One of the real joys this holiday season is the opportunity to say thank you and wish you the very best for the new year. From all of us at Z Car Garage we thank our friends, family and customers again for another exciting and productive year! Enjoy our 2021 recap and upcoming projects. Please note our holiday closure below:
ZCG will be closed from 12/24/21 and we will re-open for business on 1/3/22.
We had a busy year and though the shop will be closed, we won’t leave you hanging for the holidays. Many zcarblog features have yet to be published like our belated race report from the 2021 Velocity Invitational in addition to client stories.
Before we take a look back at highlights from 2021, here are several exciting projects coming along at the shop:
Jeff and Ryan B’s LS3-powered Z came to us for mechanical sorting. It’s now sporting our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles. Ryan successfully ran the Targa California Rallye in blistering summer heat. He recently got a new set of VOLK TE37V wheels full report soon!
The OMS Pace Car
This is a 1972 Official OMS Pace Car Duplicate. It is at present one of only two known survivors . Fifty were originally produced by Nissan Motors to commemorate the DATSUN 240Z being selected by the Ontario Motor Speedway to Pace the 1972 “U.S.A.C. California 500 Championship”. It really is a small Datsun world, as the official OMS pace car is none other than our very own Joel Anderson #49 IMSA GTU 240Z .
This OMS duplicate belongs to our long time customer and friend Linda. She acquired it from a family in SoCal and tasked ZCG with making it a nice driver. Full report soon but it got loaded up today for its journey to Colorado!
Jim’s 1971 Datsun 240z returned for a Rebello 3.2L with triple-Mikuni carbs on a Harada intake and CD009a 6-speed transmission:
David’s 240Z
Long-time friend and client David attended a track day at Laguna Seca. This Z was built over 15 years ago and sill running strong. We prepped his Z for the track, full report soon!
Dyno Tuning your 350z/370z/Q/G
We have been dyno tuning your late model Nissan/Infiniti sports car daily. Bolt-ons, UPREV tuning. Our customers leave happy with more performance. Call us to schedule an appointment! Here are just a few cars:
Aaron’s Q50:
Randy’s 1970 Safari Tribute Z lived an eventful life this year. It was in Los Angeles to be filmed for Nissan’s commercials and also served as Randy’s ride for cruising around Monterey Car Week. We installed a new engine and made some suspension changes. Though it’s back at home in Georgia it will get a full ZCG-style feature.
One of many Z32s we are working on, Steve’s will get a full report soon:
Highlights from 2021
Even though 2021 was crazy year for all of us we still managed to have fun on and off the track. The shop made some really great progress as well.
Enjoy these highlights from the year and Z you in 2022!
Datsunworks
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. You can read all about it HERE
2021 was a development year for this drivetrain setup. We continue to extract more power and run longevity testing with owner Gary who has the pleasure of living daily with this beast. More updates to come, but for now enjoy the music this KN20 head provides in the video below!
Pall K acquired this Pearl Red (AH3) R32 from our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go. We love the gorgeous paint color and Volk TE37SLs:
Pall brought the R32 to ZCG for a full inspection in 2019 and we have serviced it since. On that visit we found one of the CV boots torn and he had some Nismo stainless lines for us to install. We checked the timing, changed the engine oil, transmission fluid, installed the new brake lines front/rear and performed a full alignment. He visited us again for a new clutch:
Pall has driven the Skyline frequently since we met in 2019, and he does most of the work on his cars himself. We spotted him last summer at the 6/13 Morning Motors Cars & Coffee event hosted by DrivingWhileAwesome (DWA) in Santa Cruz, CA:
I had fun chasing Pall in our shop Datsun 240Z (Mrs. Butters) on this earlier 2020 Drive:
Pall was experiencing some intermittent issues with car, so he purchased a Haltech Platinum Pro ECU from our client Kurt W since he’s going to an Haltech Elite box for his own R32 GT-R build.
