Filed under: 240z,510,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on September 5, 2023
WE LOVE RACING! Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the 20th Charity Challenge at Sonoma Raceway, this weekend September 8-10. 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 charity rides around the track.
See our 2023 Nissan Z as Pace Car!
Z Car Garage is happy to announce our 2023 Nissan Z will be on Pace Car duty at the Charity Challenge. Again, admission is FREE for this event and you will have access to all spectator areas on track, race cars and drivers. Parking is in Lot 2 overlooking the paddock. You can see our report from the 2022 Charity Challenge HERE
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:
#88 Todd Rueppel
Todd enjoyed his Z Car Garage trackside support experience with us at the Laps For Laguna event!
#7 Kelvin Tse
Kelvin and his brother Kenny are regular ZCG trackside support clients…
Gabe’s B-Sedan and his Dad’s B-Sedan:
#7 Rob Fuller
ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute car
At Z Car Garage we enjoy both modifying Z cars and restoring them back to original spec. Mike’s 1970 Datsun 240Z came to us from North Carolina for finishing work and now this 11/69 production (VIN#193) S30 is a beautiful driving example of how wonderful these cars were from the factory.
We met Mike and his amazing wife Debbie through our client Randy Jaffe. In the 70’s and 80’s Mike, his brother and dad were doing all kinds of Z car stuff and Mike later went on to be a car collector of some of the finest examples of cool Datsuns including a Nissan Fairlady Z432, multiple low-vin # S30s, and a 12-mile 10th-Anniversary 280zx:
Mike’s history with VIN#193:
“According to all my research, #193 is the 75th oldest Datsun 240z in existence. I bought this car and started restoration in 2014. I did most of the work myself after dealing with a few people who never should have been in the restoration business. I have over 50 years of working on Datsun Z’s so I knew the car well. After 8 years of sourcing parts and pieces, most of which are pretty rare on 1969 cars, I got to the final stage of finishing the car. I knew of Rob’s expertise on these cars, so I turned it over to him to finish. His reverence for the car was greater than mine. He continually was calling me and proposing things that I never knew.”
The Finishing Touch at Z Car Garage
Mike had been working alone on VIN #193 and he called upon ZCG to take it to the finish line. The car was shipped to us from North Carolina and we identified many things that were done incorrectly. Mike also had a pick list for us and the goal was to restore this S30 back to Series 1 spec. We sourced all of the parts and with attention to detail to ensure this car could drive anywhere and also showcase the beauty of an unmolested Series 1 Z. Enjoy our detailed photos in the gallery below and let’s start with the interior…
Interior
Many parts were missing that are specific to a Series 1 car like turn signal and headlight switches, Series 1 cables and heater bracket tabs. We ensured everything in the dash area was functional:
We also restored the interior vinyl and replaced the hatch seals Anything that was not correct on this Z we did everything in our power to make it look like it was 1969 and it rolled off the showroom floor.
Scissor jack cover and seat trim:
Engine Bay
Series 1-specific items were missing or incorrect in the engine bay. Since this was a an 11/69 production car it needed a 1969 Fuel rail. The way the distributor standoff is, SU bowls, plugs, hose clamps and other small items like a black-painted hood prop were corrected. If Mike took this S30 to a Concours event it would do well.
An often overlooked detail are the hose clamps around the SMOG equipment. Very early cars like #193 had silver hose clamps instead of matching yellow/gold-plated finishes because smog equipment was added in the U.S. Mike was unaware but appreciative of this.
Chassis
The chassis was nut and bolted after we went through the hydraulics and checked the braking system. Factory markings like the (R) and (L) stickers on the struts were added:
The transmission was wrong so we installed an early Series 1 unit:
More chassis photos in the gallery below!
