Z Car Garage prepared and supported many race cars for last year’s Rolex Reunion and this year we are excited to attend once again August 15-18! You can get discounted tickets AND preferred parking through The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC). They are hosting a Nissan-only parking corral at Weathertech Laguna Seca Raceway and it’s the best way to park and enjoy the event. For more details please see the ZONC press release below.

 

ZCG cars accepted!

Alex Mcdowell will be racing his 1967 Datsun Bluebird Coupe and 1979 Jim Fitzgerald Datsun 280zx at the RMMR. Re-cap of these two in action from the 2018 event below:

 (R) Photo: Mark Hutchinson

Alex raced with notable 510 drivers Troy Ermish (#9), Jim Froula(#52), Dave Stone(#93), Glenn Chiou(#21), Taz Harvey (#51) and Datsun Roadsters Mike Anderson (#38) and Steve Link (#23). Watch this extended in-car video below of Alex piloting the Bluebird. Alex finished the race 12th/50 cars with a best lap of 1:48.1. Lots of action in this one!

 

 

Alex’s Datsun 280zx

 

Alex ran the Jim Fitzgerald 280zx in Group 7B: IMSA GTO, GTU with some wild rotary and Trans Am cars. He was having too much fun in the Bluebird so did run the car in the final race. The Z ran well throughout the Pre-Reunion and qualifying where Alex was running 1:44s. Here is a short video of the Z in action:

 

Datsun and Nissan Revisit IMSA at 2019 RMMR
By Ann Devor

Following on the heels of last year’s fantastic Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, twelve Datsuns and Nissans have been chosen to compete in three races in 2019’s RMMR at WeatherTech Laguna Seca Raceway. The 2019 RMMR is celebrating IMSA and will feature three classes of IMSA racecars over the four-day weekend from August 15 through August 18. David Martin’s 240Z, Alex McDowell’s 280ZX and Rob Morgan’s 280ZX will be racing on Saturday August 17 in Race 5A (1973-1981 IMSA, GT, GTX class). Almost equally exciting will be the IMSA prototype Race 7A on Saturday where you will see advanced racing performance and styling not seen in the production-based cars.

On Sunday in Race 6B (1981-1991 IMSA GTO/GTU racecars), Craig Bennett will drive a 1991 300ZX competing against John Murray in a 1989 Nissan 240SX, Philip Mendelovitz in a 1989 240SX and Michael Parsons in his 1990 300ZX. We’ll also see Datsun roadsters on Sunday in non-IMSA Race 5B featuring 1961-1966 GT cars under 2500cc including Alex McDowell’s 1967 Bluebird, Phillip Mendelovitz’ 1967 311 Roadster, Ross Merrill in his 1966 Fairlady Roadster and Steve Smargiasso in a 1966 Datsun 311 Roadster.

Here’s what we have planned so far exclusively for Datsun and Nissan fans:

• We have a private corral with 20 reserved paved parking spaces. Datsun-Nissan race fans who wish to park in our Datsun-Nissan special parking area must purchase their corral passes and admission tickets only from ZONC. If we sell out our 20 corral spaces we will try to get more, but there is no guarantee. Corral passes ($45) are good for the entire 4-day weekend.
• ZONC is again offering a discount on admission tickets.

Individual Ticket Pricing	Regular Price	ZONC Discounted Price
4-Day (Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun)	$170	$145
3-Day (Fri/Sat/Sun)	$150	$130
2-Day (Sat/Sun)	$120	$105
Thursday only	$ 40	$ 35
Friday only	$ 70	$ 60
Saturday only	$100	$ 85
Sunday only	$ 70	$ 60

 

For more information or to be added to our special mailing list for updated information, please contact me at anndevor@gmail.com. Don’t hesitate, don’t be late, and get ready to have a great time at the 2019 RMMR!

At Z Car Garage we love dyno tuning vintage race cars that are being brought back to life in addition to event veterans. Stan T came up from Socal on referral from fellow racer Steve Link to get his Datsun 1200 back on the race track.   

