The 1990 Nissan Pulsar GTi-R we recently listed For Sale has found a new home! We are excited to see this Baby Godzilla go to Leo J, a hardcore Pulsar enthusiast! This just in from Leo:
“I was looking for another Pulsar for about 3 years since I left my old GTiR in Germany (2014) where I was stationed last (USAF retired). And yes, sure thing…when I called Rob to inquire about the car, he answered my questions with a very polite and professional tone. Told him that I was interested in buying the car (gave him a little history about me that I was former military, in search of a Pulsar GTiR and that I had owned 2 GTiRs, 1st one a rust bucket, and the 2nd in a little better shape, both Okinawa island cars…then brought the 2nd to Korea and then to Germany).”
“I asked Rob if I could check it out in person, so we set up a day and both agreed with it. A few days later…saw the car in person and I was in awe as this was 100 times much better shape and in very good condition compare to the ones I’ve seen in the US for sale!”
“So Rob took me for a test drive and the car’s acceleration and handling were amazing and on point (this was the feeling I’ve been missing for three years)! He drove it like he stole it, lol. I took it for a test drive and fell in love with that feeling again! Right there and then, I was sold! I knew then that Z Car Garage is a competent and a more than capable shop that you can trust and count on. All in all, it was a very pleasant and worry free buying experience and wouldn’t hesitate one second to recommend Rob and ZCG to anyone!”
We were also pleased to find out that Leo drove the Pulsar all the way home from the Bay Area to Reno, through ice and snow!
“To be honest, I didn’t want to drive it on that snow or ice, but had to get back home for family. I was cursing and crying (lol) at the same time I heard all that sand getting thrown under the wheel. Gary, the previous owner said the car was never driven in the rain, and now I’m driving it on the road with ice, sand, and salt!…washed it really well as soon as I got home though.”
Beginning the trip in Sunnyvale, and a masking tape check at a rest stop:
Cruising on the freeway:
A quick stop at Travis AFB:
Donner Pass, and finally at home, masking tape job still intact:
Enjoy The Ride Leo! Find your next Nissan/Infiniti/Datsun on Z Car Garage’s For Sale page. We will have new listings beginning next week!
The Z Owners of Northern California (ZONC) is one of the oldest Z car clubs in the nation. In its prime they had over 600 members with close ties to Yutaka Katayama (“Mr. K”) and Nissan USA. Of the many events and fun runs they host throughout the year including the famous Blackhawk Museum Show, we had a wonderful time attending their ZONC Annual Car Show in Brisbane, CA held on July 22, 2017.
This was a relaxed, relatively small gathering of enthusiasts that we shared with a group of ZCG customers and friends. Our Saturday morning caravan to the show began at the shop with seven Z cars, one roadster and a C110 Kenmeri Skyline:
Here is a short video of the ride to Brisbane with all of our cars…just Enjoying The Ride on a Saturday!
Highlights from the show
Still to this day, 240Zs are the most represented model in the club. Expansion over time currently includes all recent Z models and the GT-R, but also reaches back in time to include the Datsun Roadsters and 510s. 41 cars were displayed this year, each one of them special and showing pride of ownership. The only model missing from the show was the Z31 300ZX and that’s because the only one registered somehow overheated on the way.
From showroom stock to wildly-modified the S30 selection was diverse. We are very proud of ZCG customer James S’ 1972 240z. This hot rod sports a Rebello 3.2 L-series engine with boost provided by a GTX3576R turbo and Haltech management. The exterior is quite menacing with large carbon fiber flares containing 17″ VOLK TE37 wheels wrapped in sticky Kumho slicks. ZCG Big Brakes are at all four corners. Stay tuned for a full report on this beast as we dial in the E85 tuning!
Frank Burkeen’s stunning Series 1 240z is the result of a full rotisserie restoration. We will have a full report on this build soon, but if you take close look at that stock engine bay it’s impossible to tell that it makes about 50hp more than stock!
Frank is also a long-time ZCG customer and his wife drove his other Z car, a bright orange fuel-injected canyon carver. We love the Chevlon mesh wheels and they do a superb job of framing our ZCG Big Brakes!
Our friend and fellow vintage racer Glenn Chiou’s 1971 Nissan Fairlady 240Z-L is a RHD model with a Rebello heart and a host of period goodies. The original paint is impressive and this car just looks so “right” from all angles.
260z and 280z
ZCG customer Joe A showed his pretty 260z, fresh from the shop (full report on the blog soon)
Linda W’s 1978 280z
S130
Who could forget the S130 280zx! Black Gold too:
People
We like this show because of the laid-back atmosphere and good folks that organize it. You won’t find Drake or EDM blasting through loudspeakers here. No bikini contests. Just Z-car and Nissan/Datsun enthusiasts simply sharing their love about cars.
Z32
11 Z32 300zx cars were displayed ranging from high-mileage survivors with original owners to show-spec pristine examples. Kevin N and Joe K’s Z32 Twin Turbos are both top-level examples of highly modified yet tasteful machines:
Jack and Yolanda’s famous widebody Z32s. Jack is the creator of the original “primadonnaZ” back in the 70’s.
This 1994 NA Z32 caught our eye because it had 332k miles from its original owner!
