Part 2 in a series: ZCG also supports vintage cars of non-JDM origin!

Tuning The Datsun 510’s Rival

Alfas and BMWs have long been rivals of Datsun 510s.  Fighting against both BMW and Alfa for the 1971 Trans Am 2.5 Challenge, a certain red, white and blue liveried BRE 510 coupe took the championship that year and in ’72/’73.  So, at the shop it’s no secret we LOVE 510s and know for a fact that they are much cooler than their Euro counterparts 🙂   Tom H. is a gearhead and ran a 280zx in the 24hrs of LeMons last year with some help from Z Car Garage. Tom recently came to the shop to help tune his beautiful, modified BMW 2002 and we readily accepted the challenge.

 

The 2002 is a 1973 non-Tii “roundie” in Sahara paint with very subtle exterior mods for a clean, pre-’72 Euro look:   shorter chrome bumpers, no lower trim on the doors, deleted side marker lights and  basic BMW steelies.  A great stance and handling comes from Ground Control coil-overs up front and Ireland Engineering Stage II springs in the rear with Koni shocks all around.  Tom turned the ’02 into a total sleeper by modifying the motor with a ported head, custom 9:5:1 CR pistons and Megasquirt EFI.  He recently converted to TWM 45mm throttle bodies which complicated tuning so ZCG came to the rescue!

On the dyno, baseline numbers were 98hp/129tq to the wheels. Great plateau of torque available from low rpm but still in need of tuning and full rev range:

After Rob’s tuning the mighty  ’02 made 131hp/139tq to the wheels! Here is a short clip of the Bimmer on the dyno:

Just for kicks we even weighed the BMW to see how it compares to a Datsun 510: 2297lbs vs 2160 for Rob’s SR20DET-powered dime.

 

We enjoyed working with Tom and his very pretty(and potent!) 2002. Enjoy the Ride Tom!

 

Part 1 in a series:  ZCG also supports vintage cars of non-JDM origin!

From Datsun to Porsche

Peter V. is no stranger to Datsuns having owned both a 240z and a 1968 2000 roadster (silver car below) for many years.  We have known him for a long time and enjoyed his company on fun runs and car shows.  So when Peter came to ZCG to have some work done on his Porsche 914 naturally we obliged!

The Porsche was running rough and had pinging issues. ZCG tuned the carbs and set the timing with smooth running and excellent power delivery in mind. We also took care of a few cosmetic items like the lower valance, see  before/after below:

On the dyno, tuning yielded significant improvements in hp/tq throughout the rev range. Final numbers of 108hp/118tq at the wheels make this little 914 scoot!

It’s good to see Peter still enjoying the ride and though it may not be in a Datsun we dig his 914. We love working with classic cars of all makes so stay tuned for Part 2 in the series!