The Datsun 1200

A few words on the 1200 for the uninitiated, as this small but feisty little Datsun surprised many. The car was Nissan chassis code B110, sold in Japan 1970-1972 and in North America in 1971-1973. Known in the states as a “1200” from its 1.2L engine size and referred to as “Datsun Sunny 1200” in Japan, The 1200 had a rich racing history with success both here and abroad with much of it prowess coming from a lightweight chassis and potent A12 powerplant.

Stan bought his Datsun about 10 years ago as a barn find, tired SCCA H Production racecar. The SCCA logbook that came with the car showed only two races ever entered. It was mostly stock, with a bolt-in Autopower roll cage. Stan tells us about his build and desire to build it with period parts wherever possible:

“Back in the day, one could literally build a Datsun 1200 racecar out of the pages of the Datsun Competition parts catalog. Everything from engines to gearboxes to LSD rear ends was available. Factory teams and independents flocked to the Datsun nameplate, using the available go-fast bits and pieces. My thought with this project was to build up a tribute car in the vein of the original SCCA C Sedan class cars from the 70s, using parts from the Datsun Competition catalog as much as possible. No later, larger engine. No bigger rear axle. Everything was to be as close to period as possible, everything was to be restored with an eye towards authenticity and durability. No Tilton or Wilwood braking systems…I re-fabricated the braking system using historical pictures as a reference.”

“I’ve searched for several years gathering bits here and there from around the world. It was a tedious process – racers naturally use up parts, parts which were not plentiful to start with, and the stockpiles of available pieces had grown smaller over the years. The F5C56A close ratio 5-speed transmission came from New Zealand. A quick shifter and some engine parts came from Japan. Reproduction tail lamp housing gaskets came from a fellow 1200 enthusiast in the Pacific Northwest.”

What about that cool two-piece rocker cover?

“The one-off alloy rocker cover was CNC milled by a genius 1200 owner who took pity on my plea for a two piece unit that would make valve clearance adjustments considerably easier in the pits and back at the shop.”

Race prep advice came from retired 1200 racers who provided a treasure trove of knowledge. The engine was built by master machinist John Edwards in Costa Mesa who, when he was an automotive shop teacher, persuaded Nissan to donate dozens of the A12 engines to the school district for training purposes. 

“This engine is an old SCCA warhorse that was run for years in the San Francisco region. The engine features a ported GX head and a slew of NLA Nismo bits along with trick “modern” pieces like ARP head studs & rod bolts and B-Projects rocker arm collars. It is being resurrected for vintage racing, using a bit more moderate state of tune for longevity and reliability. (if 12.8:1 compression can be called “moderate”)”

Below is a video showing Stan’s A12 motor on the R&D SimTester. It has a variable speed electric motor connected to the flywheel end of the crankshaft, spinning the motor. An oil line connected to the inlet side of the oil pump pressure feeds clean oil to the engine. The tester allows a ‘clean room’ run in of the freshly built engine to bed all the assemblies in, check for oil leaks, find weak/stripped bolts, ascertain clearances of rotating bits at various speeds etc. without generating heat and racket:

 

Stan adds the final steps of his build before dyno tuning:

“Final assembly and fabrication was done by Vinny Torres at Steve Link Racing in Anaheim. While the parts chase was going on, I stripped the body down to a bare shell and had it soda blasted back to bare metal, then repainted it the way it was when I bought it. During that phase, heavy rust was discovered in the cowl area which demanded attention, and after the heavy undercoating was stripped off, it was found out that the front clip of the car had been replaced at some point in an amateurish fashion, requiring a trip to the body shop alignment table to tug things back into some semblance of square.”

 

Dyno Tuning

With the car on the dyno Rob and Josh went to work checking things over in the engine bay. They set the timing correctly, worked on the A/F ratio and fixed a few items in the engine bay.    

