Rob and the crew realized that all six of these S30s were being worked on and a brilliant photo ensued. Great shot Josh! Expect full stories on these Z’s coming soon to the blog. From left to right we have Glenn’s 1972 RHD 240Z-L, and Art’s 1972 240z:

  

 

Ben’s 1974 260z:

 

Rob’s 1971 240z (aka Butterz)

 

Erich’s 1973 240z

 

And Steve’s 1972 240z (white)

Rob couldn’t help but add some Van Halen moves. He’s got it bad for Z cars!

Stay tuned!

 

This 1973 KGC110 Kenmeri Skyline is for sale. It is well sorted and ready to be enjoyed!

  

For more details, videos and pictures please check out our For Sale section HERE.

 

Gary’s 1971 Nissan KGC10 Skyline is for sale. For more information please visit our FOR SALE page.

 

 

Every year, one of my favorite events to attend in Southern California is the annual Japanese Classic Car Show in Long Beach.  JCCS is like a big reunion of old school friends, surrounded by the finest vintage metal made in Japan. The iconic Queen Mary cruise ship and the Long Beach skyline is a perfect backdrop for Zs, 510s, Skylines, Rx-7s, Rx-3s, Celicas, Corollas, Land Cruisers and other interesting Japanese old school cars!

 

Founded by Koji and Terry Yamaguchi, JCCS has been running for 11 years strong now and the bar is set higher ever year. I remember the first year of JCCS, and it’s hard to believe the inaugural event was over a decade ago!  I love this show 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.

  

Attendance was impressive but surprisingly not over-whelming like previous years and this made photographing cars a breeze!  Sure, a bulk of the cars are the same annually but the small percentage of new cars tend to be amazing.  At JCCS we love that every pass up and down an aisle of cars reveals a new detail, emblem, decal, or set of wheels.  Also, this is a more adult car show (no loud Drake/EDM, no booth babes, no car parents towing around scraping cambered-out red Power Wheels with kids in them) and a breath of fresh air compared to the “party” vibe of the larger California shows.

Nissan’s Debut at JCCS

The OEMs participated in record numbers this year. That’s right, in addition to Mazda, Toyota and Honda our beloved Nissan stepped up for the first time with a great showing of rare and unique vehicles from their vault. My favorite was the 1997 R390 GT1 Le Mans race car, sent over from Japan just for this event! Nissan’s collection also included included a 1975 Bluebird-U 2000 GTX, 1972 Datsun 510 and 1967 411. Our friends at JNC were lucky to drive the Dime and Bluebird over the Monterey Car Week.

Completing the “heritage” lineup was this little/big truck combo – a 1960 Datsun 1200 “surfer” Van towed by a 2016 Nissan TITAN XD pickup. Fingers crossed this new diesel rig “passes” emissions. Ha!

 

Here are few of my favorite Nissans and Datsuns, starting with that not-so forbidden fruit commonly known as the hakosuka.

 

There was no shortage of Skylines this year and my favorite was Eric Khamchan’s KGC10. It’s racing livery removed from previous shows revealed a stunning shade of metallic blue. The killer stance with wide, gun-metal Watanabe wheels stuffed under the flares set this one off from the rest:

 

We first saw this short-nosed Skyline at the Solvang Datsun Roadster Show and were surprised by its intact “surf line” rear fenders,  G-series 4-cylinder power and super rare Hayashi Racing Techno Phantom wheels:

 

Eric Bauer’s  Hako sported period-spec goodies throughout like these Dunlop CR65 tires and C-pillar vent:

 

The only 4-door with molded rear flares sitting pretty on deep step-lipped SSR MKII wheels:

Another red Hako with gold Watanabe’s and a striking peanut butter interior:

 

Finally, this Kaido themed racer replete with external oil cooler, livery and side-exit exhaust:

Z-Car Extravaganza

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. This S30 had subtle body-colored flares, deep Simmons wheels and a neatly executed RB25DET engine swap:

 

By contrast Richard Madlangbayan’s RB25DET-powered S30 is wildly flared with retina-searing paint and extensive aero.  To-die-for NISMO LM GT2 wheels were re-barreled and stepped up to 18″ by FiveOneWheels. Check out the rear diffuser, side skirts and spolier too:

 

 

This was my first time seeing Kevin Yeung’s “White DevilZ” in person. It had some ludicrously sized fenders, WORK Equip 03 wheels with a huge wing and more aero. My favorite part? The L-series powerplant force-fed by an HKS turbo kit. I think I overheard Kevin telling a fan that “he had plans to track it”…

 

The guys from JDM Legends displayed this immaculate, super sano S30. From the iconic Watanabe wheels to the triple-carb’d L-series this car was a real treat to view.

…[read more]

 

For folks that live in the US, it’s hard to imagine a bigger piece of forbidden automotive fruit than the Nissan Skyline.  The Skyline has never been sold in the United States, yet it’s still managed to develop a fanbase and aura that can easily rival the best foreign or domestic metal. Most of us are familiar with classic Skylines and modern GT-Rs, but the DR30 you see above is still relatively unknown among non-JDM lovers. Reid B. scored this lovely red Skyline 2000 RS-Turbo almost four years ago.

 

The pillarless windows,  angular body shape and killer graphics package create an unmistakable 80’s vibe. We love it!

 

Soon after Reid purchased the DR he started making it his own while preserving the classic OEM goodness. He brought the car to us initially for a dyno and tune after noting that the Skyline had a flat spot in mid-range power delivery. When we inspected the car we found the front suspension was severely rubbing on the tires and this was addressed first.   We installed Techno Toy Tuning (T3) coil-overs with custom springs, RCA’s, Energy Suspension T/C rod bushings and AGX shocks:

 

Although Reid was hoping to fit a 215-width tire up front the DR now sports 225/50/16 Yokohama S-Drive tires at all four corners with great clearance. Watanabe wheels look so right on these!

 

This being a 1983 model, it sports Nissan’s legendary FJ20ET powerplant underhood. Reid was concerned about potential fuel delivery problems and our A/F monitoring revealed lean conditions under load. We discovered a failed fuel-pressure regulator and our solution was to replace and modify a 280zx fuel pump and FPR to fit.  A new oxygen sensor was also installed.

 

Further inspection revealed over-boosting so we lowered the base boost rate with a lower pressure spring in the external wastegate. Dyno results were great and we’re happy to report the DR makes more power at less boost now! Baseline numbers were 160hp/177tq and after 201hp/197tq to the wheels:

 

 

We liked working with Reid as he is the type of owner that wants to bring the car back to life the best he can. Z Car Garage lives for reviving Japanese classics and hearing our customers satisfied with their cars keeps us going. Listen to Reid’s impressions after picking the DR30 up:

Rob,

So the drive home was awesome. I still cant believe it. I didn’t get to drive it to work today but tomorrow for sure. I could drive 80 and then roll on the gas and it would just go and not want to stop. The new front suspension makes the car drive so much better, it doesn’t feel like it rides on cut springs.  I drove the car from Newark to Roseville and it was awesome going from 75-95. I could roll on the gas it would start boost and just keep going. I feel like when I am driving now that I am holding the car back cause it just wants to go and go.  I am still in awe. 

Reid

Enjoy The Ride, Reid and thank you for giving us the pleasure of working on your Skyline!