Z33
If you are a fan of Japanese classic cars there’s a good chance that you have visited Japanese Nostalgic Car. JNC’s senior minicar correspondent and all-around J-Tin guru is Ricky Silverio and he is also a Z-car owner! Here is his pristine, 10k-mile 2003 350z Track model that we will be performing services on soon. Like his other sports cars, Ricky shows impeccable taste in his “OEM+” mods. Check out more pics in the gallery as there are many “easter eggs” in his Z!
Z34
This is the first show since 2009 that Nissan USA helped support and ZONC was very happy to have a new NISMO 370Z on display:
We spotted this pair of of white NISMO Z’s. Nissan’s final evolution of the Z34 is the best looking, in our opinion:
510s
Three Datsuns 510s showed up, two with KA24s and one sporting an L-series. Datsun die-hards may remember this familiar 510 that belonged to builder Gary Jervis:
Our favorite (and the crowd’s too) was Matt’s 510. This boosted KA24DE Dime ticks all the right boxes for our love of low-flying bricks, and he also won 1st place for Best 510!
The Kenmeri Skyline
Alex M lent us his C110 Skyline to participate in the show. It was well received and even won an award!
Roadsters and Best of Show
The lone Datsun Roadster, and winner of Best of Show award went to Dan M’s pretty ’69 Datsun 2000. Dan also brought his ’72 240z!
Vanity plates
It’s no secret Z car owners have the best vanity plates! Some notables:
Parking lot finds
The beautiful venue is also a public park so plenty of folks stopped by to check out the Z’s.
Award Winners
It is always great to see ZCG customers carrying home awards for their pride and joy.
James S won Best Modified and Super Modified! Joe A won best 260z and Frank M won Best Stock 240z!
See you next year!
Spending the day at the ZONC Annual Car Show was a welcome experience that reminded us to, in the words of the late Mr.K, ” Love cars. Love people. Love Life.” We look forward to the next show keep an eye on our event updates and Z you soon! Don’t forget to check out our picture gallery below! Big thanks to the ZONC organizers and Ricky Silverio for sharing his photos with us.
SEMA was a blur this year—but that’s really no different than any other year for the most intense sensory overload in car show form on the planet. This trade-only show features all of the latest and greatest builds, technology, and creativity in our industry. While the show has historically been populated by American marques and their aftermarket support, in recent years the influx of Japanese metal (Nissan included) is undeniable.
We only attended the show for one day and while the crowds were as appalling as ever in the Las Vegas Convention Center, the quality of cars made it all worth it. It wasn’t just “cars” that got us excited, it was the astonishing number of vintage Datsuns/Nissans! The variety was astounding. We counted 16 cars from a 1972 Datsun 510 to 1983 Skyline and everything in between.
Year of the Datsun!
Our Datsun-hunting at SEMA started with Datsun 510s. Pro-drifter Chris Forsberg built this hot-rod 510 wagon for his wife. The Mazworx-built SR20DET is backed by an automatic transmission and even sports air-conditioning. Deep-lipped SSR MKIII wheels fill out the box-flares that are part of the “Hakobird” kit from Carbonsignal. This might be the closest thing to Hakosuka Skyline wagon!
Our friend and fellow 510 racer Troy Ermish built this ultra-clean 510 2-door for actor Daniel Wu. We dig the bronze Watanabe wheels and subtle paint color. A built L-series breathing through dual-Mikuni’s and stock-ish interior also makes us happy. You can learn more about the build from our friends over at JNC.
Our final 510 sighting was the legendary Pete Brock’s personal car in Braille battery booth. Affectionately known as “Datzilla”, we remember first seeing this 450hp small-block V8 beast back in 2008 at the MotoringJ Style show.
Z Car Fever
A total of NINE S30 Z cars were at SEMA this year. That may not seem like many, but consider just 3 years ago only two Z cars were present. It was hard to pick a favorite but we were impressed with the Gas Monkey Garage 280z and the ChasingJs 240z built by Big Mike and Dominic Le, respectively.
The Gas Monkey Garage 280z
Big Mike was commissioned to design/build this 280Z 2+2 for the TV show Gas Monkey Garage. We loved how he took a often un-loved chassis and created a unique car that Datsun fans and American-iron alike can appreciate. Some quick details that caught our eye: the huge void found in front of the 4-cylinder SR20DET was filled with an OEM-like air filer box. The stock interior features vintage buckets with matching rears. The body color choice was perfect against bronze Volk TE37V wheels. Watch for two episodes covering the build airing on Fast n Loud TV on the Discovery channel! …[read more]
Dom brought his modified 370z to Z Car Garage for tuning and he was referred to us by our friend and fellow Z34 owner Richard M (thank you!). Dom’s Z is a 2014 Base model with full AimGain Widebody Kit, Work Meisters S1 3P wheels, gorgeous Yas Marina Blue paint and a host of bolt-ons.
We put it on the dyno and went to work on the UPREV tune. We saw gains of 21hp/11tq for a total of 337hp/278tq to the wheels:
This is one of the most powerful NA 370z cars to come through ZCG. It is also another example of how dyno tuning can unlock the full potential of bolt-ons for your Z. Dom you’ve done a great job with the car it looks fantastic!
Gary’s Pulsar GTi-R is for sale. This all-wheel drive, turbocharged “Baby GT-R” has been maintained by Z Car Garage and it is in pristine condition, ready to be enjoyed. For more information please visit our For Sale page HERE