  The car made fantastic power screaming to 8500rpm: 

 It was a win/win and Stan was more than pleased:

 “1^st dyno run (blue) showing how poorly the engine ran when I brought it in, then the last dyno run (red) showing the Helen Keller Miracle Worker version, where at the end of that run we all high-fived each other and shouted “Done!” Watching Rob & Josh work together was like watching a couple of master musicians in a recording studio bouncing musical ideas off of each other, with each building on the other’s talents until all of a sudden everything clicks, and a hit is born. They make it seem almost effortless until one steps back and realizes the personal database of tuning knowledge they have has been amassed through thousands and thousands of dyno runs and hundreds of days at the track all feeding back on each other. All the while I stood there awestruck, just happy not to get in the way and to learn a few things while watching the masters at work.”

 

 

Thank you Stan for bringing your 1200 to ZCG. We look forward to your next race!

      

Z Car Garage is expanding to support our vintage, late model and motorsport work. We are seeking an experienced and skilled automotive technician to join our team. This is not an average automotive job. We work 4-10hr days and offer competitive pay/benefits.

Requirements: Automotive experience, your own set of tools, willingness to learn, and be part of a team.

Nissan/Datsun experience is NOT a requirement, you just need to have passion.

Interested or know someone who might be a good fit? Please contact rob@zcargarage.com or call us at (408)452-0350.

 

  

 

 

At Z Car Garage we love keeping Z’s on the road. From concours-level restorations to light refurbishments, making a customer’s goals reality is our passion. Richard Y’s 1970 Datsun 240z is a great example of an S30 that has been maintained and restored by us for over a decade. We met him years ago when Rob was working at Scott Performance. In 2004, when we bumped into Richard at Tan’s car wash in Santa Clara he didn’t realize that Rob stayed local, opening ZCG. He brought his Z to us thereafter and we maintained it for the last 15 years.

 

In addition to being a great person and a working professional, Richard daily-drives this Series 1 240z. He is also a purist of sorts, not wanting large wheels and tires, a high-power engine or fancy brakes. His desire is to explore, drive, love and touch the Series 1 car as it was back in the day. In 2011 Richard decided it was time to give his Z some love, and the refurbishment was performed with his “vintage” preferences in mind. A few ZCG touches were added along the way.

Interior

 

Part of enjoying the daily-driving experience comes from a functional, pleasant interior. The dash was previously covered with a cap, having multiple issues underneath. We removed the dash and had it re-conditioned by Dash Restoration:

   

While the dash was out we refurbished the entire heater assembly. The heater core was cleaned and pressure tested.

  

All duct-work was resealed to allow full HVAC function including defrost at max settings. A Honda fan upgrade allows faster air flow and all cable/actuator linkages were re-done:

   Heater /motor back in place:

 

We finished restoring the HVAC by getting the vintage A/C unit functioning again. New condenser and lines:

  

Once the new dash returned we started re-assembly. All hardware was replaced and gauges were tested for proper operation:

   

A host of rare, NOS factory parts from Rob’s stash helped complete the dash. Series 1-specific parts like the map light trim and coin-tray were broken:

 

The NOS coin tray and map light trim installed:

  

We updated the sound system with a modern head unit and hatch speakers:

 

One of our favorite upgrades to the interior of an S30 is our ZCG sound deadening package. Usually found in our full-blown ZCG restorations, the result is a less tinny sound and almost Germanic-like “clunk” when you shut the doors.

   

Full weatherstrip replacement on the doors, hatch and windows. We also ensured that windows travel up/down smoothly:

  

The finished interior. Ready for Richard to ready enjoy daily driving:

The Z Must Go On

Our man William did some light paint work on car, as this was a “light” restoration and we didn’t want Richard missing his Z for an extended period.  Unfortunately in 2017 the Z suffered from a front end impact.

The car was hit bad enough that the appraisal house, Richard and all of us thought the car was totaled. Rob luckily had just acquired a Series 1 car as a donor. The front end was grafted on and William fabricated a new radiator support and front fenders to make car whole again.

Engine Bay

 

Fresh from paint and with the engine out we focused on making the bay look sharp. All hydraulic lines were plated with new NOS brake and clutch master cylinders, distribution block and booster:

  

New heater hoses, plated fasteners and new rubber isolators:

  

The radiator was upgraded to a Koyo Race unit:

 

The drivetrain itself received minor refreshing including new drive belts, overhauled and tuned SUs, and a new clutch/flywheel backing the factory 4-speed transmission:

 

A few more details and the engine bay is complete.