“My car was pinging on 91 octane trying to run on the stock ECU at higher load / RPM. I purchased a Haltech Planimum Pro plug-in ECU to resolve the pinging issue and make the most of my modifications. Rob installed the Haltech with a wideband O2 controller and dyno tuned the whole setup. The pinging issue is gone and the car feels incredible. Smoother initial throttle tip-in and lower end, pulls hard all the way out redline. Extremely pleased!”
As Pall mentioned above, his R32 came in to Z Car Garage in Novemeber and Rob dyno tuned it using Haltech. It put down a very strong 381hp/320tq to the wheels on 91 octane:
This Skyline does have basic performance upgrades including: Apex’i intakes, boost restrictor removed (~14psi), Fujitsubo equal-length downpipe, HKS high-flow cat, Fujitsubo Legalis R-Type Evo exhaust, divided intake pipe, PRP R35 coil conversion kit. Despite the modifications, a subtle chop at idle and the dyno results may indicate aftermarket cams from Japan. Nevertheless it has great power, enjoy the dyno video!
Enjoying The Ride
Photo by Pall Kornmayer
We are happy to report that Pall is already back on the road in his R32, post ZCG-tuning. Just yesterday he attended the final Morning Motors in Santa Cruz:
Pall attended the 2021 Skyline Matsuri hosted by the Norcal Skyline Owners group, you can see Pall’s own photography from the event by clicking on the photos below:
Can’t get enough of this beautiful Skyline. It doesn’t get any better than driving a Skyline on Skyline!
Pall is a wonderful client and enthusiast with a pretty serious E30 M3 in addition to the R32. The 90’s were good for iconic sports cars!
Thanks to Norcal Skyline Owners group we get to work with many cool cars like Kurt W and Mike R (here for timing belt, tuning and clutch job, report soon). Thanks for your support Pall and for trusting us with your R32!
Filed under: Events
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on November 22, 2021
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Z Car Garage! We hope you can find time to Enjoy The Ride over the holidays. Please note our hours of operation below:
We will be closed today and Friday for Thanksgiving, re-opening Tuesday, November 30. Thank you!
SEMA was a blur this year—but that’s really no different than any other year for the most intense sensory overload of all things automotive on the planet. This trade-only event features the latest and greatest builds, technology, and creativity in our industry. While the show has historically been populated by American marques and their aftermarket support, in recent years the influx of Japanese metal (Nissan included) is undeniable.
Nissan’s Return to SEMA
Nissan announced its SEMA return with a display of six vehicles:
The new Nissan Project Overland Pathfinder and Project Overland Frontier – special upfit versions of Nissan’s SUV and midsize pickup.
Famed Actor and Car Enthusiast Sung Kang’s “DocZ,” a safari-rally-inspired 1971 Datsun 240Z.
The 2021 Nissan Frontier featuring NISMO Off Road parts, recently campaigned at the Rebelle Rally by Team Wild Grace.
Formula Drift Champion Chris Forsberg’s “Altimaniac,” a four-seat, 2000-horsepower drift sedan.
The all-new 2023 Nissan Z Proto Spec.
Although we did not plan on attending the SEMA show, Sung Kang and Nissan extended an invitation to Z Car Garage, so we happily obliged! Rob and I attended the show on Tuesday 11/2 and we were super impressed with the Nissan booth, staged in the new 1.4 million square foot West wing of the Las Vegas Convention Center. At the very center of the booth was the New Z, in “Proto Spec” trim:
I had to be reminded that this was not the “Z Proto” we saw at Nissan Headquarters in Tennessee back in May. Indeed this was the limited edition “Z Proto Spec” model with glossy bronze RAYS wheels and yellow-accented interior. Thank you Jonathan for letting us sit inside! We still can’t wait to get one at the shop.
Doc Z
The world was introduced to Sung Kang’s latest build at last week’s Japanese Classic Car Show. The “DocZ” was built as a tribute to the Datsun 240Z that dominated the 1971 East-African Safari. The car has parts from all over the world and Sung even had his own multi-piece wheels made as an homage to that history-making Z.
