Dear Zcarblog readers, it’s been a busy year and we are catching up on blog posts, so please enjoy our belated race report from May.

WE LOVE RACING! Z Car Garage went vintage racing two weekends in a row. On April 21-24, Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) hosted the Trans Am SpeedFest at Laguna Seca. On April 28 to May 1, SVRA hosted the Sonoma Speed Tour at Sonoma Raceway. Enjoy our race report with exciting B-Sedan Trans Am race action!

Z Car Garage Race Preparation

 

It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno. Here is a video of the race cars we prepared this week with dyno passes and a walk around the shop. Enjoy!

 

Z Car Garage Racers

 

Z Car Garage supported the following race cars for the SVRA double-header, more photos in the gallery below.

Kelvin’ Datsun 510

 

This 510 features our Z Car Garage CV Axles:

  

Kelvin’s Ex-Ted Gruner Datsun 510

  

This 510 features our Z Car Garage CV Axles :

   

Ed’s Ex-Walt Mass 1965 Porsche 911

 

Rob Fuller in the Bay Area Datsun Dealers Datsun 510

 

 

The Laguna Seca Race 4/21

 

SVRA is an East-coast based group coming out once a year to host back-to-back race weekends in the Bay Area. It’s really fun and allows us roll with East-coast guys we don’t normally run with. Fantastic operation: they do live-streaming of the races, awards with podiums. ZCG was out in full force this year at Laguna with Ed’s 911, Kelvin’s Pacific Datsun 510. New to the gang was Kelvin’s historic 510 (Dragonetti Racing, ex-Ted Gruner) 510, driven by his brother Kenny.

 

This was our first weekend with both Tse brothers and it was absolutely fantastic.

 

As with any race event we had some car issues. On the day it rained heavily we had a transmission problem and ZCG Crew member Nick saved the day, changing a transmission on the wet ground. ZCG even made a guest appearance working on Larry Oka’s 510 (The Mike Bell car) with Greg Hoff driving (of SCCA Miata fame). Greg did really well and he wants a vintage 510 now:)

 

Historic B and C Sedan had a great race where Troy and Steve Link put on a show mixing it up with Mini’s.

 

Rob enjoyed racing, especially chasing Troy. Track photos by Kurt Boden:

“The 4-days at Laguna I was able to finish 2nd in all three feature races right behind Troy Ermish. I was able to out qualify him in one race. It’s really cool to battle back and forth with Troy as he is a phenomenal driver. People came over to say it’s so great to see someone rocking it out with him.” 

 

Enjoy this in-car video from Rob’s Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute 510 as he battles with Troy Ermish:

You can also catch the SVRA Livestream morning session on YouTube and the afternoon race also on YouTube.

 

 

The Laguna Seca event with SVRA was a success. We towed the cars back to the shop and made sure everything was good to go for the following weekend’s Sonoma race. We miss you Tom Dockery. He had an incident last year but rest assured his 510 will be back in fighting form soon. Super cool that despite is race car not ready he still came out to cheer us on.

 

Special shoutout to Glenn Chiou. He raced his 1973 IMSA GTU 260Z and we are really stoked for Glenn as he cracked off his best lap time of 1:40. He’s one of the youngest “privateer” competitors out there, building beautiful cars. Whenever he needs the assist from the pros at ZCG we are always there to help him.

 

The Sonoma Race

 

We have never attended both SVRA weekends. At Sonoma we had an incredible pit location across from Garage 10 with RacecraftNW and Jim Froula’s band of clients. With Nick and Keith not able to crew were down to Josh, Rob and RN Meghan Fuller:

“Meghan has been my partner in crime for 16 years and this was her first time stepping in…she did all the fueling for cars, learned how to install and torque wheels, work the checklists, vacuum out the cars and confirm GoPros…the feedback from us was awesome.”

 

On Saturday Kelvin broke his transmission so we swapped in one of Rob’s backup gearboxes in at their shop (F7) at Sears Point. He was able to race the rest of the weekend,  and he was in the middl of the field. On Sunday am Troy and Rob battled yet again:

“I was able to beat Troy finally, with quicker lap times. After all the podiums these last weekends it was cool to get that gold trophy from SVRA. Lots of hugs and emotions. Guys in the Ermish camp like Rick Sheldon were congratulatory…nice to be competitors but also share the same love of vintage racing. Two weekends of absolute magic.”

