We love to see our products being installed and used on customer cars. Datsun enthusiast Pat S is running our Z Car Garage CV Axles in his 550whp RB26-powered Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-X.
Pat installed our CV Axles himself on his 1973 Kenmeri Skyline and reports that it went smoothly. Here are a few pictures he sent us:
We were stoked to hear Pat report the improvement over his standard half shafts:
“Testing out my new axles from Z Car Garage…no more clunking, no more vibrations, just smooth as glass. Strong as hell too”
Here is the video of Pat “testing” out the new CV Axles, enjoy!
Pat is also a member of the Wild Cards, a group of enthusiasts based in Southern California. You may have seen their crew featured on the Hoonigans:
As if the Rb26 wasn’t enough, the extremely rare Riverside Super River wheels re-finished by Izanami captivated us:
Here is a fun fact about Pat: we were both participants at the All-Datsun Meet at Mt. Shasta back in in 2004! This 3-day event featured a full track day at Thunderhill Raceway before heading up North. Pat drove his SR20DET-powered Datsun 510 (blue, front row):
The 2019 Japanese Classic Car Show was held on September 21, in Long Beach, CA. This is the original vintage Japanese-car event in SoCal and in its 15th year, JCCS has grown incredibly. Over 10,000(!) spectators enjoyed 400+ cars covering the lawn of Marina Green Park. 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.
ZCG Delivers Mr. K’s Datsun 240z!
We had the joy and honor of delivering Mr. K’s 1972 Datsun 240z to owners Johnnie Gable and her son Kenny Ueda at JCCS. In true “Datsuns Are Driven” form, Rob drove Mr. K’s Z 400 miles from San Jose to Long Beach and it ran flawlessly.
Joining us were ZCG customers John B and James S in their Z’s. A few pics from the road trip South:
Showtime!
We unloaded early on Friday at Marina Green Park. This location is larger and more vendor-friendly than The Queen Mary of past shows. Our booth was situated in a great spot, at the mid-point of the show with our neighbors from JDM Car Parts.
We had lots of traffic at the ZCG booth. Mr. K’s Z definitely created a buzz, and enthusiasts checked out our Big-Brake kit for small wheels, CV Axles and picked up some free swag. Thanks to customers, fans and friends that stopped by! We met many great Datsun fans and enjoyed talking cars.
James’s 1972 S30 was displayed with fellow Z car owners in the show. At the heart of this beast is a turbocharged L-series managed by Haltech. Chassis upgrades include custom full-length subframe connectors, our ZCG CV Axles and Big-Brake Kit (328mm) behind RS-8 wheels restored by Love20bee.
A stack instrument cluster was integrated into the gauge pod, viewed from leather Recaro Pole Position seats. This Z has a very unique sound. We recently tuned it on E85, dyno results and videos coming soon. We are very happy for James as he won the award for 2nd place for Best Z!
Delivering Mr. K’s Z to a very happy Johnnie Gable and Kenny Ueda:
Expect a full report on our work performed to get this precious Z back on the road.
Highlights from JCCS
Enjoy this video I made highlighting the sights and sounds of JCCS 2019:
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 80 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. Roy De Guzman’s Hako sported a new look with the premier Pandem Rocketbunny flare kit and Cross Fever wheels:
Patrick S’ Kenmeri Skyline and Mikey C’s sedan both Rb26-powered and sitting on Watanabe Gotti wheels:
Mel’s R30 4-door on Watts, next to Jay’s DR30:
I didn’t expect to see a large gathering of R32 Skylines, even a 4-door!
Z Car Extravaganza
With the 50th Anniversary of the Z cars from all generations were in full force spanning the crested lawn of the Marina Green Park. 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: beautifully restored ’72:
Todd Kaneko’s iconic, turbocharged L-series Z on Chevlon wheels:
So. Many. Z’s!
The winning Z:
1975 280Z 2+2 on Epsilons from Love20bee:
Shakotan !
Larry Chen’s freshly-painted S30!
Good old triple-carb’d L-series power!
RB25DET-powered:
S130!
You can find more S30s in our gallery!
Z31s were plentiful too, in both stock and modified examples:
The Nissan S12 chassis has been growing in popularity. Known as the “200sx” stateside there were some cool examples of both hatchback/coupe bodystyles.
People
At the JCCS it is always great to see old friends and meet new enthusiasts! Thanks to everyone that visited the ZCG booth!
The Datsun Roadsters came out in full force this year, running 6 cars strong!
Raymond Lim’s 1963 1500 was the oldest car present. This 3-seater SPL310 model was driven, not trailered to the show!
Ed’s sharp 1970 SPL sporting Enkei Compe wheels:
It was also great to see Michael Anderson’s “Rock Vest” race car. This historically-significant roadster is currently being raced by Mike!