Earlier this year Sung Kang visited Z Car Garage, driving “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car. After driving Butters, Sung wanted the exact same Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), Z Car Garage CV Axles and KW suspension on his very own FuguZ! He also wanted a set on the “DocZ”. We shipped the kit to the Erick of Erick’s Racing, the master builder behind DocZ. Erick was very pleased with the kit and ease of installation:
The ZCG Big-Brakes can be seen through those iconic slots:
Sung is very passionate about the DocZ and loved sharing it with fans that visited the Nissan booth.
The Altimaniac
Chris Forsberg’s 2,000hp drift “taxi” was built to perform while carrying 4-people on board!
Around back were Nissan’s off-road parts and vehicles including a Pathfinder, Frontier and Rebelle Rally truck in race livery.
It was a wonderful display and the vibe here was energetic…at one point it felt like a well-choreographed show but it was truly organic. At 3pm a media event was held at the booth and a Nissan rep introduced the New Z. Hiroshi Tamura then gave the audience a passionate talk about how the New Z moves him…then the mic was passed on to Sung Kang to show off the DocZ, ending with Chris Forsberg with the Altimaniac. Kudos to Jonathan Buhler (Sr. Specialist Corporate Communications at Nissan) and Dan Passe (Director, Corporate Communications), the display was a hit!
See the video below to get the vibe of Nissan’s booth:
Another Good Year For Nissans and Datsuns!
Our Datsun-hunting at SEMA started with an epic showing of the Nissan Skyline Nismo 400R in the Central Hall. Our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers managed to be the first JDM car ever to displayed in this vaunted area of SEMA. This R33 is very rare, but it was truly surreal to see it there…great press for Nissan, and Japanese cars in general!
SEMA’s Battle of the Builders program had TWO Datsun 240Z cars and an R32 Skyline. We are very proud of Bay Area local Samantha Frazier and her V8-powered 1973 Z making it to the Top 3 of the competition!
Brandon Henness and his LS-powered 1972 S30:
Cole Marten’s R32 with the world’s first Toyota 2JZ engine with AWD and a LHD conversion!
Z31 Perfection
Over in the Toyo Tires Treadpass we found several Nissans and Datsuns.
Brandon Miller’s 1986 Nissan 300ZX was a serious showstopper. So much attention to detail in the engine bay housing that gnarly, high-revving RB engine. From the paint to the wheel choice this Z31 was just stunning.
Kouki front end with original Zenki rear…sitting on perfectly-sized Watanabe wheels! Look for a Hoonigan Autofocus episode with Larry Chen soon!
Next to the Z31 was the Garage Active full carbon-bodied R32 Skyline:
Also nearby was Jimmy’s SR20-powered Datsun 510
Capping the row was Ricko’s 1972 Datsun 240Z, a wild tribute to the IMSA-GTU racers of the past. Dreamt up by Ricko and built by Marcus Fry Racing:
Leen Custom’s showed off their short-nose 4-door Hakosuka Skyline with an SR20DET and Bride Histrix seats!