 

Rob Fuller taking P1 at the Sonoma Speed Tour hosted by SVRA.

   

 

Watch the epic battle between Rob and Troy in the in-car video from Rob’s Bay Area Datsun Dealers 510:

You can also catch the Livestream of B-Sedan on YouTube  from Sonoma Raceway.

Big thanks to Meghan for taking photos and video around the paddock. Here is a highlight reel of what it’s like at a vintage race…you should join us next time!

There were cool cars everywhere in the paddock:

   

We hope you enjoyed our race report from the SVRA double-header. Join us next weekend at Sonoma Raceway for the CSRG Charity Challenge!

Racing into 2022!

 

Z Car Garage is amped for this year’s race season. Here is list of events we will be attending. Please join us!

April

4/1-3  Sonoma with CSRG (Finished, REPORT HERE)

4/21-24 Laguna with SVRA

4/28-5/2 Sonoma with SVRA

May

5/21-22  Laps for Laguna with CSRG (Finished, REPORT HERE)

August

8/13-14  Laguna with HSR Pre Reunion

8/17-20 Laguna  with HSR  Reunion

October

9/30-10/2 Sonoma with CSRG Charity Challenge!

9/13-16 Laguna   Velocity Invitational

November

11/4-6   Thunderhill with CSRG

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WE LOVE RACING!  Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the 19th Charity Challenge at Sonoma Raceway, September 30 to October 2. Z Car Garage is participating and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group (John Morton Cup). This vintage racing event is totally FREE to spectators so please join us! Bring the family, enjoy cool cars and even charity rides around the track.

 

See the 2023 Nissan Z as Pace Car!

 

Z Car Garage is happy to announce the 2023 Nissan Z will be on Pace Car duty at the Charity Challenge. Big thanks to Nissan for giving us the opportunity to share the new Z with enthusiasts for a good cause. Again, admission is FREE for this event and you will have access to all spectator areas on track. Parking is in Lot 2 overlooking the paddock.

Z Car Garage Supports Six Datsun 510s!

 

It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno:

 

#88 Todd Rueppel

Todd had his first Z Car Garage trackside support experience with us at the SVRA event, full report soon!

#7 Kelvin Tse

  

#72 Tom Dockery

Tom Dockery in his  Ex-Norm Balzer 510.

  

#71 Ed M

  

 

Gabe’s B-Sedan:

  

Kelvin’s Ex-Ted Gruner TransAm 510

#7 Rob Fuller

ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car

 

     

Rob will also be racing the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z for the first time at Sonoma Raceway.

 

We look forward to seeing you at the races. Stay tuned for the race schedule and a full report coming to zcarblog.com. Do It In A Datsun!

 

 

 

 

Z Car Garage is excited to go vintage racing two weekends in a row! On April 21-24, Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) will host the Trans Am SpeedFest at Laguna Seca. On April 28 to May 1, SVRA will host the Sonoma Speed Tour at Sonoma Raceway.

Details for the Trans Am SpeedFest at Laguna Seca are HERE.

 

Details for the Sonoma SpeedTour at Sonoma Raceway are HERE.

 

Z Car Garage Racers

 

Z Car Garage will be racing and supporting several client cars at both events:

Kelvin’ Datsun 510

 

Gabe’s Datsun 510

 

Ed’s Ex-Walt Mass 1965 Porsche 911

 

Rob Fuller in the Bay Area Datsun Dealers Datsun 510

 

Racing into 2022!

 

Z Car Garage is amped for this year’s race season. Here is list of events we will be attending. Please join us!

April

4/1-3  Sonoma with CSRG (Finished, report soon!)

