Gary’s 1971 Datsun 240Z featuring the Datsunworks KN20 twin cam (DOHC) cylinder head is for sale. This S30 has been with Z Car Garage since 2008 where it received a full bare metal restoration with continuous performance development to its current form. Featured in numerous magazines, SEMA, and Japanese Classic Car Show. Fantastic fit/finish with chassis and running gear to keep up with its exotic engine. It is a magical experience to see, drive and hear the “Behemoth” in action. See more details below and serious inquiries only please contact rob@zcargarage.com
Drivetrain
There are ten KN20 heads in the wild with only three installed and currently running in cars. Z Car Garage has two KN20 cylinder heads. This KN20 is serial #SN10 and it has been installed into our long-time client Gary’s Datsun 240Z, affectionately named the “Behemoth”. ZCG is always exploring the boundaries of powertrains and Gary’s Z has seen a few engines including an RB30DET, OS Giken TC24 and now the Datsunworks.
Here are few details on the powertrain setup for this Z:
-Rebello 3.1L Engine
-KN20 Cylinder head SN10 (but the performance level goes to 11)
-Induction type: Jenvey ITB EFI with Injector Dynamics injectors
-Engine management: Haltech Elite 750
-Header: Equal-length, custom fabricated by RacecraftNW
We are still in the tuning phase so Gary’s car is on a comfortable (conservative) setting. With the Datsunworks head it made 350hp/248tq at the wheels on 91 octane:
Even in a testing stage it is absolutely thrilling to drive. Gary’s car is a full ZCG-style restoration so it has the chassis to harness the power. The sound it makes is a sonorous tone only the K-series derived KN20 head creates…with a gnarly exhaust note to match. The ITB induction also provides a healthy wail…it’s a sensory overload and revs seem to climb endlessly.
To illustrate the Datsunworks experience we captured some video of what it is like to drive around town…the 6-speed and EFI really allow this car to be docile, especially when cruising on the freeway and at part throttle. Drop a gear and its becomes a wild animal. Not going to lie…it gave me goosebumps both as a passenger and spectator.
Watch the video complete with multiple dyno passes, street acceleration and fly-bys. VOLUME UP!
Body/Interior/Chassis
The “Behemoth” wears one of the best paint finishes we’ve done with fit/finish we feel would be hard to replicate. We collected parts for years to build. Glass was polished, unobtanium parts sourced. The interior features a fully restored dashboard with Recaro Specialist seats, power windows and a fully integrated roll cage. You can see the body restoration and chassis development here HERE.
The Z has early versions of our Z Car Garage offerings like 17″ Panasport C8 wheels (NLA), full coil-overs/adjustable suspension throughout and ZCG Stoptech ST42 (328mm) Big-Brakes:
Enjoy The Ride
Beyond the show-quality features and impressive drivetrain, this Z car loves to be driven and has attended many car shows, gatherings and road rallies like the 300-mile Tokyo Calling event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally
You can see it in action on the rally in the video below:
Gary’s Datsun 240Z will always be the pinnacle of Z car builds for us. It is ready to be enjoyed by the next owner and all we ask is that you give it the same love and respect we have given over the last 15 years. All sale inquiries can be made through Rob: rob@zcargarage.com. See below for all of our documentation of the this Z including every video, magazine feature and blog post:
Z Car Garage is excited to collaborate with Datsunworks and develop their brilliant KN20 dual-overhead cam (DOHC) cylinder head designed for the Nissan inline-6 L-Series engine.
Datsunworks founder Derek Minetti is the pioneer behind the KN20 DOHC cylinder head. This is a custom (very limited production), 6-cylinder head derived from Honda’s venerable K-series 4-cylinder engine. The KN20 offers superior head flow rates combined with modern valvetrain components to effectively transform your L-series single-overhead cam into a high-revving, dual-overhead cam engine. The power potential is impressive.
Gary’s Datsun 240Z
There are ten KN20 heads in the wild with only three installed and currently running in cars. Z Car Garage has two KN20 cylinder heads. This KN20 is serial #SN10 and it has been installed into our long-time client Gary’s Datsun 240Z, affectionately named the “Behemoth”. ZCG is always exploring the boundaries of powertrains and Gary’s Z has seen a few engines including an RB30DET, OS Giken TC24 and now the Datsunworks.
Here are few details on the powertrain setup for this Z:
-Rebello 3.1L Engine
-KN20 Cylinder head SN10 (but the performance level goes to 11)
-Induction type: Jenvey ITB EFI with Injector Dynamics injectors
-Engine management: Haltech Elite 750
-Header: Equal-length, custom fabricated by RacecraftNW
Pictures of the initial engine installation, with more in the gallery:
For further information on the KN20 cylinder head we urge you to visit the Datsunworks blog: Datsunworks Blog
Performance
We are still in the tuning phase so Gary’s car is on a comfortable (conservative) setting. With the Datsunworks head it made 350hp/248tq at the wheels on 91 octane:
Even in a testing stage it is absolutely thrilling to drive. Gary’s car is a full ZCG-style restoration so it has the chassis to harness the power. The sound it makes is a sonorous tone only the K-series derived KN20 head creates…with a gnarly exhaust note to match. The ITB induction also provides a healthy wail…it’s a sensory overload and revs seem to climb endlessly.