Details
All of the early series 1 and S30 wheels were date coded. We sourced the correct, 69-date coded wheels that are correct for Mike’s car:
Small details: Series 1 lock assemblies, weatherstripping and early day/night “red dot” rearview mirror:
Dyno Tuning
We baseline dyno tested the Z and it made 102hp/113tq at the wheels. With Rob’s tuning it made 114hp/125tq to the wheels:
Once all systems were go we performed a road test followed by a full detail. Mike’s car was loaded onto a transporter and headed back home to North Carolina:
Enjoy this video of Mike’s 1970 Datsun 240Z in action with dyno runs, in-car driving and walk-around:
Mike was more than satisfied with our work on #193:
“Rob’s Z Car Garage is truly the best place to do any kind of work on any Z car in this country, in my opinion, and he will be the only person to work on any of my cars, ever!!!! When you find the best, now you know the best, so never get too far away from that guy!!!
He wanted Z Car Garage to work on his other Datsuns so he shipped us a few more cars from his collection in North Carolina including this 1977 V8-powered 280Z, 510 vintage race car and RB25DET-powered 240Z. We will have updates on these cars coming to zcarblog.com soon!
Auction Bound!
Mike will be offering VIN #193 and 7 other cars for auction at Mecum in Monterey on August 17-19. In addition to #193 here is a preview of the exciting Z cars offered from his collection:
1970 Fairlady Z 432
4 valves, 3 carburetors, 2 cams. Only 418 of these cars were built between 1969-73 and only 200 were built in 1970. This car had been restored in Japan as well as London, which is where it was acquired. Slightly modified but all numbers match (number 105) and it has Magnesium Watanabe wheels.
12k mile 280ZX
This 1980 10th anniversary 280zx is 1/500 in red/black. In 1980 there were 1250 Datsun dealers in the U.S. so every dealer got a black/gold one. The top 500 dealers got a red/black one. Gerry Ellis Chevrolet-Datsun in Baton Rouge, Louisiana was a top 500 dealer. It was a trophy to him so he put it in a warehouse at his dealership and covered it up. He never would sell it and it sat there for 40 years. Purchased with 12 miles on the clock (now has 26miles!). Check out this video of the 280ZX from this ZCON 2021 and an in-depth look with Randy and Mike below:
1972 Datsun 240Z (Vintage Z Program)
This 1972 240z is 1 of the 37 factory restorations done in 1996. Nissan was waiting for the 350z to be finished and decided they would find 250 cars in the southwest U.S. that were rust free and they would ship all the spare parts they had at the factory to restore them and sell them as new cars with a factory warranty in select Datsun dealerships. This plan was to keep the Datsun Z name alive to the public. They planned on 250 but it cost so much to restore them that the program ended after only 37 cars. This is one of those 37. Super rare car!
Thank you Mike for your support and letting us help you restore #193! More to come from Mike’s Datsun collection and Long Live The Z!
Check the gallery for more detailed pictures: …[read more]
WE LOVE RACING! On March 24-26, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) hosted the David Love Vintage races at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage had a blast racing and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in the B-Sedan Group. It was a great weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track. Enjoy our report with in-car footage and photos
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.
Video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom), Enjoy the sweet L-series music!
ZCG clients running at the David Love Vintage races included:
#8 Gabe Rothman
Gabe has been an avid track day weekend warrior for five years and we will highlight our preparation of his B-Sedan 510 soon. Let’s hear his race report from Sonoma:
“This year’s David Love Memorial, as always was a first-class event attended by the usual fun and friendly rabble of vintage racing enthusiasts. The weather was perfect, with clear blue skies and comfortable temperatures, but cool track temps which made for ideal racing conditions.”
“While I had a few ups and downs over the weekend, I had far more ups highlighted by setting a new personal best of 1:53.9 en route to a 4th place finish in the Saturday feature race. This time represented a 2-second improvement from my previous best. It just goes to show that the best mod is the driver mod — track time rules all! I can’t take all the credit though. As always, I received phenomenal trackside support from Rob Fuller and Z Car Garage, who were there to help me fine-tune the car and provide valuable insights and advice. Rob, in particular, is an invaluable resource. His insights are always tailored to suit the driver and have helped me rapidly move to the front of the B-Sedan field despite this being just my second season in the car.”