4/21-24 Laguna with SVRA

4/28-5/2 Sonoma with SVRA

May

5/21-22  Laps for Laguna with CSRG

August

8/13-14  Laguna with HSR Pre Reunion ( NOT CONFIRMED)

8/17-20 Laguna  with HSR  Reunion ( NOT CONFIRMED)

October

9/30-10/2 Sonoma with CSRG Charity Challenge

9/13-16 Laguna   VI

November

11/4-6   Thunderhill with CSRG

 

 

 

On Saturday, March 19 we attended the Tokyo Calling event hosted by Breakfast Club Rally. Z Car Garage participated with a group of client cars and enjoyed a wonderful day of driving through the foothills of Sonoma, Ca. The event also featured 200 Japanese classics and 90’s-era wonders to appreciate during the morning social gathering and rest stops. Enjoy our report with mega-photo gallery and video!

 

Breakfast Club Rally

 

The Breakfast Club Rally (BCR) started almost 2 years ago, now running its 27th rally event. What started out as a small group enjoying weekend drives blossomed into a full-on Cars and Coffee (still unofficial) meet just before rally participants head out according to run group (rally map available to pre-registrants only). The monthly BCR is always free/open to all makes and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to enjoy the beautiful Northern California roads and scenery. You can see my previous BCR reports HERE!

 

The BCR: Tokyo Calling event was a little different: this was an all-Japanese, mostly-vintage rally and we did not want to miss it. I assembled a group of Z Car Garage clients to participate and we left the shop at 5:45am to make the 7am starting point in Sonoma. Our cars:

 

Rob and Nick drove Mrs. Butters, our Series 1 shop 240z. This Series 1 S30 features a 3.2L with triple-Mikuni induction, Z Car Garage Big-Brakes, Z Car Garage CV Axles, ZCG Heat Shield, 6-speed transmission and full KW suspension (releasing soon).

 

Dirk’s 1973 Datsun 240z is back on the road with a fresh engine,  Z Car Garage Big-Brakes (for small wheels) and Z Car Garage CV Axles and Silvia 6-speed transmission. Full report coming to zcarblog.com

 

Linda’s 1972 Official OMS Pace Car Duplicate. 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”. ZCG made it a runner, full report soon!

 

Felix’s 1996 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo representing Z32s!

 

We had 4 Nissan R32 Skyline GT-Rs! Above, from L to R with more photos in the gallery below: Mike’s R32 (TE37 wheels), Lee’s R32 (BBS wheels), Pall’s AH3 R32 and Miles’ R32 on Ray’s wheels. Andreas’ R30 Skyline was also present!

 

The Bring a Trailer Datsun 240Z was driven by Robert of BaT!

 

Our guest Jonathan Buhler (Sr. Specialist Corporate Communications at Nissan) piloted “Mr. C”, our stock, one-owner Series 1 Z.

Leading the caravan to Sonoma was yours truly in this 1965 Nissan Silvia. Huge thanks to our client Rick K for giving us the opportunity to enjoy this gorgeous (and rare) specimen. Full update on this Datsun Roadster-based gem soon!

Tokyo is Calling before the Rally!

 

Our crew arrived at the rally start in Sonoma and it was already filled with fabulous J-Tin. BCR hosted a “social gathering” from 7-9am (usually 1 hr) so we could take in all the glorious cars. The vibe was tremendous, despite a 5-minute drizzle and cloudy sky.

I am always on the lookout for Nissans and Datsuns:

 

First up, this 1967 Datsun 2000, owned by Ian S. One of the most sought after Datsuns, these “half-year” models were introduced mid-1967 offering a 5-speed transmission and 150hp twin-Mikuni carb’d 2L engine…hot stuff for the era. This is SRL #601 (out of ~1000 cars) and it was fully restored years ago by Les Cannaday in San Diego. Ian is meticulous about maintaining this car, but it is no garage queen. The (655) Off-white paint with red interior is one of my favorites. Yes, it even sports a factory Nissan hardtop with all the stainless trim!

 

I counted 6 roadsters. Pat S. owns this 1970 Datsun 2000. He had it dyno tuned at Z Car Garage, full report soon!

  

Alex’s Datsun 510 Wagon (LS-powered!), 520 and 620 trucks:

  

So many cool cars please check the gallery for more photos! Next, let’s check out some non-Nissan/Datsun action…

Honda

Honda was well-represented from Kei cars to late model DC2 Integras and S2000s. A few NSXs, CRXs and EF hatches rounded out the display:

  

Will’s clean EF hatch:

Toyota

 

Supra (A60 and A80) and even first gen MR2s, a lone Celica and AE86s!