We finally met Carlos in person and see his 2JZ-powered Z32. Carlos has been building it for any years and we loved his passion:
Our friends at UPREV showed their VR30DDT-powered 370Z:
Throughout the show’s jam-packed halls we spotted more J-Tin gems like Daniel Song’s 240Z built by JDM Legends:
Sitting low and packing a KA24E powerplant, this 1963 Datsun NL320 pickup had a very American Hot-Rod vibe:
Outside of the Central Hall was Oscar’s (of Zociety fame) Libertywalk 240z with an L28ET:
We end our Datsun-spotting with this wild “2000 Roadster that was running the Optima Batteries Challenge. It is a C6 Corvette with Datsun Roadster body parts:
Silvia/240SX
Plenty of S14 and even S15 versions:
FD RX-7s
At least 4 FD RX-7s were spotted. My favorite was the R Magic in FortuneAuto’s booth:
Our Favorite American Cars
While we are Nissan-focused we do love American Muscle cars. SEMA is a feast for Pro-touring, street machine, custom and even stock style Detroit steel. Tri-5s, Pony cars, lead sleds…even Chip Foose had an entire hall dedicated some of his most iconic creations:
Crazy Lifted Trucks
Yup. Every year these huge trucks swarm the outside displays of the convention center. This year was no exception:
We hope you enjoyed our coverage of the 2021 SEMA Show. There are many more cars to see and you can view them in our mega-picture galley below. Thanks to Nissan and Sung Kang for hosting us and to everyone that took the time to say hello. We enjoyed chatting with you. This was a great event for Nissan fans!
The 2021 Japanese Classic Car Show was held on October 30, in Anaheim, CA. This is the original vintage Japanese-car event in SoCal and in its 16th year, JCCS has grown incredibly. Thousands of spectators enjoyed 400+ cars in the parking lot of Angel Stadium. The vehicles themselves remained a fantastic blend of stock, modified and restored. This is the most important show for Japanese cars, and the Z Car Garage crew keeps coming back every year to soak up the sun, see old friends and drool over some spectacular vintage builds.
Z Car Garage Parts on Sung Kang’s Datsun 240Zs!
FuguZ
Actor and star of the Fast and the Furious movies, Sung Kang also happens to be a car enthusiast as well. At the SEMA 2015 show he debuted his vision of the perfect Datsun 240Z, named FuguZ. The build was chronicled the through social media, enlisting parts from around the world with final assembly by Kenji at Greddy. Sporting the latest Rocket Bunny body kit, Volk TE37s and NA RB26 drivetrain this was a crowd favorite and sparked the Z car love in many people.
FuguZ became one of the most prominent S30s in the world. Fast forward to 2021 and Sung Kang visited Z Car Garage, driving “Mrs. Butters”, our 1971 Series 1 240z shop demo car. After driving Butters, Sung wanted the exact same Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels), Z Car Garage CV Axles and KW suspension on his very own FuguZ!
Rob and Kenji came up with a plan and the Z was shipped up to us so we could install ZCG Big-brakes, CV axles and KW suspension before the JCCS. Kenji then revived the Z with twin-turbos that the RB26 is famous for. Now Sung can enjoy the boost, and reign it all in with our brakes and suspension. Full report soon!
Doc Z
Sung was so impressed with the Z Car Garage Big-Brakes that he also wanted a set on his latest 240Z build, the “DocZ”. We happily obliged, only this time we shipped the kit to the Erick of Erick’s Racing, the master builder behind DocZ.
Erick was very pleased with the kit and ease of installation:
DocZ was built as a tribute to the Datsun 240Z that dominated the 1971 East-African Safari. Sung even had his own multi-piece wheels made as an homage to that history-making Z. The ZCG Big-Brakes can be seen through those iconic slots:
DocZ also features interior parts (look at that dash!) and exterior carbon fiber pieces by Carbon Signal:
We are thrilled to be a part of Sung’s builds and the collaborate with his team of talented craftsman! Thank you for your support Sung! Stay tuned for a deep dive on DocZ when we see it at SEMA this week and more details on the FuguZ when it returns to ZCG for tuning.
Showtime!
We arrived early to the new venue at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. This location is larger and more vendor-friendly than The Queen Mary and Marina Green of past shows. It was a a huge parking lot, and those that braved the lines to get in were treated to a J-Tin overload. Once inside we made our way to see client James and his 1972 Datsun 240Z.