To illustrate the Datsunworks experience we captured some video of what it is like to drive around town…the 6-speed and EFI really allow this car to be docile, especially when cruising on the freeway and at part throttle. Drop a gear and its becomes a wild animal. Not going to lie…it gave me goosebumps both as a passenger and spectator.
Watch the video complete with multiple dyno passes, street acceleration and fly-bys. VOLUME UP!
Potential
Z Car Garage is stoked to be a part of the Datsunworks KN20 development. It is a clever design that pushes the envelope for L-Series engines. Sharing this experience is also part of the fun so we anticipate having a KN20 setup in a dedicated shop 240Z for clients to test drive and further evaluate. Although each application is different, we envision offering a bolt-in setup for your six-cylinder L-Series engine. The power potential is tremendous with the KN20…both NA and forced induction. We thank Derek at Datsunworks for giving us the opportunity to work with this innovative product.
Stay tune for more updates and LONG LIVE THE (TWIN CAM) Z!
We promised our readers a full, zcarblog.com report on Trevor’s 280Z after it was featured on Hoonigan Autofocus with Larry Chen. Let’s take a closer look at this fantastic daily driver+canyon carver showcasing our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, CD009 Six-speed transmission and more.
The Next Big Thing
It’s no secret that S30 chassis values have skyrocketed in the past few years. While the 240Z commands top dollar it has become out of reach for many enthusiasts. Not to worry, Datsun offered the 260Z/280Z models and both are great, attainable chassis in the S30 world. Trevor shares how he found his 280Z:
“I met my Z in almost completely stock form with 94k original miles. I travel for work, ending up in a new town every 6 months or so. As soon as I had an inkling of where I was going to be sent next, I would start hitting the internet classifieds for a 280z. While the 240z had seductive weight savings over the later versions, my attention turned to the 280z for its fuel injection (with constant travel I didn’t want to have to tune carbs), it’s price/ availability, and they are easier to find with air conditioning.” Below, left is the night Trevor bought his Z:
“I found my silver Z in Phoenix, Arizona. The only things it had on it that weren’t original from the Hiratsuka factory were the wheels, springs, and Toyota 4×4 front brake calipers. The rest of it was stock, and most importantly, complete. I did a little work to get it running smoother, basically replaced all maintenance items and swapped out a few sensors that weren’t working, and then drove it as much as I possibly could.”
Trevor was looking for a shop to take care of his 1978 Datsun 240z and heard about ZCG from a shop tour with Larry Chen on this episode of Hoonigan Autofocus (Thanks Larry!). Trevor brought the Z in last summer and we performed a full inspection before upgrades.
“I chose to send my Z to Z Car Garage after watching Larry Chen’s Autofocus episode on the shop. I could really tell that Rob had a ton of passion for what he does and I knew I could have confidence with him at the helm. Before I had showed up at the shop, Rob and I had talked on the phone about doing the brakes, control arms all the way around, and a couple of other smaller things. I wanted it to handle as best as it possibly could and that meant stopping when it should and having the adjustability in the control arms to set up a proper alignment. ”
ZCG Big-Brakes and CV Axles
We handed Trevor the keys to “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car and he was sold on our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) 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 Trevor’s existing brakes and installed our ZCG Big-Brake kit. The stock suspension (with Tokico struts/Eibach springs) was replaced by Apex Engineered parts, as supplied by Trevor. Shown below are front/rear control arms and T/C rods being installed, more pictures in the gallery:
Front control arms and TC rods:
ZCG Big-brakes replacing the Toyota 4×4 caliper setup:
At the rear, the factory drum brakes were replaced with our ZCG Big-Brakes. Factory handbrake functionality IS retained!
Trevor is impressed with the braking performance:
“I quickly found out that even after just a short spirited mountain drive, the Toyota brakes would get hot and fade. It didn’t help that after getting a taste for driving her quickly, I wanted to do a few track days in the future. I knew I wanted a brake upgrade, one that I would only have to do once. After getting back to Southern California I was really able to put the car through its paces on the canyon roads. The ZCG Big-Brakes proved their worth and were consistent and didn’t fade even after a few good rips up and down the mountains. This car sticks to the road insanely well. With the alignment and new tires it just carves.”
Z Car Garage CV Axles
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 130 CV axle kits on customer cars and we are stoked with all of the positive feedback.