Trucks and Vans

 

Mitsubishi and Toyota 4×4 vans galore! Let’s not forget everyone’s favorite little red firetruck: Todd Lapin’s Daihatsu Hijet

 

This was the wildest truck….2JZ-powered and S550 IRS:

Rally On!

The rally started at 9am and I was tasked with leading our group. There was no cell phone reception but I was armed with a turn-by-turn rallye printout. I managed to hustle the little Silvia through the vineyards and foothills to our half way point of Calistoga…RHD and rarity aside this thing was a blast to drive.

  

One of the perks of BCR events is their team of professional photographers at various stages capturing epic rolling and detail shots so people can focus on enjoying the drive. I encourage you to visit each of these photographer’s photo albums to see shots of your rides :Alex Nibyt, Gregory Veizades, Blaine Olguin, and Vijay Sankar.

 

Arriving at Calistoga was another opportunity to see cars I missed at the starting point. The sky cleared and it was sunny. Folks took a snack/coffee break here in the quaint town. I was just admiring each vintage ride cruise by…like this FD RX-7 with Greddy AeroHatch!

 

Caught up with our friend and fellow racer Glenn Chiou who chose to drive his FD RX-7 with co-pilot Ricky Silverio of Japanese Nostalgic Car magazine. Spotted our client Mark  in his Z32TT as well:

 

It was JDM overload at this halfway resting point…Ricky helped me spot a Lancer EVO 2!

 

After chatting with folks we resumed the rallye. This final stage was mostly forested ending with a cruise through vineyards. Jonathan managed to drive a “D” hubcap off the Mr. C 240z…he heroically recovered it mountain side…a picture captured the proud moment!

 

The rally concluded at renown Sonoma Raceway. Total mileage for our San Jose crew thus far was 220miles. BCR arranged parking for participants in the paddock right next to the cafe for lunch, as their clever motto is #DoneByNoon. Even better: we were treated to live drifting and road-course action. It was a superb venue to enjoy cool cars and great company.

 

I could not resist to get a Z Car Garage client group photo:

 

Here is a video we captured from the day, enjoy!

 

Thanks BCR!

 

Many thanks to the organizers, we had a blast and I urge you to register for their next event, especially if you are in the South Bay area like me and want to see what driving bliss lies North.  Here are a few thoughts from Rob re-capping the Tokyo Calling event:

“With the shop so busy it good to be out to enjoy Bay Area car events like DrivingWhileAwesome (DWA) Cars & Coffee and now BCR. I had a blast. Great organization of the event and some of friendliest people. Exceeded my expectations. Jonathan Buhler from Nissan came out to enjoy the rallye with us. We put him behind the wheel of Mr. C, our one-owner Series 1 Z.  It was fun to have both Safari Gold cars together. I loved the vibe at all of the rally stops and seeing the non-Nissans….super cool. MR2s, Subarus, CRXs, just so much good stuff, Happy I went and will make it out to another BCR event.”

The Drive Home

Our adventure was not over as we had to travel another 90 miles South to the shop. We caravanned back, traveling through the iconic Golden Gate Bridge and through San Francisco. I’m sure traffic had a field day with our group of Datsuns/Nissans:

 

 

At the shop, Jonathan took Mrs. Butters for a test drive and he had a great time before catching his flight back to Nashville. Below (right) is the GO Green RB25DET-powered 240Z that inspired Jonathan to build one of his own…we had to grab a shot with the model I made 🙂

    

Rick’s Silvia is safe and sound after completing the 300+ mile road trip. Thank you to all of the Z Car Garage clients that made the journey with us. Huge thanks to BCR for extending their hospitality to our crew, everyone was thrilled. Here’s to the next rally and always, always #DoitInADatsun!

  

More pics in the gallery!

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Dear Zcarblog readers, it’s been a busy year and we are catching up on blog posts, so please enjoy our belated race report from October.

WE LOVE RACING! On October 2-3, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted the Charity Challenge at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage had a blast racing and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group 9 (John Morton Cup). This vintage racing event was totally free for spectators, thanks to CSRG for putting on another great event!