James’s 1972 S30 was displayed in the Love20bee booth. At the heart of this beast is a turbocharged L-series managed by Haltech. Chassis upgrades include custom full-length subframe connectors, CD009a 6-speed transmission, KW Suspension, ZCG CV Axles and Big-Brake Kit (328mm) behind RS-8 wheels restored by Love20bee. Larry Chen featured James’s Z on this episode of Hoonigan Autofocus. Inside, a stack instrument cluster was integrated into the gauge pod, viewed from leather Recaro Pole Position seats:
Recent upgrades to “Medusa” include a new tubular exhaust manifold, intake manifold and down-pipe from from ProtunerZ. We will have more installation photos and dyno results coming soon to zcarblog.com!
Highlights from JCCS
Enjoy this video I made highlighting the sights and sounds of JCCS 2021:
Why do we keep coming back to JCCS? Each year the bar is raised for the show cars, and this year was truly impressive. With over 400 cars and aisles of vendors it was almost impossible to see it all in the 9am-3pm show time. Here are our favorites, starting with Nissan/Datsun.
Skylines
Here are few of my favorite Nissans and Datsuns, starting with that not-so forbidden fruit commonly known as the hakosuka Skyline. Ralph Kenyon’s stunning build was the result of OCD-level attention to detail.
Ralph’s Hako received a true, rotisserie-style nut and bolt restoration but didn’t stop there. He strengthened the chassis, utilizing beefed-up suspension/driveline components to support the raging and exotic 3.5L Datsunworks twin-cam L-Series. This fuel-injected monster is backed by a Nissan CD009 6speed transmission. Take a look at that engine bay…you will find yourself discovering a treasure of details from the dry-sump tank to perfectly aligned wingnut bolts on the air filter housing. The S20-inspired valve cover, equal-length exhaust manifold, OEM hose clamps…”next level” is appropriately used here.
Roy’s ’72 Skyline now with an old-school Cartech turbo kit:
Rick’s GTX on RS8 wheels:
Mike C’s 4-door:
Jun’s unflared Hako:
It was great to see our ZCG CV Axles under this 3.2L, fuel-injected Hako in the Hagerty booth!
I didn’t expect to see a large gathering of R32/33 Skylines, even a 4-door! DR30 and 240k!
JDM Legends had their C110 Kenmeri Skyline on display. Now with a 3.5L Jenvey fuel-injected L-Series and 6-speed transmission. It was great to see Eric he expressed how fun it is to drive!
Our friend Sean and his team at Toprank International Vehicle Importers brought the heat to JCCS with an impressive showing of rare Skylines. It goes without saying, if you are in the market for a vintage Skyline (or any JDM car) IVI is the place to go. The iconic “BF Goodrich poster” R34 and R33 Nismo 400R were a treat to see in person:
Z Car Extravaganza
S30 Z cars were everywhere. I’m a big fan of subtle modified Z’s but I can also appreciate pristine, bone-stock examples and the occasional shakotan build.
Stock is good. Nissan returned to JCCS with a cool display including this pristine example:
Jay from JDM Car Parts always has a fun display with RHD/JDM cars surrounded by a working model train (See video):
There were an impressive amount of Z’s with bodykits from Rocketbunny and Libertywalk:
Lowered on Hayashi Racing wheels:
Loved this Z on Watanabe wheels with an L28ET:
Beautiful 260Z and 280Zs and a 2+2!
Andrew’s RHD Fairlady Z sitting on Watanabe “Gotti” wheels was near the Techno Toy Tuning booth. He drove it down with his Father from the Bay Area:
So. Many. Z’s!
The show-winning Z! Mark and his daughter Samantha built this Z as a family project it is SEMA-bound!
Larry Chen’s 1970 SR20DET-powered Z was on display in the Leen Customs booth. It was featured on Hoonigan Autofocus and we will take a closer look at the work ZCG performed this past year including our Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles on zcarblog.com:
You can find more S30s in our gallery!
S130!
