflow resonator/muffler and slash-cut tip:

  

Finally, the only cosmetic detail we handled was to repair the rear bumper and brackets:

Art wanted to keep the stock dealer option slotted mags so we installed new 195/70/14 tires. With a rich motorsports background and a passion for cars it’s easy to see why Art loves his Z so much. It was a pleasure working with you and Long Live The Z!

 

…[read more]

 

“Love cars. Love people. Love life”
-Mr. K

Here is a memorable throwback that inspires us at ZCG, enjoy!

 

To Rob and team of Z Car Garage,

Thank you for being a big part of reuniting me with my 1971 240Z on my 50th birthday.

I’m not sure whether you know, but this was my very first car, purchased for me by my father when I was 16 years old. Did I have a cool dad or what? He paid $4700 for the car in 1978. Although it was about 7 years old when I got it, it was in great shape and probably the most awesome car I could have had during high school. After a year, the seller experienced seller’s remorse and actually contacted my Dad to buy the car back. Of course, there was no way I was giving that car up, and over the next 20 years, my 240Z was my pride and joy.

Besides being a reliable means of transportation, I have numerous fond memories of this car, most notably proposing to my wife in this car 19 years ago. On that night, we had dinner in SF and afterward, I drove to the Marin headlands. With a romantic view of the City, Golden Gate Bridge and some champagne and strawberries, I proposed to my then girlfriend, who might very well have said yes because the car made me so cool.

 
But, after 20 years, I unfortunately started to notice exhaust fumes seeping into the car, and by this time, it was no longer my primary mode of transportation (more of a weekend car). With the exhaust issue and the fact that I didn’t have room at my new home for three cars, I decided to store the Z at my father’s place. My plan to temporarily store the car until I had time to address the exhaust issue turned into a 12 year separation between me and my 240Z.

  
For my 50th Birthday, my cousin, Trent coordinated with my wife to get my car running again and secretly moved the car from my dad’s place to your garage. Along with many assorted relatives, they planned to surprise me with the restored car during a party we held at my house. Of course, it was a HUGE surprise to walk out my front door and see the Z sitting on my driveway after 12 years in storage! It’s amazing how good it looks, and I especially appreciate how the restoration is not “over-the-top”- as close to stock as I maintained it.

 
Everywhere I drive now, someone comments on how good it looks. Besides looking great, it also runs great. The carburetors are perfectly tuned, the clutch is tight, and the suspension has greatly improved the handling. And it’s not bad for my ego either.

It’s great to have my 240Z back and I can’t help but smile whenever I get in it.

Thank you again to you and your team,
Ken M.

As you can imagine we were very eager to help Ken’s family bring the Datsun back to life and back on the road. ZCG focused on making this car sharp looking with an emphasis on driver enjoyment. Cosmetic upgrades included re-chroming and straightening both f/r bumpers with fresh OEM rubber trim:

   

Requisite 16×7 Panasport wheels shod with Bridgestone Pole-Position Re760(225/50/16) tires are at all four corners:

  

Underhood the engine bay received some serious attention with a full clean/detail, all new coolant bypass hoses and upper/lower radiator hoses:

  

The intake manifold was removed, cleaned and de-smogged. New intake/exhaust manifold gaskets installed along with a new header and full exhaust system. Driveability being a priority Rob and the crew tuned the carbs to perfection: steady idle, crisp throttle response, and smooth power delivery in all gears. I drove the car briefly to take photos and even I fell in love with it 🙂

   

The chassis also got some serious love with a complete front/rear suspension rebuild that included new bushings throughout, 5-way Tockicos, Eibach springs, sway bars, and new steering rack bushings. The interior on this 240 is incredibly clean. We added a Kenwood head unit and an MSA rear speaker box: Nothing flashy in this handsome cabin!

  
Thanks to Ken and his family for letting ZCG be a part of their Z Car passion. This is what we live for!

Please view more pictures of the restoration in the original gallery HERE

 

George S owned a 1971 Datsun 240z back in 80’s, sold it in the 90’s and recently tracked the car down to its current owner in Atlanta. Sadly, after all those years the Z wasn’t in the greatest shape (2013):

 

A little history on George’s ’71:

I purchased it in August 1981 with 75,000 miles from a single girl in the Marina District. It was my every day car for 10 years, putting on an additional 75k miles. Along the way added the Enkei gold rims, added a Monza exhaust system which was popular then and re-painted it in 1990(similar shade, but not the Datsun blue)

Serviced it regularly and never had to do anything other than the basics. She ran like a charm, was never in an accident.

Sold it in 1991 to a guy I worked with who drove it back to Tennessee a short while later. Thought about the car often, but had no info on it until the guy in Atlanta called me in October 2013. Think he said the car had about 190k miles.

George, obviously missing his Z car after tracking it down had considered restoring it and consulted with us at ZCG. It turns out that Rob actually knew the current owner in Atlanta and the two discussed the Z’s state of repair. Rob felt that it was one of those cars that would be difficult to stay ahead of the curve on. The recommendation: buy an S30 that’s ready to drive, and that’s exactly what George did…

 

George picked up a 1972 240z with an automatic transmission in SoCal. We were impressed with its super low 57k miles, original paint and stunning red interior.

   

Once it arrived at ZCG we went on and corrected issues with braking system and fixed front suspension parts. We found a really clean set of Series 2 wheel covers to replace the later units and really made the car standout proper. Congratulations on your Z and Enjoy The Ride, George!

 

 

In 2011, the engine inside the “Gimlet” was tired. The owner, Kevin, wanted to keep the 2.4L block that came with his 240z so we built a 2.7L using his existing block. This is a Rebello specialty for customers that want to keep their L24 block.

 

The engine/transmission were removed and prepped:

 

We installed a JWT aluminum flywheel and HD clutch:

 

Engine re-assembly time!

  

 

The triple Webers were re-jetted for the 2.7L:

   

A new tach tach adaptor so his tachometer would work with new ignition items like the MSD box:

   

We bring up this build from 2011 because we recently saw Kevin for the first time and in the 5 years that’s elapsed he put 3500 miles on the Z. C’mon Kev, you gotta Enjoy The Ride and put some real miles on her!  Here is the 2.7L all buttoned up and back in the Gimlet:

 

This time we refreshed the clutch hydraulics, fixed a couple of things in the suspension and performed an alignment.  Long Live The Z!