Z Car Garage Supports Five Datsun 510s!

 

It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno. Here is Rob dyno tuning Larry Oka’s B-Sedan:

 

Video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom) and Kelvin in the second video on the dyno. Enjoy the sweet L-series music!

 

 

We also provided testing support for Tom, Kelvin, Ed and Larry at Sonoma. A “test day” offers our clients piece-of-mind and a great way to kick off the actual race weekend. While testing we had an engine failure in Tom’s car and a transmission issue in Ed’s car. Thanks to the ZCG crew were able to resolve both with a spare engine and transmission.

 

Time to Race!

Z Car Garage clients racing for the weekend included:

#7 Kelvin Tse

 

#92 Larry Oka

Owned by Larry Oka and driven by Jesse B.

 

#72 Tom Dockery

Tom Dockery in his  Ex-Norm Balzer 510.

We are proud of Tom as he finished 10th in 21-car field and grabbed a personal best, clicking off a 1:58 at Sonoma! Here is in-car video of him putting in work for Sunday’s race:

 

#71 Ed M

 

#7 Rob Fuller

ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car

  

Rob shares his highlights from the race weekend:

“We had a great group and on the first qualifying run I was able to be quickest out there. Started the Sat afternoon races on pole and Tom/Kelvin were mid-pack with Ed in back. I had a beautiful start but by the 4th lap my throttle cable failed. I was about 1.5s ahead of the pack and got my personal best lap time at Sears. Even though I was bummed at the DNF, I got the best seat in the house and watched my boys Tom, Kelvin and Ed go through the field and have a fun race.”

 

“Josh and Parker from the PNW duked it out, and on the last lap Josh took the win. I know my 510 wasn’t able to finish the race but at least a Datsun won! Saturday’s position determines your position for the next races so I started last in both sunday am and afternoon sessions. First race was 5 laps and I went from 21st to 3rd place. Second race was 7 laps and I went from 21st to 2nd. Thank you to Z Car Garage for the repair and prep to keep my Datsun 510 on the track the rest of weekend. Happy to get Podium, Hard Charger, and the fastest lap of the race. Was great way to end the weekend after the DNF on Saturday. Thanks to CSRG for another amazing event. Do it in a Datsun 510.”

 

Here is in-car video of Rob threading through the field, enjoy!

 

You can see more of Rob’s race videos from the CSRG event (and other race) on his YouTube Channel. Give the guy a thumbs up and subscribe while you are there!

 

A weekend of great racing and good times

 

This was our first race event with our new Intech aluminum trailer. It was a game changer, allowing ZCG to have a home base in the paddock for our clients to relax and for us to perform crew duties. Speaking of crew, we are grateful to our team including the Corwin’s (Josh, Keith and Bonnie thank you for keeping us safe all weekend), Meghan and Nick. Nick brought his beautiful Datsun 510 wagon that also put in work as a support vehicle:

 

There were cool cars everywhere in the paddock:

 

Big thanks to Meghan for taking photos and video around the paddock. Here is a highlight reel of what it’s like at a vintage race…you should join us next time!

 

Always happy to see friends and newcomers at these events. Greg H from SCCS was there running a Formula Ford…his first time out he placed 5th out of 4o cars! Now that he’s had a taste of Datsun racing Greg is now interested in a B-sedan of his own!

 

Datsun Car Corral!

 

CSRG is awesome. Participants were spoiled with FREE parking in the paddock area and full access to the race for the weekend. Our friend and client Linda Williams of ZONC drove her 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace car! Full report on this historically-significant S30 coming to zcarblog shortly.

 

Our friends from the PNW were in attendance…great camaraderie and even better racing partners:

 

Rob with RacecraftNW owner and pal Jim Froula. Yes, the Bluebird Coupe we dubbed Sorabird is now back with Racecraft after being with our client Alex Mcdowell for many fun racing seasons.

 

We hope you enjoyed our race report from the October 2 CSRG Charity Challenge at Sonoma. Thanks agin to CSRG, the ZCG crew and our clients for a really fun event. The 2022 racing season looks amazing, please join us we will announce the event schedule soon. DO IT IN A DATSUN!
More pictures in the gallery below:

 

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