Keeping Z31s on the map was the best display of the model I’ve ever seen at JCCS. Proudly shown right next to the Nissan display there were Kouki, Chuki and Zenki models to enjoy:
300ZR and Shiro Special sitting on white Watanabe R-type wheels:
The lone Infiniti sitting on Autotradas:
The Nissan 300ZX (Z32) was also well-represented. My favorite was a white slicktop on Nismo wheels:
Sweet 240sx/Silvias and B13 Sentras!
People
At the JCCS it is always great to see old friends and meet new enthusiasts! The best part was to meet younger folks that were passionate about their rides…we need the the next generation to carry the torch for us!
Datsun Fairlady Roadsters
The Datsun Roadsters came out in full force this year, running 12 cars strong!
Thanh Lam’s 1964 Datsun 1500 was the oldest car present, winning the JCCS Best of Show award!
Ed’s sharp 1970 SPL sporting Enkei Compe wheels:
Eric’s show-winning ’68 2000:
The Desirello’s also displayed their SR20-powered beauties:
More roadster pics in our gallery!
Datsun 510s
Datsun 510s dominated the field as the most represented model again this year.
Not one but 4 Bluebird Coupes!
Matt of Love20bee’s Rotary-powered, box-flared 510 sitting on Tomcat wheels. Hear it run in the video above…BRAP!
Erick’s S2000-powered 510!
TSR-built 510s:
All kinds of engine swaps abound including Toyota 18RG, SR20, Mazda Rotary and even an LSx V8!
This 500hp, SR20-powered 510 was tune by our friend Seb at SpecialtyZ. It’s running our ZCG CV Axles and the owner is super stoked with their performance!
Our friend Troy’s customer won Best 510! We saw the happy new owner of Troy’s former race car!
Stock RHD 4-door!
Wagons!
Jun Imai’s “Kaidohouse” 510 in the GReddy booth with Work Equip 40 wheels, IRS and KA24DE-T powerplant:
Alex’s V8-powered wagon. He also brought a Sunny truck!
Toyota
Toyota always has a huge showing with AE86, Cressida, Celica’s and Corolla’s!
Great showing of RA29 (Liftback) Celicas!
3nd and 4th gen Celicas and Supras!
Wheels For Fantasy
I personally love going to JCCS because I get to see very rare Japanese/tuner wheels and parts. Preservation of authentic wheels and appreciation of the time and effort spent to find certain specimens that most folks have never heard of in this generation is what I admire most.
Variations on the mesh wheel from BBS, Epsilon, SSR, Volk, Bahn and more. Riverside, Autostrada, Racing Hart, Hoshino, Work, Mugen and Tomcat and Watanabe. Heaven!
Honda
EF, EA, EG Civics, CRX, DA and DC Integras, NSX and even motorcycles!
Super Sexy NSXs
Mazda
FC, FD RX-7s were out as well as RX-2, RX-3, REPU pickups and Miatas:
Many more pictures from JCCS in the gallery!
Farewell
Towards the end of the show we staged a quick photoshoot with Sung Kang and the DocZ next to James’ Medusa. It was crazy to see everyone swarm around me once they realized what was going on 🙂
Later, at the Greddy booth Kenji and Larry Chen indulged us for another quick photoshoot with James’s Z, FuguZ and Ole Orange Bang. You can see Rob driving FuguZ in the vide0. We are beyond happy to have our Z Car Garage chassis parts on these high-profile Z cars.
Thank You JCCS!
How does a show go by so fast? Just like that, the JCCS ended and we still did not explore the entire show or meet everyone. I personally think there needs to be signage or at least a map so spectators can make sure they see everything! Despite missing out on some displays there was such a great, positive energy. Love seeing families and younger generations of car enthusiasts, for all marques.
It is difficult to run a car show and keep up the quality and interest levels but the folks at JCCS have managed to do exactly that for 16 years! No other show gives you the chance to see obscure, pristine, modified Japanese classics…and we look forward to next year’s entrants. Koji and Terry, thank you for your efforts. We hope you have enjoyed our coverage and please visit our mega-gallery for more pictures.