 

Chassis/Suspension

Although we looked at every nook and cranny nook on this Z we always kept in mind that Richard did not want everything upgraded. He lives and breathes Vintage Z. The suspension was replaced front and rear with NOS parts like new factory ball joints, steering rack bushings, etc. More pictures in the gallery!

   

Eibach springs with Tokico Illumina struts:

 

The rear diff was cleaned up:

 

The brakes were restored to factory spec with upgraded Stoptech slotted rotors and our favorite 309 pads:

  

The rear drums received new wheel cylinders:

  

Since the harness was damaged in the accident we used one from the Series 1 parts car.  All connections were degreased and cleaned, resistance checked and finally 3M wrapped.

  

The entire fuel system was gone through. Here we drop the fuel tank, boil it out and replace all rubber lines. Also visible is the ZCG exhaust system:

  

Exterior

 

The exterior had to look as good as the engine bay and restored interior. All chrome pieces like front/rear bumpers and door handles for straightened and re-chromed.

   

All of the stainless trim was straightened and polished. Shown are drip rails, all window frames, turn signal frames

  

Window and door hardware plated including latches. Re-chromed handles:

  

Little details like factory Nissan wiper blades and a NOS mirror finish the vintage “look” we all cherish:

   

 

NOS wipers:

  

Tail panel assembly:

  

A variety of NOS parts like Euro front turn signals and a full set of emblems adorn the Z:

  

Series 1 pillar emblem:

  

The final touch: 15″ 5-slot wheels offer more tire choices while resembling the classic 14″ size slots:

 

 

Ready to Enjoy The Ride

 

With a nice interior, paint and chassis work Richard’s Z is ready to be enjoyed on a daily basis. As long as you have the parts and the passion Z Car Garage will do all we can to keep Z cars on the road. Enjoy The Ride, Richard!

 

  

…[read more]

 

George S returned to ZCG for a few items on his 57k-mile survivor S30. Here is a brief history on the Z:

George owned a 1971 Datsun 240z back in 80’s, sold it in the 90’s and recently tracked the car down to its current owner in Atlanta. Sadly, after all those years the Z wasn’t in the greatest shape (2013):

 

I purchased it in August 1981 with 75,000 miles from a single girl in the Marina District. It was my every day car for 10 years, putting on an additional 75k miles. Along the way added the Enkei gold rims, added a Monza exhaust system which was popular then and re-painted it in 1990(similar shade, but not the Datsun blue)

Serviced it regularly and never had to do anything other than the basics. She ran like a charm, was never in an accident.

Sold it in 1991 to a guy I worked with who drove it back to Tennessee a short while later. Thought about the car often, but had no info on it until the guy in Atlanta called me in October 2013. Think he said the car had about 190k miles.

George, obviously missing his Z car after tracking it down had considered restoring it and consulted with us at ZCG. It turns out that Rob actually knew the current owner in Atlanta and the two discussed the Z’s state of repair. Rob felt that it was one of those cars that would be difficult to stay ahead of the curve on. The recommendation: buy an S30 that’s ready to drive, and that’s exactly what George did…

 

In 2016 George picked up a 1972 240z with an automatic transmission in SoCal. We were impressed with its super low 57k miles, original paint and stunning red interior.

   

Once it arrived at ZCG we went on and corrected issues with braking system and fixed front suspension parts. We found a really clean set of Series 2 wheel covers to replace the later units and really made the car standout proper.

 

George recently came in for more sorting, paint correction and passenger mirror replacement. In the engine bay, a Pertronix ignition was installed and timing set to ensure the car ran perfectly.

  

Moving to that gorgeous red interior, the shift handle was replaced:

 

The exterior was treated to some dent removal and paint matching on body panels. The previous owner installed a black aftermarket passenger mirror:

 

We removed the black part and installed our favorite mirror:

    

This Z is a great example of how a stock car can be updated and maintained to bring many smiles per gallon. Enjoy The Ride, George!