Trevor has CV Axle set #335. Stock half shafts (L) and ZCG units:
More pictures of the ZCG axles installed, also visible is the ZCG Exhaust system:
Panasport Wheels
Complementing the new Big-Brakes on Trevor’s Z are Panasport wheels! We replaced the aftermarket wheels with 16×7 Panasports and sticky Bridgestone RE-71R tires in 225/50/16. The Z was fully aligned:
Engine
We knew the car would be stopping and handling better than before, so we installed a Moroso oil pan and Koyo aluminum radiator to keep temperatures in check. Other than cooling and fuel system work, the engine was largely untouched to maintain factory reliability.
We replaced intake and exhaust manifold gaskets with factory Nissan parts and few ZCG tricks including a certain exhaust nut and exhaust stud.The exhaust manifold was replaced with a Pacesetter header ( to clear six-speed) leading to our ZCG exhaust system with stainless resonator and slash-cut tip.
Dyno Tuning
Rob dyno tuned the L28 with OEM EFI. Baseline was 133hp/149tq and with Rob’s tuning it made 143hp/159tq at the wheels:
Enjoy the dyno run video below:
Driveline Upgrades
We built Trevor an OS Giken LSD, a perfect upgrade for anyone doing spirited driving.
“As with the brakes, I figured the best way to do the driveline was once so I also went with an OS Giken LSD and Z Car Garage CV axles.”
We changed the final drive, installing a R180 4.11 OSG LSD built in in-house:
The clutch hydraulics were replaced to work with new aluminum flywheel/JWT HD clutch combo:
Six Speed Transmission
Next on the update list, we were really excited to install a Nissan 350z 6-speed manual transmission behind the L-series in Trevor’s Z. You read that right! S30 owners can now bolt-in this robust, 6-speed manual behind their L-series engine! You might remember our first application of Austin Hoke’s custom 6-speed adapter kit on the OS Giken TC24B1Z-powered 240z:
Using the 6-speed conversion kit from Hoke Performance we installed a new CD009a transmission from the 2003 -2008 Z33 in Trevor’s 280Z:
Here is the brand-new transmission from Nissan being unboxed:
The kit necessitated exhaust header changes and after testing a variety of headers we found the Pacesetter 6-2-1 unit provided enough clearance. Serial 9 provided the shifter relocation assembly and we are really happy with its performance. Also shown is the aluminum driveshaft.
It fits! More installation pictures in the gallery. It’s a very discreet look from the cockpit…until you feel the amazingly direct and precise feel of the CD009a!
Trevor is in love with the six-speed, we are as well:
“I had done my absolute best to convince myself that I didn’t need a transmission swap and my wallet and I were on the same page as I went to drop the Z off at Z Car Garage. Where my wallet and I started to have a disagreement was after Rob let me take Butters for a spin. After feeling the CD009 perform there was zero chance I was going to get my car back without one on the back of my L28. However, the more I was driving the car in the twisties, the more I started to become unhappy with the uneven gear ratio gaps between shifts.”
Details
We sorted out little things for Trevor like making his Speedhut tach and speedo functional. The car was fully detailed:
The Z was cut/buffed with a detail from JB mobile detail. We’ve worked with Veto at JB for years and he’s a big Z car enthusiast:
Driving is Believing
When Trevor picked up car, he was blown away:
“The car I got back is a totally different machine from the one I had dropped off. The result of the perfect combination of driveline parts is a sore face caused by either smiling the entire time or from your face almost leaving your head as Rob shows you just how well the brake kit works. Rob also threw her on the dyno and finally got the stock system performing perfectly. I’m sure it’s making more power than it did even new back in ’78.”
The Z was recently featured on Hoonigan Autofocus with Larry Chen. Larry and Rob discuss the work ZCG performed and take it for a spin. Watch the video to get an idea of the six-speed and power from Trevor’s280Z:
We enjoyed working with Trevor and he’s been Enjoying The Ride in his Z:
“I had flown up from the LA area where I was working to the shop in San Jose. My plan was to drive the car back down the PCH to get a feel for my new machine. I couldn’t believe how much fun the car was to drive on curvy roads. The CD009 feels great behind my L28. The shift pattern is short and precise, it’s fantastic. The rear end has no play and pairs nicely to the race feel of the CD009. One of the best parts of the combo is how easy it is to drive. It feels like you have a race car transmission but with the ease of use of a street car.”
“She’s back at Z Car Garage right now as my job has me in Omaha for the rest of the year. I have been talking to my wallet about coil overs and maybe an engine build while the car is in San Jose. My Z and I are apart right now but I cannot wait until I’m able to eat up more miles with her. She is a wicked joy.”
Thank you for entrusting us with your S30, Trevor. We are so fortunate to work with owners that appreciate the Z and believe in our ability to make them better! LONG LIVE THE Z!