Watch Gabe putting in work with his Personal Record session, volume up and enjoy!
#72 Tom Dockery
Tom Dockery drove his Ex-Norm Balzer 510. This car made its debut in May 2019 and we are excited to share its full story and profile Tom’s journey into racing soon.
Tom made a triumphant return to last year’s 2022 CSRG Season Finale after the car was down for repairs. He’s getting back into the rhythm of things and we are happy to see him behind the wheel again. Let’s hear his race report…
“The weekend didn’t start as planned, as work issues forced a late arrival to the Friday practice day. I managed to get on rack for the last practice of the day, but the combination of track conditions and my absence from Sonoma Raceway produced really slow and sloppy laps. Saturday, morning practice was an improvement and I was able to find a better Sonoma rhythm. Qualifying race in the afternoon was interesting mostly because the Mini’s were thrown into our group. There were a few of the Mini guys running similar lap times with me so the were certainly in the mix at the start. Sunday I put on new tires and I continued to find more speed and faster lap times. I look forward to picking up where I left off at the end of April when the SVRA event comes to the Sonoma.”
Here is in-car video from Tom’s 510 with a cool rear-facing camera angle, enjoy!
#7a Kelvin Tse
Kelvin’s 510 features our Z Car Garage CV Axles and dyno tuning. He and his brother Kenny both had a total blast with us at the David Love event.
#64 Kenny Tse
Photo by Josel Cobangbang
Kenny drove the Ex-Ted Gruner B-Sedan 510. He had pretty serious goals this year and he was picking up the pace really well.
#7 Rob Fuller
Photo by Josel Cobangbang
Rob Fuller piloted the Bay Area Datsun Dealers tribute 510. Here is his report from the race weekend with in-car video:
“Once a year we get to attend the David Love. There was a good mix of 19 cars in Group 3 Sedans (2002s, Alfas, 510s and Minis). ZCG supported 5-cars total: myself, Tom, Gabe and Tse brothers Kelvin and Kenny. Cars in the field: Parker and his dad Bruce were fast in their Alfas. Parker’s car was acting up so I opted to start from the back rest of the weekend. We’ve been making changes to the suspension setup in BADD 510 and its working well…very slippery on Friday from recent rains, better over weekend.”
“Honorable mention goes to Kenny who picked up the pace towards his goals, Kelvin and Tom getting back into the swing of things. Gabe joined the ZCG team last year and his car had alot of issues we’ve been sorting them out with each event. It’s been a blast watching him excel…he makes great decisions, listens and he’s fast. He was up in the front of the field and we are super excited to see how he does at the SVRA events. Gabe’s car has a 2L in it so it’s a pretty heavy car but man he is wheeling it. Really proud of him and all the guys. We had a great spot and the vibe in this ZCG pit is filled with friends, family and fun. great time. Kudos to the CSRG people they put on such a great event. Excited to be a part of their organization.”
Enjoy this in-car video from Rob’s 510 as he starts from the very back of the race group:
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!
“CSRG has been gracious in letting ZCG provide pace cars for the race events… since it was raining and we did ‘t get our RZ34 in time we thought it appropriate to have Mrs. Butters do the duty…pretty cool to have Butters out there with pace car lights leading the track. Even the Pace Car driver really enjoyed her.
Photo by Josel Cobangbang (L) and Geoff Pitts (R)
A weekend of great racing and good times
It was so wonderful to share this experience with our friends and CSRG family. We look forward to another B-sedan event and special shoutout to ZCG crew including Nick F and Cooper. Running all of the cars above would not be possible without them.
Rob also test drove a few cars for clients to give feedback. Big thanks to Meghan for taking photos and video around the paddock. Here is a paddock 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:
ZONC corral
Our friends from The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) hosted a car corral on Saturday to support the David Love Vintage Races at Sonoma Raceway! Turnout was great and this CSRG event is free and family friendly, giving everyone the opportunity visit the pits and drivers up close. Super cool to see our client Linda Williams’ 1972 Datsun 240Z OMS Pace Car Duplicate with fellow Nissan/Datsun owners!