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. From sedans to wagons and a single Bluebird Coupe!
Andrew’s RHD tribute 510 won Best of Show!
TSR-built 510:
Brian Holloway’s Coupe with Recaro seats…and the coolest socks
Wagons!
Our friend Troy’s customer won Best 510!
13B and CA18DET:
Dogs Love Trucks!
Kenny’s NL320 pickup:
Toyota
Toyota always has a huge corporate involvement with an assortment of race cars. They even had the new Supra on display and a 2000GT!
AE86, Cressida, Celica’s and Corolla’s!
Great showing of RA29 (Liftback) Celicas!
Trucks:
3nd and 4th gen Celicas:
Speed Star Racing Air Stage on Tommy D’s Starlet:
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. You can’t go wrong!
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 15 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 the new venue is great, almost overwhelming with the number of cars! We hope you have enjoyed our coverage and please visit our mega-gallery for more pictures.
Z Car Garage is proud to be a sponsor of the 2018 Japanese Classic Car Show 9/15 in Long Beach, CA. We look forward to displaying a shop car at our booth, to be highlighted in a separate post. With JCCS only a month away let’s take a look back at our favorites from last year’s event at the Queen Mary; this year the show will be held across the water in downtown!
We apologize for the late coverage, enjoy the pictures and video!
The 2017 Japanese Classic Car Show was held on September 23, in Long Beach, CA. This is the original vintage Japanese-car event in SoCal and in its thirteenth year, JCCS has grown incredibly–some 320+ cars covered the lawn next to the Queen Mary. The vehicles themselves remained a fantastic blend of stock and modified, as well as original 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.
This year, Z Car Garage was invited to display the OS Giken TC24B1Z powered Datsun 240z, in our own booth!
The OS Giken Datsun 240z Goes to JCCS
Before road-tripping down to Socal the fun started with a shop visit from our Oregon pals Diamond Dave, Eric Straw and Michael Spreadbury. They were also heading down to JCCS to show Eric’s freshly restored 1984 “Tekkamen” DR30 Skyline and Diamond’s SR20-powered Miata. Eric kindly donated his enclosed trailer to transport the S30 while he drove the DR30 all the way down to JCCS from San Jose. Before leaving, we dyno’d the Miata and Rob found 30whp+ from the Autech SR20. Diamond was stoked.
TC24B1Z Development
You may have seen the TC24B1Z-powered Datsun 240z (The Behemoth) from its debut at SEMA 2015, and Speedhunters coverage:
The TC24 in action:
Since 2015 we have been updating the drivetrain and fitment of the TC in Gary’s LHD S30. Several key upgrades included a 6-speed transmission, revised exhaust header, Jenvey ITB with EFI and a OS Giken aluminum oil pan.
Using a custom adapter from Hoke Performance we installed a new CD009a 6-speed transmission from the 2003 -2008 Z33:
On the Rebello engine dyno this setup made 476hp. Final dyno numbers will be posted shortly as we are still in the tuning phase. Meanwhile, enjoy the sounds from the new Jenvey induction:
Showtime!
We arrived Friday evening to unload the Behemoth and set up our booth, a first-time experience for ZCG at JCCS:
The ZCG booth was a success. We met many great Datsun fans and enjoyed talking cars. Big thanks to our buddy Herbert Pang!
The TC24 of course was the star, garnering positive feedback and some nice media exposure:
We had free ZCG swag for show goers and on display was our new ZCG Big-Brakes for small wheels. Here’s Glenn Chiou checking them out; after a test drive they would be installed on Glenn’s Fairlady 240Z-L.
Our friends from JDM Legends approached us with a film crew to discuss the TC24:
Little did we know that this informal chat would be part of a segment on the wildly successful JDM Legends TV show! We are so happy for Eric, Josh, Mauricio and the JDML crew. You can see their JCCS visit in Season 1 Episode 5 HERE.
Highlights from JCCS
Enjoy this video I made highlighting the sights and sounds of JCCS 2017:
Nissan’s return to JCCS
The OEMs participated in record numbers this year. That’s right, in addition to Mazda, Toyota and Honda our beloved Nissan participated again since debuting in 2016 with a great showing of rare and unique vehicles from their vault.
Skylines
Here are few of my favorite Nissans and Datsuns, starting with that not-so forbidden fruit commonly known as the hakosuka Skyline. There was no shortage of C10 chassis Skylines this year and my favorite was Rick Ishitani’s restored 1971 2000 GT-X. A mint interior, correct spec badging, spot-on stance with re-barreled gunmetal Watanabe wheels stuffed under flares set this one off from the rest.
In the JDM Legends display, Ginash(from JDM Chicago) showed his RB-swapped 2000 GT-X. We dig the retro-treatment on the valve cover:
More C10s:
Kenmeri Skylines too! This ’73 KGC110 owned by Patrick Soliman has an RB26DETT engine with a Precision 6262 turbocharger. This year he was running rare Riverside Super River wheels:
DR30 Skylines!
Eric’s 1984 “Tekkamen” or “Iron Mask” Skyline is a rotisserrie-restored, RB26DETT- powered, Brembo-braked masterpiece. Eric met up with the Speedhunters crew and SuperStreet for a photoshoot in Long Beach, you can see both articles below:
Z cars from all generations were in full force with cars spanning the tarmac near the Queen Mary to the bayside lawn. 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: Series 1 S30 and a fully restored RHD FairladyZ:
My favorite modified Z car was from JDM Legends:
Matt Kochaon’s 240Z on classic SSR meshies and Rick Ishitani’s Hakosuka Skyline GT-X
Saul Valencia’s 1972 Datsun 240Z was loud and brash with its boosted LS1!
Z31s were plentiful too! In both stock and modified examples:
The Wild Cards Classic Car Show (WCCCS)
The Wild Cards crew had the coolest rides at the show. You can see them all burning rubber at the Hoonigans shop HERE
The Nissan S12 chassis has been growing in popularity. Known as the “200sx” stateside there were some cool examples of both hatchback/coupe bodystyles. S130s were also represented:
Datsun Fairlady Roadsters
The Datsun Roadsters were down in numbers from previous years but the selection still wowed the public.
Kevin Desirello of KRD Roadsters built this SR20DE powered ’69:
Bart Desirello’s SR20DET-powered beast:
Ray Lim’s ’70 SPL was fully restored to stock spec, with perfectly fitted SSR meshies:
Datsun 510s
Matt and Maryanne G drove all the way down from San Mateo, CA in their Turbo 510. Looking awesome now sporting 16″ Panasports! Matt won 1st place best 510, Congrats!
I’ve drooled over of Wild Cards member John Ross Huckins’ 1972 Datsun 510 wagon since we first saw it at JCCS many years ago. It has a 4-link rear end, built SR20DET and tons of neat touches. You can see more on Speedhunters HERE
EQUIP 40 wheels and Tartan fabric Recaro seats:
This year felt like an incredible number of Dimes were displayed!
And finally, Todd Kaneko’s 13B turbo powered Dime with Brembos and VOLK RE30s:
More Dime goodness, JDM-L’s Bluebird Coupe:
Not a Dime
But extremely rare, cool and placed next to the 510s was this Nissan Laurel. Only at JCCS, people!
Dogs Love Trucks!
Datsun trucks were kind of scattered about the park area. Jose Tarin’s 521 sported a Toyota BEAMS engine while Jason Taylor’s had an S14 SR20DE:
Mazda
Mazda commemorated the 50th anniversary of the rotary-engine vehicles. Racing Beat of Signal Hill, California joined in by several of their memorable rotary powered vehicles.
Toyota
Toyota always has a huge corporate involvement and brought an assortment of race cars. This year felt like the AE86s and Celicas were not as numerous but Celica-Supras and Cressidas were sweet!
Great showing of RA29 (Liftback) Celicas! The red car had perfect, meaty fitment on Epsilons meshies. Actually, all 3/4 of these Liftbacks sported some variation of mesh wheel…I dig it:
My favorite Celica though was his Pro-Street’d beast:
This AE86 Corolla had an OEM+ feel:
Honda
The Neo Classics Hondas were my favorite:
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. My favorite wheel at JCCS: SSR Casablanca 8 on Tommy D’s Starlet:
Variations on the mesh wheel from BBS, Epsilon, SSR, Volk, Bahn and more. You can’t go wrong! SSR EX-C below:
More Mesh goodness:
Many more pictures from JCCS in the gallery!
I was lucky to ride in Eric’s DR30 from Long Beach to San Jose with Michael Spreadbury at the wheel. It was a blast!
Thank You JCCS!
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 13 years! No other show gives you the chance to see obscure, pristine, modified Japanese classics…and we look forward to next year’s entrants. We hope you have enjoyed our coverage and please visit our mega-gallery for more pictures. Special thanks to the ZCG crew, Diamond Dave, Eric Straw and Michael Spreadbury for an amazing weekend. See you September 15 for the 14th Annual JCCS!
Filed under: Events
by Alvin G @ 4:18 pm on January 15, 2016
Z Car Garage is both excited and honored to be featured on Speedhunters. Take a glimpse of the shop through the lens of photojournalist Mike Garrett by clicking HERE