More photos in the gallery below! See you at Sonoma April 27 and Laguna Seca May 4 for SVRA’s double-header vintage racing events!
Join us for the 2023 Vintage Racing Season!
Z Car Garage is amped for more racing this year. Here is list of events we will be attending in 2023, including CSRG and SVRA . Please join us!
March
March 3rd to the 5th SVRA Thunderhill
March 24 to 26th CRSG Sonoma
April
April 27th to 30th SVRA Sonoma
May
May 4th to 7th SVRA Laguna Seca
June
June 23rd to 25th CSRG Laguna Seca
August
August 12-13 Monterey Pre-Reunion
August 16-19 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion
WE LOVE RACING! On March 3-5, Sportscar Vintage Racing Association (SVRA) hosted their SpeedTour season opener at Thunderhill Raceway. Z Car Garage had a great time racing and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in B-Sedan Group. Enjoy our report with in-car footage and photos.
Z Car Garage Race Support Services
Z Car Garage offers full trackside support and in-house race car preparation so you can focus on driving. Our client Todd R is a great example of ZCG trackside support in action. He’s been racing his Datsun 510 privateer-style for the last few years and hired us for the first time last year, check out his experience HERE. For the SVRA event at Thunderhill we supported our clients Tom and Gabe:
“The weekend was a little bit of mixed bag. Friday went well with some stellar setup tuning to adjust to the RA1 tire (first time with them on track). Saturday was a bit of disappointment with fuel pressure issues, but Rob, Nick and Copper stayed focused and the smoking gun (Fuel cell foam was long past its prime). Problem resolved and Sunday was a success. Starting from the back of the grid (after DNF’ing the Saturday qualifying race) provided some passing fun, finished the race chasing Mark Nettesheim in his newly rebuilt Maroon ands Silver #37. We stayed nose to tail until he spun on T3 on the last lap, providing me a window to slip by. Great fun.”
Gabe’s B-Sedan 510:
Rob was in his Bay Area Datsun Dealers 510:
Rob’s race report:
“It’s been a few months since we’ve been in our B-Sedan vintage race cars. We headed up to Thunderhill Raceway for new event, SVRA’s first time hosting a season opener. Weather was spotty with fear of rain all weekend but the Datsun Gods blessed each session with a nice, dry track. Usual suspects Meghan, Corwins, Nick and Cooper all helped support our clients Tom and Gabe. So we were the trifecta of B-Sedan awesomeness in group 8.”
“Tom’s car fought us a bit but with help from Nick and Cooper we were able to get it back on the track for Tom to enjoy the rest of the weekend. We need more Alfas and 2002s out there…we are the huge 510s fan and biggest advocate for rhem but it would be cool to see a wide of variety of cars racing. I was able to win one of the races and Gabe was in the front of the field. Really proud of him going from mid-pack to top 5 racers. He will only get faster.”
Watch this video from Rob’s 510 in the B-Sedan Group 8:
You can see more race videos from the SVRA event on Rob’s YouTube Channel. Give the guy a thumbs up and subscribe while you are there! (Below) Rob Fuller, Troy Ermish and Jim Froula, Gabe and David all on the podium:
A weekend of great racing and good times
Special thanks to ZCG crew Nick and Cooper for kicking ass all weekend to ensure our cars were safe and running in top form. We had a great time and it was nice to see new faces and old friends like David Carroll. He won OPTIMA’s Search for the Ultimate Street Car in his LS-powered Z!
Join The Vintage Racing Fun
Interested in joining the vintage racing fun? Z Car Garage can help you prepare and support your race car at the track. We can also help you find a vintage race car! Contact Rob at the shop at 408-452-0350 or e-mail rob@Zcargarage.com for more details. Catch all of our race reports on zcarblog HERE and stay tuned for our race report from the 3/25 CSRG race event! More photos in the gallery below:
